Batman’s utility belt. The Doctor’s Screwdriver from Doctor Who. Tommy Pickles’ toy Screwdriver1. These things could get our heroes out of whatever pinch they found themselves in.
They were a tool for any occasion. And that’s what Descript is for Podcasters2.
Part of Podcast Advent is showing you some tools to help you with your podcast workflows, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with Descript, because of its versatility.
If you’re recording a solo podcast especially, it’s an all-in-one tool.
You can record audio and video directly do it.
You can edit that audio/video by deleting text.
You can improve the audio, add effects, and more.
And you can publish directly to a number of podcast hosting, and video platforms.
Plus, its AI tools (like Find Good Clips) are getting really good. And if you are recording interviews, their recent purchase of Squadcast means that you can do seamless remote recording, and import that interview into Descript.
Even though I have an editor, the workflow of record, import to Descript, and use it to find good clips has been a life saver. It allows me to give better notes to my editor, and now that I’m recording video, create sharable clips on social too.
If you haven’t tried out everything Descript has to offer, I highly recommend it. It’s a game changer for podcasters.
Which, incidentally, was heavily influenced by Doctor Who. ↩
None of the posts this Podcast Advent are sponsored. I want to present truly helpful tools for podcasters. That said, you’ll find an affiliate link here and there. ↩
YouTube has officially rolled out its Podcasts area, which means you NEED to get your podcast on YouTube. Today, I’m going to show you how YouTube got one of my episodes 80% more views then how to create a simple video for your audio-only podcast using Descript.
As a quick aside, this is especially good if you have a mini podcast!
In This Video
Why your podcast needs to be on YouTube
YouTube Podcast best practices
My Descript Video Podcast Setup
Creating your own podcast video
Customizing Descript Waveforms
Exporting your video
Your Video Podcast Strategy
Podcast Booster Blueprint
Use my 10-year podcasting journey to put your podcast on the right track.
Get my free Podcast Booster Blueprint now. In this email course, I’ll walk you through 5 changes you can make in minutes to:
Attract and keep your ideal listeners
Skyrocket your downloads
Start making money (now)
No hacks. Only Real actionable tips I test for you.
Creating a newsletter on top of a podcast sounds more like a chore than anything helpful. But what if you could send new episodes to email subscribers automatically? You CAN with ConvertKit.
Don’t just assume that people are subscribed to your email list and your show…they probably aren’t. So you want to let your mailing list know you have new episodes out. ConvertKit lets you automatically send new emails whenever a new episode publishes. Learn how in this video.
In this Video
Why You Should Automate Your Podcast’s Newsletter
Getting Your Podcast’s RSS Feed
Connecting Your RSS Feed to ConvertKit
Customizing Your Email Text
Adding a Button to Your ConvertKit Emails
Customizing Your Email Template
Applying Your Template to RSS Broadcasts
Creating an Optin Form
Embedding the ConvertKit Form
Podcast Booster Blueprint
Use my 10-year podcasting journey to put your podcast on the right track.
Get my free Podcast Booster Blueprint now. In this email course, I’ll walk you through 5 changes you can make in minutes to:
Attract and keep your ideal listeners
Skyrocket your downloads
Start making money (now)
No hacks. Only Real actionable tips I test for you.
When I first started podcasting, recording and editing was kind of a pain. If it was just you, you could use a decent mic and either Quicktime or Windows Recorder. But neither of these are truly good recording tools, and I’ve lost longer audio in both. There were also apps like Audacity and GarageBand, which were better and you can edit with them. But it still required a bit of know-how to get things dialed in. And that was just for a solo show.
What if you wanted to record with a cohost or guest? Well, back in 2016, you needed to do a dance with Skype and eCamm Recorder or Audio Hijack. And you still had to tell your guest to use Quicktime or the like to record their side if you wanted the best possible audio.
Things got slightly better with Zoom, but you still ran into the problem of compressed, possibly choppy audio. And then, no matter what, you had to feed the two tracks into Audacity to edit them. It was tough going. It was a big barrier for entry with podcasting, and it’s still the way lots of people record their show.
But today, there are MUCH better ways. It’s never been easier to record and edit high-quality sounding audio for you, or your guests. Here’s how to do it, whether you’re recording just yourself, or with a cohost or guest.
Podcast Booster Blueprint
Use my 10-year podcasting journey to put your podcast on the right track.
Get my free Podcast Booster Blueprint now. In this email course, I’ll walk you through 5 changes you can make in minutes to:
Attract and keep your ideal listeners
Skyrocket your downloads
Start making money (now)
No hacks. Only Real actionable tips I test for you.
Recording A Solo Show: You and Only You
Hands-down the best way to record and edit a solo show these days is Descript. It’s easy to use, mostly free, and automatically creates a transcript while you speak. There are even fantastic features like Studio Sound, which will take bad audio and make it sound a lot better.
You can easily choose your mic and press record. The words appear as you talk.
The kicker is that you can highlight that text and delete it, and it will edit the audio. It’s really impressive! You can even remove filler words or swear words automatically with the click of a button1.
When it comes time to publish, Descript can export as audio or video, as well as push your content to YouTube and podcast hosts like Castos and Buzzsprout. It will even generate files that can be used in professional tools like Adobe Audition or Logic.
I use Descript any time I do a solo show or bonus recording for my members. It’s definitely the easiest way to record, and do simple edits for your podcast. Plus, there are lots of great Descript tutorials out there for you.
It also allows you to create multiple tracks, meaning you can combine you and a guest into one file. As for how to record that, I have a different recommendation.
Recording More Than One Person: Riverside.FM
Full disclosure: Riverside.fm is a former sponsor of my podcast, How I Built It.
The days of clumsily using Skype or Zoom, and getting your guest to record their audio separately are over. In the last few years, several tools have emerged to help podcasters record interviews and get the best possible audio that is uncompressed and free of artifacts from connection issues.
There is no better tool than Riverside.fm. I’ve tried several, and Riverside has been the most reliable, well working, flexible, and feature-rich.
The way it works is you create a “studio” — a room where you and your guests or co-hosts go. You can see everyone and what headphones and mic they’re using. You can record just audio, or audio and video, and it will automatically manage internet connections. You can also mute, and manage attendees.
But the real magic happens when you press record.
Riverside will automatically record your audio and your guests’ audio locally, on their computer, and then upload the best possible recording for you. They’ll also “sync” the audio to make sure there’s no drift2, and you can get separate tracks. You can also use their magic editor to edit, if you’d like.
There’s also fantastic sharing features using “Clips,” and an iOS app that is apparently very good3. It’s bar-none the best way for you to record and get super clear audio with multiple people. It will sound like you’re all in the same room.
Record Away!
Podcasting is work, but often the hardest part is pushing record. Now you have 2 fantastic tools to help you do just that. If it’s just you, I highly recommend Descript. If you’re recording with more than one person, there’s nothing better than Riverside.fm.
