How to Start a Podcast: A Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

Podcast consumption is reaching record highs and inspiring more people to start a podcast of their own. According to Edison Research, 58% of Americans aged 12 and older have listened to or watched a podcast in the past month, with 45% tuning in weekly, both of which are all-time highs. Pew Research puts the figure at 54% of US adults listening in the past 12 months, up from 49% in 2022.

That growth creates opportunity. Comedy, politics, news, and sports were top categories in 2025, but just scroll through Apple Podcasts or Spotify and you’ll find nearly every topic imaginable, from true crime to knitting to B2B software.

“There’s just much more appetite,” says Shuang Esther Shan, senior producer and host of the Shopify Masters podcast. “People want shows that they can listen to and follow along with.” This guide covers everything you need to launch your own podcast, step by step.

How to start a podcast in 10 steps

• Choose your podcast topic and niche
• Define your audience and goals
• Select a format
• Get your podcast equipment and software
• Create your podcast brand
• Write your episode outline or script
• Record your first episode
• Edit your podcast
• Choose a title, description, and artwork
• Distribute your podcast

1. Choose your podcast topic and niche

Choose a category that accurately represents your podcast, then go narrower.

“Ideally, you personally have an interest in this niche,” says Shuang. “You can pulse-check these things with social listening, with keyword research, or with Google Trends to see if the community of people interested in the niche is actually growing.”

Before committing, consider longevity. Ask yourself whether you can produce 20 or more episodes on this topic. Stress-test your concept by outlining at least 20 episode ideas. 

You can also extend your content beyond solo material by bringing on guests. According to Pew Research, most top-ranked podcasts do this, including Lewis Howes’s The School of Greatness, a business and self-development podcast, which has produced more than 1,600 episodes. If you’re planning an interview format, though, ensure you’re able to continuously source guests, says Shuang.

2. Define your audience and goals

Once you decide on a theme, define the purpose behind your podcast. Ask yourself:

• What’s the goal? Do you want to generate leads for a business, build authority on a topic, or earn passive income?
• What’s the “why”? Marry your practical reason with an intrinsic purpose to stay motivated. What message or mission do you want to share?
• Who is your audience? Create a persona representing your target audience. What are their pain points, lifestyles, beliefs, and interests?

Defining your goal shapes how you approach your podcast. For example, if you want to use your podcast as a way to become a thought leader in your field, discuss less-explored topics or share new or even controversial takes on common ones.

3. Select a format

Your podcast format determines how you structure every episode. As you choose, factor in video. “Video isn’t replacing podcast audio; it’s expanding the tent,” says Megan Lazovick, vice president of Edison Research at SSRS. “Whatever your feelings on video podcasts, the data is clear: this is a dual-format medium now.” 

Shuang echoes this: “Right now, being on YouTube offers more discoverability than the audio channels.”

YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world and a strong platform to grow your audience.

Common formats include:

Interviews

Hosts interview individuals who fit within a particular theme. The School of Greatness, for example, features Lewis Howes interviewing influential figures like Michelle Obama and Venus Williams on success and mindset.

Scripted nonfiction

These podcasts follow a single story or theme for an entire season. Serial has explored topics from felony courthouses to Guantánamo Bay across its seasons.

News

News podcasts summarize current events in a quick, digestible format. NPR’s Up First rounds up the top news in about 30 minutes per episode.

Educational

Stuff You Should Know is a scripted, nonfiction podcast that explains topics from plant-based diets to doulas.

Scripted fiction

These highly produced podcasts function like radio dramas. Welcome to Night Vale is a twice-monthly podcast documenting the happenings in the fictional town of Night Vale.

4. Get your podcast recording equipment and software

“A lot of people don’t start podcasts because they’re so intimidated, and they think they need to have the perfect mic, the most ideal pair of headphones in order to start,” says Shuang. “Once you are comfortable [podcasting], then you can think about investing in different gear.”

You can start a podcast with nothing more than a smartphone. Here’s what to consider when you’re ready to upgrade:

Microphones

Microphones range widely in cost. “You can go from $100 to $1,000 very easily,” Shuang says. If you’re just starting out, you don’t need to buy the most expensive microphone. “Plugging in a better microphone will not make your show great overnight; doing more and more episodes will.”

The table below shows options at three price points:

If you have a smartphone with a built-in microphone and camera, that’s enough to get started. “I would urge [people] to literally record themselves on an iPhone with their friends,” Shuang says. “You can even try the video format and see how you want to edit, how you want to produce, and go from there.”

Recording environment

“I just go into a closet, close the door and leave the clothes hanging,” Shuang says. “You want fabric to dampen the sound. It makes a rich and pure sound. There’s no room noise interfering with that sound.” 

