I meet a lot of people who say they really want to make a podcast, but they haven't done it yet.
There can be many reasons for this, but one that comes up often is content. They know what they want to do a podcast about, but they tell me they don't have enough material to talk about.
They don't have the inside scoop on a murder trial, they haven't found erotica written by one of their parents, they don't blog or vlog, and they don't have the letters after their name which gives them the authority to talk about their subject.
Now while it may be that they have none of those things, what they are lacking is not content. What they are actually lacking is confidence. And by this I don't mean being brave enough to talk into a microphone, I mean confidence in what they already have.
And sometimes all you need to get that confidence is a change in perspective.
Most people want to make a podcast about something they are passionate about. And this means you already live and breathe it. So start by looking at yourself and get out your phone.
Look through your emails, your social media posts, and your shared articles and videos. Compile a document of your rants and raves, and those everyday messages are suddenly the raw material that with a little editing and rearranging will become scripts or at the very least give you ideas for topics of conversation.
Go through your gallery and take the audio from any videos you made while at related events, and now you have an authentic and original source of sound effects and background noise, if not soundbites and mini-interviews: The guy you filmed at ComiCon as he told you about his homemade Optimus Prime Suit? That is golden nugget waiting to be mined for your CosPlay Podcast; The video you made of the fans outside the hotel where One Direction were staying will give your fancast story atmosphere and ambience; And those video messages your friends sent you via Whatsapp when you were at your lowest point can be powerful moments as you document your recovery.
And if you have one of those call recording apps you may already have a wealth of audio in there as well (though you do need to get the permission of whoever is on the call with you to be able to use it).
So now you have content.
Actually, you had it all along. So go make something.
