8 Ways a Podcast Can Benefit Your Business

Podcasting became a thing in the early 2000s, and since then has grown in popularity. It is now an engaging and convenient way to consume information.

 Whether you are interested in behind-the-scenes facts about your favourite TV Show, cracking open a cold case with amateur detectives, or learning a thing or two about business, if there’s a topic you’re interested in, there’s most likely a podcast to go with it. 

If you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, you should definitely start a podcast. Your business most likely has something unique that it could teach people, while also subtly, or not-so-subtly, promoting your business. 

You might be thinking that podcasting seems like a lot of work for not a lot of reward but that’s not true.

Below I’m going to be breaking down some of the benefits that podcasting has for your business, so keep reading!

Access Valuable Clients

An article from Improve Podcast explains that the average podcast listener is affluent, highly educated, and has a steady income. This means that if you choose to start a podcast, the people listening will be a part of a valuable market for your business. 

This demographic of people are typically busier and would prefer to listen to something rather than read it. After all, you can listen to a podcast while on a walk, stuck in traffic, and doing mind-numbing tasks at your job. It’s a bit harder to read something while doing these activities. 

Build a Community

Podcasting is a great way to build a community of listeners. Throughout a podcast episode, you can lead listeners to check out your podcast’s social media and website.

This will make it easier to directly market your business towards listeners. Through a website and social media, you can start discussions surrounding your podcast, get listeners to sign up for email newsletters, and ask questions to be discussed on the podcast. 

Grow Your Audience

Podcasts are easily accessible to a listener. As long as they have their phone, laptop, or tablet with them, they’ll have access to podcasts.

Because of the easy access listeners have to podcasts, they may seek answers to questions on your podcast. Make your content on-demand to answer the listener’s questions.

Ways you can create on-demand content:

• Answer viewers questions that they asked via your website or social media

• Give shoutouts to the people who asked the question so they know their question is the one being answered

• Demographic research: Know your listeners and their interests so you can answer questions before they ask

Reach Listeners with minimal costs

Apple and Spotify Podcasts are the main way that listeners consume podcasts and both companies invest in podcasts to promote top shows. 

Take the time to see what the top podcasts are doing differently and then do that too. You’ll be able to reach more by using the same formulas that the best podcasts use.

It’s also relatively inexpensive to start a podcast. All you need is a couple of microphones (check out this article to find a microphone that works for you), a quiet room that absorbs sound, and knowledge of your topic. 

Efficiency

Podcasts are a lot less time-consuming to promote. As soon as listeners hit the subscribe button, they will automatically be updated when there is a new episode to listen to. 

This allows you to spend more time promoting your business and less time sending emails that will go unread updating listeners about your podcast. 

Omnichannel Marketing

Omnichannel marketing, like podcasting, is a relatively new idea. It allows for consumers to be reached through multiple different channels of marketing. Podcasting could be one of them. 

Here are some other examples of other ways to reach potential clients

• Email marketing

• Video content

• Social media

• Traditional advertising

• Written content like blog posts

Adding podcasts to your marketing strategy can be an effective way to reach more people and grow your business.

Your podcast will allow you to have full control over what is discussed so you can easily promote your business within it. 

Enhance SEO

If your business is attached to a podcast, it will be much easier to find on Google. This is because Google indexes each episode of your podcast. This is so people can search for specific topics and find podcast episodes that relate to them. 

A good podcast will increase your chances of ranking higher on Google, which will lead to more traffic to your website. 

It is very simple to use SEO for podcasts. 

• Pick a keyword and use it in the title and description of the podcast

• Use the keyword throughout the podcast episode

• Add the correct ID3 tag

Get Personal with your LISTENERS

Maybe the best benefit of podcasts is that they allow you to get more personal with the listener than a blog post or an email. A good podcast makes the listener feel like they are part of the conversation.

Here are some things you can do throughout your podcast to make it more personal

• Ask the listener questions

• Speak casually

• Understand how your target market thinks

• Tell stories that are relevant to the topic

• Don’t use a script

If your podcast is more personal, listeners will be more likely to visit your website or leave comments on social media because they can relate to you and your podcast.

Written By: Leah Gerber

Conclusion

Podcasting can seem like a challenging thing to do at first, but with time it will create many benefits for you, your business, and your customers.

