Podcast Consultation, Recording, & Production

Like anything, podcasting is harder than it looks (or sounds). Listen to the pros who podcast regularly. It sounds simple, but there is a lot of time and energy invested in the final product. It takes thought, preparation, and execution. We can help at all levels. We have the expertise, equipment, and means to help create your podcast and publish to your target audience.

Business Podcast Consultation

Podcasting is not just for the hobbyist talking about his or her favorite topics. Podcasting has emerged as an essential marketing tool for businesses. The market is changing fast.

What was once a print ad, became a radio commercial. A radio commercial became a TV spot. And then the internet era descended on society and changed everything. It became a competition about who and what would show up on the “top of the fold” after an internet search. Websites, metadata, and the like are all the rage. It’s all about SEO (search engine optimization).

To optimize web pages 5 years ago, blogging was the everything. Blogging still has value. But the cutting edge is now podcasting. Google and others are now including podcast content in their algorithms. A good website is not enough. A blog is not enough. Social media posts are not enough. To stay on the edge and run a successful marketing campaign, a 360-degree strategy is required. A well-produced, professional podcast will complete the circle.

But, like anything, a successful podcast requires careful thought. As much as a great podcast can help a business, a poor one will hurt it. Just listen to your favorite podcasts —or check out the ones on top. They are fresh, creative, and have perfect production. There is nothing that will turn off listeners (and potential customers) faster than a poorly produced podcast with inferior quality, sound, and creativity.

We can help at all levels, depending on your business needs.

If you or your business already has a podcast and want help tweaking it, recording it, or producing it, we can assist. If you already have your idea and know what your podcast should be, we can help get it off the ground, recorded, and published. If you are thinking about how a podcast can help your business grow, we have the experts who can help develop the perfect content. We will help decide the best format —free flow talk, structured delivery of content, or something in between.

We will make sure you set the best schedule to release your shows. We will make sure your shows are recorded perfectly and released on time. Let us deal with the technical nuances of professional recording while your focus on what matters —content to grow your audience and business.

Getting started always seems like the hardest part. But at Channel 511 it is simple. Just contact us to schedule your consultation, and we will take it from there.

Recording

There is no real secret to getting a perfect recording. It takes knowledge, experience, and the right equipment.

Many podcasters try to no avail to get the perfect “broadcast sound.” There is good reason for that. Like any DIY endeavor, it is possible to imitate professional work, but it rarely is successful.

A professional product in any field requires professional equipment. It requires professional experience. And it requires professional time. The DIY endeavor typically lacks in one or all of these areas. The reality is that we all have businesses and jobs. We become pros at our job. Here at Channel 511, we are pros at recording and producing podcast content.

It starts with the right equipment. A smartphone or digital recorder is not going to produce professional results. It may be enough for the hobbyists to talk about their video game or home improvement project using an inexpensive microphone while sitting at a PC. Many have even achieved decent recordings while sitting in their closet with a digital recorder. But for professional results there is just no substitute for a professional studio and high end equipment.

It is not easy to choose the right equipment. The podcast market is growing fast, and companies are selling all sorts of stuff to the amateur. There are many confusing options.

And “buyer beware.” An online company will be happy to sell you an expensive, professional grade broadcast microphone. But when it arrives, you may be surprised to learn that the microphone doesn’t sound the way you want it to. Or worse, it requires an expensive pre-amplifier to power it. And without experience, a DIY podcaster may not even know why their recording doesn’t sound like the professionals. Trial and error can get expensive.

The reality is that a perfect recording does not happen by accident. It starts with the sound quality of a studio, with the correct sound treatment. Our studio is designed and sound treated to provide the best possible recording environment. It may be possible to “help” a subpar recording in post-production using recording software. But any recording pro will agree that the best recordings must be clean from the beginning. At Channel 511, we record clean, in an optimized, sound-treated environment.

The equipment is equally essential. The pros use professional broadcast microphones with quality pre-amplification systems, audio interfaces, and recording software. We do the same.

At Channel 511, we have all the equipment you will ever need to record your professional quality podcast. With life-long radio professionals on the team, we demand that “broadcast radio” sound. The only way to get it is to use industry standard broadcast equipment. We use the same mics found in broadcast radio stations across the country. They are essential to get the sound we demand.

But that is just the start of the “signal chain.” Professional broadcast does not rely on home-grade audio interfaces with low end pre-amplifiers. We don’t either. We use the same pre-amplification and voice processing equipment found in the broadcast radio industry.

Just like broadcast radio, we can customize equalization and processing for each individual voice. Each podcaster can have their own custom settings, designed to achieve the perfect broadcast sound unique to their individual voice.

Post-Recording & Production

All great recordings (podcasts included) start with great content (the creative side). Then comes the studio time with quality equipment.

What happens after that is equally important. Once the podcast is recorded, the post-recording mixing and production begins. At Channel 511, we can fix and edit mistakes, redact content, and optimize recordings for dissemination to the realm of podcasts (or elsewhere).

Some podcasts are free flowing talk shows. Others require more production and editing. No matter what the situation, we have the equipment and expertise to get you the perfectly mixed and produced content.

We can provide any degree or level of post-recording service, depending on individual needs. We have the knowledge and experience to mix, edit, and optimize your recording, then upload it to your personal podcast storage platform. We can add metadata and descriptive content to optimize your podcast for specific business purposes.

We can also give clients raw, unmixed or edited recordings on storage medium of choice. We can save recordings as “.wav” or “mp3” or any other requested format. We can be flexible to meet the needs of the client, providing complete production or anything short of that.

Whatever the needs, Channel 511 takes the mystery out of the podcast process.

Not Just Podcasts

Channel 511 is not limited to podcasts. We have the capability to perform virtually all types of audio recording. We can help voice-over work, music recording, bedded audio-video recording, and the like. Feel free to inquire about these or any other recording services.