Whether you’re starting a Christian podcast for your ministry, business, or just for fun, it can seem like a daunting process from the outside looking in.

Luckily, it’s not actually all that hard! We’ve done it multiple times, and have put together a very easy to follow checklist that will guide you through every single step, from start to finish.

So, if you’re wondering how to start a Christian podcast today, here are the 6 steps you’ll need to take.

Step 1: Branding

First of all, why are you starting this podcast? What are you hoping to achieve, and who are you hoping to serve?

There are a variety of questions you’ll need to answer when it comes to WHO you are to your listeners and WHY they’d want to listen to you.

Remember, choosing to listen to a podcast is a MASSIVE commitment for someone to make. Not only are they going to give you 1/24th of their day, but they’re choosing you over some of the most incredible, helpful, and entertaining content creators on the planet today.

You HAVE to stand out and serve.

Here are some of the questions you need to answer before you begin recording:

What angle will you take with your content?
What does your ideal client or listener need to hear?
How will you leave them feeling FULL of value after every episode?
What type of show will you have…solo episodes, interviews with guests, some combination of the two?
How long will the episodes be?
How often will you publish?
How will you ensure you always have topics and guests ready to go? Off the cuff, or will you create a list of podcast ideas?

Once you have the idea part down, you can start thinking about visual and audio branding. BUT…do not get caught up on this stuff yet.

I’ve changed my podcast art and my intro and it really doesn’t make a difference except to improve your show as you dial in your messaging.

In fact, I just started recording episodes for a podcast that doesn’t even have a name yet.

The important thing is to START.

When you know what you want for this stuff, though, there are a few places to get your art done:

Fiverr (art and intro/music)
Upwork (art and intro/music)
99Designs (art)

Now, I wish I could bestow some artistic sensibilities into most Christian podcasters, because very few tend to focus on modern and aesthetically pleasing visuals.

Keep it simple, use clean fonts, use high-res images. Try to make it look like a million bucks so it stands out in a good way, not a “yikes I’m not listening to that” way.

Step 2: Equipment

Some people geek out on equipment, and I’ll let you Google that if you want to spend 20 hours learning the intricacies of audio/visual equipment in order to increase your production quality 10%.

If you don’t have that kind of time, and don’t care, here’s what I recommend when it comes to microphone, headphones, and camera.

To START…you could literally just use your laptop camera and your Apple headphones.

As long as the sound quality is clear, it doesn’t NEED to be a place to spend thousands of dollars.

That said, I would highly recommend getting at least the basics to start, because they don’t cost that much and will instantly vault you into “acceptable” range, even when compared to professionally edited podcasts.

First, grab a Blue Yeti microphone.

Again, if you want to do a bunch of research, go for it. You’ll probably get this or a Rode microphone anyway, but I’ve used the Blue Yeti successfully for years.

If you want to improve your video, you can get a Logitech C900 series camera.

C920, 922, or something similar is fine. It’s not the best, but it’s better than most laptop cameras.

I personally decided to upgrade my video and use a Sony a6400 with a good lens and run it through a Cam Link adapter.

I don’t recommend this for everyone, BUT I do recommend this for people who have a business where perceived quality must be high, because you are selling a high-ticket product.

If you’re selling a high-ticket coaching program, it probably makes sense to make a good first impression. You wouldn’t meet a client in-person looking like a slob, so pay attention to the first impression your setup gives you.

Some people choose to use wired headphones that hook into the microphone. I heard that first on Joe Rogan years ago, and do most of my podcasts like that for a couple reasons.

One, I can hear myself talk at the same volume as the guest I’m interviewing, so I’m less likely to talk over them, and two, nothing is more annoying than your Airpods cutting out during an interview.

I’ve had them die, I’ve had bluetooth disconnect randomly, and it’s jarring and gets you out of the zone.

My goal here is to get you up and running at an acceptable rate as quickly as possible, so again, go with a Blue Yeti, a 1080 Logitech webcam, and potentially a pair of decent studio headphones (I use the Sony MDR-7506).

Step 3: Start Recording

You know what you’re going to talk about, you have the equipment to record yourself…now let’s talk about how to actually record.

First, if you’re recording video, make sure your program allows you to do that.

If you’re doing a solo, audio-only podcast, feel free to use something free like Audacity or Garage Band.

If you’re interviewing, Zoom works in a pinch, so if you’ve already got an account, feel free to use that.

But, I prefer Squadcast or Riverside. The quality is higher and the files are often better to work with when editing, especially if you’re trying to create social clips.

Once you’ve setup whatever program you’re going to use, hit the record button, don’t worry about feeling dumb/nervous/silly at first, and get some episodes done!

Here’s a tip for new podcasters…

Schedule your first 1-5 episodes with people you know well.

