I've just added a new article on things to consider when first Planning for your Podcast. I go over choosing a show format, basic questions to ask to help you identify your audience, and some legal issues you should know if you plan to include music.

In my new article, Microphone Technique for Podcasters, I talk about finding your microphone's "sweet spot," warming up your voice, pacing your lines, and a special technique that helps me sound like I am really talking to each person in my audience. Please feel free to check it out here.

Podcasting continues to gain acceptance and go mainstream. Urban Outfitters is jumping on the podcast bandwagon with a podcast kit, and they are definitely marketing the hip, cool angle (they don't even mention any technical specs other than Mac / Win compatible).

The microphone in the picture is an Alesis. I sure hope it's a USB microphone, because they don't mention or show an audio interface...

Podscope is a search engine that scans the audio of Podcasts, listens for keywords, and allows you to search for topics based on what is in the audio of the file. You can select snippets of audio from the results to help you decide whether the podcast is relevant, or something that you might even want to subscribe to. You can also download a search box that lets your own audience search your podcast using Podscope. Check it out here.

If you are within driving distance of New York, and are free on April 25th and 26th, you could consider dropping in for Podcamp NYC 2.0, a free “unconference”, on podcasting, blogging, social networks, and new media.

From their site: "Podcamp NYC is focused on educating participants on how to use, implement and share all new media tools including, podcasts, videocasts, blogs, Second Life, Facebook, and YouTube. The conference is FREE to attend and you’re a “participant” versus an “attendee” at our event."

My new article, How to Listen to Podcasts, breaks the basics down for those just starting to listen to podcasts, but seasoned podcast listeners and producers may also want to check out the lists of alternate (not iTunes) podcatcher software and some of the big podcast directories.

Berklee School of Music is currently offering a free sample lesson on their website which includes clear explanations of the three most important effects used in Podcasting: EQ, Compressors, and Limiters.

There is an especially good animation which demonstrates what a compressor does to audio files to make it sound tighter and louder. Notice: registration for the site is required. After you create a login, you will be taken to the lesson page.

Check out my new article detailing some of the hard-won tips and tricks I have found to be useful in getting the most out of my voice recordings. If anyone has a tip they would like to add, feel free to leave a comment on this post.

With many new podcasts starting every day, great content is the best way to differentiate yourself as a podcaster and help build a loyal audience. For most of us, great content starts with making good plans and thinking about our format and audience before we begin to produce.

Donna Papacosta of Trafalgar Communications has put together a fantastic checklist of things to consider when planning a new podcast. The list could also be useful for someone who would simply like to check their podcast against it, and see if anything could be further fine-tuned. Thanks, Donna, for making this resource available to us.

If you are recording with Audacity or another software which supports VST plug-ins, Kjaerhus Audio offers a free, high quality set of VST effects. The Classic Series effects all faithfully emulate hardware effects boxes, and include a compressor, EQ, master limiter, and reverb, among others.

One of the cool things about these plug-ins is they have some useful presets to get you started, but if you want to go further and learn what the different knobs do, you will have a great foundation of knowledge to operate hardware effects units of the same effect type.