My Podcasting Gear, Setup, and Process – Lean Blog Podcast

7

I often get asked “what do you use to produce your podcasts?” So, while this might not be of interest to all, I thought I'd put it in a blog post that I could refer people to as a starting point. I hope that sharing this will help people realize that podcasting isn't that hard and it doesn't require any expensive gear.

I hope we'll see even more Lean podcasting, just as we've seen an explosion of Lean blogging. When I started, I relied on the book Podcasting For Dummies. It was published in 2008 and hasn't been updated, I believe. You can probably find good online resources, or even podcasts about podcasting, I bet.

Updated May 2020

Recording

What hardware and software do I use for recording?

Computers

I started doing my podcasts in 2006 using a Windows laptop, but have since converted to Mac. In my home office, I use a 27″ iMac and, for the times when I record or produce from the road, I use a 13″ MacBook Pro (the 2015 edition, before they ruined the machine by taking away the ports and changing the keyboard… but I digress).

Microphones

You will probably want to upgrade from your laptop's built in microphone. I started with a fairly basic headset mic and earphone combo, sort of like this (about $15). You can get these with a USB connector or separate mic/headphone inputs. My MacBook doesn't have a separate mic input, so USB headsets or mics seems to be the way to go for many users. I probably used that headset for about my first 30 or 50 podcasts.

I bought a separate dedicated USB mic that I used probably through about Podcast #120 or so, it was a Blue Microphones Snowflake USB Microphone. I think the sound quality was better and this was a portable unit that easily fit into my travel computer bag. It was probably due to all the travel, but the mic's casing cracked and the microphone literally came apart on me after two or three years. But still, it was about $90 then and it's only about $50 now. I'd still recommend the mic, if you take care of it, as Blue is a well-regarded brand (their Blue Microphones Snowball USB Microphone is less portable, but supposedly a little better).

Today, I'm using, connected to my iMac, a Audio-Technica AT2020 USB Condenser USB Microphone. It's about $100 on Amazon. I have it set up with a heavier desktop stand ($12), a shock mount ($30), and a pop filter ($15).

I later switched to a boom arm that mounts to the side of my desk ($25)

Since I'm playing around with an audiobook version of my book Lean Hospitals, I built a homemade “sound booth” to enclose the mic (basically like this) to reduce echoes from my office's walls. It's easier to put a box around the mic (and take it down) than it is to put soundproofing up all over the room. This is probably overkill for podcasts, but it was only about $35 of materials to make it myself. I call this my “Minimum Viable Booth” as the foam isn't yet trimmed or glued into place. 2020 Update: I generally don't use this now.

To eliminate any possible echo when recording, I plug in and use a pair of in-ear earbuds (into the jack on my external speakers). More recently, I've started using my AirPods, which I love, to connect to either Mac. 2020 Update: When using Zoom, echo hasn't been an issue generally, so I've gone without the AirPods recently.

Software

I am using Zoom.us, which has built-in recording for calls, as it records each person's audio in separate tracks, which helps with sound leveling and editing. Zoom also records video for when I also post the video on YouTube (like this one).

Before Zoom, I used Skype for Mac (free) and a plug in called Call Recorder from Ecamm ($20). Back in Windows land, I used software called PrettyMay ($25).

What I liked about Call Recorder is that it records me and the guest in separate tracks. If you listened to that raw recording, you would hear me in the left ear and my guest in my right. Call Recorder has a utility that will split those into separate files, so the final product can have the volume balanced out and you hear each of us in both the left and right audio channels. Again, Zoom records as separate tracks too.

When I have lined up a guest, I can initiate a Skype-to-Skype call if they are a Skype user (now it's a Zoom video call). The sound quality is best when we can do this, as it sounds like we are in the same room. My podcast with Paul Akers is an example of Skype-to-Skype. I can also use Skype and Call Recorder to place and record a phone call out to a regular phone for guests who don't use Skype. Calling somebody within the U.S. costs about 2 cents per minute. The sound quality is better when calling to a landline phone (like my podcast with Bob Lutz), while the sound quality is generally fairly lousy when calling to a cell phone.

Producing

I don't spend too much time on post-recording production. Most of the time, my guests and I record straight through as a single take, with any verbal stumbles being left in. I sometimes cut out any long pauses that are there before or after a question. I could probably get better at adjusting and tweaking sound levels in my podcasts, but the benefit to time ratio doesn't seem good. Update: In 2015, I started taking better advantage of “leveling” and “normalizing” tools in Audacity.

For sound editing (or for recording directly into the Mac), I use another piece of free software called Audacity. I started using this back in Windows land and it was an easy transition to the Mac version. I have tried Garage Band and others swear by it, but I have found Audacity to be easier to use.

With Audacity, I can combine the podcast interview tracks with my intro music, my introduction track, “bumper music,” and my outro music.

2019 Update: I've started using software called Hindenberg Journalist and I think it works better for these purposes. It was $95 but seems worth it. I sometimes use Audacity for noise reduction, if needed, and then do final editing in Hindenburg.