You’ll be more comfortable with them, especially if you mess up or need to regroup during the interview, it’ll give you some practice in a low-stakes environment, and if you think the episode sucks, you probably won’t offend your friends if you don’t publish them.

Practice as much as you need to like this.

The single most important factor to improving as a host is to get the reps in…you’ve got to DO it to get better at it.

Once you’re done recording, hit the end recording button and download your file.

Step 4: Edit

Unless you’re in a soundproof room with an amazing audio setup, you WILL want to edit your audio. People will put up with low quality video, but they WILL NOT put up with low quality audio.

It’s way too distracting and annoying.

There’s a few ways to do this.

1. By yourself:

You can use a pretty intense software like Audacity if you’re doing an audio podcast.

You can use a much simpler, less powerful, but easy to use web software like Alitu.

You can use a fairly simple, fairly powerful, and fairly easy full-service audio/video tool like Descript (I recommend this for most people).

You can use highly complex, extremely powerful, difficult to use software like Adobe.

2. Someone on your team:

The same options apply, but now you’re at least offloading the need to learn the tools to someone else, if you think they have the time and capacity and skills to figure it out.

3. Hire an expert:

Or, you can outsource it via a VA, or a podcast editing agency, which is what we do here at Proclaim Podcasting.

When you edit, you need to be looking out for things like

Obvious mistakes
Long silences
Background noise
Matching loudness/levels if interviewing a guest
Adding intro/outro files (and possibly midroll ads)
Figuring out video if you’re doing a video podcast (audio is usually simpler)

So, editing is essential if you want people to keep tuning in, and you’ve got 3 options. Pick the one that works best for you (solo if you have lots of time, your team if you have someone who doesn’t have enough work but you’re paying them already, an agency like us if you want highest quality and have the budget to take all the workload off your plate).

Step 5: Upload and Publish

OK, so you’ve recorded your episode, you’ve edited them, now you need to make sure people can listen to them. Here’s how you get your podcast on Apple, Spotify, etc.

First, pick an audio host (Buzzsprout, Libsyn, Simplecast, etc.).

Sign up for a plan. They’re all pretty cheap, even though they may charge slightly differently. I personally use Buzzsprout and like the interface.

Every host will give you instructions for setting up your feed so that it automatically publishes to all of the podcast players (Apple, Spotify, etc.). Make sure to AT LEAST sign up for Apple and Spotify, but it doesn’t hurt to sign up for all the major ones they offer.

Second, consider writing some show notes, with a quick intro, ideally a list of timestamped chapter/topic markers, and any links you’d like to share (your own social and website links, your guest’s links, resources mentioned in the episode, etc.).

You don’t have to make these fancy, but having decent show notes is basically the cost of entry these days as a podcaster. Don’t skip this step if you want to be taken seriously and not annoy your listeners.

Now, it’s often a no-brainer move to upload your podcast to Youtube if you’re recording video. It’s a whole other thing to figure out, but at the very least, you can hope the algorithm serves your content up to people who will enjoy your podcast while you figure it out later.

If you’re doing Youtube, set up your account, add links and a bio, consider getting a banner image done, and take a minute to go over how to upload videos (super simple).

OK, go back to wherever you edited your podcast, download the audio file and the video file separately.

I also like to download the transcript if your host or website gives you the option to include them. They can be useful for SEO and accessibility on your site.

Find the “Add New Episode” button (or similar) on your audio host, upload the file, add the show notes, give it a title, and schedule it to go live whenever you want to release it.

Do the same on Youtube. Consider creating a playlist for your podcast (you can actually turn a playlist into a podcast on Youtube now), and choose a basic end screen. Again, this part doesn’t really matter right now, but you may as well click a couple of extra boxes now for when you have the time to go all-in on Youtube.

That’s it.

When your episode launches, it’ll automatically be pushed to the major podcast platforms.

Step 6: Marketing

Alright, technically you’ve already done everything necessary to start your Christian podcast.

But, podcasting is not inherently social, like everything else these days (other than Youtube).

So, tell your friends, tell your social media followers, blast out an email to your list.

But remember…word of mouth is (unfortunately or otherwise) the way most podcasts spread. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I regularly listened to a podcast that WASN’T personally recommended to me. Maybe never.

So, the best marketing is to make it good, and make it relevant and valuable to your target audience.

Otherwise:

Make short clips and share on YT Shorts, IG Reels, etc. (fairly easy to do in programs like Descript)
Mention new episodes in a weekly newsletter to your list
Experiment with social posts…I had decent success creating Twitter-style carousel posts for IG where I took 5-10 quotes from my guest and made a carousel
With social, make sure to tag or collab with your guest if you’re interviewing someone
Be a guest on other podcasts and drop your podcast name

Finally, be consistent. Every single success story with podcasting is the result of consistency.

How To Start A Christian Podcast In 6 Simple Steps

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