Podcasting

Episode Checklist

Brainstorm

• Who is your audience?
• What key question do you want your episode to answer?
• What is your episode not about?
• What do you want listeners to walk away thinking about?

Research

• Well researched details from authoritative sources will be included.
• The perspective and experiences of people being discussed and/or interviewed will be accurately and fairly represented.
• Listeners will be told where information was found during the episode and a list of full citations is included in the episode notes.
  • For example, during the episode, you might say, “I was reading an article on solar power in Science News and learned…”
    • Need help finding information and how to give credit to sources? Ask a Librarian

Interview

• Who is at the heart of your story or topic? It is always worth asking that person(s) if they are willing to share their perspective and experience.
  • Prepare questions and share with them before the interview. A great conversation can always take over, but it’s good to be prepared.

Write

• Organize the structure of your episode.
  • What is the opening?
  • What is the mood?
  • What are some possible directions the conversation can take, or if it’s a story, what are the different parts of the story?
  • How will you close the episode?
• Grab your audience with a hook to open the episode.
  • Check out the below scripts for examples of how to organize your podcast episode:
    • Tracy Edwards: What Can a Sailboat Teach You That a Classroom Can't 
      • Notice the story starts out with hook when the person being interviewed says, “I am an around the world sailor and social activist.”
    • Crumpet the Elf Reads from Santaland Diaries
      • Notice the story starts out with a hook when the storyteller says: “I wear green, velvet knickers, a forest green velvet smock and a perky little hat decorated with spangles. This is my work uniform.”
• Practice, practice, practice. Read out loud your opening hook, questions, and closing to help you feel comfortable during the actual recording.

Record

• Make a list of equipment needed.
• Book the podcast booth in the Knowledge Lab if space is needed.

Edit

• Upload your audio files with free online software, such as Audacity, and always backup your files.

Add Atmosphere

• Identify & collect additional elements (ambient, sound effects, music, etc.).
• Keep it simple and use sound effects and music where you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement.
• Pay a musician friend to make music for your podcast and give them credit in the episode notes.
• Use sound effects and music from sites that give you permission as long as you give them credit in your show or episode notes, such the BBC Sounds Effects site and the Free Music Archive.

Transcribe

• Always produce a transcript from your recording to meet accessibility standards. Resources provided in the Libguide.

Market

• Check out the Design Basics Libguide to design the marketing art or branding for your podcast.
• Locate the best hosting platform for your podcast (see Libguide for options).
• Post about your podcast and episode on social media, Reddit, and podcasting groups.
• When you conduct an interview(s), let your audience (and interviewee!) know when your podcast episode has been published and ask them to share with their friends and colleagues.