TOP TIPS FOR PODCAST PRESENTERS w w w. s o n i c p o d c a s t e r. c o m
Why Start a Podcast? Digital marketing is now the number 1 tool for business owners like you, to get your brand out to your prospects. Clever marketers have long ago discovered that high value content allows you to build customer trust, and position yourself as an authority in your industry. While blog posts have been the mainstay for delivering content, maintaining a solid web presence and offering valuable leads into your sales funnel, the market has become saturated with text content. There are over 400 Million blog posts online as at 2016, so it's incredibly important for business owners to provide new and exciting methods of content delivery. Which is why professional podcast presenting is fast becoming one of the most popular marketing tools in the ever-changing digital space. And best of all, for business owners who already have an active online presence through their blogs, your existing high-value content can easily be re-purposed for podcast episodes. Let's take a brief look at why you should consider starting your own podcast series Authority Building The importance of building authority as an industry expert is critical in today s digital marketing space. With your own podcast series, your prospective clients will quickly engage with you as a thought leader in your industry. Like, Know & Trust The days of presenting your business with a static, faceless website are over. Clients today are looking for the human element to help them establish familiarity with their service suppliers. With a professional podcast just one click away for your listeners, you can reach a greater digital marketing potential when you listeners get to like, know & trust you.
Reach a New Audience Combined with a targeted marketing strategy on social media platforms, and to your existing prospect & client lists, your audience will be your source for future listeners/fans, as they can easily share and distribute your content among their peers. Plus, there here are new, untapped audiences waiting for you to launch your first series. Are You ready to get started? Onwards & Upwards There has been a tremendous growth in the podcast sector over the past two years, as technology now makes it possible for everyone to engage with hosted audio presentations. Podcast listening has spiked by 23% between 2015 & 2016, and is predicted to move in an upwards trajectory. Content Delivery As a modern business owner, chances are that you already have content in the form of blog posts and advertising copy. These assets give you a head-start on podcast topics, as they can be repurposed for your series
Kicking off Your First Episodes Becoming a Podcast Superstar is easier than you may think. We understand that many new podcast presenters may be daunted by the idea of learning the technical skills to set up - that s why we re here to help! Working closely with you to get started, from recommendations on the best equipment for the job, troubleshooting through early challenges, and with ongoing feedback, support and coaching, you'll soon have the confidence to be podcasting like a pro. You Record Your Episodes After an initial consultation on choosing the right equipment and software, and developing your episode content to engage your listeners, it s as easy as preparing topic notes, hitting the record button and capturing your first episode as a raw version. Save the file, and your job is done. We Get to Work on the Editing Process Once you have completed your recording, you'll then add the files to our Dropbox vault. From here we'll render the audio, synchronize the takes, and start editing. This includes removing many of the um's & ah's, reducing any annoying background noise, slicing and repositioning any instances where presenters talk over each other, and balance the volume levels so your episode is pleasing to the listener. Time to Go Live Once we notify you of the episode's completion, the next step is to upload your content to the web. Whether you are attracting listeners directly via social media, host your episodes on a dedicated site, or embed within your existing online presence, the process is very simple. For those comfortable enough with the process of uploading content, this is the final stage of the process, and you're ready to market your podcast to the world.
Choosing the Right Microphone Much of a podcast's success lies in the choice of equipment presenters are using - yet it's often the most overlooked component! Your listeners deserve studio-quality episodes, or they'll simply switch off. Fortunately, in this modern age, 'prosumer' equipment is cheaper than ever, and for a small, one-time investment, you can be assured of broadcast-quality results by starting out on the right path. The Basics First of all, your smart-phone s headset/mic combination will not be adequate. These are not designed for capturing studio quality recording. While a slight step up in quality can be found by using USB, Skype-ready headsets, these also fall short of the professional outcome you ll be striving for. It is our recommendation that neither of these options are adequate. Pro Quality at a Great Price Believe it or not, this is very possible to achieve an A-class recording by choosing the best gear for the job. For a microphone budget of around $300, combined with the right setup and technique, your recordings will rival the quality of any commercial radio station. For ease of use, USB 'Plug & Play' is a smart decision for any podcast presenter. On the following page we ll take a look at a few of the popular microphone models available. Other Equipment While your microphone will form the central part of your podcasting arsenal, there are other bits & pieces that you might want to consider. A desk mounted boom arm will ensure that your microphone remains stable, combined with a shock mount to minimise vibrations, and a pop filter to reduce vocal sibilances (or in layman s terms, the esses and puhs that detract from a quality recording. For the moment, let s take a look at some of the popular microphone solutions available today.
RØDE Podcaster Representing the best quality/price point in this class of microphone is the RØDE Podcaster. We make no secret of the fact that this device is our favourite! Built under a strict quality brief out of RØDE's Australian headquarters, and backed up by an outstanding 10-Year Warranty, this is the microphone we recommend to our clients. Note that to get the best performance out of this microphone, a deskmounted boom arm is also required. Audio Technica AT2020USB The AT2020 is a reliable, no fuss USB Condenser microphone that performs well, in comparison to other devices in this price range. For those on a limited budget, the included desk stand is a bonus, and allows greater portability than the traditional boom arm setup required for the RØDE. Perfect for those times when you re away from the office and need to pack compact gear for on the road recording. Blue YETI Another popular USB microphone amongst podcasters is the Yeti. As a manufacturer of sometimes quirky looking devices, Blue has it s fair share of fans in both the podcast and sound studio space, but we re reluctant to recommend this over the RØDE or AT2020USB, as we ve had several clients reporting technical issues.
