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After sifting through 33+ courses on podcasting, I found the 7 absolute best.
I also reached out to each of the instructors to fact check this writing. Look for the ✅ to see what was fact checked.
Let’s dive right in.
Power-Up Podcasting may be the most popular course for launching a new podcast. It was created by Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income, a legend in the online marketing and entrepreneurship space. The course provides “everything you need to know about creating and launching a successful podcast.” It’s a bold claim, but one that seems to be true since Pat has run the course since 2017 (seven years at the time I’m writing this) and has raving testimonials from successful podcasters. The course has also been updated in the past and is currently on it’s 3rd refresh since it launched, so the content is always up to date. In the latest update, Pat and his team added a module about video podcasting.
This course covers ideation, planning, launch, your launch week, marketing, and monetization. It has 8 hours of content in the main course, hours of bonus content, access to the Smart Passive Income private community, and most importantly, weekly office hours with Pat Flynn!
Pat Flynn is the founder and CEO of Smart Passive Income, an online community where he has educated entrepreneurs since 2009. He’s the host of the Smart Passive Income Podcast, which has gained over 80 million downloads over 1500+ episodes since 2010.
Our community-powered courses have proven that people are 2.5x more likely to succeed with our courses versus learning on their own - and I don't just mean getting through the course entirely, but taking action and seeing results. It doesn't just help you launch either, it helps you get found – even on launch day!
– Pat Flynn, Founder and CEO of Smart Passive Income
✅ This section was fact-checked by Pat Flynn.
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Proffitt Podcasting is a podcast that takes you from idea to launching your first 20 podcast episodes without burning out or “podfading.” It covers everything you’d expect, from planning and recording to producing, launching, monetizing, and marketing. It has almost eight hours of video content and has been running for years with great success. One student said, “…my podcast is by far the most systematized thing that I’m most proud of in my entire online business.”
In six modules, you’ll learn about podcast foundations, recording fundamentals, a system for planning and creating episodes, podcast launch, marketing and making money with your show, and, lastly, growing your podcast and scaling over time. Krystal originally launched this course in 2018, but it’s gone through four iterations and V4 of the course officially launched in 2023.
Krystal Proffitt is the founder of Proffitt Podcasting and a Podcast Coach and Content Strategist who helps you create content with confidence. She’s the host of The Proffitt Podcast, has published more than 1,300+ podcast episodes and 500 YouTube videos, and helped thousands of entrepreneurs up-level their content creation.
“Whether you’re just getting started or you’re a seasoned pro looking to level up your show, we believe you don’t need millions or downloads or thousands of listeners to make a difference. Our motto around here is: keep it up; we all have to start somewhere.”
– Krystal Proffitt, Podcast Coach & Content Strategist, Proffitt Media
✅ This section was fact-checked by Krystal Proffitt.
Podcasters’ Paradise is one of the longest-running podcast courses and podcasting communities, originally launched by John Lee Dumas in 2013. It helps you create, grow, and monetize a podcast through step-by-step video lessons, checklists and guides, and a private community of like-minded creators. The course also offers monthly live Q&A, plus a 1:1 strategy call with John and a professional intro and outro created for you if you choose the VIP membership.
Course Details:
Features:
John Lee Dumas (aka JLD) is the founder and host of the Entrepreneurs on Fire podcast and creator of the Fire Nation website. Through his podcast, he’s interviewed over 3,500 entrepreneurs and racked up 156 million downloads since 2012, so it’s safe to say he’s a podcasting veteran.
“Podcasters' Paradise is the biggest, best, and longest running Podcasting course and community in the world. No matter where you are in your podcasting journey, I have ensured Podcasters' Paradise will guide you in the creation, growth, and monetization of your podcast. Prepare to IGNITE!
– John Lee Dumas, Founder of Podcaster's Paradise
✅ This section was fact-checked by John Lee Dumas and Kate Erickson Dumas.
