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Podcast

Time Saving Podcast Production Tips – PTC 327

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Is your podcast production eating your entire week? Do you feel like you edit and publish one episode only to start recording the next? On this episode, I want to help you streamline your process.

There are five steps to producing a show each week. Those are plan, record, edit, publish and promote. Then, repeat.

Today, I will show you how to save time in each of those areas to make you more efficient.

GET HELP TO EDIT

First, let me show you an option. You can always get someone to edit your show and do all of the dirty work for you.

How much time do you spend each week creating your podcast?

If you could cut your podcast production time in half, how could you better spend the time you save? You could spend time finding clients. Use the time to serve your clients better. Spend time creating more digital products to sell. Double down on your promotion time to grow your show.

Take the time you spend each week producing your show and cut it in half. Now, multiply that by four for the four weeks in the month. Dedicating those hours to revenue generation, how much money do you think you could make? Could you find a client or two to pay you a few hundred dollars to help them?

My team can produce your podcast every week for as little as $225 per month. Is that worth getting your time back?

BASIC EDIT SERVICES

The basic edit plan will make your show sound great. You record the episode and send the team your .mp3.

You get professional audio editing, including noise reduction, volume leveling, mixing and mastering. We will take care of adding your open and close. You get the finished .mp3 ready to be posted.

If you are repurposing your video as a podcast, you also get professional video editing with this package. This includes your YouTube thumbnail ready to be uploaded to your YouTube account.

Finally, you get an audiogram to help you promote your show.

All of this is just $225 each month for four completed episodes and videos.

EDITING PLUS

If you want to step up a level and add a little coaching to your plan, the Plus level is for you.

At this level, you get everything in the basic package to edit your show. You also get a 60-minute group coaching call each month to help you produce a better podcast. You get to ask questions and get the help you need.

On top of that, my team will take care of your show notes. They will handle uploading your audio to your podcast host. They will also upload your video to your YouTube channel.

To help you promote at this level, you will also receive a captioned social media video to help you grow your audience and attract more clients.

The Plus package is $495 per month for four episodes and videos.

GO PREMIUM

If you want to go all in, you need to check out the Premium package. This takes it all off of your hands.

With the Premium package, you get everything in the Basic and Plus packages. You also get a monthly, 30-minute, one-on-one coaching call with me. I will personally help you on your journey and overcome your struggles.

You also received advanced SEO-optimized show notes. This well help people find your podcast through organic search by ensuring the right keywords are included.

My team will also add timestamps to your episode along with the resources that you mention in the show. This will help your listeners find exactly what they want.

You will receive a custom blog header image for your episode. My team will also upload your show notes to your WordPress site. It is handled for you.

And to help you promote, you will receive a quote card taken from the episode. You can use this on social media to promote the episode and grow your audience. This also makes it easy for your guest to promote the show.

To have all of this done for you so you can spend your time growing your audience and building your business, and get one-on-one coaching with me to overcome your struggles, your investment is just $695 each month for four episodes and videos.

You can see each of these packages in detail and sign up to work with me and my team at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/editing.

Imagine what you could do with all of that time back. Let’s get started.

YOUR TIME TO EDIT

Now, if you decide to continue doing it on your own, find ways to save time.

It takes time to get ready to do each step. For instance when you are ready to record, it takes time to set up the gear, open the program, adjust your mic and headphones, find your production pieces, get in the right mindset, make sure you have some water and all of the other details.

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like a lot of time. I bet if you were to time the set up prep time and the time it takes you to shut it all down, you would be surprised that it is probably around 15 minutes.

TIME IT

Next time you are ready to record an episode, time it. Start the clock as soon as you decide to record the episode.

Let’s say at 2 you decide it’s time to head in and record. As soon as you get off the couch and start walking toward the mic, the clock starts. It stops as soon as you hit record.

As soon as you have saved the file and finished the session, start the clock again. It stops when you turn off the light and leave the room.