Editing software

Free options include Audacity (available on Mac, Windows, and Linux) and GarageBand (Mac only). For AI-assisted cleanup, Adobe Podcast and Descript both offer transcription and audio correction. Audacity supports uncompressed WAV editing and MP3 export for distribution.

Podcast hosting service

A hosting platform stores your audio files, generates an RSS feed, and distributes your episodes to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other directories. Popular options include:

• Buzzsprout. Offers podcast marketing tools and a free plan with two hours of audio per month. Paid plans start at $19 per month.
• Transistor. Includes analytics, a website builder, and embeddable players, starting at $19 per month.
• PodBean. Offers audio enhancement and a free tier (five total hours); paid plans start at $14 per month.
• Spotify for Podcasters. Free hosting directly through Spotify, with built-in analytics and distribution.

RSS feeds

Your hosting platform creates an RSS feed, which is a structured XML file that podcast directories read to pull new episodes. When you publish a new episode to your host, the RSS feed updates automatically, and all directories that subscribe to your feed pick it up.

5. Create your podcast brand

Your podcast brand is how your show looks, sounds, and feels across every platform where listeners find it.

Name your podcast

Your podcast title tells listeners what the show is about from the name alone. A few guidelines:

• Keep it succinct and easy to pronounce.
• Choose a name you enjoy saying out loud.
• Check that no existing show uses the same name.

Tip: Shopify offers a free business name generator to help you brainstorm, or borrow inspiration from “5 Ways To Generate Names for Your Blog.”

Develop your visual identity

Create a consistent visual identity (your podcast logo, cover art, thumbnail art, and podcast webpage) across all channels. Try building a mood board or word list to guide your choices before opening a design tool.

6. Write your episode outline or script

A clear outline gives your episode structure. Start by defining the purpose of the episode and the takeaway for listeners, then build backward. 

A useful episode structure includes:

• Hook (teaser)
• Intro
• Welcome and episode overview
• Ad spot
• Main segment (interview or discussion)
• Call to action
• Outro

For a scripted show, try:

[HOOK] “Last year, a store owner in Austin generated $40,000 from a single podcast episode. Here’s exactly how she did it.”

[INTRO MUSIC + VOICE-OVER] “Welcome to [Podcast Name]. I’m [Host Name], and every week I talk with entrepreneurs who are actively building something. Today’s guest is …”

[MAIN SEGMENT] [Key questions, transitions, follow-ups]

[OUTRO] “Thanks for listening. If this episode helped you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts as it helps others find the show. See you next week.”

Before publishing your first few episodes, record a short trailer that’s two to three minutes long to preview your show’s format, tone, and who it’s for. 

7. Record your first episode

Record three to five episodes before you publish the first one to build a back catalog that new listeners can binge.

Before your first recording session, make a 30-second test recording to catch any background noise, then record 30 seconds of silence to capture the room’s noise print for post-production cleanup. It helps to wear headphones when you start recording, so you can monitor your own sounds, says Shuang. 

For remote guest recording, tools like Riverside.fm and SquadCast record each participant locally and upload separate high-quality tracks.

Don’t forget your intro and outro. These are accompanied by music and are short voice-overs that include the episode number and tagline. As you bank episodes, consider using quotes and other sound bites from previous episodes.

Shopify Masters uses a cold open for audio-only episodes that includes a compelling quote from the guest to hook listeners before the scripted introduction. “You want to grab people in the first 30 to 60 seconds,” Shuang says. “For audio, I want to say the cold open should be 10, if not 15, seconds.”

The video version takes a different approach: “We do almost a sizzle reel, with quotes and narration spliced between with different B-roll guest clips.”

For the outro, try thanking listeners for tuning in, including your tagline, and ending with a call to action. Common options:

• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
• Join our email newsletter.
• Support our show on Patreon.
• Follow us on social media.

For music, use royalty-free tracks from YouTube Audio Library or Free Music Archive.

8. Edit your podcast

Use your first editing pass to shape the content into a cohesive episode. Your second pass cleans up the audio quality.

Transcription services make the process faster. “The most useful tool for me is using transcription services like Descript,” Shuang says. Other AI-powered transcription tools include Wavve.co, Otter.ai, and Fireflies.ai. Transcripts also provide a text layer to move sections around, and they make your podcast more discoverable.

9. Choose a title, description, and artwork

Before you’re ready to release your new podcast, put the final touches to your show:

Episode titles

Podcasts stick to a formula. Darknet Diaries, which documents the internet’s dark side, uses short titles that hint at people or places. Others use episode numbers or summarize key themes. Whatever direction you choose, aim for consistency.

Episode descriptions

Episode descriptions appear below the episode title on every major podcast platform. Aim for about 150 words and include what the episode covers, when new episodes drop, and relevant keywords. To draft a concise summary quickly, feed your transcript to an AI tool like ChatGPT, then edit to match your show’s voice.

