Make sure to select the right audio settings before you begin recording. Technical glitches can ruin an otherwise perfect podcast, so start by making a few sample recordings to test the software, adjust volume levels appropriately, and make sure everything works.

Set the sample rates for your recording. In Audacity, for instance,

1. Click File > Preferences,
2. Cclick the Quality tab.

If music factors heavily into your podcast, however, consider higher rates, but keep in mind the resulting file will be larger.

Many people also like to incorporate sound effects into their podcasts. If you want to import sound effects or intro and outro music with Audacity, you need to first record your podcast, then locate the audio on your computer's hard drive, and finally bring the audio into the program by clicking on the 'import audio' tab in the project menu.

With Propaganda or ePodcast Producer, you can add intro music, sound effects, and other audio into your podcast in real time, as well as other features that let you produce your podcast as if you were in a radio studio.

It goes without saying that if you include music in your podcast, you should respect copyright laws.

Try to keep your show casual, conversational, and continuous. And remember that if you make mistakes, you can always edit them out later.

Once you've recorded your show, you might identify some parts that you'd like to remove, like long stretches of silence, or mistakes that you'd like to clean up.
Whether you are using Audacity, Propaganda, or ePodcast Producer, editing your sound file is an easy fix, and works the same way in both programs.

1. To find stretches of silence, just look for areas in the voice track where the waveform becomes an almost straight line.
2. Take your cursor and highlight the region that you want to remove (much the same way you select text in a word processor).
3. Verify that this section is the one you want removed by hitting play and listening to it.
4. Hit delete.
5. Then listen to that portion of the track to make sure that the deletion hasn't caused any clicks or other undesirable effects. If you're dissatisfied for any reason, undo the edit and try again.

After you've cleaned up the file, the next step is for you to combine your tracks into a final mix. To mix your podcast in Audacity, choose Project -> Quick Mix. This combines everything you've recorded into a single stereo track. Generally you will save mix as an uncompressed WAV or AIFF file (either one will work). That will give you a 'master' file to work from and a backup in case you have a problem exporting to MP3.

Before mixing to a single stereo track, carefully review the balance of your voice and any music or sound effects. This is your one chance to alter the relative levels between your voice and any other audio tracks you've added.

The last step is to take your final mix and convert it into an MP3 file - the standard format of all podcasts. To do this, open your final mix in your recording software, and export the file as an MP3.
To do this in Audacity, you simply choose File -> export as MP3. Be sure to export using a 32Kbps to 64Kbps bit rate. You will be prompted to name the file, and pick a location to save it on your computer.

In Audacity, when exporting an MP3, this is your chance to add ID3-tag info: your name, the name of the podcast, and so on. Be sure to enter this info because without it, listeners won't be able to find your show on their MP3 players.
Podcasting software like Propaganda is a bit more intuitive, and allows you to save the file with some additional information that will help you with your next step: publishing your podcast.

Due to patent restrictions, Audacity cannot automatically export MP3 files by itself. In order to export your file as an MP3, you'll have to download the libmp3lamelibrary and choose a location for it (preferably your Audacity directory). The first time you export a file as an MP3, Audacity will ask you to locate your MP3 encoder. Point Audacity to wherever you saved the file, and you're off.

Make your podcast jazzier and more professional by adding loops, snippets of music used for everything from opening the show to introducing specific segments. Find thousands of freely available loops at Flash Kit.