The total of those two periods is at least 15 minutes. Four episodes a month is costing you an hour in set up and tear down. If you record all four episodes in one session, you only set up and tear down once. You just saved 45 minutes in your month.

This is just one example. The more you can batch your work like this, the more time you will save.

Remember, you don’t have to do any of these steps at the same time. You don’t have to record and edit in the same sitting. You are better off recording four episodes at the same time and then editing all four at another time. Doing the same actions together is where you will save time.

PLAN

Let’s start with planning your episode. Break up planning into four parts. Then, do each part for multiple episodes at the same time.

Find the time in your day and week when you are most creative. For some of us that is morning. Others do best at night. Some are better on a weekday at lunch. Others find their creative muse on Sunday mornings. Find your right time.

Step one is creating topics. Spend ten minutes brainstorming as many topics for your podcast as possible. Shoot for 50 different topics. What does your audience what to learn? If you interview guests, who can help you teach them that topic?

Step two is selecting your ideal five. Pick five of the 50 topics that you would like to build out as episodes. These could have a theme or they could stand alone. Your choice.

Step three is outlining each episode. For each topic, list three to seven points you could discuss on this topic.

Finally step four is adding important details to each point.

This episode is a perfect example. I am covering five areas where you can save time. That was the outline I started to build out. Each of the five areas have a few important details, like these four steps of planning.

Five episodes are now ready to be recorded. You don’t have to fight writer’s block trying to figure out what this week’s episode will be all about. Grab the outline and start recording. 

RECORD

The next step in your process is recording. There are a few ways to save time when you record.

We already discussed the idea of saving set up and tear down time by recording multiple episodes at the same time. This is a big time saver.

You can also save time recording by setting up a studio that doesn’t need to be dismantled each time. This may be a cost issue or a lack of space. If you can swing it, removing the need to set up and tear down can make you more efficient.

Finally, you can save time recording interviews by preparing your guest ahead of time. I do not mean you should provide them the questions. Before your interview, you should give them a recording checklist to minimize the time it takes to troubleshoot their tech issues.

EDIT

Editing is probably the area where you can save the most time. The first thing you should do is stop worrying about saying uh and um so much. Very few people notice. It is natural in most conversation.

Make it easy to locate your editing points. If there is something you know you want to edit out of your show, leave a short gap of five to ten seconds. This will allow you to visually find your edit.

Create a palate for your show. If there are things you use for each episode, such as your open and close, put those pieces in a place you can find quickly each time you edit. Create a system to organize your audio so you can easily find it.

Finally, create a checklist. This will allow you to know quickly which pieces need to be completed each and every time. You just follow the process.

PUBLISH

When it comes to publishing your episode, what do you do each and every time that can be streamlined? I have created a template for my episode artwork. I can easily populate the template for each episode. It save a ton of time.

Create a show note template that you can fill in with the critical information your audience needs. Repurpose your show prep and outline for your show notes. Show notes take a lot of time.

Find ways to give your listener what she needs in your show notes without spending a full day on it. Ask yourself why a listener might come to your show notes in the first place. Put that in there. Then, add some content that will attract search engines.

To save time, create a process that is easy to follow.

PROMOTE

When it comes to promoting your show, create a consistent way to promote your show. Don’t try to do everything. Do the things that will make a difference.

Use the 80/20 rule when it comes to promoting your show. If you get more listeners by appearing on other shows, spend your time there. If Twitter isn’t where your audience hangs out, don’t waste your time.

Take some time to list the 20% of your promotion activities that make up 80% of the results. Do those things and eliminate the others.

GET RID OF IT

You can remove all of the editing headache from your weekly “to do” list and have my team help.

Let my team produce your podcast every week for as little as $225 per month. Get your time back.

You can see your editing options at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/editing.

Do you need help with your podcast? E-mail me any time at Coach@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s see what we can do.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Podcast

Better Interviews In Less Time – PTC 272

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Podcast interviews can eat up a lot of your time. Creating intriguing conversations requires many moving parts. In this episode, you get five steps that will help you save time creating your interview episodes.

