Some of the most important work a podcaster will do happens before they every pick up a microphone. The more thought you put into the design of your podcast, the stronger it will be -- and the easier it will be to keep fresh new episodes coming.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you're in the planning stages:

What’s it called?

Come up with a catchy, memorable name for your show. Many podcasts incorporate some kind of podcasting term into their names, so it’s clear that it’s a podcast. Or, if your podcast is CEU-related, that's a good term to incorporate into your name.

What’s your intention?
Do you seek to create an informational, radio-style program? Are you providing a vehicle for CEU delivery? Are you interested in making conference recordings available to a wider audience?

In short, why are you podcasting? (In my experience, the answer "because podcasting is hot right now" isn't quite enough. If your podcast is to find an audience, it should have a concrete purpose.)

What’s your format?

Now it’s time to think about how your podcasts will be structured. There are so many possibilities:

• How long will your show be?

• How often will you release new shows?

• Will you have co-hosts, or will you be the only speaker?

• Will your show contain any music? Will it have a theme song?

• Will your show have a consistent introduction and ending, or will you vary these in each episode?

• Will your show have the same regular segments in each episode, or will you offer different segments in different episodes? Or, will you make a free-form show, with no segments at all?

What’s your model?
If you’re having trouble deciding on a format, you might try listening to a variety of radio shows, to see what you like and don’t like about them. Here’s a list of nationally-recognized radio shows that use very different formats:

• All Things Considered, NPR

• Casey Kasem’s American Top 40, Syndicated

• This American Life, Public Radio International

• The Howard Stern Show, XM Satellite Radio

Check out this Wiki. When we last looked, it had a main table of contents that included:

1. Presentation Slides by David Warlick
2. Podcast Resources
3. Podcast Safe Music
4. Podcast Directories
5. Prominent Education Podcast Blogs
6. Listening to Existing Podcast Programs
7. Producing a Podcast Program
8. Some Podcast Links

An excellent short article on good practices for producing audio learning podcasts. Read Five Steps to Designing Podcasts that Teach, brought to you by the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

O'Reilly Digital Media has a nice article on Ten Tips for Improving your Podcast.

by Diane Gilleland
Producer of CraftyPod, SpinterSpin podcast, and the Harper-Perennial Life with Books podcast. Creative Producer at MyPodcastDept.com.

This article provides a beginner's overview to Podcasting from a hobbiest point of view, explaining the origins of podcasting, which are very home-spun. when placed into a professional arena, there are a few characteristics that change. For example, we want the production to be clean and easy to hear so listeners will focus on the content rather than be distracted by noises or poor sound quality. Also, the resources cited in this article are not always appropriate for professional podcasts (for example, all material uploaded to ourmedia.com must be open and usable by others via the Creative Commons License).