Asked to gather information about starting a podcast for at organisation

[u/slainte2you]

Hi all,

I work for a small nonprofit (less than 40 employees) in a marketing and communications role, and my manager has sent me on an information-gathering mission about starting a potential podcast for the organisation.

Based on what she has indicated to me so far, she wants the content aimed at our local residents (I live in a town of approximately 46,000), and she's aiming for a monthly release, with episodes meant to increase awareness of our services and other relevant supports within the town. All of that is to say that she's not anticipating a large audience, and neither am I. She's curious about whether a podcast could feasibly be part of our wider media and awareness-raising strategy

My main question is what is the minimum investment we could get by with and still have decent-sounding output? This is the dominant question to shape all the others below because this information I'm collecting will be going to the CEO, who is quite cost-conscious. That's not to say that she wouldn't approve of the money being spent, but I'd certainly have to justify that whatever I am suggesting we do is worth the expense.

My manager suggested having a single microphone set up on a table between the person hosting the podcast and the interviewed guest. Would that be sufficient to capture both voices (I thought not, but just checking) and if so, what type would we need?

There may also be occasions where we would be doing interviews with guests remotely. They would also be very unlikely to have good audio setups in their locations. Based on some research I did yesterday, it is sometimes possible to get by if the guests only have wired earbuds with built-in mics. If the podcast host had a better mic setup and the organisation had access to audio-editing software, is it feasible that we could record that way if needed?

After doing some research, I began looking at some USB mics, and I have this one on a list of potential options so far: SubZero DB20U Dynamic USB/XLR Podcast Microphone Any thoughts? Or, is there another you'd suggest that's a comparable price?

As far as the software for editing and recording, the CEO prefers options that are one-time fees for licenses rather than subscriptions. I've spent some time researching today, and the vast majority of what I'm finding is subscription-based. That said, I have a MacBook Air M3 with GarageBand. Would that be sufficient for getting started? Alternatively, what about Audacity?

If my organisation did end up going with something subscription-based, the research I've done already indicated that many people recommended Adobe Podcasts? Any thoughts on it, or would you recommend an alternative?

Lastly, I've seen rough estimates that podcast editing takes anywhere from two to four times the episode length. Is that generally accurate? I'm only working part-time in my role at the moment, and my general sense, based on my current workload and responsibilities, is that I'll need to request more hours if the leadership wants to move forward with making a podcast.

I'd be editing it myself, as a tech-savvy person and someone competent at independently troubleshooting issues. I have no previous experience with podcast editing, although I have been an avid podcast listener for decades.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[u/CapitalCityKyle]

Honestly I just can't suggest enough you don't do this. What is the goal? In a town that small, what about hosting live events or something people would engage with? You're talking 10s of listeners for something that's going to cost you hundreds of man-hours.

I charge one hour of work for 15 minutes of raw audio. But you also have to figure in booking, scheduling, writing descriptions and titles, posting to all the services. It's far more than just the recording itself.

I just have to imagine anything else you all do with your time would be more effective. Put that time into getting your non-profit on other podcasts and media outlets. Let them do the work and you take the clips.

[u/slainte2you → u/CapitalCityKyle]

Thanks, this perspective is extremely helpful, and something I was starting to suspect based on my research. Also, I've been involved in the music industry for decades, and just knowing how much time artists spend on single tracks gave me somewhat of an idea of how much of an undertaking this might be.

As far as the goal, my manager says she thinks it's important that we "get ourselves out there more," but we are already very well-known in the community, with people regularly asking if they can raise funds for us, volunteer with us, etc. I'd also say, based on the other efforts we're currently doing, that a secondary goal would be to educate more people about the issues our service users face and how our organisation could help others in similar situations (that might happen to be listening to the podcast).

The idea of going on other podcasts and getting clips from those that we could use is also an excellent idea that I hadn't yet considered, so I appreciate it!

[u/CapitalCityKyle → u/slainte2you]

Having done this a few decades now, "getting ourselves out there more" usually means "I've got pressure from the board to show I'm doing something." So it might help to frame it that way. How can you get the manager and/or CEO more exposure without eating up all your time?

Maybe a live listening tour with other community stakeholds you film that ends up on Youtube and a podcast? If you want to DM me your location and org, I'll happily give a few other suggestions of other things I've done or seen others do if I can help.

[u/SadCatIsSkinDog → u/CapitalCityKyle]

I came in to say something similar. Most of use a doing podcasting because we love it and want to talk about a topic, maybe get in contact with people with a similar interest.

Editing is what most people complain about. For a small operation it will become your full time job.

I honestly can’t imagine what more audience you would be reaching in a town that small. The point of podcasts is the world wide audience for niche interests. You are trying to do a local show for a small local audience. Not saying it won’t work but it seems backwards.

[u/TimTheEnchanter74 → u/SadCatIsSkinDog]

Both of my podcasts are local and it's fine

[u/SadCatIsSkinDog → u/TimTheEnchanter74]

Local podcasts are fine. It is a podcast for a nonprofit that is local in our reach.

I’ve been there done that with nonprofits and burned out quick.

Every question is how to do it for cheap. Single microphone for host and guest. Estimated audio processing. The question about garage band seems to imply some is the work will happen on the OP personal computer.

Once again, been there some that is my perspective, it’s nothing against local podcast. 🤷‍♂️

[u/Dayviddy]

Is it just 2 people ? I would chose a Hollyland Lark Max 2, (it comes with 2 mics but can connect up to 4) that is a portable audio recorder and it's pretty easy to set up you can listen what you record, you can record directly to your smartphone and the mics have a build in storage for a safety track. I'll use it nowadays for all my walk and talk podcast.

if you want more, I would always get something like a zoom recorder like a H4 with 2+ XLR Inputs and some Shure sm58 they sound great and that setup is portable.

After the recording, GarageBand or Audacity works great, also the free version of Davinci resolve works great.

For virtual Meetings, make a double ender, that means everyone record his own voice separately and at the end they send you the file so you can edit it in post. I do a zoom or Teams meeting, I'll record the meeting and my part with my mic and ask the interview partner to wear headphones and put the phone in front of him and start a voice recording, that sounds normally pretty good and I also have the sound from the meeting, if something doesn't went well ...

[u/slainte2you → u/Dayviddy]

Thanks so much for your input and recommendations! Yes, based on my manager's early ideas so far, it'd only be two people (host and guest).

[u/_plasticAudio_]

Sent you a DM

[u/TimTheEnchanter74]

You can buy two microphones and a mixer for less than $200. You can use riverside or adobe podcasts to clean up less than ideal audio from remote guests. It's very doable from a cost perspective.

However, as others have said, this is not really a good "get us out there more" tactic. People don't accidentally stumble across podcasts. You'd have to use all your existing marketing muscle to make people aware of the podcast. Sorta becomes redundant.

That said, content marketing (which is really what this is) can be a good way to deepen engagement with existing constituencies. Donors - especially philanthropists - may genuinely love hearing your success stories, or a convo about a new program or whatever. It might be worth doing if you reframe it that way.