#37: Small Experiments of Podcast Editing Joy
Global Podcast Editors is a global podcast editor community where we dive into the successes and 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:
Twice a month LIVE Global Podcast Editor Chats on YouTube
A private LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12589124/
This newsletter, where I share podcast editing technical and freelance/small business tips, resources, and conversations mixed in with my own struggles, successes and projects.
My current tools:
-Audio podcast editing: mostly Hindenburg & rarely Audacity
-Video podcast editing: Reaper and Windows Video Editor
Date: Thursday, April 7, 2022:
LOCATION:
I’m writing this issue from Split, Croatia. I was an American expat for the majority of tha past 17 years, mostly working and living in Asia. Over the course of the pandemic, I’ve turned into a digital nomad. If living abroad is something that you’re curious about, feel free to listen to my latest guesting episode on What The Finance: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dstephfuccio_finance-adulting-activity-6916726209737281536-TCfA
ISN’T THE NEWSLETER EVERY TWO WEEKS?
Yes. I thought I set up the newsletter to go out on alternate weeks from the LIVE Global Podcast Editor Chats. But I made a calendar mistake, so this week’s episode is a kind of bonus. Whoops. But also hurrah.
APRIL SCHEDULE (this might be more for me than you):
April 7: Global Podcast Editors newsletter
April 14: LIVE Global Podcast Editor Chats
April 21: Global Podcast Editors newsletter
April 28: LIVE Global Podcast Editor Chats
Newsletter name change: Podcast Editing Plus »»» Global Podcast Editors
I’ve been using Podcast Editing Plus to describe the podcast editing side of my business and also this podcast editor community for months now. I knew it was a little confusing but I wanted to let things develop organically over time. And this week it hit me that the LIVE chats already had a name: Global Podcast Editors.
So I’m slowly transitioning the community spaces (this newsletter, the lives, the LinkedIn group, etc) over to that name. My podcast editing services will still be called Podcast Editing Plus. I’ve learned from the previous rebranding that a quick name change is confusing (any of you that followed the Geopats podcast braning, rebranding and unbranding are familiar with this), so it’ll be an intentional slow transition and eventually the PEP name will be removed from the community. A few months of transition. Thanks for your patience while this happens.
Affiliate Links:
There are affiliate links throughout this newsletter. What this means is that if you purchase their product/service then I’ll get a small commission. These items are listed in the newsletter because I’ve tried or heard amazing recommendations about them. I’ll never list anything just for the money: that’s of zero value for you, the hard-working podcast editor.
NEWSLETTER SECTIONS
-Client Attraction & Communication
-Podcast Growth (for your clients)
-Podcast Editing Community
-Storytelling (content)
-Technology
-Storytelling (sound)
CLIENT ATTRACTION & COMMUNICATION
ATTRACTING THE RIGHT CLIENTS: 100 Ways to Share Your Work & Life That Aren’t Social Media from Softer Sounds Media
I can’t lie, I’ve been slowly backing more and more away from social media in the past few months. Leaving it completely is a thought I have often now. Doing it quickly is not something I’m interested in so I really appreciated the leaving social media plan that Softer Sounds offered for FREE in this Off the Grid podcast episode, https://www.softersounds.studio/off-the-grid/100-ways-to-share-your-work-off-social-media
In fact, Amelia from Softer Sounds is even joining us in May 2022 for our Global Podcast Editor Chats. You can set a YouTube reminder now so you don’t miss this live event! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnBM9SXYqNU
DON’T LOSE CONTACTS WHEN GOING OFF THE SOCIALS
I’m definitely reviewing this list of 100 ideas so I can ramp up my off the socials outreach AND transition folks who I’m connected to on the socials to as many other connection spaces that I can so that when I make the leap off eventually, I don’t lose any contacts.
The thing that saddens me about the leap from my initial time online is that when I switched email addresses or platforms as things online changed and grew, there weren’t a lot of infrastructures available to bridge people over AND I wasn’t in a digital mindset to think to save names or other info to find folks elsewhere. In short, I’ve lost a lot of contacts over the years and I don’t want to do that again.
Newsletters: A deeper, slower client building method
To get meta on you, I LOVE writing this newsletter because it’s a more gently paced, more breathable, less in your face way to connect with folks interested in podcast editing than social media.