Many podcast episodes I hear start with a generic question like, “Tell the audience a little about yourself.”

You can’t afford to slowly wade into an interview. Your audience isn’t going to wait around for a lot of useless background information. You have less than five minutes to make your listener want to hear the whole episode.

Start your interview with the strongest question you have.

If you would like help creating powerful interview questions, you can download my free “17 Ultimate Podcast Interview Questions” at PodcastTalentCoach.com/interview. These 17 questions can be customized for any interview and guest.

Podcast hosts tend to spend a lot of time researching their guests. They read the blogs and books. These hosts scour the guests’ bios. They will listen to previous interviews and learn all they can.

When you spend a lot of your time researching your guests, you eventually suffer from the curse of knowledge. You forget what you didn’t know when you started. You forget what the listener doesn’t know. That creates a gap between your questions and the listener’s knowledge.

I was on a call with a coaching client the other night. We were working to develop a plan for his podcast production. He feels like he spends a lot of time scheduling and preparing for the interview. Then, he spends a lot of time conducting the interview. Finally, there is a lot of time spent on editing, posting and promoting the episode, only to do it all over again for the next show.

He and I talked about his process and where he might save some time creating these interview episodes. As we laid out the plan, I realized that many podcasters could save time creating their interviews by focusing the same five specific areas.

Let’s go through each of them to cut your episode production time in half.

RESEARCH

1. Know the one thing

Your listeners will remember one thing about your episode. As much as we hope they remember the whole story, all of the details or the full list of 25 tips, your listeners remembers the moral of the story. The one thing.

Rather than spending hours researching your guest, decide why you want her on your show in the first place. It could be she created a new hack, she have a unique process, or she was the first person to do something. Maybe she made $100,000 in her first year of coaching and we want to know how.

This will save you a ton of time researching your guest. We don’t have time in the interview to tell their life story. Your listener isn’t tuning in to get her life story. Your listener should benefit in some way by listening to your conversation. Determine what that benefit is. Then, deliver.

PREPARATION

2. Prepare 3 to 5 powerful questions

You will probably use 3 questions.

Once you figure out the one thing you want your listener to take away from your conversation, decide what questions help tell that story.

You won’t need a whole list of questions. You only need a few. These questions should help your guest tell their story. Stories are much easier to remember. Teaching through stories is very powerful.

Ask great questions that help your guest tell stories with great details. Make it memorable.

My list of “17 Ultimate Podcast Interview Questions” is all about telling stories. All 17 questions help you set your guest up to look great and engage your audience.

THE INTERVIEW

3. Listen and ask great follow-up questions

Help your guest tell their story and get to the one thing.

Use the curiosity of a listener – ask what they would ask.

Now that you have your 3 questions, ask and listen.

This is where you avoid the curse of knowledge. Because you haven’t done hours of research, your curiosity will kick in. You will now begin asking questions that your listener is asking in his head.

These 3 questions will walk your guest right down the path of telling her story. You might use 3 questions in chronological order. Where did she start? What did she learn? Where does she go from here?

You might use a “struggle to success” framework. “What did life look like before the breakthrough?” “When did you realize the breakthrough?” “What is life like now?” “How can I do the same thing?”

Among the primary questions, you will sprinkle in follow-up questions that refine the story. These will be questions like, “How did that happen?” or “What do you mean by that?” or “How did that feel?”

When you are listening like a listener, you are more engaged. Your listener is more engaged. Your guest is more engaged. Everybody wins.

The best part, you just saved a bunch of research time.

EDITING

The last two areas deal with editing. There are two thing you can do to save a lot of time when it comes time to edit your show.

4. Leave large gaps of silence to speed up editing

When you leave large gaps of silence, you can easily find those edit points by simply looking at the waveform.

Before you start the interview, tell you guest to feel free to stop and begin answering a question again. But if they do, you would like them to pause for five or ten seconds. This will help with editing.

You should also tell them you will do the same if you need to start over with a question.

This not only helps with editing, it puts your guest at ease. They will rarely use this option. Their answers will be much stronger, because they aren’t as concerned about messing up.

