Hiring a Podcast Editor

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What are you REALLY looking for in a podcast editor?It's time to get specific. If you want to take the work we've been doing and turn it into a list of what you want (and need), this is the episode for you.

Over the past few episodes, we've laid the groundwork to help you understand and communicate what you're looking for.

• Gone through the process of imagining what the ideal future might look like
• Identified some things that are falling from your plate
• Defined what STYLE of editing you're looking for
• Hiighlighted some roadblocks and constraints

Now it's time to do two things: consider other (non-editing) services and trim down the list. You'll want to use the notes you've been taking over the past few episodes and listen for a few ideas, as well as some thoughts about how to trim the list down and prioritize it.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Try Boomcaster for your podcast recording and streaming.

If you're going to record your podcast while streaming live with cohosts or guests, you need a way to capture great recordings. Boomcaster offers an excellent livestreaming experience, and also captures high-quality audio and video recordings. You can pre-schedule your livestreams to Facebook, YouTube, or LinkedIn. Or all of them if you would like. Use the promo code 'TOPTIER' or the link in the show notes to get 20% off your purchase. And if you do that, you'll also be helping the show (and I'd appreciate that). Boomcaster is what I recommend to capture a great recording while streaming.

Boomcaster

Sponsored by Top Tier Audio

Check out Top Tier Audio! We offer professional podcast production for coaches, trainers, and consultants.

Top Tier Audio

15 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Podcast Editor

If you want to get the clarity you need to avoid a hiring mistake with your podcast, you will want to grab this free guide. No email required. We just want you to make the best decisionfor yourself and your show.

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What are you really looking for in a podcast editor?

It's time to get specific.

If you wanna take the work that we've been doing over the last few episodes and turn it into a list of what you want and need.

This is the episode for you.

Welcome to Hiring a Podcast Editor.

My name is Bryan Entzminger.

I'm a podcast, editor and manager at TopTierAudio.com.

This show is intended to help you be able to find the right podcast editor for you.

Whether you're looking for your first editor or your next editor in season one, we're gonna help you get

clarity on what you really want before you start connecting with editors and then provide you with

the tools to make the right decision for yourself.

This show is sponsored by TopTierAudio.com, where we provide podcast production services for

multi-passionate coaches, trainers, and consultants.

Be sure to stick around to the end, and I'll tell you how you can get a free tool to help you organize

your thoughts and make sure you don't miss anything.

Welcome back to Hiring a Podcast Editor.

I appreciate you being here and I really hope this show is helping you to clear the fog a little and get a firm

handle on what you're looking for in a podcast editor over the last few episodes, we've laid the groundwork to help

you to understand and communicate what you're looking for.

And if you've missed those episodes, I would recommend that you go back and go through those because this is designed to help.

Lay that foundation.

And then we're trying to move this forward.

So this is the next in the series over the last few episodes, we've gone through a process of imagining

what that ideal future might look like for you.

We've identified some things that maybe are falling off of your plate or just not getting done.

Currently.

We've identified what style of editing you're looking for, and we've also highlighted some roadblocks and

constraints, but now it's time for us to do two things.

The first is we're going to take a little bit of time considering any other non-ED editing services we might need.

And then we're gonna start trimming down the list.

We've spent the last few episodes, brainstorming ideas.

We've really been in brainstorming mode, but now it's time for us to begin calling that list down just a little bit.

I'm gonna start.

The non-ED editing services.

Now, if you've been going through this process, you probably already have some of this work started.

In fact, the work that you've done is probably going to be more valuable for you than what I'm gonna share with you today.

So I would recommend that if you've got notes, go back to those and refer to those.

However, on the off chance that you might have missed something, or you maybe just want to hear

what I've got to say, I'm gonna share a few different ideas of non-ED editing things that you might.

Some of these are gonna be things that editors might do.

