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Today on five minute Monday. I'll explain

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when you should pull the trigger and upgrade

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your microphone. Welcome

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to five minute Monday where we bring you the best tips

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and strategies for building your podcast in five

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minutes or less. So if you're new here, consider

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subscribing. Now when you first

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get started in podcasting, what kind

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of microphone you use isn't

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actually that important. It's

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much more important to find your voice,

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start to build your audience and get in a good

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publishing rhythm that

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is much more important than

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whatever kind of microphone you pick up to get started

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with. But after a while you

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may start to notice a difference

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in the sound quality of your podcast versus

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other shows that you listened to.

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And so you might start to consider, well, is

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it time to upgrade my microphone?

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Is it time to spend some more money to

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get some nicer gear? So my podcast

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sounds better, right? And

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so you might ask, when is it good to upgrade?

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And then also how much should you expect

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to spend? What is a reasonable amount of money

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to spend on upgrading your microphone

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and your podcast set up without breaking

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the bank. So if you already have

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the money to spend and you know

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that you're committed to your podcast, go

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ahead and get some nicer podcast equipment.

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All right ? It's an investment in your show.

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It's an investment in the longterm success

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of your show. Um, so if you

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have the money, go ahead and pull the trigger,

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right? And so the rest of this episode, this

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is advices for all of you that

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will have to stretch and sacrifice

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in order to invest in your podcast.

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And the thing that I tell most podcasters

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when they ask me a question like this is to upgrade.

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When you feel like your microphone is holding you back,

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not when you start to notice a difference in the sound quality,

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not when , um , you, you

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think, man, it'd be great if I had the

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Joe Rogan microphone. But when you start to notice

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that your microphone is holding you back, you know, I remember

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when I decided it was time to

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move on from my blue yeti

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microphone, which is the microphone I got when

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I first started podcasting. Now,

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when I first bought it, it was like the greatest

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thing I'd ever heard. I'd never had

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any microphone that could capture my voice

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the way that that Blue Yeti did, and I thought that

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I sounded like 1 million bucks. Plus

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I looked really cool when I was talking into

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it, at least in my mind, I looked really

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cool, but then after a

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while, and by a while, I mean about

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a year after using it, I started

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to notice some quirks that

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I just couldn't ignore. I couldn't hear

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them and I actually started to lose motivation

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for continuing the podcast because I

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wasn't excited by turning on the microphone anymore.

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Instead of looking at the microphone and thinking I

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have an opportunity to share a message

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I'm passionate about. All I could think about

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was, man, it's going to sound like I'm

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recording at a cave compared to what I know I can

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do. Right? And so , so I noticed

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that shift and you

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know, it wasn't a lack of passion from my podcast.

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It was a lack of interest in the

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microphone. And so when you get

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to a similar point where you're frustrated

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with your gear, that's when it's a good

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time to upgrade. When it's going to start holding you back

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as a podcaster, that's when you should

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pull the trigger. Now I know

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plenty of podcasters that still use

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entry level microphones and have no

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intention of ever upgrading, and that is

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great, right? You should not feel

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pressured to buy expensive stuff

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because you don't need it unless

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you need it, if you know what I'm saying.

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Your microphone is just one tool in your tool

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belt. So if you don't see the need to upgrade,

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then don't. You can ignore the rest of this

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episode. It's not for you. Now

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if you're ready to pull the trigger, if you're ready to invest

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in some nicer gear, how much should

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you expect to spend? I recommend

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a budget for Solo podcasters

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of around $500 and

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if you have a podcast with two people

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somewhere in the range of $900

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now that is a large enough budget

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that you'll notice a significant

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difference compared to your current microphone,

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but it's also affordable enough that

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you aren't overwhelmed by the investment. Now,

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microphones that I recommend if you're looking to

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upgrade our the road precaster

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, the Heil PR 40 and the Shure

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sm seven B, you really can't go wrong

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with any of those microphones. If you do pull

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the trigger on the shore, it is

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a higher price point microphone

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than the other two. Angele needs something like

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a cloud lifter to be able to get

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a good enough sound with

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it. So just keep that in mind when you're doing your research

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that when you get the shirt , you're also gonna need to

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get a cloud lifter, need

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some help with your podcast. The Buzzsprout podcast

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community on Facebook is a great place to find

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the answers and get the help you need to make your podcast

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as excellent as possible. So if you're not a member

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yet, just click on the link in the show notes

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and asked to join. That's it for today.

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Thanks for listening, and I'll talk to you soon.