5. Leave the ums and thinking silence in the conversation

When you leave in the “ums” and short bursts of silence, you let your listener fill in the blank and predict the answer. This makes the interview much more enjoyable and engaging for your listener.

Leaving these in also makes the interview sound more conversational. People use “um” and bits of silence in everyday discussions. They should be part of your conversations as well. You should only be concerned if the “ums” are distracting or the silence becomes too long.

Silence is a powerful attention grabber. When people hear silence in audio, they automatically pay attention, because it is unusual.

When you don’t spend so much time trying to find and remove all of these little nuances, you will save amazing time editing your show.

SAVE TIME

There are five areas that can save you hours every week when you are creating your podcast interviews. Give them a try and let me know how much time you save.

Download the “17 Ultimate Podcast Interview Questions” at PodcastTalentCoach.com/interview.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Podcast

Struggles With Editing, Structure and the Perfect Sound? – Episode 192

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Struggles With Editing, Structure and the Perfect Sound? – Episode 192

Podcast struggles with editing, structure and sound
Copyright: princeoflove / 123RF Stock Photo

I recently asked my tribe about their podcast struggles and the one thing they are struggling with most. This week, we are going to answer the questions about editing time, the structure of your show and how to get the perfect sound. This will help you get over a few hurdles and conquer your struggles.

EDITING STRUGGLES

I struggle with the production details. Would love to job it out.

Jon Fugler, CEO

Recruit-Me Athletic Scholarship

www.recruit-me.com

 

I struggle with the time it takes to Edit!

Christopher Lewis

www.DadOfDivas.com

 

Thanks Erik. Enjoying your podcasts. Heard about you via Dave Jackson. Keep up the good work. For me, it’s a tie between editing my podcasts, nailing down interview appointments, and over-the-internet issues during interviews.

-Shawn

Host of the Stories of Starters Podcast

Helping you build your brand at Washburn Writer

Teaching you Excel at Your Excel Tutor

 

EKJ: Look for ways to make your editing easier. What can you do to eliminate repetition?

Create a shell for your podcast. This is a session in your software that includes your show open, show close and any other recorded elements you use to produce the show each week. This will save you time searching for and inserting the parts.

Make editing easy. If you or your guest messes up, and you know you will need to take it out, pause for ten seconds. I learned this trick from Dave Jackson at the School of Podcasting. When you go back to edit, the long silence will be easy to locate making it easy to remove.

Finally, don’t be so worried about removing every “um” and “uh”. A few of those help you sound natural. Simply work over time to remove them completely from your speech pattern. This will take time. Be aware of it. If you aren’t afraid of the silence, your “ums” will eventually go away.

If all else fails, find someone like Steve Stewart to do your show editing for you. Eliminate one of your memberships to pay for it.

 

STRUCTURE STRUGGLES

We did our first recording the other day and there were a few issues we are having to work out. Sound quality isn’t bad. Small issue with mic technique but the one thing that I can tell we are struggling with is the content. Having a single topic? Three segments? Just the interview? If we just do the interview the user just doesn’t get to know us. We can talk but containing it to say 15 minutes or less seems to be a challenge. Keeping it focused is the thing that seems to be something we are working on. We are going to be doing interviews and two other segments. No such thing as too long, just too boring right? Just want to make sure we do the latter. Thanks.

Jeremy Cox

Humble Pig Studios

@40 Podcast

 

EKJ: Which part do you enjoy most? Your show should be content that sparks your passion.

If you love interviewing people, interviews should be the biggest part of your show. It will be the best content you deliver, because you are passionate about it. You will continue to push yourself to be better.

With regard to the number of segments and the length of the show, let’s go back to your ideal listener. If you have completed the Target Listener Worksheet from PodcastTalentCoach.com, you have your ideal listener well-defined.

If we know how and why your listener is consuming your content, and what that individual likes most, we can begin to learn how to shape our content. As you mentioned, never too long – only too boring.