Skype Recording for Two Presenters While there is no requirement to use Skype if you re a solo presenter, chances are that you ll be co-hosting your episodes with another presenter, or interviewing special guests that align with your industry message. While Skype does carry some inherent limitations (such as only using two digital channel signals), it s currently the best option for capturing co-hosted recordings with relative ease. It s also the most widely used VoIP platform that s become the gold standard for most people, so if you plan on inviting guest interviewees on to your podcast, changes are that your guest will already be using Skype. The advantage of Skype for two-presenter recording is that each presenter s voice can be recorded to separate tracks, which allows complete editing control over the post-production process. Recording Software for Skype There are currently two gold standards in software applications for recording Skype calls, depending on your PC or laptop s operating system. For Mac OS users, this handy little software package has a great interface that is intuitive for first time users, and at a great price point, we recommend Mac users install the paid version for trouble-free recording. Visit www.ecamm.com to grab your copy today For Windows users, our testing has concluded that Pamela for Skype is the go-to option. The Professional version of this software ships at a great price, and can be found at www.pamela.biz
EDITING: Where the Magic Happens While the DIY approach for podcast editing is possible, the presenter will need to consider the savings of editing vs. the expense of time. A typical podcast may take up to three hours to edit. Added to the 30 minutes in preparing to record, and the hour to record your presentation, do you have 20 hours a month to dedicate to your show? Do you have the skills or the aptitude to learn how to use audio editing software, and produce results of a broadcast quality? In most cases, the answer is a resounding No, and which is why most commercial podcasters employ the services of an experienced Audio Editor. There are many tutorials online to help the DIYer get started, but if you want to fast track your podcast series and leave the hard work to Sonic Podcaster, get in touch with us today What s Involved in a Great Podcast Production? Audio Editing Slicing out the ums and ahs, removing empty spaces in the recordings and other unwanted artefacts, this is the first critical phase of production, resulting in a premium listener experience Soundbytes Great podcast episodes will add a custom voiceover and musical intro & outro to your shows, which helps the listener identify with your brand. ID3 Tags for SEO A little known SEO enhancement for your online presence includes tagging your audio assets with keywords and phrases Dynamic Range Compression For optimum results, a studio process known as compression applies a production technique that aligns low & high recorded elements to be played back at similar volume levels Post-Production Mastering Before rendering your audio files for publishing, a mastering process is applied to equalise sound levels, remove unwanted background noises (where possible) and adds extra polish to your episodes. Visual Assets Custom episode graphics are applied to the audio files, which promotes listener engagement using artwork that can be utilised across social media and web platforms.
Uploading & Hosting Once your episodes have been through the post-production process and rendered as an MP3 audio file, it s time to share your brilliant podcast with the world. Depending on how you re marketing your podcast series, podcast episodes can be integrated into your existing website, be hosted on a dedicated domain, or distributed on existing platforms. There are many options available, so we ll look at a few of the more renowned services that you ll be using to host your podcast. Amazon S3 Amazon S3 is a high-speed cloud based storage platform that offers lightning fast downloads, which makes it the ideal service for podcast file hosting. As many of your listeners will be streaming content rather than downloading, Amazon S3 offers a reliable solution, especially if your site host is prone to slow delivery of large files. Amazon S3 audio files can easily be integrated into you end-user web platform with minimum fuss. itunes Did you know that almost 50% of all podcast listeners are iphone users? As one of the largest platforms for all things audio, we strongly recommend that you also add your episodes to itunes to maximize your exposure to consumers of podcast episodes. And with a clever launch strategy on itunes, you may even make it onto the New & Noteworthy list, and promoting your series to an even wider audience. SoundCloud Soundcloud is a streaming service that also has it s fair share of podcast audiences worldwide, and with a hassle-free user interface, it takes minutes to upload your episodes. Soundcloud offers a very generous lite package for free, and a nominal ongoing monthly charge for hosting your files
Dedicated Website Hosting A popular approach for podcast presenters is to have a dedicated website that showcases your podcast series, either hosted as a standalone domain, or as a subdomain to your existing online presence. Here s an example of one of our clients podcast sites. Alan & Greg from The Real Magic Podcast launched in 2015, and have a wealth of informative episodes available to their listeners, all a single click away via their podcast page. Sonic Podcaster offers a range of web designs to host your podcast series. Talk to us today for more info
How Can We Help? If you ve made it through to this part of the guide, We know you ll be keen to get started if you want to know more, keep an eye out for our regular blog posts on podcasting tips & tricks. We ll also send you regular updates via email. FAST TRACK YOUR WAY TO PODCASTING SUCCESS Sonic Podcaster takes the process of podcast editing & production very seriously, and strive to deliver the best possible outcome for all of our clients. As our key measure is to provide the highest quality episodes, your success is also our success. By using our services, you ll have startup and troubleshooting support on a 1-1 basis, ongoing coaching to ensure the best outcomes, and access to a wealth of knowledge on recording & producing your first series UNLIKE MANY ONLINE BUSINESSES THESE DAYS WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU We pride ourselves on customer service & support, and when becoming a valued client, you ll have direct access to Jason Carter - Founder & Audio Specialist at Sonic Podcaster. We have an open line on social media, email and Skype. We hope you ll contact us with any questions you may have. To schedule a Skype call, visit our contact page Shoot us an email jason@ For more information on podcasting, visit our blog Get in touch with us via Facebook