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FREE TUTORIAL: HOW TO START YOUR OWN PODCAST RIGHT HERE IN NIGERIA (PLUS 20 FREE TOOLS TO USE)

HOW TO START YOUR OWN PODCAST RIGHT HERE IN NIGERIA

If you have the ability to speak and press the record button, then you have an incredible opportunity in front of you to make some serious impact doing something that is both fun and easy – an on a massive scale just as I’ve done.

HOW TO START YOUR OWN PODCAST RIGHT HERE IN NIGERIA
Few weeks before I released my first ever podcast episode… With Earl Alright

Just take a moment to imagine where you would be right now if you had your own radio or TV show with hundreds or thousands of loyal listeners all over the world in just a few months from today.

Well, I am privileged to have started my podcast The Audacity2Lead a bit early and feel it’s wonderful to share with you how you can start yours.

My journey into podcasting started with me running a finely-edited audio broadcast of my pastor’s messages on Facebook, Twitter, BBM and Whatsapp. I then went ahead and uploaded them to our church’s website.

In the bid to make the process better, I discovered podcasting is a cool route to publish the message my pastor has been given. Then I started testing…

What caught my eyes those days was that the first audio I published didn’t get much attention, but from the third and fourth, I suddenly began to have over 200 downloads weekly for each episode. And till today, even after I’ve paused publishing them, the stats are almost in that range.

 

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OKAY, SO WHAT’S BIG ABOUT PODCASTING?

To a beginner, podcasting may be audio, video or media content shared over the internet. I’ll say it’s more like having your own radio or TV show with listeners and viewers around the world.

The unique thing about podcast is that you don’t need a radio or TV, you don’t even have to listen to it on your computer. Almost all smartphones now have in-built capacity for podcast.

If you use an Android phone, maybe Techno, you can get Stitcher from your Play Store. With Blackberry, you can check your media folder for an app icon called Podcasts, or you may download a completely different one from Blackberry App World.

The beauty of podcast is that you can listen to what you want, when you want, where you want.

Since you can download them to your phone’s mp3 player, you’re able to take and share your podcast to the farthest part of the world.

SO, HOW CAN YOU START YOUR PODCAST?

You are probably may have thought about starting your own podcast here in Nigeria, but you feel overwhelmed by all the expensive technical know-how’s you find online.

That is why I did this episode of the Audacity2Lead podcast just for you.

Imagine a podcast about how to podcast. Hilarious!

Just a few days ago, I read on Razor Social that

“Podcasting is set to continue to grow at a rapid rate for many years to come. What YouTube is doing to TV is like what Podcasting is doing for radio. Imagine in a few years time when you hop into your car and you switch on the podcast instead of switching on the radio. That is certainly going to happen!”

Now, as a Nigerian considering going into podcasting, this will be an awesome time for you to step in as there are a handful of us in this space.

With a podcast, you can get beyond the eyes of people into their ears and make the impact you so desire to make.

Now, let me show you some steps to starting your own podcast.

  1. FIND A KEY PROBLEM NIGERIANS HAVE THAT YOU CAN SOLVE ON YOUR PODCAST.

A good place to begin is to find a need and meet it. This is my mantra for leadership. You cannot solve all the problems Nigerians have. The best you can do is pick one that you’re gifted and empowered to solve, and be a master there. Maybe podcast consulting is my new found love, who knows. But of course, leadership is at the fore of my calling.

I see problems as challenges and a few of them I’ve noticed here in Nigeria are:

Unemployment (which Segun Akiode is already trying to solve with his Employability & Career Talk podcast);

Internet-based businesses (which I think is what Mayowa Ajisafe is trying to do with his Doing It Big Show podcast); [update: Mayowa’s podcast has been rebranded].

Professional Photography (one guy I found doing this is Xsightn).

Sex, from any angle you may see it, is a big problem Nigerians have and I believe someone like Praise Fowowe or Matthew Adedoyin or Earl Alright can solve through a podcast.

If Coach Sam Obafemi decides to start a podcast on business or anger mastery, imagine the huge audience he’ll have, even as he provides solutions to a major challenge ‘Lagos’ people have (no yabs please)

So how do you find a problem that would grant you an audience?

Do your research!

Some you could consider include: sports, your favourite sports team, politics, governance, motivation is almost already saturated.

Just any thing you like to talk about.

  1. CHOOSE A PODCAST FORMAT.

There are 3 basic formats available:

1. Interview
2. Co-host
3. Single host

Interview format is where you ask someone, let’s say an authority in a specific field related to your podcast theme (which you must have selected at STEP 1), questions and have them published as a podcast. That could be live in-person recording or done online.

There are a number of free tools available for that, and I’ll share them with you soon.

On the #Audacity2Lead podcast presently, I’m using a co-host format where 2 individuals, myself and @TaraEne come together to share something interesting on the podcast.

Single-host is the easiest. And that’s what you find with a person, you in this case, speaking to your audience. There are several formats available for your podcast. The common format of interviews will still work here in Nigeria since there are a few podcasts.