If you need help making your podcast sound amazing, we offer podcast editing, mixing, and mastering services that can elevate your brand and clearly share your message.

Learn more about all of our podcast production services and hear a sample of our work here. We look forward to adding massive value to your podcast development process.

Ready to get started? Find out the 17 Ways to Make Your Podcast Successful!

10 Ways to Prepare Before Going Into a Pro Recording Studio

Whether you’ve recorded in a studio hundreds of times or you’ve never even stepped inside one before, it’s important to be prepared when you go to record in a professional studio.

Below are 10 ways you can prepare for a successful day at a studio. 

1 - Set a goal for the session

Setting goals is an important part of life. They help you stay on track and subconsciously work towards where you want to be. 

When you set goals for a studio session, write down what you want to achieve. This will help you keep your priorities in focus. 

Some examples of goals you could set for your session:

• Today I am going to record 3 albums

• I am going to mix 4 songs today

• We’re going to finish recording the album today

2 - Finish writing songs before the session

It’s always a good idea to finish writing your songs before going to the studio. Otherwise, you will be using precious recording time to write songs, something you could be doing at home, not spending lots of money. 

Come prepared and don’t waste your time or other’s by writing your songs before you get there. 

3 - Check to make sure you equipment works

Have someone look over your instruments, amps, and any other equipment to make sure they are all working condition. Again, you do not want to be wasting studio time on things that could’ve been done beforehand.

4 - Have working backups of your files

Backups will be a big help if you ever lose the primary files that your work was on. It may seem like a lot, but it's a good idea to have 3 copies of your files. One to take with you to the studio, one at home, and one to be backed up onto the cloud so you can access it no matter where you are. 

5 - Compatibility 

Don’t assume the studio you are going to will have the same plugins that you use at home. In order to have a successful day at a studio, make sure there is compatibility between your working set-up and the studio set-up. 

6 - BYOS (bring your own snacks)

Food creates energy which is something you’ll need a lot of for a day at the studio. The studio you’re going to will most-likely not offer you snacks and don’t bank on there being food nearby. Be prepared and bring your own snacks and water. 

7 - Rehearse

If you have your songs written, you should have rehearsed as well. Making sure that everyone who is recording has the parts down will help the session flow as effortlessly as possible.

8 - Research the studio

Research the following before going to a session:

• The DAW you’ll be working with

• The sound engineer/producer

• Reputation of the studio

• Any additional equipment you might need

• Directions to the studio 

9 -  Mix on Another Day

If you can, avoiding mixing any recordings on the same day. The songs should be mixed on another day so they sound fresh and you can hear any mistakes better. If you mix on the same day as recording, tiredness might cloud your judgement. 

10 - Aim for Excellence

When you go to a studio, you create songs that you want to release to the rest of the world, so make sure you are putting your best effort in. 

Take your time getting the best takes and focus on getting a good sound. If you prepare, you should be able to focus on making good music instead of all the little things that could go wrong. 

Written By: Leah Gerber

Conclusion

Preparing will contribute largely to your success in the studio so don’t overlook it. So take some extra time to rehearse, check your equipment, and research the studio. 

Have you recorded in a professional studio before? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments below.

11 Tips for Recording Guitar Like a Pro

Trying to capture the sound of an electric guitar on a recording can be difficult unless you have the right equipment and knowledge to do so. 

The good thing is, learning how to record guitar that sounds good is pretty straightforward to learn. 

Below I’ll be going through 11 easy tips to recording guitar that sounds professional.

Set-up

Before we get started, let's go through some gear that will help you when recording. 

1. An audio interface for connecting your guitar to your computer

2. Microphone

3. A Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW for short

4. Plugins, which are software you use within your DAW to add effects

5. Monitors or headphones so you can hear the audio without colouring the sound

If you’ve been producing music for a while, you’ll probably have all of this gear already, if not that’s ok too, you just need the basics like a DAW and a microphone to start.

Microphones

When you’re recording your guitar, it’s a good idea to record your amp. The best type of microphone for recording an amp is a cardioid dynamic microphone. 

When you record from home, the acoustics usually aren't the best. A cardioid dynamic mic can help with that. The cardioid dynamic mic blocks sound from the ear and they aren’t as sensitive to loud noises which makes them ideal for recording guitar. 

