Podcast

Dedicate time to them (like 6pm thursdays will be my podcasting hour). It’s easy to start one then let it die on the back burner.

A script is a good thing to have (or at least an outline).

Video’s are sometimes cooler than audio, but it’s up to you.

Make use of the iTunes podcast directory listing thing.

Make sure you have a place to host the podcasts that won’t be too costly. Sometimes a shared host like MediaTemple, DreamHost or WebFaction is enough for when you start. Then if you get more listeners, it may be time to move to AmazonS3 with a CDN or something (if you do that starting out, you’ll be washing money down the drain on fancy things you don’t need).

Make sure you’re in an area where the AC or other noises won’t get caught. Also, depending on the mic, put a mousepad under it as it will help to silence noise from vibrations (you’ll be shocked at how much a mic can pick up from a desktop in a desk).

Sorry to hear that.
After you finish school time will be an issue as well, though.
Good luck with your podcasting!

I’ve never run a podcast personally, but I’m an avid listener, so I’ll drop my two cents in.

Personally, audio-only podcasts are best for me. If a podcast is in a video format, it needs to be really compelling for me to set aside time to actually watch the video, while audio-only podcasts I can listen to while walking, cleaning, etc.

An outline is a good idea to keep you on track, but IMO, the best podcasts I’ve listened to involve multiple people having a casual, unscripted conversation about the topic at hand. Usually this generates a lot more content about a topic than one person can do on their own. There are certainly still some pretty successful solo podcasts, but as a whole they tend to lack some of the spontaneity and liveliness and the solo host has to do a lot to make up for it. So consider having others join you; even if not in real life, there are ways you can set up your audio recording software to record voices from VOIP calls (Skype, Google Talk, etc) so you can have guests from all around the world if you so choose.

Pace is pretty important. If the talk/conversation is moving too slow, I’m likely to lose interest; too quickly and I get confused. Editing the recording can help with the former problem a lot, as you can easily cut out dead air, etc.

If you haven’t thought about length, I personally prefer something between thirty and ninety minutes for an audio episode. Anything shorter than half an hour has to really catch my interest if I’m going to go through the trouble of downloading it.

But again, these are just personal opinions from one person who happens to listen to tons of podcasts, so don’t take them too seriously. Either way, the community could certainly use more tea-related podcasts! Best of luck <:

Thank you for your 2 cents, Aiko. I learned a lot!
I plan on doing solo audio podcasts first, then when I get the hang of it I can move on to interviews. I’m not sure I can go for more than 30 minutes, though.
What I need now is just some practice. Also, I’m not a native English speaker, hopefully it all turns alright.

I posted my first podcast! There’s a lot of things to improve, but I’m glad to have started.
Thanks for the help and support : )