Needing a hand with your podcast management?
You’ve got the content ideas to build your brand and generate leads, but the tech, editing and automation is a little overwhelming. Take the stress out of podcasting and let our team of podcast experts help bring your ideas to life.
How can Chunky Duck help with your podcast management?
The Chunky Duck team are experts when it comes to audio production and podcasting. We understand the extra time and stress that podcast management can add to your schedule, so we’ve broken our process down into 5 easy steps.
One-on-one setup call
Our expert will answer all of your questions and outline the process.
Get setup
We’ll guide you through all of the tech you need to set up your recording space.
We handle the technical stuff
Never stress about automation or hosting again!
Make magic
Record your awesome content, then we’ll edit it into a clean, engaging episode for you.
Let’s go live!
We’ll help you submit your podcast to all of the major platforms.
Easy as that!
Ready to get quacking on your podcast?
Podcasts we’ve helped launch
episodes edited
shows launched
Ready to get quacking on your podcast?
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who is your podcasting service for?
For people who know what they want to say but just need help closing the tech gap.
You make your recordings and we clean up the audio, add music and schedule it for release.
What are the recording fundamentals?
Regardless if the recording is online or in person these fundamentals hold true:
- Every person must have their own microphone
- Every person must wear headphone (doesn’t matter what type or quality)
- The recording space should be quite and not be only flat hard surfaces (think office meeting room)
Each of these item can be ignored but it will take special considerations to ensure the recording is still great.
What gear do I need to record remotely?
The minimum required is a microphone, headphones and a service to connect and record online. There are many many microphones options available and any of them will work well.
Here are our recommendations based on quality and price.
- Mic Audio-Technica ATR2100x ~$100-$150 price varies
The recording quality of this mic is solid while being very reasonable on the price.
It supports a direct USB connections to your computer so no other hardware required.
However it also supports an analog connection so it works with a more complex setup, this mic will grow with you.These tend to sell out so here are a few places to buy:
Umart | Mega Music | Amazon - Mic Scissor arm ~$20
While the mic does come with a stand it is not the easiest to position.
A scissor (or suspension) arm will make it much easier to work with:
Check out plenty of options on eBay - Foam pop filter ~$12 for 5
These help remove popping Ps’ (plosives) from your recording.
Optional, but for the cost we recommend that they are totally worth it.
Buy on eBay
What gear do I need to record in person?
In person recording does require more gear and know how to get running.
Check the ‘What gear do I need to record remotely?’ FAQ above to see what each person will need in terms of microphone.
Each mic will be plugged into some sort of audio interface or mixing board.
Mixing boards are getting outside of the scope of a basic FAQ, so please get in touch with us to discuss in more detail.
However, for just a 2 person interview, an audio interface is perfect.
What software do I need to record remotely?
There are lots of services that will let you record an online session. Zoom is the big player in the room and can be great to get started with particularly if you are familiar with the service.
We recommend the service riverside.fm rather than Zoom for a few reasons.
- Easier than Zoom to get a person on a call, no installation of software required just have the guest use an invite link
- Recordings are made locally on each person’s computer then uploaded after the call is complete. No internet audio artefacts will be recorded. It also records a separate track for each person by default
As the host you can see what mic, audio output and camera each person is using. Being able to tell the guest they are using the wrong device really helps with troubleshooting.
What do I need to do to record with Zoom?
Zoom will work pretty well out of the box and if you are familiar with it does make it easy to use. There is one change you should make and that is to have Zoom record everyone on different tracks.
What software do I need to record in person?
On PC, use VoiceMeeter
On Mac, use Audiohijack
Where should I host my podcast?
anchor.fm Free service backed by Spotify. It is fine and does the job.
captivate.fm – USD$17/month modern platform with features like private podcasting and IAB stats
transistor.fm – USD$19/month modern platform with features like private podcasting, good API support, IAB stats and dynamic ad insertion.
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How long should an episode be?
It doesn’t matter how long it is. What matters is that it is consistent in time across episodes with about 5% wiggle room and that is engaging across the whole length of it.
What is ‘Episode 0’ or a trailer?
Episode 0 is an old term from before we had trailers. This is the first episode in your podcast feed.
This episode should be 1-6min, any longer than that and the content might be better used as a proper episode.
Why should I have one?
The main purpose for us is to allow us to submit the podcast to the directories (Apple Podcasts, Spotify etc.) before the podcast is launched. This allows us much more control over the launch date.
For listeners it gives them a short pitch on why they should subscribe. Keep in mind that not every new listener will listen to this episode, so every episode needs to introduce itself.
For podcasters creating this episode is a taste at what it will be like to podcast. It is a chance for you to see if this is something you want to do.
This episode doesn’t need to hang around forever, each season could have its own trailer, so you will have a chance to refine the pitch.
What should it cover?
- Why should somebody listen?
- What will they learn?
- How will you help them implement the things they learn?
- Who are you?
- Call to action to subscribe to the show so they can get the first episode as soon as it lands.
Put differently:
Much like a good talk, you should start with a story to hook the listener, whether it be personal or from pop culture. Once you hook them, tell them how it relates to the problem you’re trying to solve with your podcast. Then move to who you are, what your authority is on the subject and what they can expect from the show. Finally, round out with the call to subscribe to the podcast
Do I need to have music
There are no rules when it comes to podcasting.
Every podcast we know uses music in some way, every ad has music, there is a reason for it.
What sort of music should I use?
Whatever sets the right emotional tone you are looking for the show.
Where can I get music?
AudioJungle has lots of music for under $20.
For a podcast the basic licence usually is fine.
What specs should my podcast artwork be?
3000*3000 in JPG or PNG format
Make sure the text is readable when small.
How often should I release episodes?
Once a fortnight or monthly is a really good starting point for new podcasters.
You can always increase the number of episodes you release. It is harder to release less.