First we will cover the more conventional production and podcasting management tools: Microphone, video equipment, hosting site, editing software, and free music sites.
Then we will dive into some tools that you may have never heard of or considered before: Video converter, Dynamic Ad Insertion Tool, Deeplink, Podcast Name Generator, and Ausha Pro.
Ready to read? Let’s start! 🚀
Top 5 Reasons Why Choosing the Right Podcasting Managing Tools Is Essential
- Professional Quality and Listener Experience: High-quality tools ensure clear audio and video, creating a professional impression. A pleasant listening experience is crucial for retaining and growing your audience.
- Efficiency and Consistency in Production: The right tools streamline the production process, saving time and reducing errors. Consistent, high-quality episodes build a reliable release schedule and a loyal audience.
- Enhanced Audience Engagement and Growth: Good tools improve discoverability and audience engagement. They help optimize content, provide valuable analytics, and enhance promotion, driving audience growth and retention.
- Staying Ahead with Innovation: Innovative tools offer new features like AI-driven editing, automated transcription, or dynamic content insertion. These tools keep your podcast fresh, save time, and help you experiment with new formats to stand out.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Advanced tools offer insights into listener behavior and episode performance. This data helps you refine content to better match audience preferences, ensuring continued growth.
6 conventional podcast production and management tools
- 1. High-quality microphone
- 2. Video converter that turns audio into video
- 3. Remote Recording software
- 4. Podcast hosting software, like Ausha
- 5. Easy-to-use Editing Software
- 6. Free Music Sites for your sound design
1. High-quality microphone
Yes, we know it might sound boring, but having an excellent mic does help your show grow. People do care about the quality of audio when they listen to podcasts. They just do. They can’t help it, our brains are wired to be picky about it. 🧠
If someone gives your podcast a trial listen, the difference between them hitting “subscribe” or not, could very well hinge on if the audio is high quality. That starts with having a good microphone to record with.
Here at Ausha, we record with the The Shure SM7B and can vouch for it. Its an XLR dynamic microphone with a cardiod recording pattern and air suspension insulation– capturing all the audio richness you want, and leaving behind unwanted sound. 🎙️
Do a lot of the terms we just used sound like jibberish to you? Don’t worry! We have a podcast microphone blog post that explains all the terms you need to know when picking the best microphone to record your podcast. In the post, we also review seven other top microphones, including their price. So hop on over and check it out!
2. Video converter that turns audio into video
We live in a video world now. The robots of the internet (aka algorithms) give video content priority. YouTube itself is considered the second biggest search engine in the world. Ever hear the joke “You have a face for radio?” Well that audio-only utopia is shrinking. 📻
If you want to grow your audience, you are going to have to have video content, if not record all your episodes as video episodes. Video tools are now podcasting tools.
The good news is that with this growing demand for video content, video recording equipment has gotten cheaper and more simple to use. In fact, many stores now sell video kits specifically made for content creators (yes, “content creators” includes podcasters). 📹
One example is the Canon EOS R10 Content Creator Kit. It comes with a small tripod, external mic, a 4K video camera, and software that allows you to live stream while recording. Sony and Nikon also offer similar kits. The average price is around $1,000.
If you don’t want to buy a whole video camera and prefer just to use your phone, there are equipment bundles for that too. For example, RODE has a “vlogger kit for smartphones” that includes a tripod, phone holder, microphone, and production light. These kind of bundles come in around the $150 price point. 💵
To learn more about all these great options, check out our blog post on the top video equipment bundles of 2023.
3. Remote Recording software
Many podcast video interviews are done remotely these days. While audiences tend to be somewhat forgiving of lower quality if they know the interview was done remotely, they still want it to be decent.
That’s where remote recording platforms like Riverside come in. Be sure to check out your podcast recording software options if you plan on recording remotely- most services like Riverside are month to month subscription services. 💻
4. Podcast hosting software, like Ausha
Hosting platforms probably sound like the most boring part of podcasting. In fact, most non – podcasters probably have no idea such things exist! But your hosting platform is actually a really important podcasting tool when it comes to growth. 💪
A hosting podcast platform is what creates the backbone of podcasting technology: The RSS feed link. This link is what updates listening platforms (also called podcast directories) with newly created episodes. A podcaster makes a new episode, uploads it to their host platform, and then the RSS feed alerts listening platforms (like Apple Podcasts) that the new episode is ready and accessible to listeners.
