My Favorite Tools and Systems to Make Podcasting Easier
Embracing systems and tools that genuinely resonate with your workflow can be a game-changer, offering you more time to focus on what truly matters in your podcasting journey. Let's face it, if the approach you're taking towards podcasting feels off, it's going to be a challenge to thrive in this space.
In this episode, I'm excited to share with you the tools and strategies my team and I rely on week after week to bring our podcast to life. From the nuts and bolts of organization, through the creative process of recording and editing, to the final touches in post-production, we're diving deep. Join me as we pull back the curtain and explore the practical yet strategic methods that help keep my podcast—and, by extension, my business—running smoothly, allowing us to connect with you in the most authentic and engaging way possible.
How I keep my podcast organized
Finding a system for making sure your podcast is on track week after week is key especially as a busy CEO. Between Google sheets and Asana, we’ve created a system that helps us stay on track and makes the process so much easier. Each episode has a checklist and that checklist is so detailed, we would be crazy to miss a step.
Tools for Recording and Editing so you sound professional
You don’t need a recording studio or a closet for that matter to record your episodes. But a microphone can make or break how you sound. My favorite microphone isn’t a Blue Yeti that you see everyone use, but a USB condenser microphone on an arm and with a pop filter. From there, during editing, I love to use Descript. Using their studio sound and transcript to edit helps streamline the process but also enhance how I sound in my office. Again, no recording studio required!
Templates will make or break your podcast process
Simplifying and creating templates is a must if you want to keep your podcast process on track. We use templates for episode scripts, show notes, graphics and more! This way, when I sit down to work on my episodes, I don’t have to think too hard about how to create anything. I just pick my template and go. We use a combination of google sheets, Canva, and Descript to get our show notes and graphics ready for podcast release day.
The key to consistency is systems and tools
When you start working on your podcast process, remember that long-term success can happen in podcasting if you stay consistent and the best way to do that is by having systems and tools in place to help you create your episodes each week. If podcasting feels hard, it will be! So implementing and using tools on the back end can make it seem easier and more enjoyable.
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The Transcript for Podcast Your Business:
167: My Favorite Tools and Systems to Make Podcasting Easier
[00:00:00] Having systems and tools that work for you can make all the difference when it comes to saving time on your podcast each week. So I thought it would be fun today to share what me and my team are using and tools that you need to try. If you want to make podcasting a little simpler.
[00:00:14]
[00:00:56] Hello, and welcome back to share [00:01:00] strategize and shine. I'm so glad that you're here. Have I mentioned that it means the world to me, that you listen to my podcast. And I really hope that I am helping you in some way. With your, podcast is a well, so today the problem that we solved, I want to talk for a minute about something that just keeps coming up.
[00:01:22] And I may do an episode on this further down the road. But I just wanted to mention it today because it felt really important. Lately. It seems like everybody that I talk to who has a podcast, who's wanting to create their podcast. Who's wanting to create. Something that really showcases their brand and who they are. They have a lot of trouble with confidence, feeling confident that the content is going to be good, feeling confident that their voice is going to sound okay on the podcast. And they start to question like all of these things and it always surprises me when people do [00:02:00] this because I'm like, you sound amazing.
[00:02:02] You sound great. Your contents. Fantastic. And what I've been realizing as I've been digging into this with clients, is that. Creating content is such a personal thing. It is such a personal thing and it really does. Take us putting ourselves out there in a way that we may not be used to. And so what I want to do today, Is encourage you. Like I totally get it.
[00:02:31] I am with you 110%. There are days. Or I sit down and I recorded them. Like that episode was terrible, or I think to myself, Ooh, is that what I really sound like? Or Ooh, is that what I really look like on video? Like, you know, we can be our own worst critics. And so one thing I have been doing is working on some affirmations. For podcasters for my clients, for myself, for when I'm getting ready to record.
[00:02:57] And I just want to share those with you before we dive into today's [00:03:00] episode. So, if you're listening to this, I want you to take a deep breath with me in. And out.