The structure of your show may ebb and flow at the beginning. As you get feedback from your audience and watch your download numbers, you will start to learn what they like and dislike.

The day you don’t do the “random thoughts” segment and your e-mail inbox fills with feedback, you’ll know whether or not to add it back in. When an episode gets twice as many downloads as your typical show, you know you may have hit on a hot topic or guest.

The podcast doesn’t need to be perfect right from the start. Launch and adjust as time goes on.

 

PERFECT SOUND STRUGGLES

I struggle with getting the recording space right to sound professional (I reluctantly ended up having to move into my bedroom as it was the only room in my house with a low ceiling) I had to put rugs on the floor and mattresses up against all the walls. Even still it is hot in my little room – I live in Queensland Australia and I am uncomfortable.

Annie Holden

 

Getting the levels exactly matched. Even though I know my way around VU meters and send the whole show through a cloud-based leveling service, sometimes my guest, appearing by phone, is not at the same level as me.

Scott Orr

Producer / Host, “Code 3” – The Firefighters’ Podcast

 

I struggle with getting started due to recording equipment.

Kyle Congleton

 

EKJ: Don’t let the equipment be the excuse for not launching. If you can use Microsoft Word and post to Facebook, chances are you can launch a podcast.

YouTube can be a great source for learning the equipment. Start simple. A USB mic like the Audiotechnica ATR-2100 connected straight into your computer will get you up and running.

Get a crash course on your recording software, like Audacity or Hindenburg.

Then, launch.

The audio doesn’t need to sound perfect. My buddy Kraig Mathias did a show from the park. He would go walking and record the show. It was about online business and money.

The content was great. Who cares that there are birds in the background?

Have you ever listened to the Marketing Secrets podcast with Russell Brunson? It was formerly called Marketing In Your Car, because he would just hit record before he started driving and record the whole podcast on the way to the office.

People will listen to great content with average audio. Great audio will never save poor content.

Here are a few tips. To minimize the background noise, make sure you are using a cardioid or directional microphone. This will do a great job picking up the audio source right in front of the mic without allowing much ambient noise to get through. Omnidirectional mics pick up sound from all directions.

You can also minimize background noise by being closer to the mic, even touching it. This will allow you to turn down your gain.

The entire room doesn’t necessarily need to be muffled by soundproofing. If you build some soundproofing right behind and close to your mic, the sound waves from you voice will be greatly absorbed without bouncing around the room.

To balance you and your guest, you can use some software like Skype Call Recorder that will allow you to record each person on a separate track. This setting is also available in some other conference software.

You can accomplish separate tracks by using multiple tracks through a sound board as well. This takes a little more set up and mix minus. This is higher level than beginners need to tackle.

Remember, most people are not listening to your podcast in ideal conditions. They are not in a perfectly quiet room wearing enclosed headphones. They are typically at the gym or in the car or mowing the lawn. Ideal sound quality isn’t critical in most situations.

Spend more time worrying about your content and having fun.

 

 

Do you need help with your podcast to conquer your struggles? E-mail me any time at Coach@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s see what we can do.

You can find my podcast and other tools to help you create great content at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Podcast

15 Quick & Easy Tips To Improve Your Podcast – Episode 153

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15 Quick & Easy Tips To Improve Your Podcast – Episode 153

Copyright : zerbor (Follow)

When I coach podcasters, we work on various aspects of their podcast. I most often help podcasters with their content. There are times we work on the process. Other times it is the audio quality, business or technique.

Recently, a podcaster contacted me to help with the overall creation of his show. It was taking him eight to twelve hours to produce a 30-minute podcast episode. He wanted to cut that in half if at all possible.

The show had two hosts. They would interview a few guests on each episode. Recording the intro and outro of the show, conducting the various interviews, editing the pieces together and eliminating the flaws ate up a lot of time every week.

Within four weeks of our first session, we had his podcast sounding more natural and conversational. We also had his editing time down to 90 minutes. Overall, the production of the show was within three hours.