Some of these might be things that producers or podcast managers do, but I'm gonna go through this list because

this will hopefully help you to identify some of the other things that you might be looking for as you

consider what that ideal future might look like for you.

And I'm gonna break 'em down into a few categor.

First up.

I'm thinking about audio.

We've already talked about editing, but there are other things that can be done.

For example, sound design or composition or advanced audio repair.

I tend to think that these are complimentary to editing, but they're not.

Strictly editing.

So those might be things that you're interested in thinking about sound repair.

If you tend to record in less than ideal situations because of the nature of your show or how you

capture the audio, that might be something that you want to look into as part of a service offering.

So that.

If you get something that's recorded, not as well as you would've hoped the person you're working

with might be able to help restore some of that.

Now just be aware that these other value added services do come at a cost.

And so if you can, I'm always gonna suggest that you bias toward capturing a great recording.

But if you think that there's the possibility that audio repair might be.

Maybe add that to your list of things you might be looking for beyond audio.

I'm also thinking about video, right?

Podcasts can be video and I'm not just talking about YouTube.

Podcasts can be video, not all media hosts support those, but they can be video.

So do you need somebody that can do video editing for you?

Do you need somebody who can create those audiograms or those moving wave graphics?

What about graphic design?

Do you need somebody that can help with design?

Episode specific artwork, maybe for social media, maybe for a blog post, maybe custom

artwork for in-app displays, that kind of thing.

What might you be looking for in terms of that?

Or are you looking for any of that?

Again, you may not find this in an editor, but some editors offer these kinds of things.

We've also got things like consulting, or maybe even bordering on a producer role.

Do you need somebody who can do technical consulting for you?

Who can help you with your audio or technical aspects of your show?

What about content strategy?

Do you want somebody who can help you define your content strategy and maybe suggest.

Topics or things like that.

Those are things to consider.

What about scripting and story design?

Do you need somebody who can help you craft a story out of what you've created depending on the kind of show you have,

that might be something that would be important to you?

I, I would also suggest that maybe even transcriptions might be important to you, especially when you start

thinking about things like accessibility, for people who are hearing impaired, or maybe just prefer to be able to read.

Are you looking for somebody who can offer you transcriptions?

And sort of beyond just transcriptions, there's also other elements of writing.

Do you need somebody who can do some writing for you like titles and teaser or episode descriptions?

What about blog posts?

Do you need someone who can actually function as a high level copywriter to help you write copy to

promote your show on social media, or maybe help you write your email newsletter or things like that?

Do you need somebody who can help you with the writing and.

It's not necessary that you're going to fund all of this in one person, but let's get it all out on the table because we're

gonna start after we do this, calling that list back down.

What about administrative things?

If you're a very busy business owner or nonprofit leader or something like that, there's a chance

that you don't actually have the time available that you would like to invest in your show.

So do you need somebody who can help you with things like.

Booking guests, or maybe helping you to get booked as a guest or maybe with some PR or some outreach.

What about somebody who can help you with marketing or understanding your stats?

What about somebody who can upload and schedule your publications of the, the blog posts?

If you have those social media calendar, if you have one of those help you schedule your email

newsletter, what about scheduling your podcast?

Episodes?

All of those are things that can be value added services.

And if those are things that you're looking.

Then I would suggest that you consider those hi there I'm popping in for just a second to tell you about boom caster.

If you're going to be recording your podcast while streaming live, either with a co-host or with guests

or something like that, you're gonna need a service that does that and gives you high quality recordings

and boom caster is a great service for that.

They offer an excellent live stream experience.

And super high quality audio and video recordings.

So later you can edit those into your final podcast episode.

You can find [email protected] or click the link in the episode notes.

If you use that, you'll also get a discount on your purchase and your purchase will benefit the show.

So I'd really appreciate that.

Boom caster is what I recommend for you to capture those great recordings for your podcast.

Now that we've thought through a few of the things that we.

Might want to add to the list to kind of create as best we can.

That comprehensive list of the things that we're looking for potentially in an editor.

