With staying at home wherever possible being the new norm, many people have been on the lookout for new hobbies to fill their time.
Podcasting has grown substantially in popularity, with everyone getting together and saying what’s on their mind for their listeners to laugh along with.
If you’re thinking about starting your own podcast, but don’t know where to start, might we suggest starting with the basics and deciding where you’re going to situate yourself while podcasting.
Many people get overwhelmed with the fancy microphones and digital software that they forget the one vital component of a podcast setup – a quiet space to record in.
Without this, your listeners are going to get quickly annoyed with the background noise drowning you out.
Today we’re going to be looking at how to set up your own podcast cloffice, so you have one less thing to worry about when starting your own podcast.
What Is A Podcast Cloffice?
A cloffice is simply an abbreviation of Closest Office, which is an office space situated inside a closet. If you’re not willing to pay a weekly fee to rent out an office space for your podcast, creating one in your home could be an excellent option.
However, many people don’t have a spare room in their house to give up for an office. That’s where the closet comes in – it’s small enough not to overpower your home but also big enough to house everything you need for your podcast.
Making Your Own Podcast Cloffice
It might come as a surprise that making your own podcast cloffice can be much easier than you first thought.
Plus, you get to enjoy the added bonus of creating a space that you love to work in, because your current closet is a blank canvas.
However, before you get too caught up in cute little trinkets and framed quotes for the walls, first we have to think of the practicality aspect. Below we’ll be looking at a number of different factors to consider before designing your cloffice.
Closet Size
The amount of space you’ll have for your cloffice will depend on whether you have a walk-in closet or a reach-in closet.
Walk-In Closets
The average size of a walk-in closet is 4 feet deep by 4 feet wide, with a square footage of 16.
Now, the average size of a home office is between 50 and 150 square feet, so you’ll be dealing with a lot less space than if you were to convert your second bedroom.
Reach-In Closets
Reach-in closets are much more shallow than walk-in closets, and the average size of one will be 24-28 inches deep and 4 feet wide.
Cloffices in reach-in closets are obviously much smaller, but people do still make it work.
No matter whether you have a walk-in or a reach-in closet, it is completely possible to make a cloffice within your home. Depending on the layout, you might have a little more or less space to deal with.
Making The Most Of Your Space
For walk-in closets, you should be able to fit a desk within the room and be able to close the door. Reach-in closets will consist of a desk against the back wall with a chair positioned in the doorway of the closet.
The larger your closet, the more equipment you can use and store. If you’re planning on recording videos of your podcasts to post online as well, you’ll need to consider space for tripods, lighting, and cameras.
Soundproofing
One of the most important things to consider when setting up your cloffice is soundproofing.
There’s not much worse when you are drowned out by background noise – not only will this annoy any listeners, but it might prevent them from coming back.
So, soundproofing your closet should be high up on your list of priorities. A walk-in closet is going to be much easier to soundproof as the door can be closed behind you. For a reach-in closet, you might have to soundproof your entire bedroom.
There are a number of inexpensive ways to soundproof your closets, such as blankets, tapestries, quilts, and moving pads. Simply hang these up over the walls to dampen sounds and drown out noises from beyond your closets.
You can also use rugs over the floor in case sounds will be heard from beneath you. Most closets don’t have windows, but if yours has windows, you can also cover it with thick blankets or quilts.
Equipment
There’s a lot of equipment that you need for your podcast cloffice, so strap in. It’s not as simple as getting a microphone and hooking it up to your laptop.
Well, you could do this, but your podcast is going to sound much better if you invest in yourself from the start.
Here’s a list of equipment you need to make your podcast as high-quality as possible:
- A computer or laptop – to use as your digital audio workstation to produce your podcast.
- XLR or USB microphone – to ensure you’re heard loud and clear by your listeners.
- Microphone stand or mount – this will make it easier for you to record your podcast without holding the microphone for an hour.
- Pop filter or windscreen – this will reduce the harsh sounds P and T sounds make, leaving your audio more seamless and easy to listen to.
- Headphones – over the ear headphones are the best option so that you can accurately hear what your audio sounds like.
- Mixer – a mixer will improve the quality of your audio and allow you to record multiple channels when you have guests on.
- Recording and editing software – you’ll need this to edit the final cut of your podcast.
- Podcast hosting provider – this uploads your episodes onto every listening platform as you upload new content.
Lighting
If you’re planning on recording your podcast for video as well as audio streaming services, lighting should also be considered. Ring lights are a good option that aren’t too expensive, as well as box lights for a more professional feel.
A lot of podcasters have neon lights and colored light strips to create a darker feel to the video. These are very popular across the podcast scene right now, so consider if you want to use these for your videos.
Even if you’re not planning on videoing your podcast, lighting should still be on your checklist of things to do. Closets typically don’t have the best lighting, and you’ll need to easily see your equipment so that your podcast flows as seamlessly as possible.
Bright overhead lights are a good option, as well as bright lamps. Sometimes this is as easy to do as simply changing a lightbulb for a higher wattage. Just bear in mind how much space you have so that it’s not all taken up by a massive floor lamp.
Electrical Access
Podcasts are heavily reliant on electrical access, and closets tend to be the one area in the house with the least outlets available. You’ll need outlet space for lights, microphones, laptop chargers, headphone chargers, cameras, and more.
Your best bet to avoid cord clutter is a surge protected outlet extension. These allow you to plug all of your cords into one place safely. Plus, most extension cords allow you to mount them onto the wall so that they don’t clutter up the floor.
[amazon box=”B08P4NKJN7″]The extension cord you’ll need will depend on how far the nearest outlet is from your closet.
If you have an outlet in your closet already, then you don’t need to worry. However, if the closest outlet is in your bedroom, you’ll need at least a 5-foot extension cord for it to reach.
Comfort
You’ll need to sit somewhere comfortable while recording your podcast. The average length of a podcast episode is 60 minutes, and the editing will probably take around 90 minutes after that.
So, you’ll need a comfortable seat that you don’t mind staying in for a couple of hours at a time.
Pinterest podcast cloffices are currently utilizing bean bag chairs and slouchy armchairs. Bean bag chairs might not be the best for posture, but they sure do look good on video!
[amazon box=”B00O6I2DTI”]Design
Now that you’ve finished focusing on the important features of your podcast cloffice, you can enjoy the designing aspect of your space. Remember that hard surfaces amplify sounds while soft surfaces mute them.
So, if you’re looking for wall decoration, canvases are better than glass frames, rugs and carpet are better than hardwood flooring, and fabric chairs are better than plastic or metal office chairs.
Be careful not to add too many decorations to not clutter your cloffice space. Don’t add anything that makes too much noise that might be caught up by your microphone.
Summary
We hope that you’ve learned something new about how to create the perfect cloffice for your podcast. Following this guide will help you to give your podcast the best possible space to thrive. So, what are you waiting for?