Podcast Accelerator claims it is the only white glove done-for-you podcast launch program. It’s more than just a course, but rather an eight-week program that holds your hand and even creates your first podcast episode *for* you. Because they provide live virtual classes, they boast a 95% course completion rate, which is incredibly rare in the e-learning space.
This program provides you with group mentorship, community support, virtual recording support, and 1:1 tech calls to get you unstuck. They cover how to create, launch, and grow your podcast with clear systems, and they’ve helped launch over 200 shows since 2020!
Michelle Sorro is a 7-figure Master Coach and host of Fire and Soul, a top 1% podcast in self-development with hundreds of thousands of downloads worldwide. Her clients and guests include globally known celebrities, Olympic athletes, and even a U.S. Presidential candidate.
Ginni Saraswati is the owner and founder of Ginni Media, a boutique podcast agency that offers services to Fortune 500 companies and brands such as Siemens, Conde Nast, and AAA. She’s also the host of The Ginni Show, a multi-award-nominated show with over 199 episodes.
"Create, launch, and promote your dream podcast – with the white glove support of one of America’s top production companies and a master coach by your side, boasting an unheard-of 95% completion rate. We’ve launched 200 podcasters. Are you next? Doors open again in April 2024."
– Michelle Sorro, Co-Founder, The Podcast Accelerator
✅ This section was fact-checked by Michelle Sorro.
Narrative Podcasts offers a combination of live virtual workshops and on-demand courses to teach you how to craft compelling stories in a podcast. It’s created by Laura Joyce Davis and Nate Davis, professional writers with deep passion and experience for the craft of writing and storytelling. If you’re trying to craft a complex documentary-style show or simply understand the fundamentals of storytelling to become a better communicator, this might be a good fit for you.
You’ll learn scriptwriting, the structure of storytelling, how to find your voice, technical things like how to record, how to use sound design and music to bring your story to life, and more. The course takes place in 16 modules which spread out over 16 weeks.
Narrative Podcasts is offering an exclusive discount to Resound Readers! Use code RESOUND for $50 at checkout.
Laura Joyce Davis is the Co-founder and CEO of Narrative Podcasts, teaches podcasting at Stanford University, and is the Executive Producer of the Shelter in Place podcast. She has also received many awards for her work, including a Social Impact Award for Mentoring and DEI initiatives, a Fulbright scholarship, and more.
Co-founder Nate Davis worked in marketing for many years, on top brands from Apple to Nike to Sony, before embracing his true vocation of storytelling and teaching with Narrative Podcasts. Nate brings a copywriter’s keen eye for script editing, strategic thinking, and energetic collaboration to teaching, and believes in their motto, “Your story deserves to be heard.”
“One thing that sets our course apart is how holistic it is: there are a lot of great workshops and courses out there that talk about the what, from audio editing to promotion, but we start with the why. We believe that everyone has a story to tell, and that the process of writing, recording, and scoring a narrative podcast is a uniquely life-changing way to learn about yourself, connect with others, and create something meaningful. It’s why we say ‘voice your story; change your life,’ and we’ve brought everything we’ve learned over the last 20 years and put it into our course to help aspiring audio storytellers do that.”
– Nate Davis, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Narrative Podcasts
✅ This section was fact-checked by Nate Davis.
The Podcast Production Course by Music Radio Creative is a highly technical course that demystifies audio production so you can learn everything it takes for every single episode to sound professional. While many of the other courses on this list cover the podcast experience end-to-end, this course gets even more specific and focuses on the hardware, software, and techniques it takes to craft a beautiful sound. The lessons are taught in Adobe Audition but can be abstractly applied to other digital audio workstations (DAWs). Mike also teaches a course on Audacity and a general Audio Production course.
Music Radio Creative is offering Resound readers a special discount. Get 20% off when you use code RESOUND at checkout.
Mike Russel is the founder and face of Music Radio Creative, has been producing audio for over 25 years, and has taught hundreds of thousands the art and craft of audio production through his popular YouTube channel, courses, and live coaching. He’s also an Adobe Certified Expert and a go-to expert for all things audio post-production.
