I have been struggling with what content I want to create for Tone Capture & most importantly what is the voice that I want to convey in that content. It’s hard to avoid “hustle culture” online, especially when you are researching the best ways to promote your business. I would argue that it’s even harder to find genuine people on the other sides of these blogs & listicals. When I was first researching “how to maximize SEO” or “driving traffic to my website” I was worried that a lot of the advice was essentially “copy & paste”. If you are in the podcasting space the advice would be along the lines of “write a blog about the best microphones to buy on a budget”. Here’s the thing, that blog has been written, not just by one podcasting site but by all of them. In fact with 2 seconds of clicking around you will notice that I wrote that blog. I did what they all did, I opened about 7 tabs and cherry picked what I felt was the best. Now I have knowledge of a lot of this stuff & I can confidently point you in the correct direction of whatever gear you need for whatever your budget is but the point I am trying to make is that I don’t want to lie to you. I love creating. I want to get closer to projects. Sure if you just want somebody to edit your podcast & send it back in a day or two; fine I’m your guy. But when I look to the long term of Tone Capture I want to be part of something bigger, I want to help people realize the true potential of what it is that they are creating.
Let’s get to why you clicked on this blog, why bother hiring a Podcast Editor & why I am the right choice.
You Don’t Know What You’re Doing
Why did you start your podcast? If I was going to answer that question for you, I would say that you have expertise of some kind in your chosen field and you want to share that expertise with a like minded audience. You likely have some connections or are hoping to network some more people within your field. You want to learn more and share that wealth of knowledge with a wider audience. Great reasons to start a podcast. Now do you really have a sense of how to use the DAW that you’ve paid for or let’s be honest downloaded for free? If you just took the time to Google “What is a DAW” stop reading & send me an e-mail. You probably don’t know your way around the program & though I am confident that you could figure it out, that is more of your time wasted. I am confident you could watch enough Youtube & play around enough that you could absolutely figure out how to get a basic edit done, but don’t. An editor will get far more granular & has a better trained ear for what is going to flow better than you do. Play to your strengths, hire for your weaknesses.
You’re a Bad Host… For Now
I have edited a lot of podcasts over the last few years & there is a common thread through a lot of shows, specifically newer shows. Just because you want to host a podcast does not mean you are going to host a podcast well. This is okay for a few reasons. For one, nobody is great at something right away, practice makes perfect right? I have hosted nearly 200 podcast episodes & I am still learning. The magic is in the post production. I have an example on my site of a host struggling to get a question out & after my edit the listener is none the wiser. My point is, a lot of the stress is taken away when you know the finished product is not going to be affected by mistakes. If you and a guest go off on a tangent it doesn’t matter, maybe it’s good for the show & maybe it’s not. But that conversation that isn’t on topic for the show can be taken out, but the report built off that tangent is still present in the rest of the conversation. You aren’t Howard Stern, this isn’t live. Mistakes can be made with the confidence that your show will still sound professional. Giving yourself the permission to make mistakes will also serve you in the long run as your show evolves. Play to your strengths, hire for your weaknesses.
Is Your Audio Quality Up to Par?
2020 brought sites like Zoom to the masses. Many other sites have been created more specifically for podcasting purposes (check my completely original blog out for more examples). But the reality is that the audio quality of a lot of these sites is not great. Truly it’s not the sites fault but the microphones people are using. Now, obviously most people don’t have access or are not going to spend $1K + on gear to start what initially is may be a hobby. That makes sense & I am not going to sell you on making that kind of gear investment. The beauty of podcasting is that there really isn’t any barrier to entry. To circle back to the audio quality issue, you don’t want your podcast to be offensive to listen to (on the ears, not in a moral sense). An editor is going to be able to clean that audio up so the listen experience is more enjoyable for your audience. I want to be perfectly clear here, if the audio is recorded poorly nobody, NOBODY can make it sound like Joe Rogan. We can however remove those offensive frequencies & background sounds. Again, you can watch Youtube videos, find programs to run your audio through but this is all time that is better spent for you. An editor knows what needs done & they will be much more nuanced & efficient than you will be. Play to your strengths, hire for your weaknesses.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
I started an earlier point saying that I have edited a lot of podcasts over the last few years, that’s important for another reason. I have heard many different people approach many different topics. I have heard the good, the bad & the ugly of the podcast space. Why does any of that matter to you? I have insight that you are not privy to. Though I might not have knowledge of your niche I do know some of the best and worst practices to present a topic to an audience. To add to my last point about Audio Quality, I would be sure that your recording space is set up in an optimal way to reduce distractions or annoying background noise. There are simple things you can do to ensure your space is ready to record without spending any money. Some mistakes are good to make so you can learn from them & other mistakes can hurt the longevity of your product. At the end of the day this is your project & I would never force anything on you that would affect your pride in what you have created. I want you to be successful in your endeavour & create something we can both be proud of. Play to your strengths, hire for your weaknesses.
So in conclusion, hire an editor. More specifically hire me as an editor. I am still trying to find my voice in a blog setting, but I know what is going on in the DAW. I care about the your podcast, whether is about finance, self help, or drywall (there are drywall podcasts out there). I want to help you succeed & rise above the others in your niche. Podcasts are a wonderful way to promote ideas, promote business & of course entertain. If you work with Tone Capture, you will not have any weaknesses.