The announcer who introduces me is my friend Steve Sholtes, a multi-talented fellow who has done some voice work for his local NPR station back home in Detroit. So this was free (annoyingly, Steve wouldn't let me pay him). If you want an announcer, get a friend with a good voice or you can pay to have somebody so this online. The intro music, which I also use for the “bumper” transition between my intro and the interview is a piece of “royalty-free” music I found online. You can either pay for a royalty-free track or you can find free tracks that are also royalty-free.

I use Hindenbug to publish the finalized podcast as an MP3 file. For a while, I was using Garage Band to output an AAC file that I was publishing as a separate podcast feed through iTunes. AAC files are smaller than MP3, but MP3 is the most flexible format and I decided that doing an extra version was a bit of overprocessing that didn't add much value (nobody ever complained about me stopping the AAC version).

Uploading and Hosting

Since 2009, I've been blogging on the WordPress platform, which has some built-in podcasting tools I probably could be taking advantage of. But, when I was blogging on the Blogger platform, I had to find a separate podcasting host service and it works, so I've stuck with it.

Originally, I paid $9.95 a month to use a service called Hipcast to host my files. I log into Hipcast and upload the MP3 file along with some descriptive text. Hipcast then allows me to:

  • Publish the podcast into an RSS feed (which I run through the Feedburner service)
  • Push the podcast to the iTunes Store (I had to set up a podcaster account through iTunes, which is free)
  • Embed a streaming audio player into my blog (I create a blog post / web page for each podcast)

I also share MP3 file as a link from Hipcast's hosting. Hipcast has basically given me, for my purposes, unlimited disk space and bandwidth, even as I'm over 300 podcasts.

2020 Update: Last year, Hipcast had a tech meltdown for a while, so I moved over to a more premium host called Podbean.com. I can share an embed and direct MP3 link as I did with Hipcast. Podbean allows me to insert my own “house ads” that I can use to promote my books, etc. I can also earn a bit of income from other ads, if I want. Podcast costs more than Hipcast, but it's a bigger company and I trust their product more. I blogged about this.

Also, I have a checklist that I have used and modified over time, especially when I was doing the separate AAC version of the podcast, to help prevent skipping a step in this overall publishing process.

Counting Listeners

One question I often get is “how many people listen to each episode?” Counting visitors to a web page is very easy and straightforward (although just because somebody loads a blog page, it doesn't mean they read it).

Podbean and Apple give me download counts, but I'm not sure how reliable the counts are. Downloads don't equal the number of listeners. Let's say somebody shares the MP3 on an internal computer network or other sites…

It seems each new episode currently has about 1,000 downloads that happen in the first few days. This is probably from people who subscribe via iTunes or other platforms where the podcast is automatically downloaded.

Some random episode stats, as of 2/5/12:

  • #137, Jerry Bussell (2/3/12): 800 downloads (the newest podcast)
  • #135, Dan Markovitz (1/2012): 3000
  • #116, Jim Womack (3/2011): 7000
  • #115, Eric Ries (3/2011): 5400
  • #58, Steve Spear (1/2009): 6400
  • #47, Norman Bodek (6/2008): 4700

2019 Update: Typical episodes now get about 5000 downloads in the first month after release.

I have to give Norman Bodek credit because it was his suggestion, in early 2006, to “do a lean radio show” that turned into this podcast. He was my very first guest and he remains a very dear friend.

A photo of my overall setup in 2012:

I should clean up my desk enough to take a photo of my 2018 setup, but it's not much different other than being in a different (and I don't use the foam box really).

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Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. His latest book is Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. He also published the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.

7 Comments
  1. Dwain Scott says

    Thanks for the info.
    I am going to forward this to my sister since she is wanting to start her own podcast about coupon’s.
    Good idea on the homemade sound booth will cut down on any of the back ground noise. I look forward to the audio book for my commuting college.

    1. Mark Graban says

      Thanks for asking the question, Dwain. I’ve given similar (shorter) answers to people via email many times, so it was about time that I posted a standardized and more complete response on the web.

      This way, I might also get ideas and suggestions from listeners who are also podcasters.

  2. Chad says

    I think this demonstrates that podcasting doesn’t have to be a huge investment. I had always wondered about simple software solutions for recording calls and inserting sounds as well as acoustic setups. I haven’t done any phone interviews in seven years, and I used a land line with a splice to a mini-tape recorder – stuff good for collecting data from interviewees but not creating recordings for public consumption. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Mark Graban says

      That reminds me, Chad, to add a few notes about using Skype to call out to regular phones…

  3. Frank Miller MD says

    Dear Mr. Graban: just a picayune question. Where did you obtain the ‘cone’ over the mic, or how did you make if it is self made?

    1. Mark Graban says

      Dr. Miller – see in the post for the description of the “sound booth” that I made.

    2. John Dunagan says

      Dr. Miller:

      That’s not a cone. It’s a flat circle called a pop filter, and it mutes the pops and clicks in one’s voice, that don’t translate well to digital audio. Most podcasters have one. They’re like $20.

      Hope this helps,
      John Dunagan

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