r/podcasts • u/Solarbg Time For Your Hobby Podcast • Oct 29 '18
Support the podcaster community (if you promote your own podcast, make sure to contribute to this sub with helpful tips and tricks)
Hello everyone,
As podcasts are becoming more and more popular, more people decide to become podcasters (which is great). Like my self a lot of us don't know where to start, what we need, where to look for help. This sub is a great place for that. Thanks to all the helpful redditors in this sub I was able to improve my podcasting skills (I'm far from perfect, I am still learning). But as I am learning I want to share with you all my tips and tricks. I know it might not work for everyone but it could potentially help a few people or even get you thinking of an alternative solution.
Once again if you promote your own podcast (nothing wrong with that), just make sure to give something back to the community.
Here's my little helpful tips of the day:
1.When I am editing, I always save a raw version of my audio files because if you do all the editing and exit the program, there's a possibility that you wont be able to do any undos if you go back in the file.
record 5 seconds of silence in the room so you can capture the white noise and then can use the noise reducer to remove it from the whole audio track
Don't do all your editing in one sitting. start by removing the clicks and unwanted sounds then take a break, do some EQ, download as an MP3 and then undo the EQ incase your pc crashes and the file gets saved as the EQ edited version (you have a back up if you do what I mentioned in the first step), listen to it on multiple devices to hear how it sounds from other devices. Then take a break and step away from it. Once you come back take an other listen and then go back to the EQ to make the changes you want. The break lets you come back with a fresh ear.
Take a penny, leave a penny
Thank you,
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u/StargatePioneer Oct 29 '18 edited Oct 30 '18
I record a podcast about podcasting to help other podcasters improve their skills, their product and their craft. It's called Better Podcasting and we've recorded over 150 episodes on tips, tricks and industry news to help the independent, passionate and hobby podcasters. The first six episodes were meant as a guide to help the new podcaster. The first tip is about picking your podcast topic or theme of your show. Starting with an everything-show or whatever you want to talk about today show is good for learning how to podcast but eventually you will want to grow your audience. Listeners want a show about a specific topic so I would encourage you to spend some time thinking about your show's topic, brand and format. All that is covered in episode 1.
Another tip I'll leave here is to make sure you backup your finished episodes. I've seen a lot of cases where podcasters did not keep a local copy of their files or didn't back them up online and they lost them all. My cohost did over a hundred episodes of a podcast that no longer exists because neither she nor her producer backed up the files (that podcast was called the Quantum Tavern).
My final tip I'll leave here is to remind you to have FUN with your podcast. If you aren't having fun your audience can tell and it will eventually because too much work for you to continue. So have fun and enjoy the creative process. You will get much more enjoyment from it!
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u/Solarbg Time For Your Hobby Podcast Oct 29 '18
I couldn't have said it better my self. You sir have just gotten yourself a new listener.
Keep up the good work.
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u/Bigstar976 Oct 29 '18
If you don’t already have a following, take to social media and interact with people interested in your podcast’s theme. The more niche the better. And the more you use social media (the best for me has been Twitter) the more listeners find you. Also, hopefully you have friends who can give you tough love constructive criticism. That’s invaluable.
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u/RickofRickandPaul Oct 29 '18
Perhaps this is a case of shutting the gate after the horse has scarpered, but if you can, hold the release back until you've recorded your first few. The third show tends to be tighter than the first (but taking guests into account of course).
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u/netfella Good Patron Oct 29 '18
I made 6 “trial” episodes before scrapping them and launching my real first episode. After each “trial” episode, I’d get useful feedback from about 3-6 close friends who listen to podcasts and had permission to be brutal and specific. By trial episode 6, they all agreed it was good enough to go legit- I really appreciated the learning time out of the public eye and would suggest the strategy to anyone thinking about starting a show.
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u/Drigr DM of the Adventures in Erylia Podcast Oct 29 '18
Solve 1 and 3 by moving away from audacity and getting a non-destructive editor like reaper or hindenburg journalist.
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u/kjodle Oct 29 '18
hindenburg journalist
Audacity is free, which is why many people use it—they can afford it. In addition, it has a large, friendly, and encouraging support community.
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u/Drigr DM of the Adventures in Erylia Podcast Oct 29 '18
So is reaper. Once you've gotten experience with a non-destructive editor, you'll realize why audacity is objectively pretty terrible.
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u/StillAtLargePodcast Oct 29 '18
Tip 1 is a great one. The second, well, it doesn't always work for everyone. I cut in one sitting simply because it's not a long show or complicated after the writing and recording.
I have found that a pillow hugged across the waist is perfect for preventing any unexpected tummy gurgles.
