Influential Introvert: Communication Coaching for Professionals with Performance Anxiety - Podcasting in 2021: The Tools and Services I'm Using

Episode Date: December 31, 2020

As we close out the year, I thought this would be a good time to share with you the current podcast products and services that I’m using and will likely continue to use throughout 2021.In this episode, I talk through what I use to produce an interview episode. Don’t worry about writing anything down, you’ll find links to everything I talk about on  👉sarahmikutel.com***Hiya, I'm your host Sarah Mikutel, podcast launch consultant at your service.Are you ready to launch a podcast that builds your brand and business, connects you to your global community, and grows your influence? Visit sarahmikutel.com to see how we can work together.Here’s a special treat for you: Use my Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift certificate. I’ve gotten to know the Buzzsprout team over this last year and love their customer service so much, I moved my shows over here. sarahmikutel.com/buzzsproutDo you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Welcome to podcasting step by step, where you will learn how to create a podcast that's irresistible. I'm Sarah Mikital, a podcast launch consultant and an American who has been permanently based in Europe for more than 10 years. I especially love helping fellow expats and location independent entrepreneurs build their online brands and businesses through the magic of podcasting. Looking for one-on-one support, visit sarahmicatel.com to book a podcast launch BIP day with me or to check out one of my online courses. and make sure that you grab my five-step formula for getting on podcasts at sarahmicatel.com slash pitch formula. As we close out the year, I thought this would be a good time to share with you the current podcast products and services that I'm using and then I will likely continue to use throughout

2021. So I'm going to talk you through how I go about producing an interview episode and everything that goes along with it. Don't worry about writing anything down. you'll find links to everything I talk about at sarah megatel.com slash tools. Okay, so planning for my podcast interviews, I like to keep track of all of my podcast ideas and guests and production workflow in something called Airtable. So maybe you've heard of Asana or Trello airtable is kind of similar.

It's like a spreadsheet, but times a thousand. so much that you can do with it. For example, I also show my podcast students how to use it to manage their editorial calendar for the year. So when it comes to podcast planning and organization, I like to use Airtable. After I've done my planning and I know who I want to interview on my show and I reach out to them, now it's time to book them on to the podcast. And I really like to use acuity for my podcast scheduling. So it makes it really easy for. It makes it really easy for for them to pick a time that's convenient for them. And then Acuity can have them fill out an intake form. So the guests can give you information that you need to know. Maybe you want their social media

handles or a bio or you want them to submit a photo ahead of time. You can do all of that in acuity. Now, if we're talking about remote interviews or even in-person interviews, you want to have your podcasting area all set up before the interview gets started. Now, I used to do a lot of podcasting and sort of like pillow for situations for soundproofing, but this year I bought some clothing racks because I'm living in a more permanent space than I normally do. So I invested in some clothing racks and then bought some divas that I hung over the clothing racks. And that soundproofing has worked really, really well for me. So I've got my little podcasting cocoon that I record in. And for microphone, these days I primarily use the Samsung Q2U because it sounds good and it's just so easy to use.

It plugs right into your computer. It usually comes with a mic stand and a foam windscreen to put over the mic head to prevent closives, which are those harsh wind sounds we make on the mic when we say words that start with P or B. And this is also one of the most. affordable mics around. Now, I have other microphones. I have a pod mic, which is an XLR mic, which means you can't plug it right into your computer. You need to have an interface, so I would use a Zoom H6, and I got a boom arm for it. But to be honest with you, I don't usually use that setup. I just use what's the easiest thing, which is Samsung Q2 right into my computer. Now, for headphones, I use the Sentinel SMH-1000 Closed Back Professional Monitor headphones. When you're recording,

the headphones you use aren't that big of a deal, but when you're editing and mixing your audio, it's best to wear studio monitor headphones. You can hear the audio in its pure form and just get rid of any bad sounds. Now, when it's time for the remote interview to actually start, I use Squadcast. And this is a subscription-based service that's available for both Mac and PC users. And they are working on getting it to work on different platforms, but for now it works best on your computer using Chrome. And your guest doesn't need to download any software. They just click on the link that you send them, send them, make sure that you tell them in advance that they're going to be, they're going to need to wear headphones. And squadcast records both sides locally. So even if you have a weak internet connection and your guest sounds. a bit chubby to you. In the end, the interview should sound fine because Squadcast is recording your guest on their side and you on your side of the conversation. So you have a great interview because you were prepared in advance and you had some great questions and you built up some great

rapport. The interview ends and now it's time to download your files from Squadcast. So I download the files and then I run them through an audio repair software called Isotope R. RX standard and it removes unwanted sounds like mouth noise and room hiss with just a click of a button. It's so easy. It's not essential. You can do all the things that it offers pretty much in Adobe audition. And Isotabar X7 is a little bit on the pricier side so you can wait for a sale, but it's something that I use all the time now because it just works so well. After I run my files through Isotabar X7, I use Descript to edit my podcast. And Descript is a magical software that lets you edit your podcast like you would a Google document. So you're editing the visual transcript in addition to the audio waves.

