Do You Really Need A Podcast Editor – PTC 448

HOW CAN I PRODUCE A PODCAST IN AN HOUR?

To create great content quickly, you're going to need help. Many coaches ask me if they need a podcast editor. It comes down to where you want to spend your time.

Asking if you need a podcast editor is like asking if you need a car. I don't know that anyone "needs" a car. You can take the bus, pay for an Uber, ride your bike, walk, or catch a ride with a friend.

Needing a car comes down to convenience. What do you value more?

To produce a quality podcast episode in an hour, you'll need to spend your time performing and sharing your expertise. You'll then need somebody else to do the editing, uploading and sharing of your episode.

TAYLOR SWIFT

We went to see Taylor Swift this weekend. I've had the great fortune of meeting Taylor a few times and see how her business works from a unique perspective.

Taylor Swift is so successful, because she spends her time overdelivering for her fans while others handle the tasks that don't require her genius.

When my daughter Emma was in grade school, I took her to meet Taylor for the second time. Emma brought her friend Ellerie.

A typical meet and greet with an artist is pretty quick.

The guests all wait for the artist in a room. It's usually a dressing room, meeting room, or locker room at the venue.

The artist will come in. Guests will step up usually in pairs. They express their admiration for the artist. Someone takes a picture, and the guests are ushered out of the room.

Each meet and greet interaction is about 30 to 60 seconds. It's quick.

MEET AND GREET

With Taylor Swift, it's different.

Taylor had a special room set up specifically for radio people and special guests.

Alex, the representative from the record company, gathered us to go back as usual. When we got back there, we met Frank. He is Taylor's personal liaison to people in the radio industry.

Frank and Alex then introduced us to Taylor's mom. She is the host backstage. Taylor's mom ensures everything backstage is a great experience.

We all waited in the room until Taylor came in. Rather than lining up to meet her, she walked around the room and met us, making every guest feel special.

Taylor probably spent 3 or 4 minutes with each guest. We chatted about her music. She talked to Emma about piano lessons. They posed for a nice photo and then some funny photos.

With that, Taylor left us in the hands of her mom to give us a tour of the backstage area while she got ready for the show.

A few days after the concert, I received a hand-written note in the mail. It was from Taylor.

Taylor had written me a note thanking me for taking time out of my week to bring my family to her concert. She appreciated all the support we gave her music.

Now as the Program Director of the radio station at the time, I controlled what music got played on the radio station. It make total sense for Taylor to send me a thank you note.

However, inside my note was another note addressed to Emma.

This note thanked Emma for coming to the show, encouraged Emma to stick with her piano lessons, and asked her to tell Ellerie "hi" for her.

That's the magic of Taylor Swift.

PODCAST EDITOR

So what does this have to do with having a podcast editor?

Taylor Swift delegates the tasks that don't require her attention to other people.

The record rep gathers us and gets us backstage. Her liaison ensures everyone is there. Her mom handles the backstage logistics.

This is just the start of it. For instance, Taylor's dad is the host out front. He is in charge of going up top to the cheap seats, finding super-fans, and upgrading their tickets to the front of the stage.

You might be saying, "Sure, Taylor Swift can have a huge team helping her. I can't afford that."

The truth is you can't afford to NOT have help. You don't have enough time in the week.

You don't need to have a team of a dozen people. But getting one person to do your editing comes with huge benefits.

When Taylor Swift has her mom coordinating backstage, she can focus on her guests.

I'm guessing that when Taylor left that room, she somehow jotted down some notes on everyone she met. Or someone was doing it in real time.

I don't know how she did it. The point is she had time to do it, because the other tasks were handled by other people.

6+ REASONS TO HIRE A PODCAST EDITOR

When it comes time to decide to hire a podcast editor, you need to do some evaluation of your situation.

If you can use the time for more productive results, then hire a podcast editor.

On the other hand if you are going to watch more Netflix while you pay someone to edit your podcast, keep doing your own show.

