Podcasts are more popular now that they have ever been. If you need the motivation to lose weight, book recommendations, information about history, or animals, there’s a podcast for that. There are a lot of people out there who do it for a hobby. However, some people have even managed to make a living from it.
If you are lucky enough to be getting a bit of cash from your podcast, you may want to invest in the right equipment and space. Read on to find ways to create a decent space for a reasonable price.
Fair-priced Furniture
Having a dedicated space for your podcast can be the difference between a failing and pro-sounding podcast. Even if you are setting up at home, investing in affordable office furniture that is the foundation for your station is essential. But it does not need to break the bank.
High-quality secondhand office furniture can give you a setup that will help make your space feel professional. Comfortable, well-maintained chairs can cut out any unwanted squeaks and creaks, while an open worktop surface can help organize papers and prompts for your podcast. If you are unsure where to look, check out Rethink Your Office for some ideas on available furniture and prices.
Ultimately your desk functions as the base for all your podcasting. Finding the right one will save you trouble down the road.
A Moderate Microphone
The microphone, though the crown jewel in the podcaster’s station does not need to cost as much as one. Since this guide aims toward an affordable setup, we will assume that your room does not have any soundproofing, so avoid condenser microphones.
Instead, opt for dynamic microphones since they work well in live environments to cut out background room noise to provide a clean sound. Coming out on top of the affordable option list is the Samson Q2U. As affordable and simple microphones go, it cannot be beaten, but still shop around and read a few microphone instruction manuals and see what features they offer and what is available. A helpful tip is to get a pop filter as soon as possible.
Cutting out those annoying noises created by ‘p’ and ‘b’ sounds will make your recording super clean at no real cost.
Now Accessorize
On top of the basics, you can add a whole host of extra trimmings to make your station both efficient and personal. For the microphone, a boom arm can be a cheap way to suspend the mic at an excellent height and distance so you can focus on speaking.
Simple tools to help organize your sessions can include a small whiteboard or pinboard, which can also double as a way to liven up a desk area with pictures and notes. These cost almost nothing and can act as a useful way of writing content timetables and plans for real-time reference.
A second computer monitor to provide a second screen works well with either a PC or laptop setup. Having that second screen can let you pull up notes or websites without having to minimize your audio recording program, and apart from anything else, it gives the desk a polished look.
And Finally
People often think that expensive gear is the solution to making a great podcast: they learn soon enough that thinking fails them. Instead, the secret lies in getting a strong foundation of equipment to then build on from, and this should not need to be costly.
Podcasts started as cheap ways to create spoken content that could be shared at little to no cost over the internet. So shop around, do not be afraid of going secondhand for high quality, and start recording.
