Podcasting can be a fairly simple and effective method forestablishing your insurance experience. Content development thatidentifies you as a thought leader in your field can differentiateyour insurance agency from the competition.

From a technology perspective, podcasts are relatively easy tocreate. All you need is a decent quality microphone and a computerto do the editing. Consider two things:

• Where you will be recording? What's the environment and willeveryone be present in the same place?

• What is your budget?

The space where you'll record doesn't have to be a professionalsound studio, but you don't want to record in your office's publicspace, either. Closing the door to your office and turning off yourphone and other distractions, and posting a sign on your door thatyou're “Recording—Keep Out!” can be enough to give you a quiet,good quality recording.

Related: 5 best podcasts for insuranceagents

The microphone you select can make a difference in the qualityof the output. For most, a USB microphone will suffice because youwill be able to plug it into your computer and record directly intowhichever software you use. You definitely don't want touse the built-in microphone from your computer or laptop nor do youwant to use the headset you may have hooked up for answering callsor dictating. They are generally tinny and of poor quality. Thebuilt-ins will also tend to pick up every sound in your office,from the squeak in your chair to the shuffling of papers on yourdesk.

An entry-level mic should cost about $100 or so. The two choicesare between a condenser and dynamic microphone.

A condenser mic offers you a richer sound quality but has thechallenge of being more sensitive to the surrounding sounds. If yougo this route, it's more important to find the right location foryour recordings.

The dynamic mic operates on a narrow range of frequencies so thesound is a little less rich but it picks up less of the ambientnoise. Again, consider your environment when choosing your mic.

I use a Samson Meteor Mic, and I find it is great for my simpleneeds. It only cost me about $50 three years ago.

Make it a conversation

I listen to a number of different podcasts, and every one ofthem is generally two or more people having a conversation. Unlikeblogs or videos, podcasts modeled after radio talk shows are builtaround a discussion between a host and a guest or two. As a result,the burden of creating quality podcasts is shared and lessstressful.

But with multiple people comes the inevitable need toaccommodate participation from different locations. Skype or GoogleHangouts can open up the conversation to others outside yourlocation, but capturing their contribution as part of the podcastat a good quality sound level isn't easy.

The best approach is to have local participation. Have aconversation with your head of customer service to talk about someof the common questions your clients have. Or bring in clients forlunch and record a podcast with them about their business and whatyou've been able to do for them.

There are many topics that you can focus on with people right inyour area. Certainly, if you write a blog, those same topics couldbe expanded on or given a unique perspective by bringing the rightperson for their take.

Learn how to edit and stream

Editing tools and the means to distribute the podcasts come indifferent setups. How you record and edit will depend partly onwhat type of computer you use: Windows or Mac. I use either my iMacor MacBook Pro and the free application that comes with it, GarageBand.

I love the system because it's easy to edit out my “ums” and“ahs” so I sound smoother than I really am. It also will save thepodcast directly to my iTunes Library. I then upload the MP3 fileto SoundCloud.com, give it a description and keywords for SEO, andpublish.

I always add a short opening and closing music string (about sixto eight seconds each), which eases the listener into the podcast.I have a subscription to AudioBlocks.com, which is a resource forunlimited downloads of royalty-free production music and soundeffects. I use it for both my client podcasts and videos. It's agreat source for sound.

Convenient consumption is critical for getting your informationout. Podcasting lends itself to myriad options. Try it.

Rick Gilman, APR, CMP, is president of South Orange,N.J.-based APPsolute Marketing, a communications andpublic relations consulting business specializing in mobilemarketing and app development for small business.