Now it's time to start thinking about how we can trim this list down.

You've gone through your dreaming process, where you thought through what the ideal future might look like for you.

We've made a lot of notes about things that you'd like some help with about the structure of your show, all of that kind of.

Now it's time to start trimming that stuff down.

So I'm gonna ask you to pull out your notes and we're just gonna start going through those.

And this is something that you can do on your own, but essentially what you're gonna do is just start not.

What things are the most important to you?

They might all be important, but which ones are the most important?

Are there any that are critical?

Are there any that you might consider a deal breaker?

Are there some that might be nice to have?

Are there others that you go?

Yeah, that sounded great, but I don't really care about those and it's okay.

If not everything makes it cut, but it's time to start going through that and prioritizing that.

And then start thinking through if I'm working on.

Call it three year horizon where I'm trying to build toward that future, that I'm looking for.

How might these fit together in a sequence?

What things need to happen now?

What are the things that are the most important?

Now that will start to set me up for that future that I'm looking for?

What are the things that I think maybe it's too early for like start noting those?

What do I think could happen this year?

What do I think could happen next year?

What do I think could happen the next year after that?

Until you've got an idea of how this.

Progress.

Now I wanna say right often you're probably already thinking this.

There's almost no chance that this is gonna work out exactly as I've written it down and that's okay.

You might hop on a call with an editor and discover that something you thought was gonna take you three years to get to.

They can help you bring that forward right now.

That's okay.

You might also discover that something you thought could happen right now.

Maybe it's a little bit too soon for that.

That's also okay.

What's important is that you have.

Framework of understanding of how you're hoping this will progress so that as you begin having these

discussions, you have something to not only compare the editors that you're talking with against each other,

cuz you're gonna talk to more than one editor, right?

You're gonna, you're gonna talk to more than one person to make sure you're getting the right person.

You're also gonna wanna compare what you're talking about with them, to what you're hoping might happen so that you can notice

the things that they might bring to the table that can help.

Maybe achieve your goal a little more quickly, and you'll notice the things that might drag

things down slower than you were hoping for.

All of this is just gonna become part of the recipe that helps you find the right person.

But this is a very important step to determine what matters, what doesn't matter, what matters a little, and then to

try and develop that sequence of how things would flow.

Now when you finish this, , it's probably gonna be pretty eye opening.

When you start thinking about how much you might be able to accomplish in a period of two to three years, it can also seem

overwhelming if you try to cram everything into that first year.

So give yourself a little bit of grace as you go through this and kind of think that stuff through when we come

back next time, we're gonna take just the tiniest bit of a side step from what we're doing here and just talk.

The kind of person you might want to be working with.

And what I'm gonna suggest here is that you look at the next episode as an opportunity to expand

your horizons around what might be possible.

And then to start to clarify exactly what kind of person you want to be able to work with, because that will

then continue to move you forward towards the next step.

This all.

Builds on itself.

I do wanna say if you've made it to the end, thank you so much for being here.

I really do hope this has been useful for you.

If you have any questions about this, if something was confusing or something seemed redundant or whatever

I would love to hear from you, you can email me.

My email is [email protected].

I really would love to hear from you, especially if you have questions where I might be able to help

you make sure that you're finding the right person.

If you'd like to be able to get the clarity you need in order to avoid making a hiring mistake, be sure to download our

guide 15 questions to ask before hiring a podcast editor, you can find it at HireAPodcastEditor.com/15questions,

and it'll be linked up in the show notes.

It's totally free.

We don't require an email address or anything like that.

We just want to make sure that you have the tools that you need to make the right decision for you.

That guide has the questions we'll talk about on this show.

Some instructions and suggestions.

Even a place to take notes.

If you wanna get even more out of it, though, be sure to subscribe to this show at HireAPodcastEditor.com/listen

and share it with the rest of your team.

Your work is important.

Now.

Go out there and make a great podcast.