After writing my post about starting a podcast, I wanted to create a walk-through of how to edit together a simple podcast, especially if you have more than one audio file to mix, want to add a jingle, or create an introduction.
For our podcast, we recently began using a system that is totally free but gets us better audio quality for our listeners. It’s outlined in detail on this blog, but the basics are:
- We talk to each other using a program like Google Hangouts or Skype.
- We all wear headphones while recording.
- Each person records their audio on their own computer using a simple voice recorder such as Garageband or Quicktime, which is what I use. The resulting audio doesn’t pick up the other people’s voices, so each one is crystal clear and it is easy to synchronize them.
- The editor blends the 2+ files together using an audio editor such as Garageband and exports to create a single mp3 file.
This process, while it seems complicated, is actually really straightforward to put into practice. But if you’re just starting out on your podcasting journey (yay you!) then I’d encourage you to just use whichever system is easiest and most straightforward for you, even if that means simply recording the other person talking through your computer’s speakers. We used an inefficient, roundabout method that was not ideal until only about a month ago! The important thing is to just start, and add in the more complex things later. If you’re ready to take your podcast to the next (albeit still fairly simple and straightforward) level, then check out this little tutorial.
The video walkthrough is about 11 minutes long, and contains a step-by-step of how I edit a podcast from start to finish. You will see how to synchronize two separate audio files and export a finished podcast. I try to include lots of helpful tips such as how to fade out different parts of your audio, add a jingle to your intro and outro segments, work with different file formats, and add a beep if you accidentally swear. You’ll also get a chance to see how the various controls on Garageband are used and an idea of the settings I work with to create the best files I can. The tutorial is specific to the built-in Mac application Garageband.
I hope you find it interesting and helpful, and as Seth Godin would say “most of all, I hope you do something with it.”
Thanks for watching!
If you have any questions for me, I’d love to hear them in the comments below or through Twitter or Instagram.
