5 Signs It’s Time to Switch Podcast Production Companies
How do you know it’s time to switch podcast production companies? When podcasting feels like a chore and you’re not happy with the outcome. The company you work with should make the process easy and produce episodes you are proud of.
That’s what we strive to do every day. It is our goal to produce podcasts that are so seamlessly edited you would never know they were even touched.
This quote from one of my favorite episodes of “Futurama” pretty much sums up our philosophy:
“When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.” - The Universe
Signs it’s time to switch podcast production companies
Here are five red flags to look for:
Podcast episodes are plagued by inconsistent quality
When you and your guests are recording remotely, you will inevitably record audio files with inconsistent volume. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using a headset (frequently the best choice), large microphone, or a set of ear buds. Your guest might be super loud, and you might be quiet. This is very common.
An experienced, professional audio engineer will level-match and seamlessly edit the audio - including removing ‘um's’, ‘like’s’, and ’you know’s’. The result will be conversations that flow for a high-quality listening experience.
If your podcast production company uses inexperienced staff, volume levels might be all over the place, and editing may result in clunky or choppy audio, creating a negative listening experience for your audience.
Our team of audio engineers creatively edits the audio so it achieves your message, includes your language, and still sounds like a natural conversation. Our goal is seamless editing – not audio that sounds like it’s been edited.
And if your production company advertises itself as podcasters and not audio engineers, that’s a huge red flag.
Production management is an after-thought
Production management means having processes in place to keep you on time and on budget, planning for the unexpected, and solving problems proactively during pre-production, production, and post-production.
Your only tasks should be brainstorming topics, lining up guests, editing/approving the transcript, and approving the final audio. If you are doing anything else, your production company is moving tasks from their plate onto yours.
Here is a list of what we do during each phase of production:
Pre-production
We find out who is recording, where they are recording, when the recording needs to take place.
We make sure everyone receives a headset that is compatible with their computer.
We have meetings and run tests to make sure everything is working and everyone knows the plan.
During production, we are on the call to:
Make sure the guests are comfortable and ready to go.
Troubleshoot as needed so the recording goes smoothly.
Maintain responsibility for the recorded media.
Post-production
We send you a transcript to edit.
We handle audio editing as described above.
We send you an edited episode that needs little-to-no editing (our goal is always zero revisions).
We select music for your intro and outro that is consistent with your brand.
We consult on uploading the final approved podcast to an RSS feed.
We make sure all those moving parts on the internet work together.
In short, we keep you on track and on task until we deliver the final product. Every podcast production company should have the same goal.
Podcast production companies should not ask guests to record themselves
Recording audio for a podcast is not like recording a voice memo on your phone. The technology that supports quality audio is made for audio engineers who are experts in podcast production. It’s not made for the general population (despite how it’s advertised).
Likewise, production companies shouldn’t put the burden of delivering media files on the host or guests. We’ve received blank audio files on multiple occasions when clients have attempted to record themselves.
Many of our clients come to us after trying to produce their podcast or working with a vendor that does not specialize in podcast production. In both instances, they find themselves with a podcast that sounds terrible and ends up costing more time and money than budgeted.
The responsibility for recording falls on your production company, not you or your guest.
The company misses deadlines or doesn’t set expectations
As we all know, life happens. A sudden family emergency could cause a missed deadline. But missed deadlines should not be a regular occurrence.
If they are a regular occurrence, there is an issue with the company's team and/or process. The team could be inexperienced (see above), so it takes them longer to edit. They might also need to make several rounds of edits to create a decent-sounding episode.
Their process may not be efficient, they may not have explained it to you, or they just may not be good communicators. It is okay to ask your producer what their timeline and process is.
Our turnaround time for editing one podcast episode is usually within 48 hours. If it will take longer, we will tell you.
Beware a podcast production company that maintains complete control of your content
It’s not a bad thing to have production companies handle the topics, questions, and decisions on what content to keep in the recording and what to delete. It only becomes an issue if the production company doesn’t allow you to make any revisions before the episode goes live.
We always provide our clients with a transcript so they can edit it and let us know “We don’t want to include this” or “We really want to keep this”. In reality, we might have to keep something you edited out, because otherwise the audio doesn’t flow quite right.
We believe it’s important to leave all content in the hands of our clients. It is your brand after all! You should have control over how it’s presented to the world.
We make podcast production easy
Podcasting is a wonderful way to build brand awareness, share expertise, and bring authentic messages to your audience. If every episode feels like a struggle, let’s talk.
Since 2017, we have helped small businesses, grant-funded scholars, nonprofits, law firms, large corporations and the PR and marketing firms who collaborate with them produce exceptional podcasts. Email us at info@volubilitypodcasting.com to get the conversation started.