Before You Start
Professional podcasting is a communication product — not a hobby project. Read this before your first meeting so you show up knowing the vocabulary and the workflow.
Every episode moves through four phases. Understanding this before you start will help you see where each step in this playbook fits.
- Pre-Production — Everything before you hit record. Concept development, audience research, episode planning, scripting, and guest prep. This phase determines whether the recording session is productive or chaotic.
- Production — The recording session itself. Room setup, mic technique, managing levels, and capturing clean audio. A well-planned pre-production makes this feel controlled.
- Post-Production — Everything after the recording. File organization, editing (cutting, leveling, adding music), and preparing the final audio file.
- Publishing — Getting the episode to listeners. Show notes, metadata, episode art, uploading to your host, and distributing to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and beyond.
Episode — A single installment of a podcast. Think of it like one article in a magazine series.
Season — A grouped collection of episodes with a shared theme or arc. Not every podcast uses seasons, but it's a useful organizing structure for school projects.
RSS Feed — The technical backbone of podcast distribution. When you upload to a podcast host, it generates an RSS feed — a URL that Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other apps subscribe to in order to receive new episodes automatically.
Show Notes — The written companion to each episode: summary, timestamps, guest bio, links mentioned. This is what people read before deciding whether to listen.
Transcript — A written version of everything said in the episode. Good for accessibility, SEO, and repurposing content.
DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) — The software where you record and edit audio. Common options: Audacity (free), Adobe Audition (Creative Cloud), GarageBand (free on Mac).
Noise Floor — The background hiss or hum present in every recording environment. Your goal is to minimize it. Quiet, treated rooms and good mic technique both help.
Room Tone — The ambient sound of your specific recording space when no one is speaking. You'll record 30–60 seconds of this at the start of every session — your DAW uses it to remove background noise in post.
Levels / Gain — How loud the input signal is. Target -12 to -6 dBFS for speech. If the waveform hits 0 dBFS (clipping), that audio is permanently distorted and unusable.
Intro / Outro — Branded audio segments at the opening and close of each episode. Usually 15–30 seconds with a music bed and a short script.
Bumper — A short audio transition (3–10 seconds) used between segments within an episode.
Monologue Format — Single host speaking; best for commentary, teaching, or storytelling where one voice carries the content.
Interview Format — Host + guest(s); best for building credibility through outside perspectives and creating conversation-driven content.
Panel Format — Multiple hosts or guests discussing a topic. Dynamic but complex to record and edit cleanly.
Syndication — Distributing your podcast to multiple platforms simultaneously through one RSS feed submission.
Audacity — Free, open-source DAW. Solid for basic recording and editing. Good starting point if you haven't used audio software before.
Adobe Audition — Professional-grade audio suite (Creative Cloud). Better noise reduction, easier multitrack editing, and stronger mixing tools than Audacity.
GarageBand — Free on Mac. Easier to use than Audition for beginners, with good enough quality for most school podcast projects.
Riverside.fm / Zencastr — Remote recording platforms that capture high-quality audio locally on each person's device before sending it to the cloud. Far better audio quality than recording a Zoom or Google Meet call. Use one of these any time you're recording a remote guest.
Spotify for Podcasters (Anchor) — Free podcast hosting and distribution platform. Upload your episode once and it distributes to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others automatically.
Buzzsprout / RSS.com — Paid hosting alternatives with better analytics and more control over your RSS feed.
Canva — Where you'll design episode artwork. Podcast cover art must be 3000×3000px square. It needs to look good at thumbnail size — test it at 50px wide.
Project Setup
Name this project and define the basics before you research or plan anything. This info will anchor every decision downstream.
Show Concept
Define what this show is, who it's for, and what it does for the listener. Every production decision flows from here.
Interview — Guests bring credibility and variety. Requires strong preparation: research the guest, prepare specific questions, and have backup questions ready. The host's job is to listen and redirect, not deliver a monologue.
Solo / Monologue — Your voice has to carry the whole episode. Requires a tighter script or outline since there's no guest to fill silence or add energy. Best for teaching, commentary, or personal storytelling.
Panel — Dynamic and conversational, but the hardest to edit cleanly. Multiple voices overlap, speakers talk over each other, and levels vary. Only use panel format if you have the editing skills to handle it.
Narrative / Scripted — Story-driven episodes with a clear arc. Requires the most pre-production writing time but often produces the highest-quality content. Think documentary-style audio storytelling.
Checkpoint: Concept Review
Before you research your audience or plan content, check in with Russ. Catching a vague or off-target concept now saves hours of rework later.
Review these before the meeting
- Is the mission statement specific enough to describe exactly who this is for and what they get from it?
- Does the episode format match the content and your current skill level?