And I think this is the best investment that you can make with your podcast if you're interviewing because it just makes editing so easy. You can automatically delete ums and other filler words. You can close the gaps if there were like pauses that went on way too long or maybe you guys had to pause because somebody had to look something up and they're doing updates all the time to make editing even easier and they actually have a video component. And so you can create your entire podcast in Descript right now and I show you how to do this in my podcasting course podcast Launch Academy. Out of habit, I still use Adobe Audition to finish my podcast episodes and to add music, but you can really do it. At this point, you can do it all in Descript. And then I export my

final episode. So I do what is called like a mixdown. I mix down the entire episode from audition. And then I run that file through a service called Afonic, which just gives it a final polish. Now, before I publish my episode, I like to upload the file to overcast.fm. So Overcast is the app that I use to listen to podcasts. And if you purchase a premium subscription with them, which is only like $10 a year, you have this ability to upload your own files to the player. And I like to do this just to double check that nothing went wrong, that it sounds good.

And I just find this like a really handy final check. Overcast is iOS only though. So at least for now, it's not for Android users. But if you've got an iPhone, then I recommend Overcast for sure. And if all sounds good, I publish the episode to my podcast Media Host. And I'm now using BuzzSprout as my podcast media host for all of my main podcasts. I have like an experimental one going on on Anchor because I wanted to do test out that platform. But for right now, all my other shows are on BuzzSrout. After getting to know the team better over this last year or two, I decided that I wanted to move all of my shows over because I really believe in what they're doing.

Their customer service is great. So is their pricing and their hosting site is just really clean and easy to understand. And something that I wanted to recommend to other people. They're always innovating with things like magic mastering. So I mentioned that I use Afonic for my final polish and they've got like kind of a free tier for that but I had purchased the desktop version of Afonic but BuzzBrow offers something similar called Magic Mastering. They're also rolling out dynamic content for all of their users and this let you insert ads or whatever extra content that you want to add to your podcast kind of on a temporary basis and what makes it dynamic is you can pull that content or switch it out for other content whenever you.

want and a lot of other media hosts charge extra for that, but Buzzsprout is making it available to all of their customers. They really care about their podcasters and actually use their feedback to make improvements to their service and bonus. You can try it out for free and you can get an Amazon gift card when you become a customer through my partner link, which you can find at sarahmicatel.com slash tools. Buzz Sprout has named this podcast, one of the best podcasts about podcasting, and they invited me to join their creator program, which is sort of a brand ambassadorship, and this was an easy yes for me. Okay, so I've published my episode on Buzz Sprout, and now it's time to promote the episode. So when it comes to DIY logo creation or images, I really like to use Canvrout.

I use this site all the time to create art for my blog pose. And I also use it when I want to create social media images. And right now I'm primarily using Instagram. I think I will probably get more active on LinkedIn this year. And if you would like help with social media, then friend of the podcast, Andrea Jones, you've heard her on a few episodes. She's got a free course for you, which I've linked to you again at sarahmicatel.com slash tools that will help you become more savvy with your social media. And I also love to connect with

people via email communicating with your listeners this way. Helps them get to know you better, gives them a direct line to connect with you. And it allows you to keep your biggest fans informed of new episodes, new products, and other things that are going on in your life. I use ConvertKit for my email service provider because they just make it so easy to use. And they also make it really easy to create beautiful landing pages. And in case you don't know what a landing page is, that's where people go to opt in for a freebie that you create in exchange for their name and email address. And you can have this all set up really, really quick. And then finally, if you wanted to create a course to promote on your podcast as a way to, you know, expand your

business or to make money through your podcast, I really like the platform Kajabi for course creation. Their templates are beautiful and easy to manage for both creators and for users. And they also offer things like email and landing pages and membership sites and other necessities to run your online course business. And Kajabi is also the platform that I use to host Podcast Launch Academy and my other podcast courses. All right, that is a wrap. Those are the podcasting products and services that I am using now and will be using. throughout this year. And I'm really excited to hear about what you'll be creating this year on your podcast. So visit me at Sarah Megatel on Instagram and tell me all about your show. All right,

have a healthy, happy, and fun new year. And I will talk to you soon. That's all for now. To learn how you can sign up for a one-on-one podcast launch BAP day with me or to learn more about one of my online podcast courses, visit sarahmicatel.com. And make sure that you grab my five step formula for getting on podcasts at sarah megatel.com slash pitch formula. Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free conversation sheet sheet with simple formulas that you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you're in a meeting or just talking with friends. Download it at sarah migatel.com slash blank no more.