But personally, I’m using a co-hosting format where 2 individuals of same likes, passion, purpose and interest come together to share on the podcast. Sometimes you may have guest –and I intend to have some soon, maybe next year.

  1. PICK A NAME FOR YOUR PODCAST.

When I used to stay in Lagos, I had a program on Inspiration FM that I hardly miss. I eventually introduced some of my pals to the program. Sharing Life Issues with Chaz B. (I got to Lagos some days ago and discovered the program had taken a new turn.

But really, if you tune in to a radio program, what do you intend to hear? Is it just the radio or a specific program?

A common error I’ve found with many people trying to get into podcasting in Nigeria is that they just record something, and call it a podcast.

A podcast is not just an audio recording. That you have access to a mic and a pc doesn’t mean you’re doing a podcast. That’s a message – you can get a lot of that in church 🙂

A podcast has a name, and its very important you have one for yours. That’s how you stand out!

The Audacity2Lead podcast

Naira Metrics podcast

Doing It Big Show

The Art of Value podcast

School of Podcasting

Podcast Answer Man etc.

Those are specific names.

Business 101 is not a podcast name. Its too generic. Neither is “Welcome to my podcast” a name.

  1. RECORD YOUR PODCAST.

Two widely-accepted formats are video and audio, with audio being the most popular.

I know of Cliff Ravenscraft who is my personal Podcast Answer Man who recently started video in addition to his audio show.

Now, let’s get to recording your audio podcast.

Would it surprise you that I don’t use a mixer of any sort for my podcast? I don’t go to studio either. That doesn’t mean having a mixer is bad, I’m just saying you could bootstrap the whole process. And that’s exactly what I want to show you.

First, get a decent recording microphone.

Never try to use your system PC for your recording. The quality is too low. Most of the time around here, people use a headset with a built-in microphone mouthpiece, but I have discovered it doesn’t work well because of the poor sound quality you will get.

You can get a decent sound quality though by purchasing a microphone from Amazon. One that I can recommend is the Blue Yeti microphone which plugs in directly to your USB and it does produce some good sound.

Well, I’m a Nigerian, and if you checked that Mic out, I can guess what next you will say next.

Update: Now you can order podcast mic directly from my podcast store.

 Second, get your recording and editing done.

One software I know many would be able to lay hands on, is the free open source Audacity which you can download here for free. If you use a Mac, Garage Band would be your go-to. For me, I use Adobe Audition now, before it was Adobe Soundbooth.

 Third, get a cute audio branding.

Audio branding is in simple terms a sound that is repeated over time that it becomes known with you.

For example, there’s a sound you hear on every Nokia phone. MTN and Etisalat have specific sound you know them by. Am I right? That is what an audio branding does. It cements you and your podcast into people’s minds along with a particular sound.

Not every audio sound is good enough for an audio branding though. A bad one is even worse.

A LITTLE OF MY NIFTY PODCASTING SECRET.

Let me share with you how I get to have my podcast fit together, have great sound quality despite the kind of noisy area I live in, and how I get to have hundreds of listeners every week.

 First is, my solution system is distinct.

Just like Victor Bassey would say. I help people get started with what they are called to do, help them get focused, and have impactful results.

If you listen to the series I did on 11 Essentials of a Great Life Task, you would notice that. Even before starting that series, the early 6 episodes were centered around that same topic.

When I got started at Episode 1, I was just getting into podcasting as an option to get into people’s ears –especially those who like to listen than read.

Even at that time, I decided interview format was somehow common especially with the podcasts I listen to regularly. I just wanted to do it differently. So I got Earl Alright to sit with me in my office around 11pm in the night to do the recording. We did quite a number of recording which till now are yet to be published. Episodes 1, 2, and 4 are just a few.

Second, I tested and tested.

Really, I did.

Almost all the podcasters I know are not Nigerians, and they spend money on the things they use. From May 2013, I began to study and research on how I could go about it here in Nigeria and not spend the kind of money they spend, yet get same or almost the kind of results they have.

Third is, when recording or editing, I make sure my audio input or sound is between -12dB and -3dB.

I do that to ensure I have a distinct, clear enough sound such that external interferences can easily be knocked off by my underlay soundtrack.

 Fourth, I design my podcast artwork myself and do my tagging using iTunes.

I noticed early on that using some IDE Tagging softwares didn’t maintain some of the details, so I tried using iTunes and it worked perfectly.

Let me share with you tools you can use.

 

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20 FREE (OR NOT SO FREE) TOOLS YOU CAN USE FOR YOUR PODCAST

Recording and Editing: Download these free softwares Audacity, Garage Band, WavePad, PodProducer

Media File Hosting/Storage: Archive.org, Podbean.com, Buzzsprout.com, Podgarden.com, SoundCloud.com, Amazon S3

Equipment: Microphone (which you can get from any online retail store). But if you want my exact podcast set, it costs just N15,000 for 2 mics, a headset, and a USB sound card device. (You can contact me dayo [at] audacity2lead.com for that.)

