#32: How much to edit a podcast...
...and other business and technology walls we hit as podcast editors!
Podcast Editing Plus is a global podcast editor community where we dive into the growing pains of being a freelance podcast editor, running a small podcast editing business, or transitioning between the two like I am!
Podcast Editing Plus (PEP) has a:
LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12589124/
podcast (under construction. will let you know when it’s back up correctly)
TWITTER LIST: https://twitter.com/i/lists/1467474855150989314
And this is the newsletter component where I’m sharing my own podcast editing and business growth as well as podcast editing tips, resources and conversations.
My current tools:
-Audio podcast editing: mostly Hindenburg & occasional Audacity
-Video podcast editing: Reaper and Windows Video Editor
(Yes, I know that I can use Reaper for the audio editing. There is a reason for my workflow and it was detailed oh so much in the PEP podcast in November 2021.)
Date: Thursday, January 20th, 2022:
Location: Rome, Italy We’re in Rome, Italy for 3 months. The you know what has turned us into accidental digital nomads. So nope, this is not a glamorous or intentional thing. But lemons, lemonade…
NEWSLETTER SECTIONS
-Business
-Podcast Editing Community
-Storytelling
-Technology
-Podcast Growth (for your clients)
-Professional Development
BUSINESS
ATTRACTING THE RIGHT NEW CLIENTS:
Sharing your podcast editor narrative
I’m getting the distinct impression that potential new clients want to see us, our work and our rates before they chat with us. Even before they send you an email or DM. (by the way, have you ever noticed that “your” and “our” are only 1 letter off: y our. That’s what touch typing on a French Belgium keyboard just taught me!).
So let me ask if this:
What do potential clients see when they follow your social media narrative?
Do they end up at your website with clear value with every image like on Matt of Kult Media’s website? Can they hear clear examples of your before and after work like VP of arvaughnnaaudio has on her website? Do you share client testimonials like Carrie of Yaya Podcasting does on her website? These are all editors who participated in our December 2021 Global Podcast Editor Chats? So not only do they have an online podcast editor narrative that exists on their pages but also in other places.
True or False: No one switches platforms
While it’s true that many people don’t take the time to click on external links on social media, potential clients that are looking for YOU, a competent podcast editor, will. And do. And what they find can make or break you getting an email inquiry or DM from them.
But I don’t have time
This all takes a lot of work. Narrating who you are and what you can do is hard. Very hard. But in a personal task like editing someone’s voice, it’s essential. Potential clients
1. need to search and find you (the beginning of the trail)
2. need to understand how you can add value to their podcast
3. need to connect with you
#3 means that they need to know a little something about you. You don’t have to share your most intimate details but an audio clip, photos, video or brief bio go a long way here. What shows them something that they can connect on a human level, not just a podcast or technical level?
I want to help:
Self service method: FREE
Available in this LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dstephfuccio_how-to-attract-the-right-podcast-editing-activity-6889202076300144640-4kEC
OR
Group method: PAID: Attracting the Right Podcast Editing Clients Masterclass
This is one of the things that we’re covering in my new masterclass in February 2022. You’re welcome to join us live in February, in the self paced version later on in the year OR just take the above tip and run with it.
NEW masterclass. 6 to 8 people max. $99. Starting Feb 2022. Fill out this form to get more info AND this incredible discounted price. https://twitter.com/stephfuccio/status/1480628984115302405
PRICING SERVICES: Fee structure for weekly pricing with 5 week months
There are 4 months in 2022 that have more than 4 weeks in them. Most of my clients publish their eps on Tuesday, so I’m going to count Tuesday dates in this post. Months with 5 Tuesdays (instead of 4) in 2022 are:
March
May
August
November
How do you handle this?
I’ve heard different ideas before but have never been this busy so I feel like I need to be extra intentional in 2022. Open to hearing your ideas on this. Let me know if it’s okay to share them in our next issue also because I’m sure others would benefit as well.
COLLABORATIONS & OUTSOURCING
I just got a new project from one of my existing clients so my coffee chats are going to be slowed down for the next few weeks. And this is work that I enjoy, so there’s no outsourcing, sorry! Even so, if you’d like to schedule a coffee meet and greet with me for February, click here https://zcal.co/i/8zgkamuX. (corrected link from publication date. apologies)
EVERY THOUGHT ABOUT EXPANDING YOUR SERVICES TO PODCAST MANAGEMENT?
How to take the leap into podcast management when you have no experience!
Want more? Watch the replay by clicking here: https://event.webinarjam.com/t/click/9vpkxh1fzxiyrvhk30uqgu8vt4
Hurry though because the link expires in 48 hours!
Got questions? Just hit reply!
PODCAST EDITING COMMUNITY
READER FEEDBACK
“Your newsletter is a gem even if I am only editing my own podcast. What a great resource, and it makes me appreciate the editors even more!”