“The key to a successful podcast is the sound! If your podcast sounds good, your listeners will want to come for more. Our course is designed to give you all the knowledge needed to produce excellent-sounding episodes every single time.”
– Mike Russell, Founder, Music Radio Creative
✅ This section was fact-checked by Izabela Russell.
Women in Podcasting is a private online community of women podcasters that educate, collaborate, and inspire each other. They’re the largest collective of women podcasters and were founded by Jennifer Henczel. They offer a free course on starting a podcast, but you can get access to the community and dozens of additional resources like Canva templates, checklists, and guides by becoming a monthly member for just $7.
Women in Podcasting also offers the Ultimate Podcasting Pack, which is a roundup of their best resources and access to the community for $197 one-time or $97/year.
Jennifer Henczel is a Podcaster, Author, and Founder of the Women in Podcasting Network and Elevating Experts Club. Jennifer’s mission is to lift women’s voices and stories globally. Jennifer is known for her ability to build inspiring, supportive and collaborative communities. She is an award winning leader and has won or been nominated for a number of awards. Most recently, she is the winner of the Innovator of the Year Award at the Quill Podcast Awards.
“I am so proud of all our awe-inspiring members for being brave enough to boldly share their message. It warms my heart to help our community with starting, growing, and monetizing their podcasts. My mission is to elevate women’s voices everywhere!”
– Jennifer Henczel, Founder, Women in Podcasting Network
✅ This section was fact-checked by Jennifer Henczel.
If you’re reading this blog then I doubt you need to be convinced. But I’ll answer this for any of you who still have doubts or questions.
I see a few reasons for taking a podcast course.
Let’s be honest, starting something new online is scary. Sometimes we are our own worst critic. If you need the extra motivation to get started, a course is a low-friction way to get over that fear of starting.
WARNING! Don’t fall into the dangerous trap of watching course after course, pretending you are being “productive” when you’re just procrastinating.
There are some incredible online communities, and some of the best communities are right over that paywall you find in podcasting courses. Unlocking a course often unlocks a community of members who are quite similar to you, but might be further into their journey or have another unique perspective. Find community, get feedback, look for guest swap opportunities, and more by buying a podcast course!
It almost goes without saying, but these podcast courses we curated above have some incredible information that has been organized, summarized, and sometimes painstakingly arranged for you. You can avoid years of mistakes by learning from the lessons of professionals or even other self-taught creators who are years ahead of you.
Yes, a lot of the content is already on YouTube or in ChatGPT, but not all of that content is good, and sifting through all the noise for signals can take you much longer than taking a course.
Lastly, many of the courses we shared unlock access to 1:1 sessions with podcast professionals like Laura Joyce Davis, group office hours with Pat Flynn, and other such consulting and strategy calls. Courses can give you feedback and mentorship that could have a profound impact on improving your career, side project, and life as a whole.
As I said in the intro, there are easily 30+ podcast courses online, honestly probably more like 100 if you count all the courses on platforms like Udemy. So how did we choose these few above?
We chose these courses based on four major factors:
Who created this course and what experience and credentials do they have to back up their training? Have they created a great podcast themselves? Do they have the real-world experience and (when relevant) the credentials to back things up? How long has the course been around or has the course creator been in podcasting? Time doesn’t tell all but we take it as a strong indicator.
For example, Pat Flynn’s course has been up since 2017, Pat has hosted a podcast since 2010, created over 1,500 episodes, and earned over 80 million downloads. He’s also been creating content online educating thousands of entrepreneurs since 2009.
What do students of the course have to say? Do they deliver on the value they promise? Have the creators behind the course created or helped create successful podcasts?
Does the content go deep and get tactical? Does it cover everything related to the topics thoroughly? While I cannot say that I have taken every single one of these courses, I’ve sifted through dozens of courses to show you which ones have the most thorough curriculum.
