Here is basic set of equipment for hosting a high-quality podcast. It’s what we currently use for the Leading Learning podcast:
- Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB Microphone – Excellent quality at a very reasonable costs. We use two of these. Along with them we use:
- Two foam ball wind screens – to prevent “popping” when saying letters like “p”
- Two suspension booms – to hold the mics in place while we talk
- Ecamm Call Recorder – for recording interviews over Skype. Ecamm is Mac-only. PC users can use CallBurner
- Garage Band – for editing. This is free on Macs. You can also use Audacity, also free, on Mac or PC. Or, if you want to go higher end, Adobe Audition.
- Libsyn – for hosting. Soundcloud and Blubrry are also good choices. Don’t just host the files on your Web site, though. You want a host that can support streaming well and provide you with stats.
The intro and outro music we use for the podcast is called You Are So Money and was licensed from RoyaltyFreeMusic.com for about $50 or so. You may also be able to find something you like in the stock music clips included in programs like Garage Band
For a good guide on how to podcast, see the Ultimate Podcasting Guide page the John Lee Dumas has put together at Entrepreneur on Fire.