There are six reasons to hire a podcast editor. See how many of these apply to your podcast and situation.

SAVES TIME

The biggest benefit of hiring a podcast editor is that it saves time.

How much time do you spend editing your podcast?

If you are creating an interview episode, it probably takes an hour to set up the gear and record the conversation.

Then you need to record your episode intro and possibly the close to demonstrate your expertise in your space and invite people to work with you.

Next, you need to edit the podcast open, episode intro, interview and close together. You will need to take out any mistakes and normalize the audio.

Finally, export your file to an .mp3, upload it to your podcast host, and add the show notes.

When you have an editor, you record the interview, open and close. You're done.

Your editing team does the rest. Poof. More time on your calendar.

ZONE OF GENIUS

Now that you have more time, the second benefit of hiring a podcast editor is where you spend your time.

You can now spend your time in your zone of genius. Just like Taylor Swift, you can do what you're best at doing and less time on the menial tasks that don't require your involvement.

This will allow you to book more appearances for exposure, land more clients with sales calls and conversations, and create more content to grow the business.

Do the things that only you can do. Delegate the rest. Spend time in your zone of genius.

FASTER AND BETTER

Now, I don't mean to disparage your editing expertise. But I'm guessing a professional podcast editor can probably edit a show much faster and better than you can.

Speed is the third benefit.

Because I have been editing digital audio for over two decades, I can edit the audio faster than I can explain what I'm doing.

In my audio editing software, I have shortcut keys set up to split, delete, mix down to file, save as an .mp3 and a variety of other tasks.

All of these little tricks save me a ton of time editing a show. And I'm not even a professional editor. My buddy Matt does it for a living. He knows tips and tricks I'll never know, simply because he does it everyday.

YOU KNOW

That brings us to the fourth benefit of hiring a podcast editor is that you don't know what you don't know.

I was on a coaching call the other day walking Janie through editing her show. As we looked at her waveform, I told her exactly where to click to remove the mistake.

She said, "How do you know that's where the mistake is?"

I told her, "I've been looking at these waveforms for 25 years. The mistakes become easy to spot when you've done it that long."

When you turn your editing tasks over to a professional podcast editor, they can edit your show in a fraction of the time it takes you.

They also know little editing tricks, like making the edit after the breath to hide the edit. Or making a cut next to a hard consonant to make it unnoticeable. Or when to use a crossfade or mute.

Your show will sound much more professional when a professional edits it.

THE TECHNOLOGY

Many coaches enjoy working with people and creating. The fifth benefit of hiring a podcast editor is avoiding the tech.

If you don't enjoy tech or detail work, you'll be able to delegate it to your editor.

Performing and creating use a different part of the brain than detailed work. It is difficult to be great at both.

When you delegate the technical and details work to someone else, you will find that you do much better work in your creative space. You won't need to worry about doing the tasks that neither excite you or you're not good at completing.

Somebody loves the details. Leave it to them.

COACHING

The final benefit of hiring a podcast editor is unique to working with me. When you enroll in my Podcast Profits Concierge program, you get full podcast editor services along with coaching from me.

You show up and perform. Leave the rest of the tasks to my team.

This includes editing your audio and video. My team uploads your audio to your podcast host and video to your YouTube channel.

They also create your show notes for you. You get social media assets, like a captioned social media video, quote cards and more.

The team will post your show and notes to your Wordpress website. There is a blog header image for your website, a YouTube thumbnail for your video, and a whole lot more.

Plus, you get one-on-one coaching with me to ensure your podcast is connecting with your audience and make more sales.

Making a real impact on the world with your knowledge and content is a powerful place to be. This is where you change lives and make a difference.

The Podcast Profits Concierge is a powerful program designed to help you grow your business.

If you are ready to explode your impact, this high-level package builds a powerful podcast with coaching, handles your complete audio and video production of four episodes per month to free your time, supports you with a community of like-minded coaches, and pours gas on your fire.

To learn more, visit www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/editing. The full details are there.