So how does this effect growth? The answer is distribution. The more listening platforms a host platform automatically distributes to, the more potential listeners a podcast episode can reach. 🌎
Some hosting platforms only create the RSS feed, then you are on your own to create an account in every listening platform you want your podcast to be on, then manually copy your RSS feed into each one as well. Other hosting platforms will automatically distribute to a handful of listening platforms.
Here at Ausha we distribute to over twenty listening platforms around the world: Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, Spotify, the list is long. We are particularly proud of our engineers work to automate our users’ distribution to both YouTube and Soundcloud since those platforms don’t use the standard RSS technology. 😁
Note: If you want to do a private podcast episodes, you should make sure your hosting platform can do that too (yes, we can at Ausha).
5. Easy-to-use Editing Software
Editing software is one of the oldest podcasting tools around, but new versions keep getting more intuitive and easy to use. Some even use Artificial Intelligence features now! 🎞️
Traditionally, editing software has had two main functions: 1) Trimming and rearranging content and 2) Improving the sound quality of the recording. However, recently there are more expectations placed on it, particularly when it comes to helping a podcast grow.
Now editing software is often relied upon to produce show transcripts, which help with search engine optimization. In fact, some new editing software like Descript, produce a transcript text that you then can edit, changing the actual audio file at the same time as you change the text. 📄
Editing software is also expected to be able to convert and export lots of different types of media files and clips, ensuring the best performance on different social media platforms. Some even can covert audio files into video files with text captions, but we will address that later in this blog post as its own podcasting tool.
Editing software comes in all shapes and sizes now. Some are geared towards audio experts who really get into the weeds of stuff like “non-linear phase EQs.” Others don’t even let users touch that stuff, with the software itself adjusting the audio quality automatically. 🎛️
To get a good idea of what your options are, take a look at our blog post on the topic. You’ll see that some are even completely free, and many have at some kind of free option (free month, free select services, etc.).
6. Free Music Sites for your sound design
When you are looking to grow you podcast, there are some podcasting tools that you need to spend serious money on, but there are also some that you can get for free. That’s why the next podcasting tool we are going to cover is free music sites. 🤑
But first- what does music have to do with growing your podcast audience? A lot actually. Music is critical in developing your brand and creating an atmosphere within your podcast episodes. Remember, you are not just trying to get people to listen to your show, but to become followers and even evangelists for your show. Plus, music is an important element to high quality marketing social media posts.
There are a lot of sites on the internet that claim to have free music. But usually when you click on them, you that in the fine print you actually have to pay. Or you get the feeling like the site is shady and is giving you stolen music and lots of computer viruses. 🦠
That’s why we have saved you time and already reviewed some. Plus, we fully explain confusing terms like royalty, license, public domain, etc., making it easy for you to do your own research in the future.
5 podcast management tools you haven’t heard of before (but need)
- 1. Ausha’s Clip Video as Video Converter
- 2. Dynamic Ad Insertion to make money with your podcast
- 3. Deeplink which is a direct Link to One specific episode
- 4. Ausha’s Podcast Name Generator
- 5. Ausha Pro: All the tools a professionnal needs for their podcast
1. Ausha’s Clip Video as Video Converter
A video converter takes your audio file and transforms it into a video file. The video files often contain the podcast cover art and/or audio waves as the visuals. 🖼️
A great video converter will do the job quickly, allowing you to create a bunch of them stress-free. A great one will also produce a transcript and or/captions to help with search engine optimization efforts and keep the viewer engaged.
We discussed the importance of video in the Video Equipment Bundle section so we won’t repeat everything here. Just know that a video converter is now a podcaster’s best friend— without having to do much work at all, a podcaster can take their podcast episodes and easily turn them into marketing posts for social media, email, etc. 😍
A video converter is now one of the must-have podcasting tools. That’s why we include it in our package at Ausha. If you want to really dive into the weeds, you can check out more info here.
2. Dynamic Ad Insertion to make money with your podcast
It is not an exaggeration to call the Dynamic Ad Insertion tool a revolution in podcast advertising. Out of all the podcasting tools listed in this blog post, this one has the most power to grow podcasts’ financially. 💰
In the days before the Dynamic Ad Insertion tool, all ads in an episode were baked into the one episode audio file. In the editing process, you would stitch together the podcast content and the advertising content into a single file, upload it to your hosting platform, and that was that.