Platform: WordPress is my most recommended especially a self-hosted WordPress site or blog.

Remote interviews: Skype, Ecamm’s CallRecorder, Pamela. All these are tools I have on my system but not used yet because I’m yet to have a remote interview. But from 2015, it would be different, I’ll do some interviews.

Audio Branding: Fiverr is your go-to spot for a cool $5 audio branding.

Music: MusicAlley.com (Please note while using music from a site like this, you will have to stick to some terms and condition).

Sound FX: FreeSound.org – a library of sound effects that you can use on your podcast. FreeSFX.co.uk

Stock Photography: Compfight.com is a good place where you can get good pictures for your posts or podcast. Others you may like: FreeImages.com, MorgueFile.com is a discovery I recently made. Personally, I use photos from a professional photographer with whom I initially discussed this. His name is JamesPhotography (he’s the guy on the Episode on How to Get Paid to be You).

Design: CorelDraw, Photoshop, or Illustrator. Why did I include design in the options? You will need an artwork for your podcast, or a visual illustration for your posts. Usually, 1400×1400 pixels image is iTune’s recommended size, and you can quickly do that if you know how to use either of these softwares. You could ask me to design for you, though.

Okay, so there you have it. A simple guide to starting your podcast in Nigeria.

As you can see all you would need is just YOU and YOUR MESSAGE.

Podcasting may not be as easy as many people think when you are just starting.

I remember when I started exploring podcasting back in June after the launch of this blog, I tried several formats (and you can listen to them on the Audacity2Lead podcast page here). But around episode 8, 9, or 10 was when I got my footing right.

And if you noticed, it was when I brought in a co-host that it all happened. So the best is for you to find your voice.

Now, let me introduce you to Podcast with Excellence, my step-by-step coaching guide to launching your own niche podcast.

In Podcast with Excellence, you will learn:

  • How to choose your niche
  • How to get top-rated Nigerians as guests for your podcast if you want to go the interview route
  • Equipment, gadgets, tools and resources you can start with for better podcast quality
  • Audio branding for your podcast
  • How to promote your podcast
  • How to get your podcast on iTunes
  • How to program your show such that you will always have good content
  • And a lot of other bonuses which you can find here.

The good news is registration for the course is now open and because of the need to pay attention to every participant, I’ll close registration this Thursday. So go ahead to dayosamuel.com to get more details now.

[UPDATE: When you join, you’ll be notified when next the course is opening.]

Okay, so let’s discuss. What are you going to do to start your own podcast in Nigeria? What will it cost you to not reach the people who need your message? Leave me a comment below.

And don’t hesitate to share with a Nigerian you know 🙂

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I invite you to join my Nigeria Podcast Network community for FREE. Click Here and you’re in.

 

Really, It’s Time For YOU to  Start Your Podcast.

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About The Author

21 thoughts on “FREE TUTORIAL: HOW TO START YOUR OWN PODCAST RIGHT HERE IN NIGERIA (PLUS 20 FREE TOOLS TO USE)”

  1. Hi Dayo,

    I recently left a rating and review of your podcast and was wondering if you could do the same for mine?

    As you probably know, ratings and reviews are the mother’s milk of podcast rankings. I’d love to have a review from someone like you.

    Just go to http://www.mattmcwilliams.com/itunes to find my podcast, The World Changer Show.

    When you do, let me know that you did, and I’ll give you a shout out on the next show.

    Thanks a bunch!

    All the Best,

    Matt McWilliams
    (web) MattMcWilliams.com
    (phone) (317) 825-8826
    (twitter) @MattMcWilliams2
    (linkedin) Connect

  2. Hi Dayo, it’s cool to have finally made out time to read your blog-it’s worth the time.

    When my cousin, Alright first told me about it, I really didn’t find sufficient reason to be here but why making findings about Tara Ene and her website, I got here kinda.

    Truth be said, this has really given me some knowledge I never had (some of those which I already planned spending a good fortune of time and money on acquiring) to making one of my products (most likely the last to be created for this year) a bash! No wonder when I gave Earl a little clue to the product and told him the kind of peeps, I’d like to have around, you were one of the persons he talked about.

    You are obviously good at what you do, keep it up!

    …will make out time to check what you have got here…sure bookmarked already.

  3. Pingback: What A #Podcast Really Is - Audacity2Lead.com

  4. I can tell you that I enjoy reading your post Dayo. You’re the first Nigerian podcaster I know. It sounds funny right? Well, it shouldn’t. Finding the right ones is the key. I will be subscribing to your feeds. Thanks.

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  7. This is really nice. Is there a way to put up a picture from your device, instead of going to a professional photographer? Can a phone with voice recorder be used to record? if Yes how do you upload what you recorded ?

  8. Pingback: RUN YOUR CALLING PROFITABLY WITH THESE 5 STEPS

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