There are times you are too close to the trees to see the forrest. Sometimes you just need somebody to point out that which is overlooked. That person could be a coach, a peer, or even you if you know what you are looking for.

In the case of this podcast, he simply needed help getting over his perfectionism to achieve a podcast quality acceptable to most while saving himself eight or nine hours every week.

Are there things you are overlooking in your podcast that could help you improve with a simple adjustment?

This week, I’d like to share with you 5 of the 15 tips on the podcast. You can get all 15 here:

Click here to subscribe

You you can easily and quickly put these tips into effect this week as you record your podcast and immediately improve your show.

1. SIMPLIFY YOUR PROCESS

If you are like me, there are pieces of audio you use in every episode. For me, it would be my open and close for my show.

Make these pieces easy to insert into your podcast.

I begin creating an episode by recording the primary content. I process that audio using Adobe Audition. Then, I insert the open and close as the final step and save it as one file.

Since I use the open and close in every episode, I have those pieces saved in one production file. This file only contains that audio.

When it comes time to insert the pieces, I go to the file and insert it all. That is the only thing there. No searching. No wasting time. It just simplifies the processes.

Are there audio pieces you use in every episode? If so, save these pieces as individual files that you can easily access and insert.

4. CLEAN EDITS

Here is a quick tip to make cleaner edits.

In post production, we often need to remove parts of our audio. We might stop then start a sentence a second time. Other times we might simply want to remove an entire section.

The goal of a post production edit is to make the change unnoticeable to the listener. You want to avoid that audible bump or change in tone.

Let’s pretend you are editing a complete sentence out of your audio. The wave file would look like <last word> <breath 1> <bad sentence> <breath 2> <first word>. We want to remove the <bad sentence>.

Most people make the first edit between <last word> and <breath 1>. They then make the second edit between <bad sentence> and <breath 2>.

This leaves a final product of <last word> into <breath 2>. The audible clunk comes from the unnatural transition between a word and a breath that didn’t naturally follow it. The breath between words sounds different than a breath taken when you first begin speaking. The sound of a particular vowel or consonant usually remains constant.

To make your edit clean, place your first edit instead between <breath 1> and <bad sentence>, keeping the original breath. Make the second edit between <breath 2> and <first word>, eliminating the new breath.

This leaves the final product of <breath 1> and <first word>. The natural transition between <last word> and <breath 1> will cover the edit.

Another options is to make the edit in the middle of the sentence before a hard consonant.

Let’s say the sentence is, “The couch came crashing down.” As you are recording it, you mess up on “crashing”. You begin recording a second time at the beginning of the sentence.

When you clean it up, make the edit at the beginning of “couch”. There will be a small break right before the hard “c” in couch. Cut as close to each “c” in the two sentences.

Paste it together and you will hardly notice. Most of all, your listeners will not notice. Edits between sentences can be more noticable than edits in the middle of a sentence.

Give these a try. I think you’ll be surprised how clean your edits sound.

7. LAND GUESTS WITH THE RIGHT BAIT

Land great interview guests for your show by positioning your podcast with the benefits to the guest.

Many podcasters send the invite e-mail to potential guests explaining how the audience of the show will LOVE the info the guest will share. That fact is only a third of the puzzle … and NOT the most important to your new friend.

Just like most everyone in life, your guest want to know what is in it for them. Lead with the headline. How will your show benefit your guest?

“Ms. Guest, congratulations on your new book Crochet By The Yard. Launching a new book is always exciting. I imagine you are now busy spreading the word. I would love to help you market your book. Crocheting Conversations is the podcast I host. We have been talking about crocheting for 3 years now. Let’s find a time to have you as a guest on the show to promote your book to my 1,500 weekly listeners.”

Once you have established the benefit to your potential guest, you can then share how the interview will benefit you and your audience.

If you want to land a great guest, make your show as appealing as possible to your potential guest by leading with the prize for them. Lead with the headline.

10. WORK IT RIGHT

If you are using baffling in your studio space and still getting some echo, make sure you are working your mic properly. Working your mic properly is critical for solid audio quality of your podcast.