[00:03:08] Okay. And the first one we're going to say is my voice is powerful and resonates with my audience.
[00:03:18] The next one is each episode I create. Is a unique expression of my passion and knowledge.
[00:03:28] I am capable of making meaningful connections through my podcast.
[00:03:35] And this one's my favorite. There is someone out there who needs to hear what I have to say?
[00:03:43] Uh, so good. So, you know, if you want to write these down. I'm going to have to make some kind of freebie eventually that has these in. So you can have access to them, but before you sit down to record, just take a deep breath and say these to yourself because they are [00:04:00] just, so this has been such a game changer for me.
[00:04:02] I used to write them on sticky notes and actually put them on my monitor or my, my camera, like near my camera. So that way I saw it every time I started recording. And just remember, like, it takes time to gain confidence, to sit down and record your podcast episodes. This doesn't happen overnight.
[00:04:20] This is a skill that you build over time, but I promise the more you do it, the better you are going to feel about it. Okay. So that's the problem I solve this week. I really hope those affirmations help you out.
[00:04:35] I have tried pretty much every tool there is for organization and podcasting. And one thing I find over and over and over again is that the tools really do matter.
[00:04:45] They really do. The system also matters, especially when we talk about setting up your business and your podcast for success. So I thought it would be fun to do an episode where I just share my top tools and tech tips. Lots of teaser [00:05:00] and hopefully these can help you start to simplify your systems. So podcasting feels easier each week.
[00:05:05] Okay. And we will put the links to all of these in the show notes. So if I mentioned something that you want to check out. Be sure to go check the show notes on my website to click on them and go check them out. So let's start with organization and like square one. And I'm probably going to shock a lot of new people because. I'm not going to sit here and recommend like you go download a new tool.
[00:05:29] I have literally tried the mall. I have tried Trello. I have tried click up. I have looked at Monday. I have tried them all. And I think everybody's brain works a little different. And so it really depends on like what you need out of a system. And if it's going to work with you, but I'm going to share with you how we do it here at Wild Home Podcasting, and maybe that'll help just so you can visualize.
[00:05:51] I don't know if anybody's like me, if you're listening to this, like come and tell me on Instagram, but I am one of those people where I have to see it to understand how it works and functions. That's a [00:06:00] huge piece of like how my brain operates. And so a lot of times when we're doing something, I'll say to my ops manager, Do you have an example?
[00:06:07] Can I see what, what that means, what that might look like? Because I need to see it. And you know, for a long time we used Trello because it was so visual, but the problem with Trello was. Especially having team is we were not able to tag people and assign certain tasks. Now I believe at Trello now has that kind of option, but anyways, We realized what we needed were checklist.
[00:06:32] We needed hubs. We needed checklists. We needed. Yeah. So we moved to a sauna and I have not looked back. I love it. Granted, there was a moment where I kind of had to figure out how it was going to work best for me. But so we have Asana. And so there is an Asana board where it has my podcast. And it has each episode, right?
[00:06:54] Each episode is a task. And inside that task, Each podcast is broken [00:07:00] down into even more tasks. So editing, recording, show notes. Review show? No. I mean, literally every step that you can think of that happens. Is a task inside that. So we're able to really track, like where are we with these episodes what's going on with them?
[00:07:16] So that's, that's one of the, has been a huge game changer. For keeping me on track, but also keeping all those little tasks on track and we update those checklists all the time. Like we're constantly updating those processes. The second thing we use. And again, this might surprise you because it's nothing crazy. Is Google drive. I love Google drive. I did not realize how great Google docs and Google forms and Google sheets were until like this past two years, we have moved from trying to get our clients to use all these crazy systems to here's a Google doc. Here's a Google sheet. And in his main thing so much easier.
[00:07:56] So for my like content planning, when I'm just sitting down and [00:08:00] mapping out my content for the quarter or the month, whatever. I just use a Google sheet, a Google spreadsheet. And all of these templates that I'm gonna talk about today are inside of our membership. So if you want to see what those look like. You do have to join the membership to get them I'm afraid.
