If there's one thing I could shout from the rooftops about hiring an editor, it might be, "Don't hire just any old editor to get a seat filled. Make sure it's one you actually WANT to work with." In fact, that's what this whole show is about.

What if there was one question you could ask that would give you confidence, help you understand whether they are a flake or a solid performer, and whether their style matches yours? Whether you even want to work with that editor.

Listen to discover that question and how you can leverage it to make a great decision when looking for a professional podcast editor.

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https://hireapodcasteditor.com/episode/ask-this-question-to-understand-what-a-working-relationship-looks-like

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Mentioned in this episode:

15 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Podcast Editor

If you want to get the clarity you need to avoid a hiring mistake with your podcast, you will want to grab this free guide. No email required. We just want you to make the best decisionfor yourself and your show.

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Bryan Entzminger: 00:00:00

If there's one thing that I wish I could just shout from the rooftops

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about hiring a podcast editor, it might be.

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Don't hire just any old editor to get a seat filled.

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Make sure that you're going to be working with an editor that you actually want to work with.

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In fact, that's what this entire show is about.

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In this episode, we're going to take a look at one question that's designed to give you confidence,

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to help you understand whether or not the person you're talking with is a flake or a solid performer.

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Whether their style matches your style, and whether or not you can trust that they're going to get you consistent.

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In other words, do you even want to work with this editor?

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It's a simple question, but it opens the door to so much of what you need to know.

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Welcome to Hiring a Podcast Editor.

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My name is Bryan Entzminger.

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I'm a podcast editor and manager at TopTierAudio.com.

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This show is intended to help you be able to find the right podcast editor for you.

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Whether you're looking for your first editor or your next editor in season one, we're going to help you

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get clarity on what you really want before you start connecting with editors, and then provide you with

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the tools to make the right decision for yourself.

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This show is sponsored by top tier audio.com, where we provide podcast production services for

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multi-passionate coaches, trainers, and consultants.

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Be sure to stick around to the end and I'll tell you how you can get a free tool to help you organize

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your thoughts and make sure you don't miss anything.

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One of the things that I think people sometimes forget is that the working relationship with a podcast editor can span years.

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I should mention just like last time that this is true also for podcast managers, podcast producers,

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pretty much any podcast service provider.

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That relationship could last for years, and unless you're hiring an.

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You're not going to have much or really even any control over your editor's schedule or their

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availability or what it's like to work with them.

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Because of that, it's crucial to understand what it might be like to work with them and whether

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or not you're comfortable with that relationship.

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Of course, it might seem like the obvious answer is to just make a list of things that are important to

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you and go down that list and start filling it out.

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Maybe that list that you made in the first section of the free download, "15 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Podcast

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Editor," but we're going to take a slightly different approach.

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Instead, we're going to ask a more open-ended question so that we don't miss anything that we might not have considered at first.

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With that said, we're not going to ignore the list.

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That list is going to be important because as we listen to the answers that this editor gives, we're going to

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compare their answers to what we've put together and maybe ask some probing questions if there seem to be some gaps.

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Here's the question.

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What does it look like to work with you?

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Or if you'd prefer, describe the typical process or workflow for working together.

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I know sounds really simple, but it's not, and when you ask this question, be prepared for the person you're

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talking with to maybe ask some clarifying questions, especially around the context of what you're looking.

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This is important because this will help you understand what it's going to be like to communicate with this person,

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and communication is key for any longstanding relationship.

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They may have questions around whether you're looking for information about onboarding or episode production,

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or the overall working arrangements or something else.

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, it's okay to guide the conversation to one and then come back to the other and maybe take a slightly different approach.

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In fact, I would recommend that you go ahead and guide the conversation first toward the overall working

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relationship, and then do come back and talk about individual episodes and make sure that you understand that as well.

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When the editor that you're talking with starts to answer, you're going to be listening for things

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that help you understand process and defined.

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now, it's not so much, it's, it's going to be a little bit, do I want them to fill this role?

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And is that something that they do?

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Let's be honest.

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And it's going to be some of what are they going to expect from you?