Your mouth should be about an inch away from your windscreen. By working close to your mic, you will not need the volume up quite so high as you record. Therefore, the microphone will not pick up as much background noise.

As you work your mic closely, be careful that your breathing, swallowing, lip smacking and other mouth noises are not loud and distracting. You may need to pull away a bit as you breath if it is too loud.

Over time, you will get comfortable and good at working the mic up close. It may simply take a bit of practice.

14. OTHER WAYS TO PREPARE FOR LIFE

In addition to working ahead, you have two other choices to have content to post even when you do not have time to create it.

We all have responsibilities in life. We have also made a commitment to publish our content on a regular basis. How do we balance the two?

You could record an evergreen episode. This is an episode that never goes out of date. It is always valuable. Evergreen content is content that is not timely, yet valuable at any given point in time.

Keep this one just in case life pops up. Post it when you just cannot find time to create the new episode.

Discussing recent events would not be considered evergreen, because 6 months from now it will sound dated.

On the other hand, an episode about budgeting could be evergreen. This episode would contain content that could be used today, 6 months from now or 2 years from now. It is always fresh. It is evergreen.

You could also create a “best of” episode to use as a fresh episode. This “best of” show could highlight your episode that was downloaded most or received the most feedback. You could highlight a few different episodes that have a similar theme.

When it comes time to deal with your other responsibilities, you will still have content to post if you use one of these three tips.

These 15 tips can easily be implemented this week to make your podcast stronger. You will be more efficient in your process. Your editing will be easier. Guests will sound better and be more willing to be a guest. Overall, your podcast will have a better sound.

Get the short e-book containing all 15 quick and easy tips to improve your podcast here.

Click here to subscribe

Do you need help with your podcast? E-mail me any time at Coach@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s see what we can do.

You can find my podcast and other tools to help you create great content at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Podcast

8 Podcasting Tips & Tricks – Episode 115

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8 Podcasting Tips & Tricks – Episode 115

Tips & Tricks

This week, I would like to share a few podcasting tips and tricks I have learned over my 25 years of broadcasting. These tips will help you with your interviews, editing, voice and sound quality.

1. Stronger Interviews

Would you like to make your interviews stronger?

There are times when your guest is not great at thinking on their feet. Sometimes it takes a couple sentences before she really hits her stride with her answer to our question.

To make your interview content stronger, prepare the guest ahead of time. Tell your guest to feel free to pause a few seconds to gather his thoughts before he begins to answer the question. You will edit out the silence before the podcast goes live.

This little instruction will help your guest prepare much stronger answers. And, it will only take a little editing on your part.

Next, tell your guest it is perfectly acceptable to stop and begin his answer again. If your guest feels the answer isn’t as strong as he had hoped, he can pause 10 seconds for an easy edit and then begin again.

This instruction will also provide some peace of mind for your guest. Simply knowing he can start again can sometimes calm his nerves and help him provide stronger answers in the first place.

2. Land Great Guests

Land great interview guests for your show by positioning your podcast using the benefits to the guest.

Many podcasters send the invite e-mail to potential guests explaining how the audience of the show will LOVE the info the guest will share. That fact is only a third of the puzzle … and NOT the most important to your new friend.

Just like most everyone in life, your guest want to know what is in it for them. Lead with the headline. How will your show benefit your guest?

Once you have established the benefit to your potential guest, you can then share how the interview will benefit you and your audience.

If you want to land a great guest, make your show as appealing as possible to your potential guest by leading with the prize for them. Lead with the headline.

3. Better Interview Answers

If you want to get more from your guest and get deeper answers to your interview questions, do not be afraid of the pregnant pause. Many hosts panic as soon as the conversation stops.

Let the silence sit there for a few seconds. Just as you typically jump in when you hear silence, your guest will do the same. If you do not talk, your guest will speak up. It is natural.

If the pause gets too long, you can always edit the audio. Take the silence out if it sounds unnatural.

