Creating an Anchor account is free and easy! First, visit https://anchor.fm/ and click on “Sign Up” in the upper right corner or in the Log in dialogue box.
You will need to sign up using an email address (this can be your school or personal email). After that step your account will be created and you can start recording!
(Note: You will need to verify your account before you can publish any episodes. You can verify your account through an email sent to the same address as the one you created your account with in the last step.)
After creating your account, you can begin the recording process of creating a podcast with Anchor.
To begin recording, click on the word, “Episodes” which is located in the middle of the website’s upper taskbar, or click “New Episode” located in the top right corner.
There, you will see where all your episodes will be once you’ve recorded them. For now, click “Create Episode.” Here you will find the options and tools for recording your podcast. To begin, select the “Record” option to record audio directly from the device you are using. If you have existing audio files saved on your device, select “Library” to upload these files into Anchor.
If you select recording new audio, here are a few recommendations that will improve the quality of your recording.
First, if available use a microphone. The microphone does not have to be expensive or high quality. For example, the microphone in a set of earbuds works well. Using a microphone helps to block out any environmental sounds that could lower the quality of your recording.
Second, find a quiet location to record. Even with a microphone, it's important to record somewhere with minimal distractions to both yourself and the audience.
Finally, we recommend rehearsing and writing a script for your recording. This is beneficial because Anchor’s recording system does not have a Pause feature. You can, however, record multiple recordings and stitch them together later. We recommend taking notes on your script to log any edits that may need to be performed later. If you prefer to record your podcast in one take, having a script will help ensure that you don’t forget anything, especially after recording multiple audio tracks!
Once you are done recording, click “Stop Recording.” This will save and add your audio to your library, where you can listen to your recording and add background music to the audio. When the audio track is ready to be published, click the ‘+’ button to add the audio file to the episode.
On the right side of the screen, you should see your audio file. From here you can add other recordings from your library, licensed music (must have a Spotify account), or transition strings.
You can also trim parts of your recording by clicking the three dots on the right side of your recording. Click “Edit Audio” and this will take you to the editing screen. Find the point in your recording you wish to remove and click on that part of the file. A thin black line should appear over where you clicked. Next scroll down to the bottom left and click “Split.” This will have created two different sections of your audio, and at the top right corner of each section you will see a small trash can. This is how you remove the audio you no longer want in the recording. After you’re finished editing your audio file(s). Click “Save” and choose whether or not you want to save this new recording as one or multiple files. The new, edited audio will appear on the right side of the screen in replacement of the previous audio. Click “Preview Episode” to review your episode, then click “Save Episode.” You can also save your recording as a draft if you do not wish to have your episode published by Anchor.
Now that you have finished recording and editing your audio, you can now publish your podcast episode! You will need to create a title for your episode as well as a description. There are some other options you can choose to use before publishing your podcast. Once you feel your episode is ready, click the Next button on the top right of the screen, and this will publish your podcast to Spotifty and the Anchor Website. You can also add your link to other streaming services for podcasts.
Congratulations, you have just created a podcast!
