Getting Started With Podcasting

Here is a quick guide on how you can sign up, create and launch your podcast on Hubhopper in a jiffy. Starting your podcast with Hubhopper is very simple. First, you will need to create an account on Hubhopper

If you are already a podcaster and wish to switch/migrate your podcast hosting to Hubhopper, click here to know-how.

Different Podcast Formats

One of the first steps before starting a podcast is to figure out the format in which you want to create. Most podcasts are typically in any of the following formats:

• The Solo Podcast – A solo podcast is often made by podcasters who have the expertise they want to share with an audience.
• The Interview Show – An interview show is one of the easiest to do in some respects. As opposed to just you trying to come up with something to talk about, here you can talk about different fields and topics, depending on your guest, each week.
• The Panel Show – A host and a number of rotating guests – this brings new outlooks and perspectives to your podcast.
• Conversational/Co-hosted podcast – Essentially this format is a group of people sitting around and having a conversation. If you can find a co-host or even multiple co-hosts with whom you can have great chemistry, your conversational podcast will do wonders.
• Hybrid – You can go ahead and mix & match the different formats described above. Maybe you want to have guests on a few episodes while telling stories and doing a solo show for the rest of the show?

How do I structure my podcast?

There are many different structures your podcast can take, but the most basic structure is: intro – body – outro.

• Intro – a short and simple description of you as the host, the podcast and/or episode, giving listeners an idea of who you are and what you’re going to be talking about.
• Body – the main portion of your podcast.
• Outro – a short summary of the episode, sometimes with a short preview of or promo of the next episode.
• Background music – many podcasters choose to have background music during at least the intro and outro sections; a great source for this music is YouTube’s Audio Library – they even have sound effects
• Duration – podcast episodes actually range from being 2-120 minutes long! When starting a podcast, aim for not more than 15 minutes and go from there. You may find that you have lots more to say, or not so much…

Design Podcast Cover Art

Hubhopper generates a default cover art if you haven't created one yet. You can also upload your own custom image. If you are yet to create something, click on the ‘Design with Canva’ button.

Make sure that the dimensions of your cover art are 1400x1400 pixels. JPG and PNG are the recommended formats. You can always come back and change your podcast cover art, so don't worry if you haven't found the perfect fit just yet.

With our in-built design tool, you will be able to create professional-looking cover art and upload it right away. To learn how to create a cover art using Canva, you can refer to this tutorial:

Podcast Details

Once your cover art is all set, you will have to add the details about your podcast. This will include your Podcast Name, Creator Name, language, Category, and Podcast Description. For now, you can work with some basic details. You can always come back and edit these details later.

1. Podcast Name: Enter an interesting podcast name to catch the listeners’ eye. Keep it short and unique (3-4 words) so that it’s easier to discover. (Note: Don't use any emojis in the name)
2. Creator/Author Name: Pick the name you want to go by. If you are an independent creator you can simply add your name. If you represent a brand or a company then you can add those details instead.
3. Category & sub-categories: You can pick the category that matches the theme of your podcast well. There are a lot of categories to choose from, for example, Society & Culture, Sports & Recreation, etc.
4. Podcast Description: A podcast description is a paragraph that defines your podcast. This is the first thing that users read when they land in your podcast to understand the type of content your podcast covers. This is like a book summary. This is a great place to mention and link your social handles, website, or your email address for listeners to contact you. (Note: Don't use any emojis in the podcast description)
5. Explicit content: Switch this option 'ON' if there’s any explicit language in your podcast.
6. Language: Choose the language in which you will be producing your podcast.

Once your podcast has been created, you start working on your episode. This process is divided into two parts - Add Episode Details and Add Audio.

Podcast Name Generator

Use the Hubhopper Podcast Name Generator to create an engaging and SEO-optimized name for your show. Simply describe your podcast in detail, highlighting what it’s all about, and select a name option that’s concise—ideally no more than 4 words. Generate Your Podcast Name Now!

Episode Details

Add the episode name and description. 

1. Episode Name: Enter your episode title in the box, quickly summing up what they can expect from your episode.
2. Episode Description: An episode description is a summary of your episode. This gives the listener a brief on what the episode is all about and what you will be talking about in the episode. If you'd like to share a link related to the episode topic then you can add it here.

If you already have your audio file ready, then simply click on 'Add audio file' and upload your episode. If you don't have one, you can easily record and edit your episode using the Hubhopper audio editor on your desktop.

How to Record and Edit Podcast

You can plugin in your handsfree earphone with mic onto your desktop to record using the Hubhopper Studio Editor. This will allow you to record good audio quality without having the need to purchase any new equipment. 

To start editing, open the Hubhopper Studio Editor and upload your recorded audio file. The studio also has features like trim, duplicate, merge, etc. that can be used to edit the audio. 

Once the audio editing is done and you are satisfied with your episode, click on 'download' to get your audio file in MP3 format. Here’s a video tutorial on using the Hubhopper Studio Editor. Here is a Quick guide on how to use the Editor tool.

Upload and Publish Podcast 

Click on ‘Add your media file here’ and upload the file from your system. Ensure your audio file is not more than 500 MB. To know more about our audio file requirements, click here. 

Click on 'Upload & Publish', select the platforms you want to publish on and you will find your podcast distributed to all of them. We automatically distribute your podcast to Hubhopper, Spotify, Amazon Music Gaana, TuneIn, Breaker, and many more!

Publish Video Podcast 

To publish your podcast in both audio and video formats, you'll need to upgrade to the Growth plan. Once upgraded, simply connect your YouTube account to your Hubhopper account to enable video distribution. Follow this step-by-step guide to get started.

More Articles

Here are some articles that can help you with your podcasting journey:

How to manually distribute across more platforms

How to Use Hubhopper Studio Editor

How to Get More Listens on your Podcast

How to Set Up Video Podcast Distribution to YouTube with Hubhopper