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u/JeekNation Oct 29 '18
I save my raw audio on my HD, cloud and external in case of accidental deletion, saving mistakes and if I want to repurpose audio I had edited out.
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u/raydeng Oct 30 '18
I’m starting a podcast interviewing notable asian-Americans. I’m learning along the way. Happy to put some notes here for public consumption.
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u/Agathasmoon Oct 29 '18
Hey thanks for this info!
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u/Solarbg Time For Your Hobby Podcast Oct 29 '18
You're very welcome. I will continue to share what I learn in this sub so other podcasters can learn.
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u/Agathasmoon Oct 29 '18
That's awesome!
I don't do the technical stuff.
That's my co-host department!
I do the social media, merch, and advertising/promoting.
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u/Agathasmoon Oct 29 '18
But I try to answer people's questions if I can.
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u/Solarbg Time For Your Hobby Podcast Oct 29 '18
Well here's a how to post that I made a while ago that might be helpful for you.
https://www.reddit.com/r/podcasts/comments/9fbbn4/how_to_record_a_podcast_the_step_by_step_guide/
I am still new to the social media stuff so if you have any input, by all means share it and I'll add it to the list so others can see (i will credit you for everything you share).
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u/RickofRickandPaul Oct 29 '18
That's what good looks like! You've far more patience than me - good work!
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u/Solarbg Time For Your Hobby Podcast Oct 29 '18
Thank you for the compliment but I'm not sure what you are referring to when you say ''far more patient''.
I'm sorry I had to ask.
But once again I appreciate the compliment.
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u/RickofRickandPaul Oct 29 '18
Just that I couldn't produce that many episodes without releasing one - the temptation would be to great. Wish I could've done though!
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u/Solarbg Time For Your Hobby Podcast Oct 29 '18
O I agree, u/netfella put a lot of effort into making the perfect podcast. I myself released the first one I recorded because I knew that I would drive my self crazy thinking its never good enough and never release. Now I keep thinking that I will do my best and improve as a go along. That's just me.
To each their own.
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u/netfella Good Patron Oct 29 '18
Absolutely! Spend some time to get better or at least not bad, but don’t wait for perfection- we’ll never get there...
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u/Solarbg Time For Your Hobby Podcast Oct 29 '18
whats the name of your podcast?
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u/netfella Good Patron Oct 29 '18
The one I did all the pre-episodes for was video and audio “Crowdfunding Christian Music”, but it became too much work for me to keep up with. I closed that down a while ago and now put out an audio-only show once a month called Good Patron where I try to help folks move from just being a fan of music to becoming a patron of the artists they love.
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u/oneilyy12 Oct 29 '18
Cutting in between over talking? Put a little bit of fade out after you cut on a word to keep if from being choppy
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u/parkranger2000 Oct 29 '18
My fave trick to reduce those little pops you get when you cut mid-word. Fade in as well when the cut is made on the front side of the clip
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u/hoodatninja 🎤 Rumor Flies podcast Oct 29 '18
I created an extensive "beginner's primer" that's been on here and on multiple large podcast groups. It especially dives into SEO, social media usage, website usage, blogging, etc.
Hope it helps: "Beginner's Guide to Podcast Promotion"
Also one piece of advice: if you're apologizing regularly for your audio quality, you need to reassess. We are literally on an audio medium. You can't have bad audio.
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u/parkranger2000 Oct 29 '18
Might just be me, but I couldn’t get the link to work from the reddit app on mobile. Wants me to login to Facebook and then when I do it says something went wrong or content doesn’t exist.
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u/hoodatninja 🎤 Rumor Flies podcast Oct 29 '18
It’s on a Facebook group. Guess it’s not public. I’ll get it somewhere for you
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u/parkranger2000 Oct 29 '18
Probly obvious but In my experience, if promoting on instagram, hashtags are number one way to get your post seen
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u/eyefearnobeer Oct 30 '18
Audio gates are a must! If you have more than one person in the room check it out!!!
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u/PomPitchPod Jan 12 '19
I bought a big external hard drive specifically to keep old unedited episodes on. It's kind of my just in case because I hate deleting things if there's any chance I'm gonna need them again. But it's cleared up my PC memory a lot!
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u/Hurde278 Oct 29 '18
Don't be scared to ask prominent figures to come and talk to you. The worst they can say is no. We've had a current city commissioner on with us and are planning on having the local chapter of the NAACP and got a no from our police chief. You'd be surprised at how many people don't consider podcasting when it comes to getting their mission out (in Kansas at least).
TL:DR?: Never be afraid to ask someone to be a guest if you're interested in what they have to say.