This article was originally published on Tuxbee Digital.
Podcasting for free is a great way to start building your authority or just dip your toes to see if it’s something that you would actually enjoy doing long term. I was able to start my podcast for free and decided to invest some resources into my services and equipment when I decided that it was something I loved doing.
An important aspect to building traffic and that “know, like, trust” factor is creating content consistently. Hosting your own podcast is a great way to build up your authority in your niche, as well as your confidence in yourself. Not only that, hosting guest experts is a great way of meeting new amazing friends and getting your message and services in front of new audiences.
Starting podcasting for free
Here are some of my favorite tools for starting podcasting for free! Eventually, you may want to upgrade some of these services to take advantage of the extended features and benefits, but its totally possible to start absolutely free! Here are the tools that I used to start my podcast absolutely free.
1. Hosting a podcast for free: Buzzsprout
The first thing you need to start a podcast is somewhere to host it, even if you already have your own website. Buzzsprout allowed me to start a podcast for free to see if it was something I was going to actually enjoy doing. All you have to do is bring your show name, description, a featured graphic (which I can show you how to make for free LINK HERE), and your recorded episode(s). Keep reading to see how I was able to start recording episodes for free, too.
2. Zoom for starting podcast:
Zoom is a great free tool for starting your podcast if you don’t have any equipment. You can use your computer’s microphone to record, or you can use a headset that you have lying around.
It’s going to take the first few episodes to find your voice so don’t worry too much about editing. The goal is to learn the process and find your voice right now.
Done is better than perfect.
Plus, a few months down the line when you get really good, you can inspire people to start their own podcast by showing them that it’s okay to suck in the beginning (see the first few episodes of my podcast if you aren’t sure what I mean).
If I am recording episodes by myself, I will record them through Zoom, but through another service called Otter.ai, which is also free. Check out my secret weapon below.
8. Transribe episodes of your podcast free with Otter AI
Otter AI changed my life. Transcription for my blog was something that I didn’t think I would be able to manage early on. After all, doing it myself took hours, and hiring someone to transcribe things for me could get really expensive really quickly.
Luckily one of my podcast guests turned me on to a service called Otter.ai which can transcribe your recordings FOR FREE!
WHAT?
Yes, you read that correctly. The free version allows you to record on zoom right through the otter interface and will transcribe your audio in real-time. You have to upgrade to be able to upload past recordings and have them transcribed, but don’t have to worry about that if you are just starting out.
3. Create a free newsletter for your podcast with Mailerlite
Recording a podcast usually isn’t the end goal of recording a podcast. You may be trying to spread your message, entertain people, educate them about something, or even build authority in your niche. Whatever the case may be, you are going to want to have a way of keeping in touch with your audience. Maybe to let them know when your next episode drops. Maybe you eventually want to monetize your podcast through selling a service, or even accepting donations.
One of the most important things that you can do to build a relationship with your audience and eventually maybe even offer them products or services is to build out your email list. The easiest way I found to do that was with Mailerlite. I tried several other options that were either expensive or confusing. Or even worse, both. But then I discovered Maileriite. Their pricing structure made it so that I could grow my email account with my audience instead of being stuck with a huge bill once I got to 1,000 subscribers. Plus I found the interface much easier to interact with.
The secret to getting people to sign up for your newsletter is to offer them something in exchange for it, instead of just asking them to give you something. You can get really creative with what you give away. It can be a coupon to your online store, a PDF with tips you create on Canva, a workbook, or even a video workshop that you record. And then make sure you ask people to subscribe! Don’t forget to mention your freebie during each episode (plug yourself first!) and share the link to the form on social media.
Even if you aren’t planning on selling anything right now, having an email list can help you stay in touch with your loyal listeners and even send them freebies or exclusive discounts (affiliate links for example) that will be beneficial to them.
4. Use Calendly to book guest hosts for your podcast for free
Take advantage of automation! Start implementing it into your business as soon as possible. One of the tools that I use to automate having guests on my podcast is my Calendly link. You can check it out LINK HERE. If someone is interested in being a guest on my podcast, I send them this link. They can choose their day and time of recording, and answer some questions so we both know what we will be discussing. Once the appointment is made by them, we both receive an email with the necessary information, and a reminder is automatically added to my calendar. I have a schedule set up in Calendly so there is no guessing which days I will be recording.
5. Record and edit podcast episodes for free with Audacity
Another great tool that I discovered for recording podcast episodes is Audacity. This is a program that is downloaded to your computer and is way more advanced than Zoom. If you aren’t a fan of zoom or are more familiar with audio recording tech this could be a great option for you. If you would rather keep it simple, stick with zoom.
6. Start generating income from your podcast with Stripe
There are several ways that you can generate income from your podcast. One way is to sell your products or services, or even have a “buy me a coffee” or “tip jar” link even if you aren’t a business. You can use Stripe to monetize your podcast almost any way you like! You could sell a product or service, or you could even set up a donation link and ask your loyal listeners to buy you a coffee if they love your podcast!
7. Free guest experts for your podcast with Facebook Groups
There are tons of free Facebook groups available for finding guest experts for your podcast, as well as find spots for you to appear on someone else’s podcast. You can search for the word “podcast” on Facebook and see all of the groups that could be available to you.
Not only can you find guests for your podcasts in groups specifically for podcast guests, but you could also find them in groups you are already hanging out it.
If you see someone if working on building their authority in groups by being a guest expert, interact with them and eventually invite them to appear on your podcast. I have made some great connections on Facebook by opening the door with a podcast interview invitation.
I have found these conversations to be some of the best I have with people I have met online since it’s not a sales conversation. I feel like this has allowed us both to relax and provide awesome value through our conversations. I have ended up working with several podcast guests simply by inviting them to first be a guest-expert in my space.
9. Google Calendar
I am a paper planner kind of person. However, paper planners can’t send you reminders of meetings or help you quickly find a zoom link when that notification does go off.
I got into the habit of adding scheduled events into my Google Calendar so I wouldn’t miss them! Now, I still use a paper planner to help me organize my intentions and goals that aren’t necessarily scheduled, but now I use Google Calendar for a bunch of other stuff. The best part is that you can link it to Calendly and other tools to help you easily book clients and keep track of details.
And if you add something to your calendar, like a doctor’s appointment, it can block that time off in your booking calendar so you don’t have to worry (as much) about scheduling conflicts.
10. Use Airtable To Keep Track of Podcast Recordings
When I booked my first few podcast guests, I was able to keep track of who was going live when pretty easily. After all it was this week, next week and the following. However, when I started participating in groups for podcast guests that order quickly went out the window. Suddenly I was booking episodes 2 months out. How could I keep track of all of my guests, PLUS the podcasts where I was the guest expert?
That’s when I took some time to organize everything in Airtable. The name of the guest, their business, the date of recording, the planned date of release, whether I had gotten their bio and headshot, everything. Once I did that I was able to start batching the episodes to go out once a month. So once a month I can schedule out all 4 podcast episodes, and send the guests their graphics and sharable links.
