Edit your podcast during post-production
Edit your podcast during post-production
1. Decide whether your raw podcast audio needs light, medium, or heavy editing based on your theme and format.
Co-hosted conversational or interview podcasts need less editing than educational, narrative, or storytelling podcasts, which typically need to be edited for flow and presentation.
2. Decide on whether to use a podcast editing tool, like Alitu or Auphonic, or digital audio software like Audacity, Adobe Audition, or Reaper, to edit your podcast.
Use podcast editing tools if you are not tech-savvy or if your podcast needs light editing. Use digital audio software if your podcast needs medium to heavy editing.
3. Listen your podcast at regular speed and note the timestamp for any parts that need to be edited.
Make note of extra noise, background sounds, or excessive ums and uhs. Maintain some blank space to keep the conversation sounding natural and easy to listen to.
4. Maintain a consistent audio length and ask, Is this adding to the story? when deciding whether to rearrange or remove audio.
Successful podcasts maintain consistency in their audio length.
5. Add closing remarks that promote your podcast.
For example, closing remarks for your podcast could include, You can find our episodes on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and our website.
6. Write a one-sentence episode description and include relevant, searchable keywords and key phrases to improve SEO.
For example, This week, your hosts teach you how to optimize your Google My Business listing and create a strong online presence.
7. Save the podcast as an MP3 file with a 128 kbps bitrate and 44.1 MHz sample rate and edit the file’s ID3 tags.
Low bit rates smaller than 64 kbps can negatively affect the recording quality, while bit rates higher than 200 kbps will affect file size and download speed. Using 128 kbps is best for podcasts by providing a balance of audio quality and file size. The more samples per second (sample rate), the better the quality. To record at CD quality, use 44.1 MHz. The ID3 tags describe the podcast episode’s content, including information such as title, artist, and description. These can typically be edited in your audio software.
8. Consider hiring a writer, editor, and producer and forming a podcast team.
Your source material is just as important as your sound, and a podcast team can help take your content and editing quality to a new level.