How to Start a Podcast for Free (No New Equipment) (2024)

With over 100 million Americans listening to podcasts, there’s never been a better time to launch your show [1]. However, investing in expensive equipment and specialist hosting can be a daunting prospect. Therefore, you might be wondering how to start a podcast for free.

Fortunately, it is possible and not too difficult to start a podcast for free. You can take advantage of free recording software such as Audacity and publish your show on directories. By eliminating your startup costs, you can work on growing your show at no risk to your wallet.

In this post, we’ll show how to start a podcast in eight easy steps. Even better, you can complete each step without having to spend a cent. Let’s get started!

As part of that guide, here’s everything that we’ll cover:

1. Find your niche
2. Plan your content
3. Name your free podcast
4. Create a content calendar
5. Choose a podcast hosting provider
6. Record your first episode
7. Publish and submit your episodes to directories
8. Promote your show

1. Find your niche

There are countless podcasts on the market, covering a vast range of subjects. However, most successful shows tend to focus on a specific niche.

By choosing a narrowly-defined topic that appeals to a specific audience, you can help your potential listeners immediately understand what your podcast is all about. This means you’ll have an easier time connecting with your target audience.

Focusing on a niche also makes it easier to market your podcast. Ideally, you’ll be able to find forums, hashtags, groups, and other online communities that cater to your specific topic. These are often the perfect places to promote your podcast.

Chances are, you already have a rough idea of the subjects that you want to cover. However, if you’re still unsure, it makes sense to consider the topics you’re passionate about. It’s also wise to focus on areas where you have specialist knowledge, first-hand experience, or a unique viewpoint.

Once you have a general idea, it often helps to identify a few popular podcasts that operate within this area. Since these shows have found receptive audiences, you may want to use them as inspiration.

While it’s smart to focus on a niche when starting your free podcast, you’ll want to ensure there’s a large enough audience to support your venture. You should also consider opportunities for future growth.

Here, it may help to enter some related keywords and phrases into a tool such as Google Trends. This platform can help you estimate whether there’s enough interest in your chosen subject and whether that interest is growing or declining:

If there’s a limited audience, you may need to broaden your subject matter. You may also want to consider whether you can expand into related niches if your listener numbers reach a plateau.

2. Plan your content

Every successful podcast gives its audience a reason to keep coming back. This means providing listeners with something of value. Before you progress with your podcast, we recommend creating a list of ideas to benefit your target audience.

If you want to create engaging content, we recommend talking to your target audience. This process may involve arranging one-on-one interviews, creating digital surveys, or simply requesting topic suggestions.

Listener outreach can also help you learn about your audience’s podcasting preferences, particularly for episode length and format:

If you’re focusing on a particular niche, you can often find online communities dedicated to this exact area. These spaces may include forums, social media groups, and YouTube communities. These are great places to connect with people who represent your target audience so that you can ask for their input.

It may also help to create a listener persona. This is a fictional character who represents your ideal audience member. You can continuously refer to this person when brainstorming your podcast content.

Again, it often helps to research your competitors. For example, if a podcast has achieved huge success by covering your subject matter in a panel format, you may want to consider adopting this format.

We recommend paying particular attention to each episode’s viewing figures. If a specific episode has attracted a spike in traffic, it’s wise to examine what makes this installment so special. You can then attempt to replicate this success with your content.

3. Name your free podcast

Naming a podcast isn’t always straightforward. Sometimes, you’ll know exactly what you want your podcast to be about – and still have no idea what to call it.

Many podcasters feel compelled to come up with a clever, catchy title. While this branding can make your podcast more memorable, your content should also appear in relevant search results.

Therefore, your podcast title should clearly communicate what your show is about:

For this reason, it’s wise to identify the keywords your target audience is searching for. You can do this using a tool such as Semrush’s Keyword Magic. You can then incorporate these words or phrases into your podcast’s title:

Creating a title can be a tricky balancing act. Often, a search-friendly, informative name isn’t particularly innovative or clever. Trying to squeeze too much information into a title can also make it wordy and difficult to remember.

If you’re struggling to create a short, catchy name that clearly communicates your podcast’s contents, you may want to consider adding a tagline. This feature gives you more words to work with without lengthening your title.

4. Create a content calendar

There’s no clear answer regarding how frequently you should post new podcast episodes. Essentially, you should aim to publish as often as possible without impacting the quality of your content.

It’s also important to be realistic. The best content calendar is one you can stick to. This document is a detailed plan of when you plan to publish new episodes and their topics. You might even specify publication times and choose your podcast guests in advance.

If you begin to drift off schedule or post on inconsistent days or at different times, your audience won’t know when to expect your next installment. Eventually, it may take new episodes longer to achieve the same number of views.

Even worse, listeners may give up on your content. Your typical podcast listener appreciates routine and consistency. If you can’t provide this consistency, your audience might look for a more reliable podcast instead.