Eva of Croatia Underrated podcast: https://twitter.com/cro_underrated
“…its short, to the point and very very helpful, its like those Ready Reckoners we use for Taxation which act as instant guides for us.”
AB of A Talks podcast: https://twitter.com/ATalks_
PEP YOUTUBE LIVES
We’re chatting with Podcast Editors like YOU every 1-2 times a month. Thanks to your feedback, we’ve tiered the chats! There’s now a beginner podcast editor chat AND an experienced podcast editor chat. We NEED more guests in 2022, check out our schedule here: https://www.stephfuccio.com/podcasteditingplus
Another change we’ve made to allow for the global podcast editors we want to speak with is shifting the LIVE start times every month.
If you’d like to be a guest podcast editor, complete this form: https://forms.gle/XcVZp9Fhf7qELkX28.
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If you’re enjoying our newsletter, please let Substack know. Thank you!
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PODCAST EDITOR NEWS:
»»» Want to share a new service or announcement about your business or client’s successes (which are your successes too!) Email me your news AND a link to your website/socials. «««
PODCAST EDITING PLUS COMMUNITIES LIST:
I’ve made a PDF of all the podcast editing communities I’ve found over the past year or so. If you don’t have a copy OR want the most current one, just email me (or hit reply if you’re reading this in an email) AND add “podcast editing list please” in the subject line. And toss me a pic of your DAW in the email if you get a chance: Because, why not?)
PODCAST EDITOR ACADEMY:
I’m still working on my 2021 income taxes and really found immense value in a video that Steve did with Eric Nisall . It’s for U.S. taxes, so there’s that. https://twitter.com/stephfuccio/status/1481335619028664320. Having full access to these videos are one of the reasons I’m a year long member of PEA. I 100% believe that you should check it out, no matter where you live. There’s plenty of content that transcends borders!
https://www.podcasteditoracademy.com (my affiliate link)
STORYTELLING:
PODCAST TRAINING PROGRAM: Kasama Labs:
Laura and Nate have narrative talent coursing through their veins. If you think I’m being flowery, then you don’t know them yet. They’re amazing!
So when they started a podcast at the beginning of the pandemic, it was bound to be good. No, great. Enter Shelter in Place. This podcast is an extension of their finely tuned storytelling experience. Compounded brilliance!
The program that they’ve put together for the Kasama Labs is exactly what is needed to get more voices into the space. And now it’s available to more people via this course.
Learn more: https://shelterinplacepodcast.org/kasama-labs-online-course
AUDIO STORYTELLING: Audio courses
The Newmark School of Journalism has a wide range of interesting remote workshops open to the public throughout January, including some audio-focused courses. Most are just a couple of hours and the cost is $29 each. Here the links to find out more and sign up.
https://www.journalism.cuny.edu/future-students/january-academy/
https://www.journalism.cuny.edu/future-students/january-academy/january-academy-payment-form/
Thanks for sending this our way Meg!
TECHNOLOGY:
RECORDING
I love Slate Money podcast. In fact, it’s one of my date night podcasts with my husband. Is that weird? Please don’t answer that. And when Stacy Marie Ishmael joined the show last year, I was even more thrilled. A money podcast can exude a lot of priviledge but her comments, analysis, etc didn’t circumnavigate the elephant in the room, she talked about them straight on. I love this kind of honesty and analysis. Sadly, she’s left the podcast so now I have no choice but to stalk, I mean follow, her on Twitter instead. I giggled last week when I saw this pandemic microphone focused tweet.
https://twitter.com/s_m_i/status/1482766906717356037?t=17rBoe5F-SdxO7xBfBh1fw&s=19
HOSTING: Timber
The PEP podcast is a mess. I love Substack for the newsletter but I hate the podcast functionality. So I’m moving over to Timber. I’ll let you know how it’s going. It’s too soon to say much yet except they have a discord community for those of us in the first customer batch. It’s kinda cozy in there. I like it.
DAW COMPARISON: Noise reduction with Audacity & Hindenburg
Ab feedbacked that he’d like to see more DAW comparisons in the newsletters. At first, I was going to keep the DAW tips segment and add a new DAW comparison segment but then I thought nah. DAW comparisons in and of themselves have multiple DAW tips, so why not just go with the more interesting route.
For this one I’m going to dig into my own experience with Audacity and Hindenburg about the methods for removing static from a recording. In other words, a specific type of noise removal/reduction.
This is going to be a written, not visual, walk through of the differences that matter to me personally. Because I want a writing challenge. Here goes:
Audacity’s noise reduction is a complicated dance
Audacity has a powerful noise reduction effect. This is one of the reasons when I started using Hindenburg I didn’t delete Audacity from my computer. But how you need to use this effect is a pain in the you know what. It’s something like this: go into this menu, select this effect, highlight the area that has the sound you do NOT want in the recording, go back into the menu and select the same effect (without any prompting at all), then select the entire recording that you want this sound reduced in. Done. If you did it right.
