Your Last-Minute Podcast Gift Guide
Five gifts for your podcast-obsessed friend
All year long you’ve heard your podcast loving friend talking about their favorite shows and hosts. You’ve listened patiently while they offered their opinion on the perfect listening speed (it’s 1.2x, by the way). Now is the time to give them a gift that shows just how much you were listening.
Get Them Swag From Their Favorite Podcast
A few months ago, I was on the subway when two strangers pointed at each other and began laughing. They opened their jackets wider to reveal they were both wearing “Friends of the Pod” t-shirts. Give your podcast listening friend the gift of shared recognition and friendship by investing in some cool swag from their favorite shows. A good place to start is with the show’s website, but there are also sites like Tee Public, NPR’s Shop, DFTBA, and Podswag that feature clothing and gifts from a variety of shows.
Make a Donation to Their Local Public Radio Station
We believe public media is an important service that brings a wide range of storytelling and news to even the most remote communities. Help keep the public in public radio by making a donation in honor of your podcast listening friend, and while you’re at it, pick up a donation premium (or skip the gift and ensure 100% of your donation goes to supporting public media).
Help Them Unlock a New Level on Patreon
Many shows use Patreon or similar services to offer listeners exclusive or bonus content not available anywhere else. Although Patreon does not currently offer a gifting option, hand your friend cash with a purpose.
Put Together a Podcast Starter Kit
If your podcast listening friend has been thinking about starting their own project, why not help them begin building out their podcast starter kit? The basics will look different for everyone, but a standard kit should include a recorder, a microphone, and some basic editing software. We recommend the Zoom H4N Recorder, a simple omnidirectional microphone like the ElectroVoice RE50N/D-B, and Hindenburg editing software (which has a free 30-day subscription).
While you’re at it, open a Google doc and add links to these great starter resources: Podcast.Love, NPR’s Training Guide, and Transom’s Tools and Techniques sections, PRX’s Google Creator Program YouTube series, and the Bello Collective’s own Podcasting 101 section. Click share.
And finally, if you have the time and the skill, think about helping your friend build their podcast website, press kit, or show art.
Go With the Classic (Podcast) Mixtape
If you’re looking for something super personal, what better gift than a playlist of podcast episodes you think they’ll love? Use Spotify’s new podcast playlist feature (or Podchaser or Himalaya) to build out a podcast mixtape.
The Bello Collective is a publication + newsletter about podcasts and the audio industry. Our goal is to bring together writers, journalists, and other voices who share a passion for the world of audio storytelling.
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