Now, with a Dynamic Ad Insertion tool, you can insert current ads into past episodes. That means you can make new money from old episodes, without hardly any work. 😎
When podcast listeners discover a show that they like, they will often go back and listen to past episodes from a month ago. Some segments of the audience will even go back years to the very first episode and listen to all the episodes in order. In the past, these kind of downloads couldn’t be monetized– listeners would just hear old ads (or no ads). With the Dynamic Ad Insertion tool, you can make money from every download!
You can find a Dynamic Ad Insertion tool in a few different places in the podcast ecosystem. At Ausha, we provide this tool to our users as part of our hosting and marketing platform. 🧑🚀
3. Deeplink which is a direct Link to One specific episode
Next on our list of must-have podcasting tools is the Deeplink. 🔗
Conversions are the key to growing your show. And the Deeplink tool is the key to conversions. Let us explain:
A conversion is when a non-listener becomes a listener. It happens right when a person presses ‘play’ to listen to one of your episodes. We call that part of the “listener journey.” 👣
Here’s an example of a listener journey without the Deeplink:
- A person is exposed to your show in some way– let’s say they see one of your social media posts.
- They click on the link in the post.
- That takes them to a listening platform where they then have to scroll down to search for the episode they want to listen to.
- Then they click on the episode.
- Finally they press ‘play.’
The more steps in a listener journey, the more likely you are going to lose people along the way. That is where the term “conversion rate” comes in– how many people who saw your marketing material actually were converted into a listener. You want a high conversion rate. 📈
With Deeplink, the listener journey is shortened and the conversion rate goes up. That is because with Deeplink, the listener is directed straight to the episode to hit ‘play.” No scrolling to pick an episode. They are taken to the exact episode that you have chosen to highlight in your marketing post.
This is the listener journey with Deeplink:
- A person is exposed to your show in some way– let’s say they see one of your social media posts.
- They click on the Deeplink in the post.
- They press play.
Deeplink is tool developed by Ausha and only available for Ausha users. You can learn more about the technology behind the feature here. 🛠️
4. Ausha’s Podcast Name Generator
All of these podcasting tools are all well and good, assuming that you already have podcast up and going. But what if you are just starting out? What is the most important growth tool to use from the very beginning? We believe it is the Podcast Name Generator. 🤖
A podcast’s name is the foundation for its potential growth. It is the basis for your show’s search engine optimization. It is the cornerstone of your branding. Some people will decide whether or not to listen to your show based on the name. Believe it or now, some listeners will decide whether or not to recommend your show based on the name.
The Podcast Name Generator helps you come up with a strong podcast name. Just put in a keyword and the tool will generate potential names. Even if it does not generate the perfect name for your podcast, you can use the list to further brainstorm. 🧑🔬
You can find Podcast Name Generators across the internet, and you are welcomed to use ours for free here.
5. Ausha Pro: All the tools a professionnal needs for their podcast
The last of the podcasting tools we will cover is Ausha Pro. Think of this tool like a Swiss Army knife– lots of tools in one. 🧰
This service package is specifically designed for branded podcasts. A lot of times organizations know that making their own podcast would be an excellent opportunity for them, but they don’t have the internal capacity and expertise to truly grow it. That’s where Ausha Pro comes in.
Ausha Pro has features like platform configuration done by Ausha staff, white label branding options, a channel page (one brand, multiple podcasts), SSO integration, and much more. 🤓
If you are a business, nonprofit, or really any kind of organization making a branded podcast, rather than picking individual podcasting tools on this list, you probably want to pick this comprehensive one.
Summary
The best podcasting tools for growing podcasts are easy for podcasters to use and save them time. That starts early in the production process with great mic to record high quality audio. It goes all the way to Dynamic Ad Insertion that can reach back in time to create monetization in past episodes. ✨
Regardless of price, the features should be the best fit for your specific show, your specific growth goals, and how you want to live your best podcasting life.
So start trying some or all of these before your next recording session! What you create deserves to grow! 💯💯💯
Thanks for the read, and as always, enjoy the podcast journey! 🪐
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