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But the real question is, does it seem like they have a defined process?

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or does it sound like they're just making it up as they go along?

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Does it seem like they have defined roles in the working relationship, or does it sound like they're just

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making that up and nobody's responsible for anything?

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Do you understand from their conversation, what marks the beginning of a working relationship?

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Is it once you've signed the contract you're working together?

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Is it once the first payment is made?

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Is it when files are delivered?

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Do they even use contracts?

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These are important things to.

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by the same approach.

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What about the beginning of a new episode?

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What starts that?

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Is it when you say, Hey, I've got a new episode for you?

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Or is it when the first file is delivered or all of the files are delivered?

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How do you know when they're ready to start working on a new episode?

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And.

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How do you get the files to them?

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Do you send them by Dropbox or Google Drive, or do they want micro SD cards?

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Like how do you get the files to them?

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Make sure that you understand that.

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As well as their turnaround timelines.

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How many days or weeks do they need to turn an episode around?

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Listen for what they're going to expect you to do, as well as what you can expect them to do, and make sure that these

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roles feel right to you, that you want to do the parts they want you to do, or someone on your team perhaps can do.

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and that they're doing the things that you would want them to do.

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Thinking a, again, about the episode production, when is it considered complete?

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What marks the end?

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Is it when they send files back to you?

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Is there a revision request?

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Or how do they handle error corrections?

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All of those things are important.

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How do they handle vacations and holidays?

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Do they just randomly take time off, or do they plan ahead and ask you to do the same for that matter?

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Do they have a process for you to plan for your vacations and holiday?

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So that you can make sure that nothing happens, that delays the release of your show.

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What happens if files are late?

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Is the show released late?

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Is there a rush fee?

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Are they able to turn it around in less than the agreed amount of time?

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What are their billing practices?

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Do they bill in advance at the beginning of the month?

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Is money due when you deliver an episode to them on a per episode basis?

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Do they bill after the fact?

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How is all of that handled?

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And if they do offer payment, What are those terms?

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Is it due on receipt or is it due 15 days?

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Make sure you understand all of that.

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Once you have a pretty good feel for how the working relationship functions, it's time to move on to a bit

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of a more granular view of their internal processes.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:06:33

Hi there.

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I'm popping in for just a second to tell you about Boomcaster.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:06:37

If you're going to be recording your podcast while streaming live, either with a co-host or with guests

Bryan Entzminger: 00:06:42

or something like that, you're going to need a service that does that and gives you high quality

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recordings, and Boomcaster is a great service for that.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:06:50

They offer an excellent live streaming experience.

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And super high quality audio and video recordings.

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So later you can edit those into your final podcast episode.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:06:59

You can find them at Boomcaster.com or click the link in the episode notes.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:07:03

If you use that, you'll also get a discount on your purchase and your purchase will benefit

Bryan Entzminger: 00:07:07

the show, so I'd really appreciate that.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:07:09

Boomcaster is what I recommend for you to capture those great recordings for your podcast.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:07:14

Now taking a more granular view into their production processes or even their internal processes isn't so much

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to make sure that you agree with everything that they do.

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It's to make sure that you understand what that process looks like just from a high level so that you know kind of what

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it looks like and why things take the amount of time that they do, and also just to make sure that you have confide.

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That they have a process in place.

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Again, you're trying to make sure that they're not just making it up on the fly unless that's

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the kind of person you want to work with.

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I know it's not the kind of person I want to work with.

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What I want, if I'm hiring somebody, is somebody who has a strong internal process for their overall production flow.

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When an episode arrives, this is what happens first.

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This is what happens second, third, fourth, fifth, and so on, all the way through the line.

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It's not so much important to me that the person I'm working with has a process that matches mine so much as it's

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important to know that they have a process, because that process becomes the structure that supports the creativity

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that you're hoping they're going to bring to your show while allowing them to deliver consistent results for.

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for me, my internal process, the process that I and my team follow when files arrive, we have some

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internal project management processes that I'm not really going to talk about cuz they're just.

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Administrative stuff, but we do have that.

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We take note of the files that arrived, when they arrived, when they're due, all of that kind of stuff.