Podcast cover art

Apple’s official show cover template specifies a minimum of 1400 by 1400 pixels and a maximum of 3000 by 3000 pixels. Compress files to optimize for mobile, and avoid using heavy text. You can create cover art for free with a Canva template.

10. Distribute your podcast

Once you start a podcast, you need a place to host it for distribution. Your hosting service stores your audio files and creates the RSS feed that syndicates your episodes to directories. Submitting your podcast to the major platforms requires a one-time setup. Here’s how to do it on the three platforms with the broadest reach:

Spotify

• Go to Spotify for Podcasters and sign in or create an account.
• Select “Add your podcast” and enter your RSS feed URL from your hosting platform.
• Verify ownership via the email address associated with your RSS feed.
• Fill in your podcast’s category, language, and cover art.
• Submit. 

Apple Podcasts

• Sign in to Podcasts Connect with an Apple ID.
• Click the “+” button and enter your RSS feed URL.
• Apple validates your feed and displays a preview. 
• Review it and submit.

YouTube

• Create or sign into a YouTube channel dedicated to your podcast.
• For video podcasts, upload episodes as standard video files (MP4 recommended).
• For audio-only shows, create a single image with your audio track.
• Add episode title, description, and relevant tags to each upload.
• Enable the “Podcast” playlist type in YouTube Studio to give your show a dedicated podcast page.

Promote and grow your podcast

Expect to grow your podcast following largely independently of your existing social media audience.

“I thought I would grow my subscriber count pretty quickly because I had 10,000 to 20,000 followers on Instagram—that they would come and watch my YouTube videos. And they didn’t. They really didn’t,” says James Hoffmann, content creator and entrepreneur at Square Mile Coffee Roasters.

Create short social media clips

You can draw listeners in with a good soundbite, like a surprising fact, a funny one-liner, or a sharp exchange. “I use an AI tool called OpusClip that takes a long-form video and automatically cuts it down to 30-, 60-, 90-second clips for you,"”Shuang says.

Here’s an example of a YouTube Short of a Shopify Masters episode: 

Launch a podcast website

A podcast website gives you a direct channel to listeners outside platform algorithms. Embed podcast episodes alongside transcripts (which helps with organic search), share episode notes in a blog, and grow an email mailing list. 

Build one with a no-code website builder like Shopify, then connect to apps like a print-on-demand service to sell merchandise without needing to keep any stock. 

Leverage your guests’ social media following

Guests can extend your reach to audiences that already trust them. Make sharing easy by creating pre-made assets, such as audiograms, quote cards, or pull quotes, that guests can post directly to their own social media accounts.

How to monetize your podcast

“From my perspective, monetization is building up your audience and building up your presence so that sponsors and advertisers want to invest in you,” Shuang says.

Ad spending on podcasts will increase 9.6% in 2026, up from 7.9% growth in 2025, according to a forecast by the IAB. Nearly 57% of marketers surveyed expect to put more emphasis on creator-focused ads and partnerships. 

Here are some ways you can monetize your podcast at every stage.

Sell merch

You can sell branded merchandise like shirts, tote bags, and hats with your logo or a recurring theme from your podcast episodes through a print-on-demand service. 

Scared to Death, a show documenting spooky situations, sells shirts and accessories featuring figures from the episodes. You can also source products from other brands to complement your podcast theme.

Sell digital products

You can also sell digital products that complement your show. For example, a knitter who covers new projects in each episode can sell the patterns through Shopify Digital Downloads, so listeners can create what they see on the show.

Ask for donations

Add a Buy Me a Coffee or Ko-fi link to your podcast webpage and encourage listeners to help keep the show running. 

Offer memberships

Shopify’s subscription options let you build recurring revenue directly from your store. For a monthly fee, members can receive bonus episodes, behind-the-scenes content, or early access. Patreon is a standalone alternative with its own built-in community tools.

Affiliate marketing

Podcasters can also earn money from affiliate marketing, where they promote products from different companies and receive a percentage of the sales.

Start recording, then keep going

Starting a podcast means putting yourself out there, and that takes more than equipment. Shuang grappled with imposter syndrome at the start. “I didn’t go to journalism school,” she says. “But what I liked was just getting to know people and having conversations. That was much stronger than my imposter syndrome.

“From the outsider’s perspective, it looks easy, because you’re assuming you just show up and talk. It’s not just a half-hour conversation. It’s research, it’s prep, it’s practicing, it’s narrating, it’s also post-production, editing, producing. Those are elements you can improve over time,” she says.

Start by browsing Apple Podcasts or Spotify for shows doing what you want to do. Note what stands out and what you’d do differently. If you have a microphone, record a short episode introducing yourself and your podcast idea. You don’t have to publish it, but getting that first recording done is the first step.