Podcast Editing Complete Guide

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How to Make Money Online by Podcast Editing and Publishing Guide (Including step by step S.O.P for V.A)

(This guide was edited from Taylor Pearson giveaway)

Additional Note: This is an example using a show I hosted previously that can be modified for any podcast. It is set up for a podcast hosted on WordPress using the Libsyn Podcast hosting and the Blubrry plugin and edited using Adobe Audition.

Editing SOP

Getting Started

Separating Tracks –

Silencing Tracks

Balancing Volume Level

Applying Effects

Editing Final Track

Adding Intro/Outro Files

Balancing the Volume Level Part 2

Using LEVELATOR

Adding ID3 Tags

Upload to Libsyn

Drafting the Copy

Finalizing the Post and Scheduling for Publishing

Editing SOP

General Notes:

  • Save Early and Often to your Local Machine
  • Podcast should to be as tight as possible, take out any silences or excessive umms
  • Before editing for the first time, listen to any podcast show on iTunes to get a feel fof it, how it’s edited and what the volume level is.

Typical Show Format:

  • Recorded Intro
  • Custom Intro recorded by the host
  • Interview
  • Recorded Outro

Getting Started

Open Adobe Audition

Download .wav file of the interview itself and the introduction to that interview from Unedited Interview folder in dropbox to Adobe Audition

Separating Tracks – 

If the interview was done over the phone and not recorded directly into audition, then you’ll need to separate the tracks so that you have one track of each person’s voice.

To do so:

  • Right Click on the File in Waveform and Select Extract Channels to Mono Files
    • You Should get 4 files total – 2 files each that are clear of each person’s voice. Select the clearest version of each person’s side and drag them into a new multitrack session

Silencing Tracks

Create a new multitrack session using the interviewee’s name and save it to a new folder for that episode under PodcastTrack/EditedFiles/FirstNameLastName

Ex. PodcastTrack/EditedFiles/JohnDoe

Save it to your local machine. (Under PodcastTrack/Edited Files/FirstNameLastName)

At this point you should have two separate tracks – one of the hosts and one of the interviewee in the multitrack session

Go in and listen to each individually and silence the parts where the person isn’t talking so it sounds clean and eliminates background noise

  • Left click to Drag to select the area
  • Right Click–>Silence
  • use Command + R on a mac to repeat last command
  • DO NOT DELETE ANYTHING – This will keep the files from matching up. The files should be the exact same length
  • If in doubt, leave it in. Don’t cut anyone off because someone is talking over someone else.

Balancing Volume Level

For every track make sure that 6 to 9 dB is the typical level on the Mixer

  • The host should be slightly louder since he’s leading the conversation. The guest should never be consistently louder than the host

Save the project to your local machine

Applying Effects

In “Effects Rack” (on the left side, halfway down) – you’ll be applying an effect rack to both the host and guest track

Apply to All Tracks

Apply Filter and EQ / Graphic Equalizer 30 band / Lead Vocal to every track

Apply Filter and EQ /  Graphic Equalizer 20 Band / Vocal Magic (breath)

Mix: Dry – Wet

  • Take it down to 80 or 70
  • This takes out some of the echo or broadcast sound
  • In ideal recording situation, 70, less than ideal 80

Optional for each track

Apply Filter and EQ Filter / FFT / Kill the Mic Rumble

  • Use this if there is a lot of background noise or if the speaker is a heavy breather into the mic

Amplitude and Compression / Desser

  • If the Ps and Ss are really harsh for one side, apply this effect

SELECT the track(s) you want to apply the Effects to

  • In most cases, you’ll apply the same effects to both tracks, but in the case that one is different than the other you may have to apply certain effects to one and not the other

APPLY EFFECTS RACK – Make sure you’ve applied it to the tracks in the multitrack

Note: You may need to apply some other effects for phone calls or certain files. The general guideline is maximize clarity and bass for any given file. The above are best practices and should be followed unless you have a better method for maximizing clarity and bass

At this point you should have two files with the dead space on each silenced, the appropriate effects applied to each from effects rack, and the volume matched up so that the host is slightly louder than the interviewee floating between -6 to -9 dB is the typical level on the Mixer 

Save the silenced files to your local machine

Go to Multitrack → Mixdown to mix  the Two Tracks Together. This will combine the voices of both the host and the guest into a single file

Delete the two separate tracks from the Multitrack section and add the Mixdown Track of the host and interviewee combined into the Multitrack Session

Editing Final Track

Delete the lead in/introduction phone chat. 

