How to start a successful podcast in Nigeria

Simply put, a Podcast is any digital audio file in episodes which you can download from the internet. This could also be arranged in series or grouped to make it easier for listeners to download.

Examples of podcast that I have listened to are Pulse Podcast, Audacity2Lead Podcast, MaverickExcel Podcast, NGO podcast among many others.

Podcast is different from a blog in the sense that podcast is designed for listening while blog is designed for reading.

What do you need to start a Podcast?

Your Voice
An Idea
A recording device :Smartphone, Audacity
A USB Cord
Earpiece or Headphone
Computer (Optional)
A website (optional)

Now, let's take them one after the other.

Your Voice: it is quite amazing that the first thing you need to have to start a podcast is your voice. I believe you already have this right? If you don’t, you can come and rent mine at a very little rate, LOL.

An idea: this is also free to get. You can podcast about anything. Anything! It is always good to podcast about a topic that goes with your passion though. What is your passion? Get three ideas from this. Get one of these ideas you really want to podcast about. Yes! There you go. Podcast about it.

A Recording Device: For you to be reading this means that you have a smartphone. You would be surprised what your smartphone is capable of. Download Parrot App or Smart Voice Recorder for recording. I use parrot myself. There is software we use on Personal Computer (PC) calledAudacity. You can use it to record, add background music and edit your podcast as you like.

A USB Cord: This is use to transfer your recorded files to your PC if you have one. If not, please, skip this.

Earpiece: This is used to listen to what you have recorded. You can also use the mouthpiece of the earpiece for a better quality.

Computer: Like I said, this is optional. You can use your smartphone for a start. I used my smartphone to record and launched my first podcast. It was not that professional but I did.

A Website: Again, this is optional. However, you would need this if you want to podcast professionally. You wouldn't want advertisers to take your podcast for granted. This is why you should have a website for your podcast. Also, having a website for your podcast enables you to have full control over your content and podcast.

How to Podcast.

Firstly, go ahead and create an account with either of the following: Soundcloud.com, Mixcloud.com or archive.org. I would advise you to go for soundcloud.com. This is because you can easily upload without editing to soundcloud from parrot app.

Follow the steps below to publish your first podcast.

Record your podcast using Parrot App (or any app of your choice)
Edit with Audacity (Optional)
Upload your podcast to sondcloud.com
Share with friends on social media

With that, you should have at least, 100 people listen to your podcast the first time.

Congratulations! You have now recorded, uploaded and share your first podcast.

Don’t be discouraged if your first podcast is not that professional or as high as you expected. As you go by in podcasting, you would become more and more professional. My first episode was not professional too.

Get feedbacks from friends and groups. This would really help you. Feedbacks from friends would help you know where to be better at next time. It could be your voice, narrative power or delivery.

Getting money from your Podcast

It is not enough to podcast, you can also make money from podcasting.

When your podcast starts getting popular, you can start advertising for organisations, businesses, etc. You can put this at the middle or end of your podcast.

Another way to make money podcasting is by offering consultancy services to people on podcasting. You can charge as far as ₦100,000 above depending on the firm you're consulting for.

I hope with this guide, you can now start a successful podcast, launch it and make money from it in Nigeria.

I wish you the best in your podcasting work.

Written by Sola Mathew.

Sola Mathew is a Professional Podcaster at Charity Connect Podcast. He helps individuals and businesses set up their podcasts to gain more visibility and sales. He has a free guide on Blogging and Podcasting which is available to download at www.charityconnectpodcast.com/start-your-podcast