[00:08:15] But, I do love a good Google sheet, so I will plan in Google sheets, but then we keep track of the tasks in a sauna. And this works really, really well for us. I think a sauna is really great for if you have a team and if you like to see things and lists, and that has worked really well for me, I'm not like actually keeping a lot of links and things in a sauna.
[00:08:36] It's more about task tracking for me. And then what's great is we have these dashboards that we've created. In Google drive. And I know that all of my podcasts things are in one place. All of the things I need for one episode or in one folder. And that has been such a game changer. So those are the things that I recommend for organization. And you know, maybe I'll have to do a YouTube video on how we use a [00:09:00] sauna for our podcasts.
[00:09:01] That would be really interesting. I think for people to see inside behind the scenes,
[00:09:05] Okay. So let's talk about recording for a minute. I want to talk about microphones because this is a tool that you need to have to use for your podcasts. And I have talked to you three podcasters just this week. Who have a blue Yeti microphone, which if you're watching the video, you'll actually see, I have one in the background because they're really pretty.
[00:09:26] I mean, it's a really pretty microphone, but it doesn't give me the best sound. The one that I love the most is the one that I am using. And I just got this off of Amazon and it's by Mona M a O N O mono. Hmm. I don't know. Anyways, I got it on sale. During, uh, one of the like Amazon prime day deals or something, and it has been game changer for my podcast sounds.
[00:09:51] And there's a couple things I want to point out about it that, I think would be really, really useful for you. If you're thinking like I want to [00:10:00] improve how my microphone sounds and I'm going to attempt to turn my camera for people who are watching on YouTube. So one thing is I have a pop screen.
[00:10:09] This is really, really helpful, and this is just a USB condenser microphone. And then I have it on an arm. You can kind of see that in the video. Let me turn it. I haven't had an arm. These things alone have made such a difference. Oh my gosh. Now my camera is just all out of whack. These things alone have made such a difference in how my podcast sounds. And I'm so happy with it. I'm so happy with my sound. And this was way cheaper.
[00:10:37] This setup. And then this guy over here, then my blue Yeti. So definitely like if you are not loving your sound, consider getting a pop filter, consider getting an arm for your microphone. And considering just going to a cheaper USB condenser mic, because you can probably get better sound out of it then. Uh, you know, the more expensive bikes.
[00:10:57] There are some really great microphones out there that are [00:11:00] expensive that I hope to get one day, believe me, but for right now, this is perfect. It works great.
[00:11:06] All right. Let's dive into editing. So, and a little bit of recording too, actually. So one of the things that has made a huge impact on how I'm able to get my podcast out the door. And having them be cohesive and structured and sound good is having a script template. This is a template I created for myself and you could definitely do this for yourself. This is the template that I've shared in the membership.
[00:11:33] And I'm going to talk about templates a couple times. And the reason I keep mentioning templates is because there is nothing better for systematizing, what you do than having templates. I know that my episodes are going to be structured a certain way. Pretty much every episode. And so I'm able to sit down and I have a template for that with each section of what I need for the episodes.
[00:11:57] And I'm able to sit down and in like 5, 10, [00:12:00] 15 minutes, max. Script out an episode within that structure because I've created a template for myself. What's so great about that is then I'm able to just go sit down and record. And if you do it over and over, it becomes like muscle memory, like a habit, something that you're. Really in tuned to doing, and it gets really easy, believe me.
[00:12:21] And so if you are not like creating some kind of template outline for yourself or scripting your episodes, I don't script them. Totally. But just add that to your list. What's so great about it too, is because I am creating this. It actually makes creating the show notes a little bit easier. And for show notes. I also recommend having a template. And bonus points.
[00:12:43] If you're using a script and you're writing your own show notes, you can do it all in one document and just have it all laid out for you. And I, this is done in Google docs and I just copy it and start over every time I'm starting a new episode. But I really implementing this [00:13:00] has been just such a game changer and I've a couple of my clients have also implemented this. And say that it has helped them immensely get their episodes out the door.