Ideally, you want to become part of your audience’s routines. For example, listeners may enjoy your latest episode as part of their Monday commutes or while cleaning their homes over the weekend. If you fail to release an episode at the expected time, your audience may find an alternative way to fill this gap in their routines.

You might consider downloading a free content calendar template from a marketing platform such as CoSchedule. This document enables you to plan your shows by week, month, and even year. Therefore, you can more easily hold yourself accountable to your publishing schedule.

5. Choose a podcast hosting provider

Even if you plan to post your content to services such as Apple Podcasts and Podcasts on Spotify, these platforms don’t actually store your episodes:

If you have an existing WordPress website host, it’s unlikely that the company will have the tools required to compress audio and distribute it to podcast networks. Instead, you’ll need a dedicated podcast host like Acast. This provider will store your podcasts. You can then post these shows to third-party platforms or even feature them on your website.

Fortunately, there are free podcast hosting providers. However, it’s important to note that there are typically limitations when it comes to starting a podcast for free:

Many podcast hosts limit the storage space available as part of their free plans. This space is often listed as the amount of recorded time you can upload. For this reason, it’s essential to check the small print when you’re trying to start a podcast for free.

Some hosts will also offer additional recording and editing tools that can improve the quality of your finished podcast. You may even want to opt for a provider that operates a revenue-sharing model. In this setup, the host places ads on your content and then splits the revenue with you. In this way, you can monetize your free podcast without having to source your own sponsorships or advertising partners.

We also recommend opting for a provider that offers built-in analytics. These tools make it easier to identify the content your listeners like the most and the episodes that attract less engagement. You can then adjust your approach to deliver the best results.

6. Record your first episode

Once you’ve planned your show, it’s time to record your first episode. While a high-end microphone and a soundproof room will improve the quality of your audio, it is possible to record a podcast using your computer’s built-in microphone.

While we’d always recommend investing in the best setup, there are some ways to create professional-sounding audio without investing in top-of-the-range equipment. Here, quality audio recording and editing software are essential tools when you start a podcast for free.

Audacity is a free audio editing application. You can use this software to record live audio through a microphone or mixer. The platform can also digitize recordings from other media:

This open-source application supports 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit recordings. It also converts sample rates and formats using high-quality resampling and dithering.

Talking into a microphone may feel unnatural if this is your first podcast. Instead of focusing on the microphone, try to imagine that you’re having a conversation with a single person. This technique can help ensure that your content sounds more natural and engaging. You may even want to imagine that you’re chatting to your listener persona.

Finally, we recommend practicing at least part of your podcast before you start recording. Writing notes in advance can also prevent awkward silences or stumbling over your words. However, this process should get easier over time.

7. Publish and submit your episodes to directories

After recording your first episode and uploading it to your hosting provider, you should consider submitting it to directories. These are third-party platforms where listeners can discover, subscribe to, and download podcasts:

With their pre-existing audiences, directories are great platforms to get your content in front of as many people as possible. In fact, experts forecast that 28.2 million people listened to Podcasts on Spotify every single month in 2021 [2]. In addition, 28 million people listened via Apple Podcasts. Simply uploading your content to one of these platforms could increase your potential audience by millions.

Since these platforms specialize in hosting podcasts, they make their submission processes quick and easy. This means that third-party directories can deliver huge rewards for minimal effort.

There are plenty of directories to choose from. We recommend starting with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and the Stitcher platform.

Once your podcast is out in the world, it’s time to promote it. Social media is a great place to begin, but maintaining an active presence across multiple platforms can be time-consuming. If you want to start a podcast for free, you can’t take advantage of premium social media scheduling tools.

With this in mind, it’s wise to prioritize the platforms where your target audience spends the majority of their time. For example, almost 80% of LinkedIn users are aged 24 or over [3].

By contrast, 41% of TikTok users are aged between 16 and 24 [4]:

If you choose to promote your podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or even LinkedIn, you can often reach a wider audience by using hashtags. We recommend finding a few general hashtags that describe your podcast’s contents.

It’s also a good idea to create a branded hashtag for your podcast. This tool can help you start to build a community.

Furthermore, most of the popular directories accept reviews. This powerful social proof can encourage more people to check out your work. It’s also free content that you can include in your promotional campaigns or even feature on your podcast’s website.

It can seem like everyone has their own podcast. While this means lots of competition, it also means more collaboration opportunities. Some podcasts actively look for guests via platforms such as Twitter.

Appearing on someone else’s podcast is an excellent opportunity to promote your own work. Some shows may even offer advertising spots in return for your contributions.

Other podcasts might be looking for people to appear on their panels or fill in as subject experts in their interviews. Even if a show isn’t explicitly advertising for guests, many are open to the idea. If you believe you have something valuable to contribute, it’s always worth reaching out.

Start a podcast for free today

Hosting a large number of audio files can be expensive. For this reason, we recommend opting for a web host that specializes in podcasts and offers a free tier. You can also start a podcast for free using audio software such as the Audacity editing application.

Do you have any questions about how to start a podcast for free? Let us know in the comments section below!