I’m starting a podcast editor newsletter creation course in the Summer of 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 are available here: https://forms.gle/Lwu4jVtdFV89NCXD7
PRICING YOUR SERVICES: How to Avoid Bad Gigs and Burnout
A few months ago I wrote about a Reaper DAW tip about saving a video file as MP4 easily in this DAW, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNxubBRWAAA. The video that I shared was from Chel Wong and I’ve been following them since then. This week she published this video on deciding to take a gig or not, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fboJgtsk7f0.
It’s ridiculously good! And short at about 8 minutes.
This video was not made specifically for podcast editing but like the freelance writing tips that I often share in this newsletter, it maps over to our space seamlessly. When I first joined many online podcast editing communities, time and time again people kept writing about the feast or famine path in doing this freelance or as a small business.
FEAST OR FAMINE IN PODCAST EDITING
It’s actually famine or feast, if we talk about this chronologically.
It takes quite a bit of time usually to get your first clients. And then if you’re connecting/networking and building up an online podcast editing footprint, then word of mouth kicks in.
And then the feast hits and you get more editing inquiries than you can manage.
DECIDE TO WORK WITH SOMEONE: MAKING CONSCIOUS DECISIONS
And it was about this time for me when I started to really analyze who my ideal client was and what kind of podcasts I wanted to work on. I wish I had this quick video outlining the things to talk about then because learning the hard way to think about my time, expenses, energetic considerations, and all the other factors involved in our YESes of working with someone on something.
PODCAST GROWTH:
LISTENER ADVISORY BOARD
I don’t know about you, but I’m always pulling in lessons that I learned from my own podcasts into feedback for my podcast editing clients. And I’d like to think that I’ve done some pretty creative things to connect with the right listeners of my own podcasts. But I never thought to do this advisory board idea that Jeremy suggested in this recent tweet (below).
It’s so clever.
And this is only one example of the brilliance that is Jeremy’s methodical, inclusive and community-focused podcast growth strategy. This month he’s running a FREE workshop, The Podcast Traction Playbook, to help YOU help YOUR CLIENTS with podcast growth.
THE FREE PODCAST GROWTH WORKSHOP
The goal of the FREE free workshop is to help your clients stop spinning their wheels and start building momentum with their podcasts. (Okay, so Jeremy didn’t specifically create the workshop for podcast editors to help their clients. He created it for podcasters themselves. But we can easily benefit from this info and pass it on to our clients!)
It’s called the Podcast Traction Playbook and it’s taking place from April 12-14.
Over the course of 3 days, he’s breaking down what he calls the Podcast Traction Triangle that he’s used to help his clients rack up over 50 million podcast downloads collectively along with millions of dollars in revenue. The workshop is entirely FREE to attend live and the replays will be available for at least a few days after the workshop ends so you can still take advantage of it if you can’t make the live calls.
THAT's NOT YOUR JOB AS PODCAST EDITOR:
Yes, yes. I hear you. Many of you will say that this is not for you to do. Sure, that could be true. And no harm done by not clicking on the below link. But aren’t you even the least bit curious?
FREE workshop sign up: https://counterweightcreative.co/podcast-traction-playbook/?affiliate=stephfuccio
PODCAST EDITING COMMUNITY
LIVE GLOBAL PODCAST EDITOR CHATS:
We’re chatting with Podcast Editors like YOU every 1-2 times a month. We NEED more guests in 2022, check out our schedule here: https://www.stephfuccio.com/podcasteditingplus
***** We need 1 more editor for this chat! Contact me ASAP to sign up! *****
Our next chat is on 14 April 2022 at 10:00 CET, which is
1:00 San Francisco, California, USA
3:00 Mexico City, Mexico
15:00 Bangkok, Thailand
16:00 Manila, Philippines
20:00 Auckland, New Zealand
ALL our live events are recorded in Streamyard!
https://streamyard.com?pal=5673660346007552
Be a guest!
If you’d like to be a guest in our Global Podcast Editor Chats, complete this form: https://forms.gle/XcVZp9Fhf7qELkX28.
TIMEZONE alert: Keep in mind the times listed in Central European Time (CET) cause that’s where I’m living. Please adjust to your time zone. Thanks.
April 2022: We’ll have the last of the beginner and experiences tracks for the chats.
May to Dec 2022: Any editor can join anytime, no levels.
LESS REPRESENTED VOICES (LRVs) in Podcast Editing/Audio:
Okay, podcast editors, there are amazing things happening in the land of podcasts and your clients might very well want to get involved and/or get inspired by the creativity and vulnerability of these creative folks. Is it cheesy to say that all too often, especially in business (where many of our clients come from) we might try too hard to hide the characteristics that make us unique: make us who we are? Here are some projects that I’ve heard about recently that have inspired me. I think they’ll inspire you and maybe your clients.