Does the content look and sound good? This is an especially critical sign for a great course when you’re taking a course about podcasting, an inherently production-focused medium. There is a spectrum of production quality and differing aesthetics in the courses listed above, but the quality is there.
There are some incredible resources, both free and paid, that are available to help you learn podcasting. You can read this guide to learn about the best podcast courses, but there are also blogs, newsletters, YouTube channels, and podcasts on the topic. Here is a short list of our favorite resources:
The honest answer is… it depends. On the one hand, anyone can start a podcast, with no specific education required. Some universities and schools have developed curricula to teach people podcasting, but it’s still such a new medium that many of the greatest podcasters are self-taught creatives. On the other hand, creating a world-class podcast requires a wide range of skills from more technical ones to creative ones. Some of the top podcasters have backgrounds in entertainment at large, with experience on TV, acting in movies, or other media training.
TLDR: Anyone can start a podcast, and if you’re thinking about doing it, go for it! It’s an incredible medium, the engagement and connection to your audience are unmatched. Lastly, you can get education as you go by taking courses like the ones listed in this blog, practicing the skill yourself, and reading blogs, books, and even listening to other great shows!
You don’t need a lot to start a podcast. You can start with as little as a smartphone or laptop and go from there!
If you have a small budget, we recommend this simple starter kit:
Read our full list of podcast starter kits for more detailed recommendations.
TLDR: Podcast courses can take from one day to 16 weeks on average.
On-demand video courses often give you lifetime access. That means you can go at your own pace and take as long as you like. Courses range from 1.5 hours to 8 hours of core content and often have extensive bonus content (sometimes even longer than the core content itself).
Cohort-based virtual (and in-person) courses often last 4, 8, or 16 weeks. Often these cohort-based programs record the classes so you can rewatch them if you are unavailable at the scheduled times.
Many courses offer a hybrid of live virtual training and on-demand videos, meaning you can go at your own pace but have the motivation of some type of program and accountability to move through the material at least once per week.
Here are a few examples of real course lengths:
In 8/10 cases, you don’t need any prior experience in podcasting or audio production to take a podcasting course. Many podcasting courses are aimed at beginners and will walk you through the fundamentals of audio production.
That said, there are a few exceptions, like the Narrative Podcasts course which asks that you have some light technical experience and an idea you want to explore.
The average podcast salary varies greatly depending on which role you play on the team, and how successful your podcast or company is.
Let’s talk briefly about how podcast hosts, or the podcasts themselves, actually make money.
The main way podcasts monetize their show is by selling ads, which earn roughly $25 to $40 per 1,000 downloads according to Acast. This model is called CPM, or cost per mille (one thousand). A podcast with 10,000 downloads per episode can make around $500 to $800 per episode by running 2-4 ads per episode. Some podcasts like Joe Rogan have made hundreds of millions on their shows, but this is often because they already have a massive audience.
For smaller podcasts, which is a rather large portion, a more effective way to make money is typically to use the podcast as a marketing tool to drive sales for a service or product.
Giving broad career advice to specific, non-identical individuals is a hard task. There are many different inroads to the podcast industry that you can explore, though, so you can at least understand a few of the options.
Different ways to start a career in podcasting:
So you know you want to work in podcasting (or at least explore it). Great! But how do you choose what type of work you want to do within the larger ecosystem of podcasting? I recommend two core steps.
First, choose a sector of the industry. Do you want to work on one podcast, many, on the software, providing services to other podcasters, providing coverage of the industry, or something else?
Second, choose a target role. What position do you want to play on the team? If you want to work in podcast creation at a podcast network, then do you want to be a host, a producer, a writer, an audio engineer, or something else?
Hopefully, these steps help you narrow down which role you want. But how do you get the role?
Well, this is a nuanced topic, so instead of giving you a simple checklist, I’d like to recommend several resources that will help you on your career journey. I highly recommend So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport, Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, and the Deep Questions podcast by Cal Newport.
3+ years as a lead marketer in the podcast industry. 6+ years experience in Audio Engineering and Music Production.
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