[00:13:09] It's saving them time. So templates, templates, templates. Now, the tool that I am loving right now for editing is descript and I was not going to like it. Let me tell you, like I was not going to use it. I wasn't going to like it. I wasn't going to touch it with a 10 foot pole. But it has really helped speed up the process, especially when it comes to video editing. So. We, have incorporated it into our process at wild home podcasting. We still are editing our client's episodes in Adobe audition, which I love.
[00:13:47] And I still love. But for me as like a solo person doing my podcast myself, sometimes it's just a lot easier to do in descript. And what I love about descript is that it creates a transcript [00:14:00] of your episode. So I'm able to actually read through my episode, not necessarily have to listen to the whole thing again. And if you're someone who doesn't like to listen to the sound of your own voice, this is like one of the best ways to edit, because you can just scroll through your transcript, find where you messed up. Fix it.
[00:14:17] I do always listen to where I cut it. But I love that and I love that I can also use it for the video editing as well. So right now, my process, because I've taken over my podcast production temporarily. Is, I will do my template. I will script it out. I'll sit down and record and I record directly into descript when I'm doing a solo episode. And then it's ready for me to edit and I'm able to edit, put it all together and descript so love that.
[00:14:47] I definitely don't think I get as clean and edit as I do in Adobe audition. But you have to remember that I'm an editor first. So, you know, I hear all those nuances, but I really do love to script. If you have not checked out descript [00:15:00] and you're struggling with the post-production of your podcast, I highly, highly, highly recommend it. It's got a lot of really cool features, not just the transcript.
[00:15:08] That's a huge piece of it for me, but it also has some other things that are really awesome. So I highly recommend trying it out.
[00:15:16] Once the show is edited. Then now it's time to do your show notes, and I'm going to share a couple quick tools and ideas for this. So I mentioned that we have a template for our show notes and that's absolutely true, and that makes it so easy to write it every week, because I know exactly how it's going to look. One thing I have been doing is using chat GPT two.
[00:15:40] What I like to call judge? My writing. So I am, I'm a writer, but I do not enjoy. I feel like I have a really hard time with marketing copy. Like it's, it's a little different. And we have a copywriter on our team and she does such a great job. And then I try to write something and I'm like, oh, this doesn't sound as good as she would do [00:16:00] it. Well, one thing I have been doing is taking my writing and putting it into chat GBT and asking it to tweak it, using my brand voice.
[00:16:08] I give it very specific instructions. And so if you want to know how to do that, I would look it up because. It can totally mess it up. But the reason I wanted to share this tool is because I know there are a lot of you out there who are DIY in your show notes, and it can be a really frustrating process.
[00:16:23] And this is just one little quick thing that I will do sometimes just to help me make it sound a little bit better, too. Improve it just a little bit. And of course they go through and change it a ton, but it definitely has helped with my writing. So check that out. Now. There are a couple of things that we use for post-production to get it ready to share and, to create our graphics, to create our videos that we share on Instagram.
[00:16:50] And there's a couple tools I'm gonna mention here. So one is Canva, Canva, Canva, Canva. I love Canva. I, again, [00:17:00] As somebody who like built their career on Adobe products, I was not going to love Canva. I was like, oh, I'm not gonna use that. And now it's all we use. I love it. It's fantastic. But what's so great about it is you can put templates in it. Right.
[00:17:15] We're back to templates because this is really what's going to help you systematize your process. We put templates in it and it's so easy to create the graphics for the episodes and then other graphics that I need as well. And then to create the audio grams or the videos that I share on Instagram. I highly recommend a tool called headliner.
[00:17:33] If you are wanting to do the audio grams of the little wave forms. That's a really great one, but then we have also figured out how to do this in descript. Descript can do this as well. And so if you already are using descript to edit your podcast episode is so easy to create these videos in descript.
[00:17:51] And we just make a background or like an overlay in Canva, pull that in, create the video, and now we've got. Something that we can share on social [00:18:00] media. So love, love, love that. Now when I'm actually sharing things on social media, I am using later to help me schedule things out. And I've tried a couple of social media scheduling tools and later I just keep going back to it because it's so simple, it's so easy to use.
