My goal, proper right here, is that can assist you to create a podcast within the shortest time potential.

And I’m not simply speaking about any previous podcast. I imply a nice podcast. Your very best podcast!

As a result of that is the place so many individuals get caught out. It’s the place exhibits go to die. The podcaster spends an excessive amount of time making each episode. A lot that it simply would not match into their week and even their life. By that time, it simply drains all of the enjoyable and worth out of all the present!

In fact, it’s value noting that various kinds of exhibits take totally different quantities of time to supply (go ask an audio drama producer how a lot time they spend on dialogue enhancing alone!). And typically, spending extra time in your present can enhance the standard, or what you get out of it. However, that’s provided that you spend that point on the proper stuff. And I consider it’s potential to do these proper issues in far much less time than you assume.

So that is what I’ll do on this article: present you the very best of these “proper issues” and enable you to create the absolute best product within the least potential time.

Who I Am and What You’ll Be taught

By the use of a fast “who the heck’s this man?”: my identify is Colin Grey, and I’m a podcaster, author, trainer, and basic dogsbody at The Podcast Host. We create a community of our personal exhibits and assist 1000’s of others produce their very own by way of our content material.

Plus, we run a podcast maker device known as Alitu. The entire function behind Alitu is to supply recording, enhancing, and publishing instruments that automate and simplify, making it far faster and simpler to create your present. And lots of that relies on the “proper methods” that I’ll discuss right here.

Over the previous ten years, I’ve gone from becoming a podcast round a very totally different regular job (instructing academics find out how to train — meta, huh?), to making an attempt to suit as many podcasts as potential into my present job and designing instruments to assist others do it faster!

It was all about slicing out the cruft and determining what’s actually worthwhile in making a high-quality, profitable present. I’ll discuss all these insights right here, together with:

• How you can plan content material within the minimal time, and in a means that makes it straightforward to ship
• How you can get essentially the most from the whole lot you do create
• Recording & enhancing methods to save lots of time
• How you can discover and study the instruments that reduce down on processing time

So, let’s get into it. Time to use a bit of lightning to your podcast!

Why Seasons are Rocketfuel for You and your Viewers

Seasons-based podcasting is essentially the most underrated workflow hack within the business. And, even higher, it’s a large driver of listener success, loyalty, and viewers progress, too.

How? Effectively, there are three causes. 

Planning Nirvana

You recognize whenever you flip up at your desk for recording time and assume: “Alrighty … podcast time. I’ve bought an hour to get this child recorded! Soooo … what shall I discuss … ”

An hour later, you’re nonetheless solely midway by way of planning the episode. And even worse, you’re nonetheless looking at a clean display screen, making an attempt to consider an thought.

Effectively, right here’s a brand new tack: take an hour of your life and take into consideration your subsequent season as a substitute. 

Take a query you typically get out of your listeners, or a subject you realize you wish to cowl, after which break it down. One of many greatest errors we make as podcasters is making an attempt to suit an excessive amount of into an episode. We do it as a result of we care. We wish to give lots of worth, however truly, it’s shortchanging your listeners, typically lacking particulars, or giving them an excessive amount of to consider . As an alternative, break that matter down into its part components. 

I did a season on podcast gear some time again. I might have simply coated it in a single episode however it’s higher to interrupt it down. One episode on microphones, one on mixers, one on recording software program, and one on enhancing software program. 

Usually I can work this out in lower than ten minutes for a subject I do know properly. Possibly 20 to 30 if I must do a little bit of analysis. I’ll find yourself with an inventory of perhaps six or seven episodes, typically as much as 15 or 20. 

Then, I’ll take one other 20 minutes to place some meat on them bones, and do a set of 5 to 10 bullet factors inside every principal matter, outlining what I’ll cowl. 

By the top of the hour (or much less!) I’ve bought a plan for a whole season’s value of content material, typically two or three months lengthy, perhaps extra. 

So now, as a substitute of the standard, “Oh no! What do I discuss this week!”, subsequent time you open up that season plan, try the following episode’s script and hit document. Simple!

And sure, this may nonetheless work for interview exhibits. Do all the above, and solely THEN begin to consider company. This makes for much higher content material. As an alternative of simply selecting out random pseudo-famous individuals in your area of interest, only for their identify, select based mostly on experience and information. 

Search round for weblog posts protecting the matters you might have in your plan. Discover individuals with fascinating angles on these matters, after which invite them on the present. You’ll create much better, rather more targeted content material because of this.

