The podcast world keeps growing every year. In Turkey, podcast listening rates climbed above 40 percent in 2025, and the trend is showing no signs of slowing in 2026. Whether you want to share knowledge, grow your personal brand or build a new revenue stream, starting a podcast has never been this easy or accessible. In this guide, we answer the question of how to start a podcast from A to Z.
What Is a Podcast and Why Should You Start One?
A podcast is audio content published over the internet that can be listened to whenever you like. Unlike radio, there is no need to broadcast live; listeners can tune in to whichever episode they want, whenever they want.
5 strong reasons to start a podcast:
- Low entry cost: You can start with nothing more than a smartphone and an internet connection
- Personal brand building: You connect directly with listeners through your voice
- Passive income potential: You can earn through sponsorships, ads and digital product sales
- SEO and content marketing: Every episode creates content that search engines can index
- Network expansion: You build professional connections with your guests
Podcast Types: Which One Suits You?
The first decision is choosing your podcast format:
Interview / Conversation Podcast
You host a different guest in each episode. The upside: your guest's followers discover you too. The downside: you constantly have to line up new guests.
Solo (Monologue) Podcast
You explore a topic in depth on your own. The upside: you're completely in control. The downside: talking alone can be hard.
Storytelling
You tell the story of a particular event, investigation or experience. True crime, history and science podcasts do well in this format.
Panel / Discussion
Several people discuss a topic from different angles. The energy is high, but it requires moderation.
Educational Series
You teach a specific subject episode by episode. It works like a course and builds a loyal audience.
Essential Equipment
You don't have to build a studio to start a podcast. Here are equipment suggestions by budget:
Beginner Level (0-500 TL)
- Microphone: Your phone's microphone or a wired headset mic
- Recording: The voice recorder app on your phone
- Editing: Descript (free plan)
Mid Level (500-3,000 TL)
- USB microphone: Blue Yeti, Audio-Technica AT2020 USB or Rode NT-USB Mini
- Pop filter: Reduces plosive sounds (P, B)
- Headphones: Any closed-back over-ear headphones
- Editing: Descript or Audacity (free)
Professional Level (3,000+ TL)
- XLR microphone: Shure SM7B, Rode PodMic
- Audio interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, Rode AI-1
- Acoustic panels: To reduce room echo
- Professional software: Adobe Audition or Logic Pro
Important note: Content quality always matters more than equipment quality. You can produce excellent podcasts with a great USB microphone.
The Podcast Recording Process
1. Preparation and Planning
Prepare an outline for every episode. Organize your episode plans with tools like Notion or Obsidian. Your outline should include:
- Episode title and topic
- Main points and subtopics
- Questions, if you have a guest
- Timing (intro, main section and outro durations)
2. Recording Environment
Choose a quiet room. Carpets, curtains and soft furniture reduce echo. While recording:
- Turn off the air conditioner and the refrigerator
- Put your phone on silent
- Keep a glass of water nearby
- Speak naturally and comfortably
3. Remote Recording
If your guest is in a different city, you'll need to record remotely. You can use platforms like Zoom, Google Meet or Riverside. The key is to record each participant's audio in a separate file, which makes editing much easier.
Podcast Editing: Save Time with AI Tools
Editing is the most time-consuming part of podcast production. AI tools, however, shorten the process dramatically.
Descript: Text-Based Editing
Descript makes editing a podcast as easy as editing a text document. When you upload your audio file, it automatically generates a transcript. When you delete a sentence from the transcript, that sentence is removed from the audio file as well.
Descript's standout features:
- Automatic transcription (including Turkish)
- One-click removal of filler sounds like "uh" and "hmm"
- Studio Sound: AI-powered cleanup of room echo and background noise
- Filler word removal
- Multi-speaker recognition
ElevenLabs: AI Voiceover
With ElevenLabs, you can create professional voiceovers for your podcast intro, transitions or sponsorship announcements. It produces natural-sounding voices in more than 30 languages, including Turkish.
Murf AI: A Professional Voiceover Alternative
Murf AI is a strong alternative, especially for business-focused voiceover. If you're making a podcast in an educational series format, you can use it for transitions and promos.
Transcription Tools
Creating written transcripts of your episodes is very valuable for SEO. Vowise turns speech into clean text, while FastScribe offers transcription with speaker labels.