[00:18:18] And I'm able to kind of pick and choose what I want to go on what platform and if I want to change how the captions and things show up on different platforms. So I really, really love it. Highly recommend. I also love that they will send me an email. When I have an Instagram post that's doing really well.
[00:18:36] It's like my own little personal, true leader. And I need that sometimes when I'm posting on Instagram and feeling really insecure about the things that I'm posting. So I do love that about later. So highly recommend checking that out. If you're still manually like uploading things to Instagram. Schedule, schedule, schedule.
[00:18:51] It makes it so much easier. So a really good example is like tonight. I'm going to edit this episode. My office manager is going to help me create the [00:19:00] graphics. And then I'm literally going to sit and just schedule everything. And so when Monday rolls around and my episode goes live, I don't have to do anything. And that makes it so much easier to contemplate the fact that I am having to get this episode out.
[00:19:13] Right.
[00:19:14] So my favorite, favorite thing that I am absolutely in love with these days. Now I did an episode a while back about why I was switching RSS feed hosts. And I've talked about this in my membership a lot. But I am so, so glad that I switched and I love Buzzsprout so much. We just did a training in the strategic podcast academy where I, shared how to do dynamic ads.
[00:19:42] And that is something that I'm loving in Buzzsprout right now. And I love that I don't have to pay extra for it. And I love that it's so easy and simple to use. And so Buzzsprout is where I host my podcast episodes. And then of course my website is on Squarespace and that's where my blog is and it all [00:20:00] works so seamlessly together.
[00:20:01] Love it. And the very last tool that I want to share with you is my, what I use for my email list. So if you do not have an email list for your podcast or your business, you absolutely need to. And if you do have it and you want to start diving deeper into automations and funnels, Which is something we're going to be talking about in my upcoming workshop. Podcasting for profit. I love active campaign. Now, I know a lot of people love convert kit and granted, I tried it years ago and just didn't love the interface.
[00:20:35] And when I opened up active campaign, I was like, oh, This is more visually like. I don't know, see, again, I'm a visual person. I have to see things to understand how they work. And I think that's why convert kid at first did not work for me because I wanted things to be prettier and to be different.
[00:20:52] And so, , I love active campaign. I've stuck with them. Really like, uh, the changes they're making in the [00:21:00] improvements. And then I love all the different automations that I can set up. And this is something that I've been digging deeper into as my business has been growing. And, you know, as I'm thinking about, okay, how am I pulling people from my podcast into my business?
[00:21:13] It's so great to have that available, to kind of lay out some, some pretty great funnels. So I highly recommend it. So these are the tools that I use for my podcast every week. I really hope that me kind of going through my process a little bit and sharing these tools, uh, helps you. You know, one of my big goals, whenever I work with anybody is like, how can we simplify the process?
[00:21:38] Because the process of the process is yucky. You're not going to want to podcast. If it feels hard, if it, if it feels disconnected, it's going to make, wanting to sit down and podcast a lot harder. And so something I really, really encourage all of my clients to do. And anyone I work with is listen. Let's think about your process and your systems, and let's get [00:22:00] those down and get them working. That way when you're 25, 50, a hundred episodes in it's so easy to keep going, because that's really the important piece here is we want to make it so that it's easy for us so we can stay consistent so we can grow our podcast. So I'd love to hear what your favorite tools were out of the ones I mentioned.
[00:22:21] If you have some others that you recommend, oh, please send them my way. I know there's a lot more out there that I didn't mention and that's because I don't use them. And these are the ones that I'm actually using. And just a quick reminder before you go, this episode is coming out on a Monday. The podcasting for profit workshop is going to be live the following Wednesday.
[00:22:40] And if you want to join me there, we're going to be talking about how to set up a funnel. And go in depth into the three keys that your podcast needs to have to be set up to be profitable. So you can head to wild home podcasting.com/profit. It's going to be so much fun and I hope to see you there and I'll be back next week with another episode.