Higher Batching

With a season plan, you’ll be able to actually simply benefit from one other big timesaver: batch recording.

Matthew is my co-host on our “find out how to podcast” present, Podcraft. It’s a seasons-based present, and we’ve lengthy recorded it in batches. We co-host the podcast, so we are able to plan a season collectively, after which we’ll document two to a few episodes at a time. 

I do know individuals who can do 4 episodes in a single sitting, however we at all times discover we hit a wall round three. Nonetheless, meaning we solely have to rearrange recording time each two or three weeks, fairly than each single week.

Modifying might be batched, too. As anybody who has to do lots of activity switching is aware of, doing a number of of all of them collectively takes far much less time than three separate enhancing classes.

Listener-Powered Content material

Each podcaster is aware of they need to be getting their listeners extra concerned with their present. It drives engagement, loyalty, and big listener progress. However, it’s a giant time suck … monitoring emails, social media, and voicemails each single week might be draining. 

Seasons put one thing model new in your toolbox: a break!

On the finish of the season, you say: “Okay, thanks for listening! We’ll be again in 6 weeks, on August 1st. Throughout that point, although, right here’s what I would like you to do. We’re going to cowl podcast gear on the following season. Inform me, what gear are you utilizing proper now? What gear have you ever tried that was garbage? What are your greatest struggles or questions with gear that I can reply? Ship me a tweet,or an electronic mail, or (better of all) depart a voicemail at ..”

Then you definitely take a well-earned break! 

In the direction of the top of the break, you’ll be able to batch-process all of this. Take a day to gather all of it collectively, collate the tweets and the emails, and course of the audio recordings so it’s all prepared for the brand new season. That is a lot simpler and extra environment friendly than doing little drips and drabs each few days. 

Even higher, this may energy the planning we talked about above. The questions will direct your episodes, and you may plan forward, together with all of the related questions in the proper episode. In that means, you embrace and contain your listeners within the present and drive an enormous quantity of worth and loyalty. Plus, you create higher content material as a result of it’s based mostly on the ideas of actual individuals.

Fly Solo (At Least a Little)

This one makes individuals a bit of nervous, at the very least for people who usually fly with a visitor! Recording alone is among the greatest time-saving strikes you can also make, significantly if you happen to’re an everyday interviewee on different exhibits.

In case you’ve by no means tried it, think about a world the place you don’t should coordinate calendars to discover a time that fits everybody. Think about planning the episode your self, realizing that you simply don’t should immediate your co-host or assume of some backup questions in case that interview goes awry. Think about having one hundred pc management over what’s stated (since you’re doing the saying!), so there are not any tangents, no fluff and no … enhancing? Think about simply deciding to document, off the cuff, and 20 minutes later, you might have an episode within the bag. 

All of that’s potential with solo recording, plus the additional advantage of showcasing your individual information and expertise for a change, fairly than your visitor (I’m speaking about interview exhibits specifically). 

In case you haven’t tried it, take one episode a month and fly solo. See how a lot time it saves you and the way your listeners may like to listen to what you assume, for a change. 

The Minimal Efficient Modifying Course of

Okay, we’ve deliberate it out and we’ve recorded an episode. Now comes essentially the most harmful of potential time-eaters: enhancing. 

I nonetheless come throughout so many individuals who spend 2x or 3x the size of their present in enhancing. For instance, taking two or three hours to edit a one-hour recording. I even meet individuals who spend 5x to 10x the size of their present in manufacturing! It’s simply unsustainable. 

A part of that’s dialogue enhancing, listening by way of the entire thing to search out and eradicate their errors. Painful! We’ll deal with that within the subsequent tactic. 

The opposite half is audio engineering; specifically audio cleanup, including music or adverts, layering tracks, and exporting the entire thing.

So, how can we make it straightforward? By including constraints. You are able to do a lot much less by making use of the proper mindset to your enhancing. I’ve bought two processes right here so that you can attempt. 

MEE (Minimal Efficient Modifying)

That is good for early-stage podcasters. I typically advocate following this in your first 10 to twenty episodes, at a minimal. There’s a lot you’re studying throughout these first months, and enhancing actually is low on the influence record. There’s a lot extra worth in working in your presentation and content material design abilities. (Actually, you could possibly prolong this mindset to any podcaster at any stage.)

