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News flash: The podcast production market is exploding right now…
In fact, there are now over 1,000,000 podcasts out there… A MILLION!
The number of podcast listeners continues to rise as well. There’s no sign of that growth stopping anytime soon.
So much goes into creating podcasts from lining up guests, recording, editing, creating graphics, publishing, promoting — the list goes on!
It’s too much work for one person. And that’s where you come in!
Now is the perfect time to get into this booming industry by offering your services as a podcast producer.
In just a month, you could know everything you need to know to work as a podcast producer…
If you’re already offering services as a VA and want to level up, or you’re thinking about joining the work-at-home world for the first time…
Then I’m going to share the perfect at-home job for you!
My close friend Gina Horkey reached out to me to tell me about her new course Podcast Production School.
I’m going podcast crazy at the moment; I’ve got two! Work-At-Home Heroes and another one called Crazy Brave Life that’s in the works right now.
As a result, I was super excited to sign up my podcast manager, Jen McOwen, to the course so she can help me grow my podcasts even more!
Jen has very kindly agreed to share her thoughts on Podcast Production School as a newbie to podcast production who wanted to up her game.
Take it away, Jen!
Podcast Production School Student Review
The other day I was pulling out of a drive-thru when the employee told me to enjoy my meal. Being in my late 30s and having had plenty of productive conversations with others, I responded appropriately with “you too!”
What?
I drove away embarrassed but not surprised by my response. I am very good at making situations awkward.
But the reason for the awkward situation was not because of the employee’s gracious comment, or even the fact that I attempted to be polite back.
It was awkward because I was not prepared for what I would hear, I didn’t take my time to process what was said, and I quickly responded with the first words to come to my head, which, let’s face it, was the wrong response!
And that’s how I would also describe my experience, so far, as a podcast manager.
After almost two years of functioning as a do-all-be-all virtual assistant, I was passed the torch of managing the Work-At-Home Heroes podcast.
Although I had been given amazing tools and SOPs to run every aspect of our show, I still had a huge learning curve to overcome. However, after recent reflection, I realize that with the tools I had been given, that learning curve was no one’s fault but my own.
I was extremely unprepared because I didn’t take my time to understand or process the information I was given, and so, oftentimes, my responses to the tasks were awkward and clunky.
I didn’t understand what our podcast producer was doing on his end, nor did I even think to google what the heck a DAW was or why Libsyn was so significant. So I started speaking a language with our team that I didn’t truly understand.
And when I did do some searching to understand how to organize all the moving parts, I found myself wishing there was a one-stop shop to learn all about podcast production instead of having to look everything up.
Enter Podcast Production School
Podcast Production School, created by Gina Horkey, Hailey Thomas, and Melanie Scroggins, takes the guesswork out of practically every single part of the production process.
Even if you know absolutely nothing about podcast production (or even about podcasts in general!), these ladies go over it ALL! Not only that, with almost every lesson, there are downloadable PDFs to take away with you to use for your own business!
The course starts with the basics of what a podcast is, why podcasting is important for businesses, and the different roles that can be filled as a person who supports the process of production.
Next, I learned what each role is in detail. After learning about each role, I realized I have worn many different hats… I’m not just the “podcast manager.” With each lesson on the different roles, there are downloadable checklists for what needs to be done if you fill that role. So helpful!
After reviewing all the roles, the one question you hear from virtually anyone who wants to work from home was tackled…
Does the Course Cover How to Find Podcast Clients?
I won’t give the details away, but the client-finding (and keeping!) tips are amazing, and there is a great community challenge that will help you up your chances of landing clients even more! Oh! And you better believe there are email templates for different phases of contacting clients and a spreadsheet to help you organize all your current and prospective clients.
Best Parts of the Podcast Production School Course
By far the most surprising module was a tutorial on how to edit the audio.
It wasn’t surprising that they included it. It was surprising because I never thought that was something that would interest me, and yet I found myself fascinated, while also thinking “I could totally do that!” (And, of course, they offer a downloadable version of the tutorial. Can this course be any more guessfree?)
I absolutely loved this course! Not only did I finish it feeling so much more confident in my role as podcast manager of the Work-At-Home Heroes podcast, I also now feel excited to try new things. Perhaps audio editing is in my future?
Also, in case I didn’t mention all the bonus downloadable PDFs… 😉 There are over 20 throughout the course! Checklists, templates, questionnaire examples, tutorials… most likely my favorite part… can you tell?
Tips on How to Get the Most out of the Course
There is A LOT of content to learn, and if you take it too quickly without giving yourself time to process and remember what you learned in each lesson, it can feel overwhelming and like a lot of information at once.
But as long as someone takes their time, they will get this down easily! Gina, Melanie, and Hailey really have created a course that makes it so easy and simple to learn all the different aspects!
I think the biggest challenge for me is fighting the urge to get “shiny object syndrome” (something we talk about a lot on Caitlin’s team!). All the parts of podcast production are so much fun to learn that I want to do it all!
Is the Course Suitable for People with No Experience in Podcast Production?
I definitely recommend this course! And if someone isn’t sure if this is for them, let me go further:
If you know absolutely nothing about podcasts or podcast management so you think this would be too much for you, this course takes you step-by-step through every part.
Instead of asking how much previous knowledge of podcasting you need, instead ask yourself these questions:
- Am I willing to learn a new skill, even if it takes some time, hustle, or late nights to learn them?
- Do I want to help support other businesses in their efforts to grow?
If you can say yes to these questions, you can take this course and be successful!
What If I Already Work with Podcasters?
Perhaps you’re already in podcast management, so you think you don’t have anything new to learn. I would still recommend this for you too! Unless you already have your hand in every part of the podcast process, there will be some parts you can learn more about!
And who knows! Right now your role may be to write show notes. You may realize through this course that you would also love to learn how to edit audio too.
Or maybe you help with guest management, but now, because of this course, you may discover your passion for repurposing content!
Whatever it is you do to support podcasting, I am sure there is more for you to learn… and love!
Final Thoughts on Podcast Production School
All that to say, I highly recommend Podcast Production School!
I already can’t wait to revisit it and to use all the handy downloads that were included. You’d be hard pressed to find another podcasting course that is as jam-packed with information as this course is!
Our Take
Thanks so much, Jen, for sharing your thoughts on the course! I’m so excited to see how we can keep growing the Work-At-Home Heroes podcast together from implementing all the tips you learned in the course!
If you enjoyed Jen’s Podcast Production School review and want to learn more about becoming a podcast producer? Check out my interview with Gina Horkey here!
Your Turn
So what do you think? Could podcast producing be the right work-at-home career for you?
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