I am excited this week to announce my new podcast: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. As many of you know, I have been writing a mystery newsletter for the past three years about murder and mysterious disappearances in Alaska. A few of my newsletter subscribers encouraged me to start a podcast, and while I initially laughed at the idea, the seed took root and began to grow no matter how hard I tried to stomp on it.
At first, I didn’t believe I could upload a podcast with our slow satellite internet, but once I learned I could upload from the middle of the wilderness, I began to research what was involved in producing a podcast. Would it be expensive? Was the technology learning-curve too steep, and were my vocal skills up to the challenge?
I read everything I could find about starting a podcast, I listened to podcasts about podcasting, and I joined podcast support groups where I could ask questions. I spent less than $200 on a microphone and other necessary gear, bought audio editing software for another $100, and I signed up for a site to host my podcast.
Everything I am learning from this venture is new and challenging, and I love it all so far. I carefully chose a good microphone and headset and bought reasonably priced audio editing software that has proven to be easy to use. I also like the Hindenburg Journalist software because if I decide to take my editing to the next level, I can easily upgrade to a pro version. I chose Blubrry.com to host my podcast, mainly because it offers a free website for my podcast and all the tools I needed to learn how to publish the podcast and upload it to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and other platforms.
Do I know what I am doing yet as a podcaster? Nope, not even close, but I am trying not to be hard on myself. My podcast is far from perfect, but I have plenty of room to grow and improve.
The big question is, why do I want to spend money and countless hours I don’t have to tackle yet another project? The answer to this question is simple. I hope to introduce myself and my writing to more people. If they like my podcast, perhaps they will want to sign up for my newsletter and read my books. Podcasting is an experiment for me, and I will try it for several months. If I find my podcast requires too much time with too few payoffs, I will quietly back away from the microphone and return to what works.
The downside to starting a podcast is time. As you know, there are only so many hours in the day, and I do have a hectic regular job. If I want to podcast, something must give, and unfortunately, for now, I have decided to cut back on my blog posts. Right now, I write one post a week, so for the next few weeks, I plan to scale back to two posts a month, and I will alternate weekly between a podcast and a post. Once I streamline my podcast editing, perhaps I will have time to return to a weekly post schedule.
I’ve published my first podcast episode, and you can find it here. I’m working on my second episode, and it will be available in a few days. If you enjoy my podcast, please go to Apple Podcasts and leave a comment so that other listeners can find me. If you would like to listen to all my podcast episodes, don’t forget to subscribe.
Please let me know what you think of my podcast. A few of my blog readers have been with me since I started this blog, and I appreciate you and value your opinions! Thank you for your support!
Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska, and sign up for her podcast, Murder