Merely reduce enhancing down to 2 issues, and two issues solely:

1. Trim
2. Normalize

Trim means trimming the beginning and the top solely. Often meaning slicing out the silence and the paper rustling after you hit document and earlier than you begin talking. Then, do the identical for the top. 

Normalize means leveling out the amount of your present. That is the one and solely “audio engineering” activity that’s important. It means your present gained’t be too quiet, and the amount of the totally different audio system must be comparatively even so that you don’t have your listeners reaching for his or her quantity management each time the speaker adjustments.

Most enhancing instruments have normalization options included, comparable to Audacity.

Discover that this doesn’t embrace dialogue enhancing in any respect. So, you’ll be able to’t reduce out errors! That’s a constraint that has a number of advantages:

• You’ll be able to’t use enhancing as a crutch, so that you study to enhance the best way you communicate, quick! Be taught to drop the ums and ahs whereas you communicate, not afterward.
• You keep away from this time-warp rabbit gap altogether as a result of even a bit of “Oh I’ll simply take away that one factor” can flip into an hour of enhancing.
• You sound extra human. “Oh, sorry, that’s not what I meant! <snicker> Let me say that once more.” That is sincere. Open. Relatable. Individuals establish with you extra carefully.

As an alternative, document with a “dwell broadcast” mindset. Faux you’re dwell on air, the present has to go on. There’s an opportunity you’ve completed that very factor — Fb, YouTube, Instagram — and survived! So take it into your podcasting, and reap the time-saving advantages. even when simply in your first few episodes.  

MEE-V2

Later in your podcasting profession, you may determine you do wish to add a bit extra polish. Whether or not that’s episode 20 or 200, right here’s the 2nd stage: MEE-V2.

1. Trim
2. Click on Edit
3. Noise Discount
4. Restrict and Normalize
5. Add Music
6. Overlap and Fades

That polish comes primarily within the type of music: including your individual audio branding, and placing in some pro-sounding overlaps and fades.

MEE-V2 additionally consists of an additional couple of audio engineering steps. A laborious restrict helps to enhance your audio leveling, and noise discount is a giant assist for many of us who’re recording in bog-standard rooms fairly than recording studios. 

We’re not delving into lots of the audio engineering that you simply’ll discover across the podcasting net, comparable to EQ, compression, de-essing, or plosive removing. These are helpful of their place, positive, polish in your audio — however they’re non-essential.

Lastly, you’ll discover the point out of a click on edit. Sure, I hear you breathe a sigh of aid: now you’ll be able to take away a number of errors out of your audio. However solely the massive ones that basically can’t keep in! We nonetheless wish to preserve that live-recording mindset to remain human, and we’ll use a click-edit course of that slashes the time required to finish. You’ll see that within the subsequent tactic.

MEE-V3?

Earlier than we transfer on, I’ll point out one other chance right here. You’ll be able to automate a complete lot of MEE-2 and add much more polish utilizing the proper instruments. 

I got here up with MEE years in the past in an try to assist our readers defeat the monster that’s enhancing. However, even then, it was nonetheless a activity that dragged exhibits below. 

So, we constructed our personal device, Alitu, to automate MEE-2, after which so as to add a complete lot extra polish and help on prime. 

For instance, inside Alitu you’ll be able to document a solo episode, or use our name recorder to herald a visitor. That recording is then robotically cleaned up — noise discount, limiting, normalization, EQ, de-essing, plosive removing, the entire 9 yards. Then it’s popped into the episode builder, which provides your music, overlaps and fades robotically. You’ll be able to add in any intros or outros required there, too, or any adverts or inserts for the episode. 

All that’s left is to make use of Alitu’s audio editor to look out your clicks with 2x velocity management (extra on this under), spotlight the edits, after which hit publish. You’ll be able to even publish to Alitu’s in-built internet hosting if you happen to don’t have internet hosting arrange but, so it’s multi function place.

 Alitu presents a week-long free trial to check out the platform earlier than buying.

Click on Modifying

Now, to click on enhancing!

It’s a basic, however at all times value together with because it’s a revelation to anybody who hasn’t heard it. It tackles the dreaded activity of combing by way of a podcast episode, minute by minute, to trace down these errors that you realize should be eliminated. 

As an alternative, with click on enhancing, I’d usually edit our 30-minute common Podcraft episode in lower than 5 minutes. Right here’s the way it works:

Once I make a mistake in my present, I create a visible marker within the waveform by clicking my tongue thrice. It’s also possible to clap, or snap your fingers. All of them work. The objective is to create one thing that’s very easy to see on the waveform whenever you get into your enhancing bundle. 

