My Most Recommended
TOOLS TO GROW YOUR PODCAST
On this page you’ll find many of the tools I and my clients use to help improve and grow our podcasts. I hope that you find them as useful as we have and that above all, they help you share your story with a wider audience.
First off, I want to make clear that I have personally used every one of these recommendations, often after struggling with alternatives or trying to hack together workarounds.
While a nerd in many areas of my life (podcasts, ice cream, Star Wars), when it comes to the internet and technology it’s safe to say that I do not fall into that category.
If I can figure out these tools, so can you.
One last thing before we dive into some of my favourite tools I know and trust:
Some of the links below are affiliate links. Basically this means that if you decide to make a purchase through one of these links, I will earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. You can be sure that I would be recommending these products whether or not I made any commission on them (many of them I don’t). Please don’t spend your money on them if you don’t think that they will truly help your improve your podcast, although in my experience, they will.
Web Tools
LIBSYN
To me, Libsyn is hands down the best podcast hosting option available.
Easy to use, lightning fast downloads and the best analytics in the business make Libsyn the media host of choice for almost all the biggest names in podcasting. Unlike many hosting options, Libsyn doesn’t charge you more for an increase in downloads.
We use Libsyn with almost every single one of our clients at Counterweight Creative and have never had a major problem.
Oh, and Rob, Elsie
Use the code “
BLUEHOST
Bluehost is where this site is hosted, as well as pretty much every other site I’ve created – at least once I had some idea of what I was doing online.
Aside from being extremely affordable, Bluehost makes it so easy to get up and running with
Every time I start the process of building a new site, Bluehost is my first stop.
DIVI
Produced by Elegant Themes, Divi is hands down my favorite WordPress theme I’ve ever used. I struggled with sooooo many themes after switching to WordPress from drag-and-drop editors. Divi gives you the ease of use of drag and drop with all the functionality of WordPress.
MAILERLITE
I had been debating between ConvertKit and Mailchimp before asking a client of mine – host of an email marketing podcast – which to go with. She told me to forget about the alternatives and go with MailerLite. It’s free for up to 1000 subscribers, full automation, landing pages, and is quickly gaining momentum.
EASY CONTENT UPGRADES
I was seriously struggling with finding an easy to use, pleasing to the eye method of delivering content upgrades and free downloads to listeners and blog readers. Easy Content Upgrades by Boss Plugins is affordable, easy to customize, and saved me a TON of headaches!
Podcast Software
AUDACITY
Everyone loves free stuff right? Well if that’s the case you’re going to be happy to learn that you have access to an incredibly feature-rich recording and editing piece of software for, well… nothing! While a tad intimidating at first, the internet is awash with Audacity tutorials aimed specifically at podcasters.
ECAMM CALL RECORDER
eCamm works in conjunction with Skype to record your interviews with remote guests. You can separate the recording into distinct files for each guest which can work wonders in post production. It’s extremely affordable but be warned that it only works on Mac. For a Windows alternative take a look at my next recommendation.
PAMELA FOR SKYPE
Pamela is the Windows equivalent of eCamm, allowing you to record a guest remotely through your computer. While their branding may be questionable (hot pink???) the software gets the job done. Pamela offers a free plan which may be enough for some podcasters, but if not, the paid version is extremely affordable.
ZENCASTR
Zecastr is my personal favorite option for call recording, offering better quality guest audio than either eCamm or Pamela. It achieves this by recording each call participants audio locally on their computer and then uploading it to a linked DropBox folder when the call is finished. The only drawbacks are that it currently only works on Chrome, and is does not support mobile.
Podcast Hardware
AUDIO – TECHNICA
ATR 2100
The ATR 2100 is one of the most popular mics among beginning podcasters thanks to it’s great value and combination of USB and XLR outputs. The thing is that I know many podcasters who started with this mic years ago and are still using it hundreds of thousands, or even millions of downloads later.
HEIL PR40
Ok, so maybe you had dreams of being on the radio as a kid (maybe you still do, we don’t judge). The PR40 is a top quality microphone that will help you achieve that classic radio voice you’ve lusted after your entire life. The list of big name podcasters who use this mic is too long to include here so I won’t even start. It’s a seriously great mic.
FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 2i2
The Scarlett 2i2 is one of the most popular USB audio interfaces on the market (their website says the most popular…), and it’s no doubt why. The audio quality for the price is downright awesome. If your setup requires a USB interface, there is none I recommend more highly than the Scarlett 2i2.
ZOOM H4N PRO
This thing is a beast. The H4N is the most popular portable digital recorder in the world thanks to its high-quality onboard stereo mics, additional 2 external microhphone inputs, multi-track recording capabilities, and bomb proof design. I freaking love this thing, and so do many others, in the fields of podcasting, broadcasting, field reporting, live sound and beyond.
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