The start of the main clip should be “Tell us who you are and what you do” or similar, whenever it’s clear that the interview is starting

Edit/cut to make the show flow quickly and clip along

  • Take out any awkward silence or missteps
    • Ex. “Umms” or “Ahhs” or “likes” “you know” or stuttering
  • Remove any ramblings from the interviewee that aren’t relevant or are repetitive
    • Also remove any overly promotional pieces that don’t provide actionable or strategic insights-

Delete the Post Show chit/chat after they give their contact information and the host thanks them for being on the show.

Adding Intro/Outro Files

Download the intro and outro clips from Audio Files/CMR Intro and Outro” folder in the dropbox folder.

  • *Important* – Do not drag the files out of dropbox onto your local machine or it will remove them for everyone. Only copy them into the editor and be sure they are still in the dropbox folder.

There should be 5  total clips:

  • Add the Introduction.wav File from Audio Files/CMR Intro and Outro before the Interview (this is the intro teaser file, if you recorded it)
  • Add the “Interviewee Name Intro” file from their interview folder inside of The Un-Edited Interviews folder.
    • (Ex. “DrJohnDoe Intro”)
  • Add the recorded PodcastOutro.wav clip from Audio Files/Podcast Intro and Outro after the to end the show

Make sure the intro and outro clips transition smoothly into one another and with the main interview without a silent gap

Balancing the Volume Level Part 2

We need to make sure the intro and outros are at the right volume now.

For every track, go in make sure that -6 to -9 dB is the typical level on the Mixer when it’s playing in the multitrack

At this point you should have the whole show put together so that if you play it all in multitrack it’s complete, you just need to do the final mixdown by going to Multitrack→Mixdown Session to New File → Entire Session

With the final mixdown file

  • Go to File→ Export → Multitrack Mixdown
  • Save the Mixdown to a folder on your local machine as an mp3 File under Podcast Track/Edited Files/XX/XXFirstNameLastNameEdited
    • Ex. /Podcast Track/Edited Files/01/01JohnDoeEdited
  • Save and Hang on to all the raw files until 2 weeks after the interview goes live in case they need to be edited again into the same folder:
    • Ex. /Podcast Track/Edited Files/01

Listen to the final mixdown file compared to the most recent episode in iTunes. Is the volume level the same?

If not, go back to Balancing Volume Level Part 2 and correct it. This way if someone listens to multiple interviews in a row, the volume will be consistent.

Adding ID3 Tags

Note:ID3 tags store information (like Author, Publication Date, etc.) about podcasts, and are additional information added to an .mp3 file that has been newly created. You’ll create the ID3 tags for the episode within Apple iTunes. 

Within your iTunes, you should have/create a playlist named “Podcast Track” and put all the previous episodes. 

This will be useful for referring to earlier .mp3 files and seeing how the ID3 tags were set up on them, so the format stays consistent.

  • Drag the file from your local machine into the Podcast Track playlist of  iTunes
  • Find the file in iTunes
  • Right click and edit info
  • Login to http://domain.com/
    • Go to the posts section
      • Find the post for the interviewee you are editing
  • Go the Info Tab and fill in the info as seen below:
  • Name: Copy in the post title from http://domain.com/ formatted as “01: Title – Podcast Name”
    • Ex. “01: How Providing the Best Care Leads to Higher Profits and More Fulfillment with John Doe and Adam Smith – Podcast Name”
  • Artist: The Host 
  • Album: Podcast Track
  • Comments: Copy the Teaser Copy and Listen to this Show and Learn into the Description
  • Genre: Podcast
  • Lyrics: Copy the Teaser Copy and Listen to this Show and Learn into the Description from http://domain.com/
  • Artwork: Go to the artwork tab and upload “PT-logo-1400x1400px” from the Final Artwork PT Logo Folder in Dropbox

Drag the file from iTunes onto your local desktop

  • You must save file with ID3 tags locally – Dropbox does not always save them which mean they do not save to the editor & feed. Very important!

