Podcasting From the Road

I have a business podcast called "The Courage to Lead" (https://apple.co/2MOt1kS ). I've been doing the podcast since February of 2021 and have learned a lot from my guests.

I knew that since all the interviews are done via Zoom, I could easily continue publishing the podcast from the road.

Since I use Zoom, I don't need a lot of external gear. It's not like I'm setting up a full recording studio at each Airbnb we stay at. I can make do with one microphone, one set of headphones, a couple of external lights, and the rest is done with the apps on my computer.

While the transition from my comfortable studio set up in our spare bedroom to my mobile studio-du-jour, I've definitely learned a couple of things in the process.

Gear

Having a good microphone is key. Not only does it make me sound good, but it also helps eliminate some of the background noises you might encounter in and around your recording location. For example, there is a full-blown construction site right next door to our Airbnb property here in Jacksonville.

Every morning starting at 8 AM you can hear saws, hammers, nailguns, and the workers yelling to each other. All the things you would expect on a building site but not things you'd expect to hear in the background of a podcast.

This is a small venue, so there's no room to move away from the noise. The best I can do is rely on my microphone to pick up my voice and eliminate the extraneous noise.

Background

In my home studio, I had a comfortable albeit typical background with a bookcase, books, awards, and other sundry items. That was the "image" people were used to seeing behind me during the podcast.

I knew we would be staying in a lot of different locations as we roam around the US and I was concerned that the background in some of these spaces might be too cluttered, too dark, or distracting, so I decided to take my background with me.

In order to keep the consistency of the background image for all my podcasts, I took a photo of my home studio and now use that as a background image in Zoom.

Now I carry a greenscreen with me. It's a 9' x 6' green cloth backdrop (purchased from Amazon). I just use pushpins or thumbtacks to pin the cloth to a wall and voila! I've also brought a bag of binder clips and clams in case I have to get creative and put the screen up between two tripods. Either way, it seems to work just fine.

Scheduling

Since we are roaming, I need to remember to leave enough free time between our Airbnb stops to drive to the next location. That means blocking out days immediately before and after our drive to allow for tear-down, packing, moving, and re-setting up the studio. I've had to reschedule a few recording sessions because of the move, but it's all worked out and my guests have been very flexible. As long as I keep the Airbnb schedule and my podcast recording schedule synced up, it shouldn't be a problem.

So far, the podcast has gone off without a hitch. Aside from the occasional background noises, the transition has been seamless and I'm looking forward to a great roaming podcast season.

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Are you publishing your podcast from the road? I would love to hear your experience and any tips or tricks you want to share in the comments below.