You’re talking. You make a mistake or journey over your tongue, or must cough. So, you cease. You pause for a number of seconds. Click on. Click on. Click on. You pause for one more few seconds. Then you definitely begin talking once more. 

That is very seen on the waveform, as proven highlighted in crimson. 

Meaning, whenever you get to enhancing, you simply get right down to an inexpensive zoom stage and scan the waveform, searching for these indicators. 

Then you definitely spotlight the top of the sentence earlier than the error, proper by way of to the purpose earlier than you restart, and delete. Mistake eradicated!

Professional Tip: You’ll be able to fairly simply get within the behavior of remembering the beginning of the sentence earlier than you made your mistake, after which restarting with the identical first few phrases. Because of this once I discover a mistake in enhancing, I take heed to the re-start first, after which return a bit and discover the identical few phrases earlier than the error. I do know that’s the place I’ve to start out the edit. That saves one other few seconds, each time!

Take Management of Errant Interviewees

Let’s end up with a tactic that not solely comes below the class of “time saver,” each in recording and enhancing, but in addition bleeds into “improved content material.” It’s the easy idea of taking possession of your present, and your content material.

The factor is, interview exhibits are nice when completed properly. However, they’re typically not completed properly. That may result in sub-par content material, positive, however even worse, it results in a complete lot of additional time in your course of. 

It takes extra time to document as a result of the visitor goes off on tangents. Or they don’t keep on level and fail to reply questions. That every one means extra time enhancing, making an attempt to chop the fluff, and elevating the standard.

As an alternative, take management, and provides some tips earlier than you begin. Listed below are a number of of the issues I’d say:

1. I’d like to share a number of bits of steerage. I do know my viewers very well, and I’ve realized that these can assist you come throughout in the absolute best means with them. 
2. We wish to preserve this present actually conversational. So, attempt to preserve solutions brief and sharp, lower than a minute, two at most. 
3. Don’t fear, we’ll get into element, however I’ll ask concerning the components I do know my viewers loves. 
4. All the time be happy to ask me questions again, so we’re each concerned, and it flows properly. 
5. I will interrupt you now and again. Not as a result of your content material’s dangerous, however as a result of I do know what my viewers desires and I’ll preserve us monitoring with that. 

Maintain emphasizing that that is of their greatest pursuits. This makes them look good! You recognize your viewers, and if the visitor desires to make an awesome impression, then you’ll be able to assist them do this. However, provided that they work with you, and allow you to information the dialog (#3).

That primarily means shorter solutions (#2), and being ready to be interrupted (#5 — and that is a lot simpler whenever you point out it earlier than you begin).

I’ve additionally discovered that #4 is a extremely fascinating hack, for 2 causes. First, conversations are significantly better when it’s two methods. And second, asking questions simply places individuals into conversation-mode fairly than monologue-mode. (It additionally helps keep away from the 5-minute solo tangents which can be the bane of any interviewer’s life!)

How Will You Lower Your Manufacturing Time?

To me, there are two huge concepts to this. 

First, easy routines and purposeful instruments. Meaning: 

• Maintain your weekly routine as easy and as common as potential.
• Use seasons to simplify your planning.
• Go solo to simplify the logistics.
• Report as if you happen to’re dwell and commit to actually easy enhancing.

Make it your objective to search out these routines that repeat so that you could match all the workflow simply into your week. 

Secondly, it means utilizing instruments with actual function. As podcasters, we might be responsible of including in on-trend instruments or techniques that take up extra time, fairly than reserve it. As an alternative, choose fewer, higher instruments, and go deep with them.

The clicking trick is a device, use it to save lots of hours in enhancing. Alitu is a device that works nice alongside it, and provides extra options to annihilate the time spent enhancing and engineering. In the event that they don’t be just right for you, although, there are dozens of selections. Discover just some that suit you, personally, and go deep.

Above all, use these techniques to hone your private routine, discover the strategies that be just right for you, and supply up all that further time to the content material itself. Use it to speak to your listeners. What do they like? What do they not like? Discover out what they actually need from you. That’s what makes the massive distinction. Not an additional go of compression, or a jot of noise discount. As an alternative, get easy, get tooled up, after which you’ll be able to actually begin thriving as a podcaster.