I am apart of this group because I want to see veteran podcasters succeed. I am by far no expert, but I have got a few years of experience. I am going to take a moment and share some of the things I feel is valuable resources to help you. I will break this down in several different posts to keep it simple.
First is equipment, without it your in trouble. So what do you need, does it cost thousands? these are some common and good questions. What kind of mic should I use? How much should I spend on equipment?
All of those are questions you probably have and should be asking. I started out by doing the wrong things because I did not know what questions to ask. That is ok, but only if someone benefits from that mistake so lets get into it.
Lets look at things in an order from most important to least. The number one thing and the most important is audio.
Audio consists of your Mic, Your surroundings, and how it is delivered to your CPU or digital recorder. Please don’t take this as the all be all. You literally can start podcasting with a phone. If that is all you can afford or don’t want to invest money until you know if you will like it, than that is fine. Its more important that your doing it than not doing it. You can always add equipment later, but if you want to start out with a better set up than lets get into.
Mic’s Dynamic or Condenser. These are the two different types of mics. A dynamic mic is great for picking up loud noises such as live performances with instruments such as drums. Condenser mic is better for picking up the softer sounds such as a studio. Both will work but have some major differences. Things like the diaphragm, and how the sound is transferred. The biggest thing I want to make you aware of is Condenser mics will require 48 volts also known as phantom power. This means you will need to use either a soundboard/mixer or an external power source. If you would like to know more of the details on how both work here is a good article to read on the differences.
I will show you the mics I have used and the pros and cons.
This is my current Microphone: PROAR XLR Microphone Cardioid Condenser Microphone XLR with 25mm Large Diaphragm for Computer PC 
This mic provides great sound and reduces noises that come from behind it. The price is around 75.00 and is a condenser mic that will require phantom power. I love how small it is and does not take up the whole screen when your streaming. The mic is very sturdy and has held up to a few drops. One of the cons is the bracket that it mounts into does not like to stay tight and requires tightening periodically. This was a great upgrade from the mic I had. If your not looking to spend a ton than you can read more about it from the link below.
What I entered the podcasting world with: Donner Podcast Equipment Bundle, Podcast Kit Music Production Equipment with Audio Interface/Soundboard, All-in-One Podcast Kit with Condenser Microphone for PC/Phone/Pad for Streaming/Recording 
It comes with a sound board, however in this episode we are discussing Mics. The mic that comes with this is great if your testing podcasting out. You will quickly learn that having this mic will require additional time editing. It pics up background noise and if you move to the side of it, you will hear the loss in your sound. Donner is a great entry level product and this set up will only run you about 50 bucks. The soundboard has phantom power on it to power the mic. If you want to read more about this set up and are interested in it because of the low entry level price you can click on the link and see it on Amazon. For the price it is a great set up.
I am going to provide you some mics that are very popular and provide a lot of quality to your sound. I have not used some of these, however they have great reviews.
Most common: Blue Yeti Microphone (Blackout) with Knox Boom Arm Stand, Pop Filter and Shock Mount Bundle, USB. I personally am not a fan of USB mics. Main reason is if you have a guest that your interviewing live you will need some software to allow a second mic. It creates headaches, however if your alone or having guests virtually this is one of the best mics out there. We are not talking Joe Rogan level but for the price you won’t beat it. 
If you are interested in it they run around 170.00 and you can pick them up on amazon as well.
The bottom line is listeners will watch a show with bad video, however they will never listen to a show with bad audio. Once you have an audio set up that is good for you, you will probably not change it too much or too often. This is two reasons why I recommend spend the larger budget on Audio. Video upgrades all the time and modern phones have became almost movie quality recording. This is why I don’t recommend spending the largest part of your budget on video as you will probably upgrade more often. With that being said I will cover Video and Studio Set up in the next article.
Donald Dunn
Spirits and Stories with Donald Dunn Podcast.
