How to Start a Podcast: A Beginner's Guide to Gear, Hosting and Audience

What You Actually Need Before Recording

A functioning podcast setup comes down to five elements: a microphone, headphones, recording and editing software, a hosting platform, and cover art, according to a step-by-step guide published by The Podcast Host. The hosting platform is the piece newcomers most often overlook — it stores the audio files and generates the RSS feed that apps like Spotify and Apple Podcasts read to display new episodes.

None of this requires expensive equipment at the start. The Podcast Host's guide notes that a smartphone paired with the free editing program Audacity is enough to produce a first episode at no cost.

Eight Practical Steps to Launch

1. Pick a microphone for your budget. The Samson Q2U, priced around $80, connects via both USB and XLR and is recommended over alternatives such as the Blue Yeti for sound quality and cost, per The Podcast Host.
2. Choose recording and editing software. Audacity is free but has a learning curve; Alitu (about $38/month) automates noise reduction and bundles hosting; professionals may use Adobe Audition, Hindenburg or Reaper.
3. For interviews recorded with remote guests, use a platform built for that purpose, such as Riverside, Zencastr, Descript or Iris.fm.
4. Sign up with a hosting provider that distributes your RSS feed automatically. Options named in The Podcast Host's guide include RSS.com (free tier, paid plans under $12/month), Captivate (around $40/month, growth analytics), Transistor and Castos.
5. Design cover art at 3000 x 3000 pixels in PNG or JPG format — the size Spotify and other major directories require, per Buzzsprout's submission guide.
6. Record a 60-to-90-second trailer plus one to three full episodes before going public, so listeners have something to binge on day one, The Podcast Host advises.
7. Submit your RSS feed (or publish directly) to Spotify for Podcasters, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and other directories your host supports.
8. Set a realistic length for each episode based on the value of the content rather than a fixed target — The Podcast Host categorizes episodes as short (under 20 minutes), medium (20–45 minutes) or long (45-plus minutes).

Equipment and Software by Budget

The Podcast Host's guide groups startup costs into three rough tiers, from a smartphone-only setup to professional-grade gear with paid hosting.

Getting Onto Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Other Apps

Spotify for Podcasters offers two paths. Creators starting a brand-new show log in, upload their first audio file, add episode details, and publish directly inside the platform. Creators who already host a show elsewhere instead submit their existing RSS feed, verify ownership through an 8-digit code emailed to them, select a category, and submit for review — a process Buzzsprout's guide says is typically approved within 24 hours and costs nothing.

Technical requirements matter at submission: Buzzsprout's guide specifies MP3 audio between 96 and 320 kbps and cover art at 3000 x 3000 pixels. Most independent hosting providers push the same RSS feed automatically to Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and other apps once it is set up, according to The Podcast Host — so creators generally configure distribution once rather than uploading separately everywhere.

Setting Growth Expectations

On early download numbers, The Podcast Host cites an analysis of more than 114,000 shows: episodes in the top 50% of performers get at least 28 downloads, the top 25% get at least 101, and the top 10% get at least 413. The guide frames these as realistic early benchmarks rather than universal targets, since comparisons across shows of different ages and niches are unreliable.

For ongoing growth, The Podcast Host outlines a five-part framework it calls SCALE: Syndication (distributing to every app listeners use), Communities (building relationships with other podcast creators), Advertising (spending strategically inside podcast apps), Live events, and Email (direct contact with the audience outside any single platform).

Why the Audience Keeps Growing

The market a new show enters is large and still expanding in the United States. Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2026 survey — the 28th annual edition, sponsored by SiriusXM Media and presented March 12, 2026 — found that 58% of Americans aged 12 and older, roughly 167 million people, had consumed a podcast in the past month, a record for the series. Weekly consumption reached 45%, about 130 million people, according to the report, which surveyed 2,050 people in January 2026 and was summarized by the industry outlet PPC Land.

The same report found monthly listening skewed slightly male (62% of men versus 54% of women) and was highest among listeners aged 35 to 54, at 68%, per PPC Land's summary of the Edison figures.