What’s it about? Podcasts have exploded in popularity, thanks to the ease of finding and listening to them on mobile. And with many podcasts featuring remotely recorded interviews, and so many of us working from home, there’s no better time than now to have a go.

This one-day workshop will take you step by step through the process of creating a podcast using (mainly) your smartphone, from recording and editing, to promotion and sharing. The training is online, using the Zoom platform (free).

So you know, you won’t spend all day listening to a trainer - the workshop will be as interactive as we can make it, so it combines learning with the networking that is always a valuable part of NUJ Training Wales courses.

After a group introduction, participants will undertake a series of exercises, with live access to the tutor for help and advice during the day. Hopefully, you will have the opportunity to practice online interviews with other participants. The day will round off with a group feedback session.

You’ll learn how to plan your podcast, record and trim audio, and mix voice and music to create snappy intros. You can’t escape a little technology in the process, but we’ll keep it to a minimum so you can focus on creating an engaging podcast. You’ll create a podcast on the day, but you don’t actually have to launch it to the world if you don’t want to.

In the time available, we will not be able to cover every aspect of podcast creation in detail. However, a PDF guide together with accompanying video tutorials will help you to take your podcast forward.

Who’s it for? If you have wondered how to create a podcast for your organisation, community news organisation or for your own interest, this workshop will give you a start. Prior experience of audio recording and editing is not required, but as a successful podcaster, you’ll need to feel confident in speaking into a microphone and speaking to guests.

What will I learn? The workshop is divided into three main sections: planning, creating and sharing.

Planning your podcast

• Introduction: What is a podcast anyway?
• Planning a podcast title and niche
• Deciding the style of your podcast
• Creating your podcast
• Recording and editing using the Anchor app
• Options for remote interview recording
• Finding free music for your podcast
• Recording environment and microphone basics
• Creating podcast art and writing podcast titles
• Exporting your podcast as an MP3 ready for sharing
• Sharing your podcast
• Uploading your podcast to a host
• Submitting your podcast to directories including iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play
• Sharing your podcast on social media

What equipment do I need?

To access the workshop (and online tools):

Laptop or desktop computer with reliable wifi connection. Free account with Zoom (zoom.com), with free Zoom application downloaded to your computer.

To create your podcast: Fully-charged smartphone (iPhone or Android) or iPad, with charger and earbuds incorporating microphone. The Anchor podcast app (free for iOS and Android - account set-up will be covered during the workshop). Recommended: Voice Record Pro app (free for iOS and Android).

About the trainer

Dan Mason is a multimedia trainer specialising in online and mobile. He also leads the popular NUJ Training Wales workshop, Shoot and Edit on an iPhone/iPad.

A journalist for over 30 years, Dan was an award-winning editor before establishing his training and media consultancy in 2010. Since then he has worked in over 30 countries throughout the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He is based in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he leads a journalism Master’s programme. In the UK, Dan trains extensively with organisations including the National Union of Journalists, Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, Equity (actors’ union) and Musicians’ Union, as well as the CIPR (Chartered Institute for Public Relations) and government, corporate and PR clients.