Work Wisely Within Your Budget

As indicated in last week's post, we're going to be talking some helpful tips.  One of the biggest questions our clients ask when it comes to podcasting is, "What equipment do I need?" 

Generally speaking, you can create a podcast with just your smartphone or tablet.  As long as it records audio, you have what it takes to make a podcast. It may not be the best quality, but it is a podcast.  In most cases, our clients are looking for a quality podcast to get their message out to their audience.  This is, after all, why they seek the services of a professional instead of recording a podcast with their mobile device. 

Going back to the question about equipment, our general follow-up question to clients is, "What is your project?"  If a client is looking to do a one-off (one recording for a specific purpose, without it being a recurring project) it does not make sense to have them purchase thousands of dollars of recording equipment.  Of course, if they insist on purchasing the equipment - the client is always right and we will defer to what they are asking.  However, in most cases, clients are not looking to spend money they don't need to.  We would therefore arrange to record the podcast for them - using our equipment - either in our studio or at some other designated location.

For a recurring podcast project, if the client is interested in purchasing their own in-house equipment, the next question is, "What is your budget?"  While asking this question could be construed as a way for a company to get the most out of a client's wallet - this question is important for us to determine what equipment to recommend to make the best possible podcast on a client-by-client and project-by-project basis.  By comparison, Marvel films and produces their blockbuster films in a high-end studio with a production budget.  The movie Avengers: Age of Ultron, for instance, had a production budget of $250M, whereas Kevin Smith filmed Clerks with a budget of $27.5K ($230K - post).  If you watch the films side-by-side, they both offer a cinematic experience.  However, you can see the production difference a few million dollars makes.  The same stands true with podcast equipment.  We can record and produce a really good podcast with a minimal budget, but higher-end equipment can get you a really great podcast production.  For clarification, we're not talking a high-end audio recording studio necessarily - more the difference between a recording microphone you can purchase from Best Buy versus one purchased from a production-based company like B&H.  You pay more for the B&H microphone, but it will provide better sound quality than the Best Buy version.  

In conclusion, whether your budget is $500 or $500,000 you can still launch that podcast, blog, or video series.  We would love to give you a hand.  

Sidekick Media Services offers a variety of services - from web design, to social media, to audio production, to full-service video production and live streaming. We'd be happy to consult with you about your project!