How to Hire a Podcast Producer For Your Podcast

So you’ve decided to start a podcast (or have already started one) and now you need to find someone else (or a team) to do the tedious production side of your podcast. You know having the production of your podcast managed and off your plate will allow you to focus on your area of expertise and what you do best… provide engaging, relevant content and connect deeply with your listeners.

But where do you start? What’s even available? What questions do you ask?

Well first, let’s take a look at outsourcing your podcast production.

Outsourcing Your Podcast Production To A Podcast Production Company

If you’re someone who doesn’t have time to invest in learning all the aspects of podcasting on your own, it probably makes the most sense for you to look into working with a podcast producer or a podcast production service.

Below, you’ll find recommendations broken down by pricing ranging from the most cost-effective to high-end turnkey managed solutions:

1. Cost-Effective

These options are a little more hands-on and will likely require you to review things yourself, but they’re great if you’re more invested in saving money than time.

Resonate Recordings offers multiple packages, but their cheapest is $59/episode. That includes mixing and mastering, ID3 tagging, adding intros, outros, and sponsors, removing background noise, uploading to your host, etc. There are also pre-pay options that will save you a bit as well.

We Edit Podcasts has different ways you can mix and match services. You can hire them just to edit your audio, take care of your audio and show notes, handle audio and transcription, etc. Their plans start at $349/month.

2. Mid-range

Services in this tier offer more nuts and bolts help, but will still require management and reviewing from you.

Castos hosts one of the top podcasting blogs, but their main focus is podcast editing and publishing. All of their packages include show note writing and ID3 tagging, but their higher range packages offer even more.

Another reputable podcast production team is over at Pro Podcast Solutions who have similar packages to Podcast Motor.

3. High-End

These turnkey managed solutions are a bit more expensive, but they help with strategy, planning, AND technical aspects (setup & ongoing).

They tend to be more dependable, proactively alert you of industry changes and strategic opportunities, are more tailored to ensuring your show gets results, and don’t require as much oversight.

Think of it as hiring a podcasting department for your company at a fraction of the cost.

Cashflow Podcasting helps entrepreneurs start a podcast that grows their business. We help you get your podcast outlined, created, and launched in 6-8 weeks. We set up your show, coach and guide you, and produce your podcast completely for you. You’ll also get the benefit of time-tested launch and marketing strategies that are proven to work.
*Disclaimer – We are the ones that created this post!*

Audience Ops focuses on the ‘content engine’ concept of podcasting as a done-for-you service and operates similarly to releasing blog content but in podcast form.

4. Agency

This solution is set up more to work with corporate teams and larger company departments. A top option is Sweetfish Media, which is a B2B podcasting service.

Another option is Come Alive Creative that focuses more generally on business/corporate podcasts.

If you’re not quite on the corporate level but are still interested in hiring an agency, it’s highly recommended to reach out to a company similar to yours that has a podcast and see who they work with.
Now let’s take a look at hiring a Podcast Manager (either as a contractor or a team member) to produce your podcast.

Hiring a Podcast Manager To Produce Your Podcast

Podcast managers are perfect for people who just want to focus on being the host of the podcast, but also have custom needs for their show and a highly specific vision for their editorial or publishing process.

They are also ideal if there are multiple decision-makers involved in creating the podcast, like if your podcast is for a department or organization where many opinions need to be weighed.

This solution is tailored toward companies and organizations doing a podcast, but hobby podcasters will still see benefit from this as well.

That said, there are two types of managers you can hire:

1. Contractors

Contractors are generally paid hourly and can range from affordable to expensive.

Browse the talent on Dynamite Jobs! There are thousands of candidates ready to work for you here on the site. You can search for the skills you need, message the candidates, and set up the work arrangement.

If you’re looking to hire a contractor, Freeeup is a simple way to search for pre-vetted and trained contractors. It’s fast and easy to get started, but you’ll have less ability to be highly selective.

For more reach and possibilities, try Upwork. They have a massive job-posting system for finding contractors, but you’ll need to be super specific with what you want and filter out unqualified parties.