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And then we go through and we start looking at the files.

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We check them, how long are they, if it's an interview, are all of the files the same length?

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Cuz that's kind of important to know because you might be missing something.

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Then we'll go through and do a quick quality check on all of the files and if there's some repair or remediation required.

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And there almost always, We'll go ahead and take care of that.

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Usually it's reduction of some light background noise.

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Maybe there's some popping peas or some mouth noises, or.

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Echo from the room, that kind of stuff.

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We'll go ahead and reduce as much of that as we can while without ruining the sound of the recording.

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And then we'll move on the next bit as we go ahead and start assembling the episodes.

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We've got kind of a rough sketch of what things are going to look like and we'll go through and remove any of the.

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Requested edits.

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If a client says, Hey, please remove this part and this part and this part, we'll go find those timestamps,

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remove the parts they want removed before we do anything else, so that we make sure we don't miss that.

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And then we'll move on and do a detailed edit where we listen to the whole thing, start to finish.

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Make sure that we're removing anything that's a distraction, filler, words that can be removed without

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changing the conversation or the context, or changing somebody's speech Patterns completely will remove.

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False starts, all of that kind of stuff.

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We're not trying to change the conversation.

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We're just trying to make sure that we're delivering the meat of the conversation without distractions.

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We'd go through and do that whole thing, and then we'd go through and we'd do what we call a mix and master.

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Well, we'll make sure that all of the voices sound good compared to each other, that it sounds consistent, that it matches.

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Volume level so one person isn't loud with another person soft so the music isn't super loud or super soft.

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All of those kind of things that just turn into a final product.

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And then we, we go ahead and do the mastering piece where we make sure that it's all going to match the loudness standards

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that are generally accepted for podcasting, so that if you listen to our show next to another show that's been done well,

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they're going to sound roughly the same volume so you don't.

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Turn your volume up or down so that you don't have to change the volume as you're listening because one person

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gets louder and softer and all that kind of stuff, just to make sure that you get a good final product.

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Then we'll add any necessary information to the file.

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If you've sent graphics or things like that, we go ahead and do all of that, and then we send it back.

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It's a really clean process.

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There are a few steps, but by having that process and by following that process, we

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can make sure that things don't get missed.

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While I'm not saying that you would necessarily need to work with a person that uses the same processes we use internally.

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You want somebody, I think you want somebody who has a process because that process is what facilitates consistent results.

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As you're taking notes, and especially once you get done, maybe you're getting ready to

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hop off the call, compare what you've talked.

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What they've described is the experience of working together, what they've described as their per

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episode production process, all of that stuff.

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Compare that to what you would like your three year ideal future to look like, and ask yourself

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this question, does this move you towards that?

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And if not, maybe this isn't the person for you.

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It's okay.

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There's more than one editor out there.

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I have the same perspective on clients.

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There's more than one client out there.

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I always want to make sure that I'm moving my clients toward their ideal future.

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and I would think you would want the same for yourself.

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It's that simple.

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One question, what's it like to work with you?

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And then listen and take notes.

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Make sure you come back next time, because it's also important to know what it's like to work together

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:13

when things aren't going exactly as planned.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:15

In fact, we're going to spend a couple of episodes digging into two different areas that might be important to you, and

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:21

it's possible that you've never even considered one of them.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:24

You won't want to miss.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:27

If you'd like to be able to get the clarity you need in order to avoid making a hiring mistake, be sure to download our

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:32

guide 15 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Podcast Editor.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:37

You can find it at HireAPodcastEditor.com/15Questions, and it'll be linked up in the show notes.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:43

It's totally free.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:44

We don't require an email address or anything like that.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:46

We just want to make sure that you have the tools that you need to make the right decision for you.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:51

That guide has the questions we'll talk about on this show some instructions and.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:56

Even a place to take notes.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:12:58

If you want to get even more out of it though, be sure to subscribe to this show a HireAPodcastEditor.com/listen

Bryan Entzminger: 00:13:04

and share it with the rest of your team.

Bryan Entzminger: 00:13:06

Your work is important now.