Hosting

There are lots of options for hosting. Some such as ourmedia.org will host your audio and video files for no cost, but it takes a while for things to happen and you get what you pay for when it comes to service. When you are evaluating hosting services there are a number of factors to consider. Some key considerations you should take into account when it comes to hosting your podcast

• How much bandwidth will you need?
• How much storage will you need?
• How much technical support will you need?
• Do you need help with your website and podcast feed?

To determine how much bandwidth and storage you will need for your hosting, you will need to figure out the average length of your show and the quality of the audio you will use. Typically you can count on 1MB for every minute of your show if you are doing audio. So if you have 30 minute show you will need 30MB for every show that you host. If you do a show weekly and keep the last four shows stored on your host then you will need at least 120MB of storage. The real hard question to figure out is how much bandwidth you will need for your hosting. It will depend on how many times you show gets downloaded. Multiply the number of downloads per month times the size of your average file and you will find out how much hosting bandwidth you will need.

There are a number of hosting companies that have focused on podcasting. Libsyn is one company that many podcasters are using hosting their podcasts. Hip Cast is another alternative. The price looks good though at just $4.95 per month for unmetered Storage and 5000MB Transfer. They have an unmetered bandwidth option for $9.95 Other options include hosting from Podomatic, Phonecasting, PodBean and PodshowCreator

If you need lots of technical support for your hosting, go with a focused hosting company. The big guys like Yahoo hosting just don't have a lot of time for podcasters.