Planning Your Podcast

Anatomy of an Podcast

Your podcast will be composed of a number of elements. You will need to create each of the elements to put them all together to form your final podcast.  In general, the basic elements include:

• (Optional) Album art - the image that will show up on each of your podcast episodes. It should be something that gives some indication of what the podcast show is about.
• (Optional) Intro Segments - The audio segement that everyone hears at the beginning of each podcast episode. Generally, the info in th show intro segment includes a welcome message, the podcast name, and any opening music. The info in the episode intro segment would include a teaser about what is covered in that episode, along with possibly the episode date.
• Main Segment(s) - One or more audio pieces that form the main part of the episode. If you chose not to do a separate episode intro, you could include that info in the main segment(s).
• Outro Segment- the audio segment that everyone hears at the end of each podcast episode. Normally, the info in this segment includes a wrap up, summary of the episode, a teaser of what will be in the next episode, a thank you/goodbye message
• (Optional) Background music or other sounds to liven up your podcast. 

If you include all the tracks mentioned above, you should end up with something that looks like this:

Getting Organized

To save you time and effort, it's a good idea to organize your workspace before you begin.  You should create a folder on your computer and name it with the podcast show name. Inside that folder, create a new folder for each episode of your podcast.  You can store files that pertain to each episode into the appropriate episode folders.  Items (such as your album art and show intro/outro files) can be saved into the podcast show folder.  It would also be good if you created a naming scheme for all the files you'll be collecting. For example, the script for episode one could be named  showname_episode1_script.doc.  That way, if your files get misplaced, you'll easily be able to tell what show and episode each file belongs to. Believe me, you'll be glad you did. 

You might also want to download this handy Podcast Planner document.  In it, you will be able to type up your scripts for your podcast episodes, add information about where you got your music or sound effects, etc.  During podcast production, all this info will come in handy as you produce your show. Finally, if you're aiming for an A+ podcast, check out this rubric to help guide your efforts!

Create the Intro

There are two ways you can go with the intro piece. One is to create a general intro that you could use at the beginning of every podcast episode. A general intro is not episode specific. Think of it as the piece that identifies your podcast show - complete with a description of your podcast and any opening music that will set the tone of your podcast. The other way is to create a new intro for each podcast episode. This type of intro would include the general intro information plus, the podcast episode name and date as well as your welcome/hello message and an overview of the episode.

• write script for your general / specific intros
• (optional) find the music or sound effects you'd like to include in the intro - Good places to locate free audio files include Library of Congress American Memory, Podsafe Audio, the Internet Archive, and KidsClick Sound Search.
• save files to appropriate show/episode folder with the appropriate name.

Create Main Segment(s)

include written directions; screencast of same steps would also be nice

• write the script for each segment - your script could be a simple list of key points you wish to discuss, or you could write out exactly what you are going to say for every moment. 
• (optional) find music or other sound clips you want to include - see Library of Congress American Memory, Podsafe Audio, the Internet Archive, and KidsClick Sound Search.
• save your files with appropriate names into the appropriate episode folder.

Create the Outro

As with your Intro, there are two ways to go with your outro.  You can create a general outtro that applies to all your episodes or an episode specific outro.  Either way, you'll want to:

• write the script for your general/specific outro(s)
• (optional) find music or other sound clips you want to include - see Library of Congress American Memory, Podsafe Audio, the Internet Archive, and KidsClick Sound Search.
• save your files with appropriate names into the appropriate show/episode folder.

Create Your (Optional) Album Art

Most podcasts use the same album art for every episode in the podcast show. This helps identify your podcast show to your listeners. You could create your album art using a drawing/paint program or you could use a photograph or other digital image that you created or found. Once you've created or found your image, log in to Internet Archive and upload it so you can get a link that you will add to Feedburner for your show!