If your guests provides a short answer, or you would like more, don’t talk. Allow that pregnant pause to encourage them to talk more. You will be surprised by the effectiveness of the pause. Not talking is a learned skill just like talking is a talent.

4. Have More Energy

If you want to better project your voice and sound like you have more energy, stand up while you record.

Many podcast “coaches” will recommend that you sit down, because it will help you sound more natural. These teachers unfortunately do not understand how the human voice works.

In order to project your voice, your diaphragm needs to work properly. Your larynx needs to be fully open. Your vocal chords need to have a sufficient oxygen supply.

When you stand, your entire airway opens to the extent that it can fully function. Your diaphragm can send sufficient air to your vocal chords. Your vocal chords will then need to do less work. Your voice will not get tired as quickly. You can project your voice with less effort.

When you sit, your abdomen is squashed. Your diaphragm does not have enough room to move properly. You then need to force the air through your vocal chords to create sound. In the end, your voice becomes tired.

Have you ever been at a cocktail party or networking event and found yourself saying, “Hey, let’s sit down so I can sound more conversational with you”? I didn’t think so.

If you believe you cannot sound natural and conversational while standing, just smile and stop yelling. Sitting has nothing to do with having a conversation.

5. Stop The Pop

If you want to avoid popping your Ps, talk across the microphone at a 30-45 degree angle rather than directly into it.

Your Ps pop when the burst of air from your mouth attacks the diaphragm inside the mic. When you talk across the mic rather than directly into it, the air doesn’t hit the mic so hard. This will keep your Ps clean.

6. Like Your Voice More

We often do not like the sound of our own voice. There are many reasons, many of them physiological.

There is one trick that will help your voice sound less bouncy, less singsongy, and less like a puking radio DJ. It is the way you use your headphones.

First, turn down the volume of your headphones. This will help you hear the natural sound of your voice.

Next, only wear one cup of the headphones leaving the other ear open. This will help you hear your natural voice without the enhancement of any audio equipment.

These two tips will help you deliver your content in a manner that is closer to your normal conversational voice.

These may not make you suddenly love your voice. However, your voice will sound more natural. This adjustment should help you like your voice just a bit more.

7. Cleaner Edits

Here is a quick tip to make cleaner edits.

In post production, we often need to remove parts of our audio. We might stop then start a sentence a second time. Other times we might simply want to remove an entire section.

The goal of a post production edit is to make the change unnoticeable to the listener. You want to avoid that audible bump or change in tone.

Let’s pretend you are editing a complete sentence out of your audio. The wave file would look like <last word> <breath 1> <bad sentence> <breath 2> <first word>. We want to remove the <bad sentence>.

Most people make the first edit between <last word> and <breath 1>. They then make the second edit between <bad sentence> and <breath 2>.

This leaves a final product of <last word> into <breath 2>. The audible clunk comes from the unnatural transition between a word and a breath that didn’t naturally follow it.

To make your edit clean, place your first edit instead between <breath 1> and <bad sentence>, keeping the original breath, with the second edit between <breath 2> and <first word>, eliminating the new breath.

This leaves the final product of <breath 1> and <first word>. The natural transition between <last word> and <breath 1> will cover the edit.

The way you inhale after words varies. They way you start a sentence with a particular vowel or consonant usually remains constant.

Give it a try. I think you’ll be surprised how clean your edits sound.

8. Better Audio

If your audio sounds like you are in a canyon or restroom, you need something to absorb the sound waves in your studio.

Many podcasters record in a spare bedroom or the basement next to the water heater. These rooms are not always the best recording environments. Your mic may pick up a lot of echo as the sound waves bounce off of the walls.
To deaden the room, you need some baffling. Before you go spend a ton of money on expensive baffling, try creating your own from comforters, blankets, packing foam or other household items.

Here is a link to a great video that will teach you how to build your own baffling. CLICK HERE.
Are you stuck? I would love to help you with your podcast. E-mail me any time at Coach@PodcastTalentCoach.com.

You can find my podcast and other tools to help you create great content at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.