- Is the episode structure realistic for the target length?
- Is the cold open concept compelling enough to hook a new listener?
Audience Research
Understand who you're making this for before you plan a single episode. Generic shows reach no one. Specific shows build loyal audiences.
- Who is the listener? Be specific — age, context, what they already know about this topic.
- What podcasts do they already listen to? What does that tell you about their taste and expectations?
- What problem does this show solve for them, or what does it help them understand?
- What should the listener DO or FEEL differently after each episode?
- Where will they discover this podcast — search, social media, word of mouth, or a specific community?
Search Apple Podcasts and Spotify for shows on your topic. Listen to at least two episodes of the most relevant competitors.
- What shows already cover this topic? How many listeners do they have?
- What format and length do the most successful ones use?
- What gap exists? What are they NOT covering, or covering poorly?
- How will your show sound or feel different from what already exists?
Content Plan
Plan your episode before you write a word of script. The outline is the foundation — everything else builds on it.
Full script: Every word written out. Sounds natural only if you're a skilled reader. Most people sound stilted and robotic reading a script aloud. Only use for your intro, outro, and any section where precision matters (legal disclaimers, exact quotes).
Talking points / outline: Bullet points of what to cover in each segment, not word-for-word. Forces you to speak naturally and conversationally. This is what most professional podcast hosts use for 80% of their episodes.
The rule: Script the opening hook, intro, and outro. Use talking points for everything else.
Research the guest before you write a single question. Read or listen to at least two other interviews they've done — find the questions they haven't been asked yet. Those are your best questions.
- Prepare 8–10 questions but plan to only use 5–6 — conversations take unexpected turns.
- Have 3 "rescue questions" ready in case the conversation stalls.
- Send the guest a topic overview (not the questions verbatim) 48 hours before recording.
- The best interviews feel like conversations, not Q&A sessions. Your job is to listen and follow up, not recite a list.
Checkpoint: Production Prep
Before you record anything, confirm the episode is planned tightly enough to produce well. Fix it on paper — not in the edit.
Review before recording
- Is the episode outline tight enough to fill the target length without padding?
- Is the opening hook strong enough to keep a new listener from skipping?
- For interviews: is the guest confirmed, prepped, and scheduled?
- Is there a clear CTA planned for the outro?
- Is the recording space and gear ready to go?
Checkpoint: Recording Kickoff
A quick check-in before you start recording. Confirm your space, gear, and plan are ready.
Confirm before rolling
- Has the recording space been tested? Is the noise floor acceptable?
- Has the gear been checked — mic, interface, headphones, cables?
- Are levels set and monitored through headphones?
- Is the episode outline or script in front of you, ready to use?
Recording Fundamentals
Good audio starts before you hit record. Room, mic, and levels — get these right and editing becomes manageable. Get them wrong and no amount of editing saves you.
The best recording spaces have soft, irregular surfaces that absorb sound instead of bouncing it. A walk-in closet full of clothes is genuinely excellent. A small bedroom with carpet, curtains, and a bed works well. A large empty room with hard walls and floors will sound echoey no matter what you do.
Quick treatment hacks: Record under a heavy blanket draped over your head and mic (the "blanket fort" method). Hang moving blankets on nearby walls. Pull chairs close to absorb reflections. None of these look professional, but all of them work.
HVAC is the silent enemy. Turn off air conditioning, heating, fans, and air purifiers 5 minutes before recording. They create a constant hum that's difficult to remove completely without artifacts.
Distance: Stay 4–8 inches from the mic. Too close = boomy and bassy. Too far = thin and roomy. Find your spot in a test recording and stay there.
Pop filter: Use one. The "P" and "B" sounds in speech create pressure blasts that hit the mic directly and clip the audio. A pop filter (foam windscreen or fabric disk) stops them cold.
Consistent position: Don't drift. If you lean back to laugh, your voice drops out of the recording. Some hosts mark their position on the desk with tape.
Angle the mic slightly: Pointing directly at your mouth amplifies plosives. Angle the capsule slightly above or to the side of your mouth to reduce them.
Target range: -12 to -6 dBFS for speech. Watch your DAW's input meter. Green is good. Orange is pushing it. Red means clipping — distortion that cannot be fixed.
Headphones are not optional. Record while monitoring through headphones. This is the only way to catch problems — a buzz from a loose cable, a hum from HVAC, a guest's mic in the wrong position — while you can still fix them.
Room tone first, always. Before anyone speaks, record 30–60 seconds of silence. Don't skip this. Your DAW's noise reduction tool uses this sample to learn what "silence" sounds like in your specific space, and removes that sound from everything else.
The Recording
You've done the prep. Now execute. Work through this checklist before and during the session.
