Six years ago, starting a podcast involved a manual process that included back-and-forth emails to potential guests to set recording times, recording with limited online options, using basic editing software, creating graphics with Photoshop, and manually following up with guests after publishing. This process took five to ten hours per episode. Fortunately, podcasting tools and automation have advanced, making the process faster and easier. As a result, my friend and I launched a podcast agency after producing many client podcasts and creating a system using great tools to streamline podcast creation. This article will walk you through the tools I use for guest management, recording, production, editing, content multiplication, and publication, highlighting the most helpful tool in each category.
Guest management can be challenging, involving finding, booking, preparing, recording, and following up with podcast guests. I recommend reaching out to three times the number of guests you need for your show. Apollo.io is a great tool to build a list of potential guests and automatically email them. You can customize the email to better suit the contact and schedule hundreds of emails to be sent out within minutes. WordPress is another tool that’s flexible and fast, with thousands of templates available to build a solid website that directs guests to more information about the show.
Calendly is a great tool for allowing guests to book recording times, integrating with all major calendar types and saving me hours of work. ActiveCampaign is another tool that automates email marketing and is excellent for shows with many guests.
Recording tools are critical for capturing quality audio and video tracks separately. Zoom is a popular option that everyone is familiar with, but the free version has a 40-minute limit. Riverside.fm is a browser-based tool that captures high-quality audio and video and includes echo cancellation and the ability to play intro and outro audio during recording.
Overall, podcasting has come a long way, and with the right tools, it’s easier and faster to create quality podcasts.
