Starting a Podcasting Business

Globally the podcasting sector has generated an estimated revenue of 479.1 million in 2018 and it is expected to produce more than a billion by 2021 (www.theverge.com). Podcasting is getting popular since it allows the audience to multitask that is washing the car or dishes whilst listening to the podcast. There is so much vacuum in the podcasting space of Zimbabwe, and its one avenue you can consider if you have the passion for media.

Equipment and Software

The podcasting business doesn’t require much to start=up capital. You would need a laptop, microphone and some editing software. For you to be appreciated by your audience, the sound of your podcast should be of good quality. It should always make people listen to your podcast over and over again, and for that you would need a microphones. There is a wide range of microphone out there but one of the recommended budget microphone is the Audio-Techicaa ATR 2100 USB.

In addition you would need a software to perfect your sound quality and insert some music. Some of the popular editing software are Audacity, GarageBand Adobe Audition, only to mention a few.

A laptop becomes the production center where you both record and edit your podcasts. This might be something you already have or need to acquire.

Expertise

You would also need some expertise in audio editing and cover designing, however the second you can outsource. In this digital era, information is just a link away and you could utilize YouTube and other platform to learn podcast editing and other necessary skills.

Content

When you have all the equipment, software and expertise required to run a podcasting business, you now have to choose on content. They say content is king, that’s what makes your targeted audience love you or hate you so you have to be care full when it comes to choosing content. You have to choose content people would fall in love with and content you are knowledgeable in. You can consider to podcast on tech, business and industrials, entrepreneurship and motivation only to mention a few. The choice is yours.

Marketing and distribution

Obviously you would want your content to reach your target audience, that’s when marketing and distribution comes in. You can market your podcasts on social media platforms and distribute it through streaming platforms like Spotify, pod bean only to mention a few. You can also have an option to distribute your podcast under your own website, giving you audience the right to download or stream online.

Monetization

With so a lot of revenue being expected to come from podcasting, podcasters make money through directly selling adverts in their podcasts let’s say reserving 15 seconds for ads. They also make money on the views they have on streaming platforms. To add, one can also consider the subscription model where the audience would have to subscribe so as to gain access to the producer’s podcasts. One can choose to also sell his podcasts online per series or single podcast.