2. Team Members

Hiring or assigning an internal team member(s) is likely to be expensive, though you can always hire them as part-time employees as your budget allows.

The idea here is to hire someone as part of your organization whose job it is to manage, run, and produce the podcast. The main perk here is that they can be in charge of the whole podcast project. They can even be the host of the podcast if needed.

To find and hire a team member, your best bet is to create a job listing and post to job boards just like you would for any other position within your company.

Here are some sample job descriptions to get you started:

PODCAST MANAGER

You’ll Be Responsible For:

• Overall Strategy, Launch, Production, and Marketing of Podcast
• Content Creation Calendar
• Production Schedule
• Securing Guests for Interviews
• Managing the Podcast Team
• Quality Review Process

PODCAST AUDIO EDITOR

You’ll Be Responsible For:

• Listening to and editing audio podcast episodes using Adobe Audition and our Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) documents and client requests
• Editing out mistakes, ums, stammers, awkward pauses from speeches and interviews for clarity
• Must have strong attention to detail, and ability to follow specific directions based on client wishes
• Reporting and reviewing your work and results to the Podcast Production Team
• Communicating with the Production Manager and the Writers to deliver the final product
• Being responsive and a willingness to help the team thrive

PODCAST CONTENT WRITER

You’ll Be Responsible For:

• Writing compelling & engaging show notes posts to accompany podcast episodes (edited by someone else) which include bullet points and episode titles
• Creating and scheduling show notes posts to publish on clients’ website platforms
• STRONG attention to detail and ability to follow a consistent process to provide a high-quality work
• Being responsive and an active part of a thriving team
• Reporting and reviewing your work and results to the Podcasting Production Team

PODCAST LAUNCH COACH

You’ll Be Responsible For:

• Working with us directly to plan, build, and launch our podcast from scratch
• Advising us on best podcast marketing & online marketing practices
• Project management for our launch, and managing the creation of audio branding, voiceovers, artwork, etc
• RSS feed creation & optimization, posting, and configuring in WordPress, Libsyn, Apple & Stitcher
• Reporting and reviewing your work and results with us and the Podcasting Production Team.
• Using our project management tool to track project progress and manage the launch program systems

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• Some experience launching a podcast from scratch preferred
• Using tools like Libsyn, WordPress, Adobe Audition, Apple & Stitcher
• Project management & direct client communication in an advisory role

5 Top Questions To Ask Potential Podcast Producers

• How many professionals will be involved in the production of my podcast?
• Will I receive production equipment or will I have to buy this myself?
• Will the podcast team repurpose my podcast audio into other forms of content?
• Will the podcast team handle guest outreach to maintain a full pipeline of guests for me?
• Will the podcast team script each episode around the topics relevant to my audience?

Pro Tip:

Whatever solution you decide is right for you, it’s strongly recommended that you make sure there’s a quality review process of some kind to review your completed show and episodes before they publish.

(You’d be surprised how many services and providers don’t have a quality review process. Don’t fall into that trap!)
Ensuring whoever you hire has their Quality Assurance figured out will help you avoid releasing episodes with unnoticed issues that can end up being embarrassing for you and your brand.

Other Service/Support Options

Podcast Guest Interview Booking:

This can go two different ways. Either you want to get booked as an expert on a series of other podcasts, or you want a systematic way of having interview guests booked for your own show.

Interview Valet is the go-to premium option in this space. They’re not cheap but they do really great work, and you get what you pay for.

Another great option is Interview Connections who boasts some big names in the online marketing and entrepreneurship space.

Closing Notes

There are MANY services, softwares, coaches, etc. out there besides the ones recommended above, and there are more popping up daily.

The podcasting landscape is always changing, so it pays to keep up with the industry or have someone on your team (an internal team member or a trusted industry partner) do that.

With all the podcast production solutions out there right now, there’s bound to be a perfect fit for you and your podcast.

Hopefully, this article has given you a solid starting foundation for finding the perfect Podcast Production solution for you and your business!