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Resources for New Podcasters

· · Todd Cochrane

Podcasting is on a huge roll and I could not be more excited for the space. I also see a massive influx of new podcasters who want to join the party and create content. Shows such as the New Media Show, Rob Greenlee and I produce are one of many great free resources for new podcasters.

As new podcasters join the space, it is important to make sure they are exposed to all of the free resources and commentary available to them. Too often these days, novice podcasters are being funneled into paid podcast pipeline-training programs that turn out a bunch of folks doing the same exact thing.

When I hear folks say, “I just finished my 12-week podcast training course and I am ready to start my show,” the thing I am thinking is they probably should be in about their eighth week of creating content versus just finishing a course.

When I started my show, it took me about two hours to figure out the tech and 30 minutes to go to Walmart to get a headset to record my show. Granted, the first 10 shows were not that great. Even now after 982 episodes I still learn something new every day. You can only become good at creating content when you are creating content.

In recent interviews, the two interviewers sent me the same exact questions to be covered. I asked them where they were trained and got the same answer. I am not saying paid consultants are bad, but it’s a concerning trend when shows are following the same cookie-cutter formula. I question whether that’s a smart thing to do when you are trying to break out in the space.

The community as a whole has a significant number of free resources and online forums that can answer about 90 percent of the questions needed to get started. Heck, need advice on Mic, Mixer, Host, Plugins, Skype, Interviews, Co-Host, Guests, Encoding Rates, Software? Answers to questions related to these topics can be found via many of the online resources listed below.

I hate to see folks spend thousands of dollars on consultants, then spend another thousand on their suggested hardware packages before ever uttering a word into the microphone when often the purchase of an inexpensive mic is all that is needed to get started.

I am not down-playing the roles consultants and trainers provide. But when I hear groups that have been formed to do review trading and other things to artificially bolster iTunes rankings, I find it strange they are not asking their audience to do that instead.

Lets us as podcasters help the new podcasters as much as we can. I have compiled a list of shows and online resources that I feel are great starter spots for new podcasters

Shows

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