AUDIO ZINE FOR MARGINALIZED GENDERS
Audio powerhouse Eliana Zebro has started “a zine celebrating marginalized genders in the audio world by featuring the lives & journeys of such people.” The intro issue is out now and it’s worth a read and a follow. It’s hosted on itch.io, which was a new platform for me. Turns out it’s a site for indie games, which it looks like is a lot of what Eliana does in the audio space. It’s a quick sign up and one click follow after that!
https://afss-zine.itch.io/
NEW HORROR PODCAST FEATURING DEAF AND HEARING IMPAIRED CHARACTERS (& CREATED BY DEAF & HEARING IMPAIRED ACTORS)
In the last issue of Podplane, a podcasting newsletter by Tal Minear that spotlights trans and nonbinary podcasts, Tal shared Human Error. It’s an audio drama about a road trip through a zombie apocalypse. The Podcast features deaf & hard of hearing characters played by deaf & hard of hearing actors. It leans into the question "what do you do when you can't hear the threat coming?" Tal did some script editing and voice acting for this show, so they’ve got ~secret insider knowledge~. The podcast will go live Spring 2022 but you can check out the trailer and subscribe/follow Human Error now! If you can, we hope you consider support them in their crowdfunding efforts for the podcast.
And here’s a project I’ve been working on in the Global Podcast Editor community.
LVRs IN PODCAST EDITING PRESS RELEASE PROJECT
Getting mentioned in the press is a nice way to attract more attention to your business but far too often, a lot of us less traditional podcast editing folks don’t get asked for our input on everything from industry trends, new products or the future of podcast editing.
Let’s get more of our less represented voices (LRVs) out there.
Maybe you’re part of a BIPOC podcast editor, maybe you’re from a country far away from the United States (podcast editing, like podcasting, is an online space, after all!), maybe you’re an LGBTQ+ podcast editor. It doesn’t matter.
If you’re frustrated by being passed over for press opportunities, we want to help!
Phase 1: Creating the list (completion deadline April 21, 2022)
Thank you to everyone who added actionable, search oriented ways to find less represented voices in podcast editing to our group spreadsheet. I’ve got a one sheet nearly ready and will be publishing it on Substack by April 21, 2022. Moved countries and go my booster so it’s been delayed a bit. Apologies. Can’t wait to get this going!
Phase 2: sending the list out (need help)
Once the one sheet is ready, what do we do with it? I’m not in Public Relations nor am I very familiar with press releases. If you have time or suggestions to help spread this around, please fill out this brief form:
https://forms.gle/VR4zFwnSUsVTAAfV6. I appreciate your time and help with this. We all do!
GLOBAL PODCAST EDITORS LinkedIn Group:
In our private, LinkedIn group we’re now composed of 251 global members who have quite different and impressive backgrounds. Genesis, for example, comes to podcast editing via this background:
Some of the topics we’re talking about are:
AI software in podcast production: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6914969259244683264
DAW selection decisions for newer podcast editors: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6914917996184383488
client fees: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6898643487412359168
some interesting podcast editing gigs (various)
This is a private group but it’s FREE and OPEN to any podcast editor to join. I hope you’ll check us out. https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12589124/
If you’re enjoying our newsletter, please let Substack know. Thank you!
GLOBAL PODCAST EDITING COMMUNITIES LIST:
I’ve been compiling a list of podcast editing and adjacent audio communities for a while now. Recently, this list was moved to Substack to make it easier to access. Here it is. DO let me know what other online global podcast editing communities are missing. I’m happy to add them! thanks.
https://podcasteditingplus.substack.com/p/online-podcast-editing-communities/comments
PAID PODCAST EDITOR COMMUNITY: Podcast Editor Academy
If you’re quite serious about getting podcast editing community, and professional development with tech AND business aspects of this adventure, I highly recommend The Podcast Editor Academy. Steve and Mark go out of their way to make this community-friendly, useful and cost-effective. I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth in tips, tools, and job leads.
https://www.podcasteditoracademy.com
STORYTELLING (content):
NARRATIVE STORYTELLING TRAINING Recommendation:
Are you interested in working on more narrative storytelling podcasts but don’t have the experience or samples to show prospective podcast editing clients? It’s possible that The Kasama Labs by Laura and Nate from Shelter in Place are your next professional development step!
https://shelterinplacepodcast.org/kasama-labs-online-course
TECHNOLOGY:
RECORDING: MONO VERSUS STEREO:
I have a confession.