Checkpoint: Post-Recording Review
Before you open the DAW, review what you captured. Know what you're working with — and what you're working around.
Review before editing begins
- Is the audio clean enough to edit — no clipping, acceptable noise floor, no major dropouts?
- Did the content serve the episode's mission and talking points?
- Are there any sections that should be cut entirely before editing begins?
- Does anything need to be re-recorded before the edit phase?
File Organization
Organize before you edit. A messy project folder causes mistakes and wastes time.
Checkpoint: Pre-Edit Review
Know what you're cutting before you open the DAW. Editing without a plan produces a meandering episode.
Before opening the DAW
- Have you listened to the full raw recording and noted timestamps of what to cut?
- Which sections are the strongest? Which are the weakest or most off-topic?
- Is the target episode length realistic given what was captured?
- Are intro/outro music and any transition bumpers ready?
The Edit
Editing a podcast is as much about what you remove as what you keep. A tight 20-minute episode is always better than a meandering 35-minute one.
Reporting says: "This is what was recorded."
Editing says: "This is what the listener needs to hear."
Your job is editing. Cut anything that doesn't serve the episode's mission — even if it was a great moment in the room.
- Import and run noise reduction. Import your raw WAV file into your DAW. Select the 30-second room tone sample from the beginning of the recording and run Noise Reduction (or Noise Print in Audition). Apply it to the full track. This removes consistent background hum.
- Listen through with headphones and mark cuts. Use markers or labels to flag everything you want to remove — don't delete anything yet. Long pauses, false starts, tangents, and filler-word clusters are your primary targets.
- Make your cuts. Remove marked sections. Use crossfades (0.5–1 second) at every edit point to prevent hard clicks. The goal is invisible editing — the listener shouldn't hear a cut.
- Balance levels across speakers. All voices should feel equally present. Compression smooths out dynamics — a speaker who varies from quiet to loud will feel more consistent. Target -16 LUFS integrated for final export (the standard for podcast distribution).
- Add music and transitions. Fade in your intro music, layer your host intro over it, then fade the music out under the first spoken words. Add bumpers between segments if your structure calls for them. Add outro music and your CTA at the end.
- Export at correct specs. MP3 at 128kbps mono for voice-only episodes. 192kbps stereo if music is a significant part of the content. Name the file: ShowName_Ep03_FINAL.mp3
Show Notes & Metadata
Show notes are how listeners decide whether to press play. Metadata is how they find you in the first place. Both matter more than most podcasters realize.
Your episode title is the first thing a potential listener sees. It determines whether they click. Keep it under 60 characters so it doesn't get cut off in podcast apps.
Formulas that work:
- [Guest Name] on [Specific Topic] — "Sarah Chen on Why Most Brand Strategies Fail in Year One"
- [Specific Skill or Lesson] — "How to Run a Client Discovery Meeting Without Wasting Anyone's Time"
- [Provocative Question] — "Is a Business Card Still Worth Making in 2026?"
Avoid: episode numbers as the primary title, vague summaries ("Episode 3 — Business"), your show name repeated in the title.
Description (first 150 characters): These appear in the podcast app feed preview — before "show more." Hook immediately. Don't start with "In this episode..." Start with the most compelling thing the listener will get.
Timestamps: Required for any episode over 20 minutes. Format: [0:00] Introduction, [4:30] Main topic starts, [18:15] Key takeaway, [22:00] Outro. Timestamps increase listener time — people come back to find specific sections.
Guest bio and links: For interview episodes, include a 2–3 sentence bio and links to the guest's LinkedIn, website, or any resources mentioned.
Links mentioned: List every resource, tool, or website referenced in the episode. Make it easy for listeners to follow up.
Specs: 3000×3000px square, JPG or PNG, under 512KB. This is the cover art for this episode (if your host supports per-episode art) or your show's main artwork.
The thumbnail test: Shrink your artwork to 50px × 50px and look at it. Can you still read the show name? Does it compete well next to other shows in a feed? If not, simplify it.
Design in Canva: Search "podcast cover art" in Canva for templates. Use your brand colors and a legible font. Avoid using too many words — show name and possibly a tagline is enough.
Checkpoint: Pre-Publish Review
Final review before you go live. Once published, the episode is public — fix it now.
Confirm before going live
- Does the episode title serve the listener, or does it just summarize the content?
- Do the first 150 characters of the description hook someone who's never heard the show?
- Does the edited audio meet release quality — clean, balanced, correctly exported?
- Are show notes complete with timestamps, guest links, and resources mentioned?
- Is the episode artwork sized correctly and readable at thumbnail size?
Distribution & Publishing
Get the episode to listeners. The first 7 days after publishing matter most for algorithmic ranking — be ready to promote immediately.