Select Get Info and Double Check that the ID3 tags were saved properly

Drop the file into the Dropbox folder (Edited Interviews) and title it XXPT.mp3 where XX is the show number

  • Ex. 01PT.mp3

Email the host (username@domain.com) that the show is in dropbox

Upload to Libsyn

Notes: Tutorial from Libsyn: http://support.libsyn.com/faqs/publish-episode-extras/ 

  • Go to https://three.libsyn.com/login 
  • Login to http://domain.com/
    • Open the current post that’s set to go live the next week.
  • Inside of Libsyn Navigate to Content–>Add New Episode
    • Go to Add Media File and Upload the file from dropbox as XXPT.mp3
    • Copy the Show Title from the Title of the Blog Post in WordPress into Libsyn
    • Copy the Teaser Copy and “Listen to this Show and Learn” into the Description portion
      • That includes everything in the body of the post before “Mentions”
    • Select Clean for Rating
    • Click Save as a Draft at the bottom
      • DO NOT PUBLISH!!!!!!! THIS WOULD BE VERY BAD, ONLY CLICK SAVE AS DRAFT
  • Return to the drafts page (Content→ drafts) and press play to confirm the draft is working
  • Mark the post as Edited in the Podcast Production Schedule by putting a Y in the appropriate box.

Send username@domain.com an email saying the show is in the dropbox folder and uploaded to Libsyn

Editor May Stop Here

When the host gets the episode back, he will

Drag it into Podcasts “To Listen to” in iTunes

‘Drag it into “To Publish Files” on local machine

  • Confirm ID3 Tags

Listen to the show and send the editor any notes if it needs to be changed

Drafting the Copy

General Notes

  • While you’re doing the final edit of the show (the next step), take notes on it in a blog post on http://domain.com/ 
  • Write the post in a friendly, simple and direct tone

Steps

  • Log-in to WordPress site
  • Open the previous week’s podcast post in one tab and a new post in another tab
  • Change the schedule date to years in the future (like 2035) so it doesn’t get published on accident
  • Copy and Paste the Entire Body of the old Post into the new Post using the text editor
  • Title the Post: XX: Episode Title with Guest Name(s)
    • Ex.
      • 01: How Providing the Best Care Leads to Higher Profits and More Fulfillment with John Doe and Adam Smith
  • Make a custom URL slug to mirror Episode Number
    • (Use Show Episode Ex. domain.com/01/)
    • Ex. http://domain.com/01/
  • Write Teaser Copy for intro/lead-in
    • Write this while or just after editing ideally so it’s fresh in your mind
  • H2 Headline – Listen to this Show and Learn:
    • Should be Teaser Bullet Points that make sense after reading the phrase “Listen to this Show and Learn”
      • Don’t capitalize anything except proper nouns
      • Always use periods at the end
      • Use open hooks and teasers to prompt people to want to learn
  • H2 Headline – Mentions:
  • Feature Photo:
    • Use a headshot from interviewee’s website preferably or if not then their logo
  • Categories:
    • Select “podcast” under categories
  • Preview and PROOF READ THE POST OUT LOUD and check for formatting issues again
  • Save as a Draft

Finalizing the Post and Scheduling for Publishing

  • Go to https://three.libsyn.com/login
    • Login
    • Go into Libsyn Content → Drafts
      • Select the Edit button for the appropriate episode
    • Scroll to the Bottom and Expand the “Schedule Release/Expiration”
    • Select the Advanced Tab
      • Check ONLY the Following Boxes
        • Libsyn Classic Feed
        • Web Player
      • All other boxes can be unchecked
      • Set the release date for both the Libsyn Classic Feed and the Web Player to the appropriate Tuesday at 3am EST (Libsyn is set in EST) according to the Production Schedule
      • Copy the direct download URL
  • Log-in to http://domain.com/
    • Open the post to go live
    • Paste in the Direct Download URL from Libsyn into the podcast episode box
      • Click Verify to confirm the media is uploaded correctly
  • Preview and PROOF READ THE POST OUT LOUD and formatting issues again
    • schedule it to publish the appropriate Tuesday at 3am EST according to the Production Schedule

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