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When I first started my podcast, I was doing so as a passion project. In order words, we had a shoestring budget. And although I have a business supporting podcasters, I knew that my podcast would need to start with the bare minimum and update over time.
In this post, I want to share with you my favorite tech tools for producing and managing a podcast. These are the things I use every single week to plan, produce, and promote my podcast, as well as the clients we serve.
Planning & Management Tools
Planning & Management: Trello
I’ve shared before about my love for Trello, and it hasn’t changed. I use Trello to plan out the content for our episodes as well as keep track of each podcast episode throughout the different phases of production. We can see when the podcast has been recorded, edited, show notes written, etc. by what is checked off on the Trello card.
And the best part? Trello is free and just takes a little getting used to for tracking your podcast production.
Content Planning: Google Sheets
For those who are more into spreadsheets, Google Sheets is another great option for planning your podcast content.
The key, as with any system, is to make sure you are using it consistently. Whether you choose Trello, Google Sheets, or something else entirely, make sure you are referring to it regularly so you can stay on track.
Production Equipment
This is very similar to the mic I’m using currently (the one I am using is no longer available), although for about a year, I recored using the Blue Yeti that I had received as a gift. Since I’m not an audio engineer, I can’t tell you about all the differences. But the ATR2100 is a very popular and affordable microphone that will do the job well.
Recording: GarageBand on a Mac or Audacity or Hindenburg on Mac or PC
Since I have a Mac, I use GarageBand to record my solo episodes, as well as to edit them. Audacity is another great option which I have not used personally, but comes highly recommended. These tools all have a learning curve, of course, but a few YouTube videos and practice will get you going.
Storage: Dropbox
After the audio is recorded, I always upload directly to Dropbox. This allows me to know that I can access that audio file from any device. Plus, it allows for access from other team members, such as an editor or writer, who may need to access the audio files.
I like to structure my audio files according to episode number and also have a “final files” folder where all the final, edited episodes are placed.
Content Writing: Google Docs
While this isn’t technically part of producing the podcast, I did want to mention this important tool. I don’t go a day in my business or podcast without using Google Docs. I use it differently than Dropbox, and primarily I find Google Docs the best for written content.
So for each podcast, we have a folder where we store the show notes template, and then the show notes for each episode. It’s easy to copy the template and start a new document for each episode; but you’ve already got the basics included in the doc.
Promotion Tools
Graphics: Canva
Canva is a not a professional graphic design program, but it is an excellent tool for any of us who are business owners, podcasters, or bloggers who simply want to make nice looking graphics. Canva is free for a basic account and you can create excellent graphics for your podcast with this tool.
Note: if you don’t already have your branding done, I highly recommend doing that first, and then basing your graphics off of your brand. This will create consistency and quality when it comes to your overall business.
Photos: DepositPhotos
There are, of course, plenty of free stock photo sites, and Canva actually includes lots of free stock photos in their program. But personally I like to use DepositPhotos for a lot of my images that I use on social media or my website, since there is a larger variety of photos.
Some of the photos are admittedly quite cheesy, but overall, I like the selection and variety that they offer.
Videos with Podcast Audio: Wavve
One thing that a lot of podcasters like to do is create a short video clip using the audio from their podcast episode. The tool I use to do this is Wavve, and it allows you to create a clip with any image you like, add the audio, and it even creates captions for the video.
Hopefully this list of tools has helped you to see that you don’t have to invest a lot of money in order to create a great podcast. But, it is helpful to have tools and systems that keep you on track and moving forward each week!
These are my favorites, but I’d love to know if you have any you’d add to the list. Comment below to let me know.