Cardioid dynamic mics pick up sound from the direction they are pointed at and block out any sound coming from behind. 

You can learn more about different types of microphones in this article from Musician on a Mission.

Check out the SM57 if you’re interested in purchasing a cardioid dynamic mic. 

Mic Positioning

As mentioned before, your mic should be set up to record your amp. Ideally, your mic would be placed close to the amp to pick up any unnecessary noise.  

Your mic will pick up the best tone 0-5 inches, or 0-12.5 centimetres away from your microphone. 

If you have two microphones, try placing one farther away from the amp. This will create a roomier tone when recorded

Finding the Right Tone

It’s easy to get excited when recorded and forget some important steps. It’s important to spend a good chunk of time adjusting the EQ (equalization) on your amp and the tone controls on your guitar. 

Your goal is to have a recorded guitar tone that needs no equalization in the mix phase. It may sound difficult but it’s pretty easy to achieve. 

One good tip to remember when trying to achieve this is, turn the bass knob down a bit, as you don’t need much low end on the guitar. 

Adjusting Position and Tone

When you adjust the position and tone, you want to find the speaker cone of your amp. If you look inside the front grill, you’ll be able to tell if it’s a cloth grill. 

Position the microphone close to the amp and about halfway between the centre and the edge of the speaker cone.

If you move the microphone back and forth between the centre and the edge, the tone will become brighter or darker. 

Here’s a diagram to illustrate this concept.

As you move your microphone around you will hear the sound become darker/duller towards the edge and bright or aggressive closer to the centre. 

Some things to keep in mind

• Use a brighter tone to record lead guitar

• Use a darker tone to record a supportive part

• Use a brighter tone to record low frets

• Use a darker tone for high frets
  
  
  
  

Finding a Tone that fits with the Mix

It's important to hear the tone of the guitar in the context of the mix. So try playing along with the track as you adjust the tone. Set the tone at a place where the guitar sounds good with the rest of the track, not by itself. 

Reference Tracks

If you’re struggling to find a tone that fits well with your mix, you can find a song that has the sound you’re going for and compare it to your sound. 

Listen to the song and identify the tone. Is it clean or distorted? bright or warm? Once you identify that, you can compare it to the sound of the guitar you are recording. Then adjust your equipment accordingly. 

Changing the Tone When Overdubbing

It’s not uncommon for one guitarist to play multiple different parts in one piece. This is called overdubbing. 

An example of this would be playing the same chord progression twice and then pan one hard left and the other hard right. 

If you want to create separation in your mix, try changing the tone a bit every time you record a new part. 

Use Less Distortion and Amp Reverb

When you distort your guitar for a recording, it ends up sounding way more distorted in the mix. 

A distorted guitar has its place in live music, but when you’re recording it’s best to use less distortion. 

When you’re mixing and decide you want more distortion, it’s easy to add with an amp simulator. 

The same goes for amp reverb. If you have it on while you’re recording, you’re stuck with it. If you record with no distortion or reverb, you’ll be able to add it if you need it. 

Amp Size

The size of your amp doesn’t matter when you’re recording guitar. Because your mic will be placed close to one speaker, it doesn’t matter if that amp has one speaker or twelve. 

Many musicians prefer to have a smaller amp while recording because they like the tone. 

Headroom

A clean guitar can be very dynamic so make sure your levels are set with plenty of headroom. 

BONUS TIP:

Recording Directly

Producing professional-sounding songs from home requires some compromise.

If you are recording from home, try recording the guitar directly and then using an amp simulator to capture a good sound. 

If you decide to go this route, make sure you have a proper DI box.

This video will walk you through what a DI box does.

If you end up wishing you had recorded using an amp, you still can. A re-amping box can be used to play a clean recorded guitar track out of your DAW and into your amp. 

This way, you can take your time adjusting the tone before recording.

However, re-amping boxes are expensive and not ideal in a home studio. If you are recording at home, consider every option you have and choose wisely, because it’s difficult to change your mind. 

Written By: Leah Gerber

conclusion

Recording guitar can is straightforward once you have the right knowledge and equipment to do so. Don’t get too frustrated though if you’re still having issues with it. It will take a lot of trial and error to get the perfect guitar sound.

Are you a guitar recording pro? let us know in the comments what tips helped you get better at it!