There are many video tutorials on how to do this but for the quick process this can be when done right, the videos are SO long. I found it really frustrating when I was first using this effect.
Hindenburg kisses the noise away in a quick peck on the DAW cheek
With Hindenburg you turn the nob on the noise reduction effect to the level where you hear the noise go away. Done.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
Reducing static in a recording, or many noises, is a common thing to do. Hindenburg seems to get this and make it very easy to do. Audacity makes you work for it. I’m specifically mentioning static in this example because that’s a common issue in my own editing and a common Zoom artifact. And the difference in time and clicks in lessening it are really drastic between these two DAWs.
If you’d like to submit a quick DAW comparison with brief explanation, email me your tip AND your podcast editing website or social media page link. OR you can leave a Speakpipe voice message on my CONTACT Page with the explanation and I’ll write it up. I know not everyone likes writing but I want to get this info into the world, so let’s do this together.
MICS:
I’m about to buy a new mic and boom arm and asked what recommendations folks had on Twitter. This is the conversation that ensued.
https://twitter.com/stephfuccio/status/1479735130889637891?t=ARedkIeDdOnrAk-_s2oekg&s=19
SOUND DESIGN:
This conversation with Ai-Ling Lee about sound design is inspiring. The choices that she dives into for making sound design accent, not take over, an episode, are wonderful (about 22 minutes in). This is ice cream for your audio soul.
https://slate.com/podcasts/working/2021/12/sound-editor-ai-ling-lee
PODCAST GROWTH :
ACCESSIBILITY: Transcripts
Accessibility Goal 1: to create transcripts for the new Geopats episode that will come out in February.
Progress: I ran the entire 60 minute episode through Otter.ai and realized only afterwards that they only do 30 minutes at a time on the lowest plan, which is what I’m using to test it out. I have not edited the transcript or ran the 2nd part through Otter yet but I’m leaving this update here as my accountability space. I will do this!
MEANINFUL GROWTH: Jeremy Enns
As this spot on piece by Nick Hilton so bluntly states, “It’s Time to End Podcast Self-Promo on Twitter.” I don’t know if dropping a link was ever an effective way to market a podcast but if it was…
that time is over
like chin beards.
(get that image out of your head!)
That’s why I’ve invited Jeremy Enns to this section of the newsletter. I was blown away by a podcast marketing course I took from him last year and even more impressed with the year long course he’s planning for 2022. Spoiler, it can also be consumed in ala carte sections, if wanted. Personally, I want to take the podcast episode naming session.
The Elements of Podcast Growth: https://counterweightcreative.podia.com/2022-workshop-series/4whv7
FREE PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR CLIENTS
Do YOU ever post about your client’s work? I’m not here to guilt you but am asking. I post on social media about so many things that excite me and this is another one. I wrote a long post on LinkedIn a bit ago about Agent Upgrade podcast after a particularly touching episode. And last week I included The Global Chatter podcast (another client) on my Earbuds expats listening list.
I do NOT offer this as a service, this is my unspoken value add for organic, genuine moments of YES, I love this. This is because I like what I’m doing and I have the joy of being able to pick my clients. (You don’t want to know how many episodes of theirs I listen to before a discovery call!)
I’m not saying that everyone should do this. That’s gross. But if you enjoy listening to your client’s podcasts, and I sincerely hope that you do: do you spread the word about it in any way that’s comfortable and organic for you?
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
STRETCH GOAL: How to create your podcast editing newsletter by repurposing your social media content course!
I LOVE writing this monstrous one. I try to add value but also have a narrative flow. Is it working? I hope so!
I’m starting a podcast editor newsletter creation course in Spring 2022. The point is this. You’re already writing and sharing content on social media. All you need now is a quick way to repackage it in a narrative way to send to your followers in a newsletter. That’s what this course is going to help you do!
More details AND a discount offer available here: https://forms.gle/Lwu4jVtdFV89NCXD7
FAILURE
Last issue I reported my joy in purchasing the Rode Microphones Lavalier GO and I was going to report back on how my testing with it went. But my testing revealed that I didn’t do enough research. This lav mic requires an additional receiver, which is not what I wanted.
The sweet spot of funds, accessibility and time to experiment have not lined up for me for years now. Years! So when we got to Italy and I realized that I was in the sweet spot (figuratively and otherwise), I made my online ordering list fast. And bought things fast. Including this mic. I’m returning it and open to which lav mic I should buy that works with a laptop and, if possible, mobile phone. I don’t need perfect sound (I understand most of them are condenser mics), but I need to experiment with lav mics for clients and for my walking episodes/meetings dreams.
DAWingly yours,
Website: https://www.stephfuccio.com/
Twitter: Podcast Editing Plus: @stephfuccio
Instagram: Podcast Editing Plus: @podcasteditingplus & coffee @geopatscoffee
LinkedIn: @dstephfuccio