I honestly thought that recording in mono versus stereo meant that mono audio files could only be heard in one ear.
This all changed when Nathan from Deep Drag audio dramas explained it so clearly in our Podcraft community. A quick login gets you into this community of serious, focused podcasters. There are quite a few of audio professionals in there as well. https://podcraft.thepodcasthost.com/c/recording/do-you-record-in-mono-or-stereo
Hosting: RedCircle and Buzzsprout
RedCircle: Easy to upload, share and monetize
I’m still uploading old Geopats episodes onto this feed. I honestly haven’t hit any glitches with RedCircle yet. I upload, it gets published and I share them here, there, and everywhere. It’s almost boring it’s so seamless. Which is good.
DYNANIC AD INSERTION:
I haven’t directly played with their dynamic ad insertion yet but one of my clients, Amanda Bates of The Global Chatter podcast, switched over to them and brought all her sponsors with her. So I’m getting experience on the silences that need to go into an episode to be able to ad the dynamic ads. So I’m pre-learning how to do it:)
If you’re curious to try out RedCircle, here you go: https://redcircle.com/podcasters?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=stephaniefuccio
They do have a FREE plan, a $9 USD per month plan and they make it easy to monetize your podcast these days: https://www.thepodcasthost.com/websites-hosting/monetize-your-podcast-with-redcircle/
DAW COMPARISONS: BEST SOFTWARE OPTIONS
The Podcast Host is one of my clients. I’ve been writing posts for their website for over a year now and for the past few months, I’ve also been helping with Podcraft moderation. It’s been interesting to chat about different DAWs in the Podcraft community as well as in the regular editing groups and on the socials.
And you know me, I love comparing DAWs.
Here’s a recent piece I wrote about a few popular DAWs and how they compare. Just like dating, there isn’t one good fit for everyone, it’s more of a good match for each person. https://alitu.com/post/what-are-the-best-software-options-for-recording-your-podcast
Suggest a DAW comparison:
If you’d like to submit a quick DAW comparison with a 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.
VIDEO PODCAST EDITING: Video anniversary gift production
I haven’t done anything new with my video editing skills in a bit but that’s about to change. At the end of this month, I’ll be producing and editing audio and video versions of an anniversary story gift for a special request order. We’ve talked about the order and they’re going to video themselves (2 people) telling stories about the anniversary couple and then I’ll be adding old photos in a few spots in the video as well. We’ve already worked out the timestamping that they’ll need to do for this so it’s not a heavy decision load on my part, which is good. Something this personal needs to be, well, decided by the people connected to the gift receiver, right?
But as with any new service, I wonder what new challenges there will be during the making of this. Any guesses? I’d love to learn from your experiences doing something like this. Thanks.
STORYTELLING (sound): Intro music underbed
It’s the little things that make a big difference in my podcast editing job these days. Formulas are like training wheels, they’re great to get started but then you really need to experiment. I think a fair bit of podfading is due to the fear of experimentation. And that’s why a recent choice by one of my clients made me smile.
It’s a tiny decision but it was refreshing to hear her voice and to put into action.
Instead of having the intro music first, then fade that music while playing the speaking intro, she wanted the intro first, then the transition music, then the interview. NO overlap in music.
There’s still a bit of a fade from at the beginning of the music transition and again at the end of it. But there’s a very different feel to this music alone instead of as the often intro speaking underbed music. Why is that? Is it because it’s a less common choice OR does the music alone mean something? Is it saying something that the speaking doesn’t distract us from? This could be the all over tingly feeling that I have from yesterday’s vaccine booster shot talking but this feels different.
And I like it.
I want to make all kinds of small changes and see if anyone notices. Don’t you? Do you? I’d love to hear about your small experiments, especially if they involve sound. No booster delusion needed to share, just email me or hit REPLY if you’re reading this in email.
DAWingly yours,
Guesting episodes:
https://www.podchaser.com/lists/stephanie-fuccio-guesting-spots-107aNEz7dI
Website:
https://www.stephfuccio.com/
Twitter: Podcast Editing Plus: @stephfuccio
Instagram: @podcasteditingplus & @geopatscoffee
LinkedIn: @dstephfuccio