How much money are you spending to produce your podcast? If you aren’t sure, I encourage you to tally up all of the services you use to record, edit, distribute, and market your show.
If you’re like me, the final figure may astound you. Podcasters spend up to several hundred dollars per month on production, not including the upfront cost of equipment like microphones and headphones.
Whether you’re on a budget or you’re looking for more free podcasting tools to streamline production, here’s a list of 15 helpful podcasting tools you should consider. Some tools mentioned are free, while others have free and paid tiers.
Online Audio Converter Tool
Online Audio Converter is a free web-based tool that helps you extract audio from video files and convert different file formats like mp3, m4a, and ogg. Online Audio Converter is a helpful tool if you do not want to install another app on your computer.
Check out Online Audio Converter here.
WeTransfer – File Sharing
Need to send files to co-hosts, collaborators, and editors quickly? Use WeTransfer to send files up to 2GB for free. Premium accounts can transfer up to 20 GB.
StreamYard – Live Streaming
Are you ready to live stream your podcast?
StreamYard is a live streaming software that works with Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitch. Invite multiple on-screen participants and use your brand colors with the free plan. Upgrade to download recordings and record separate audio files for each broadcast guest.
Bonjoro – Personalized Videos
Sending short personalized videos is one way to stand out, win trust, and build lasting relationships with your audience. Use Bonjoro to create memorable welcome videos for new email subscribers or thoughtful birthday messages.
Taking a few minutes out of your day to acknowledge your community members will leave a profound impact on them (plus, no one is doing this right now). The ‘Free Forever’ plan includes 50 videos per month, but you can upgrade for custom branding and templates.
Canva – Illustration and Graphics
While podcasting isn’t typically considered a visual medium, if you are not using illustrations or promotional graphics to bring awareness to your show, you will be missing out on a huge opportunity to grow your listenership.
With drag-and-drop features and hundreds of templates, use Canva to create podcast cover art, social media graphics, videos, and more.
While the free tier is good for getting started, upgrade to the paid tier to access premium stock photos, videos, and free templates. You can also create a brand kit with your podcast colors and fonts, use the background remover tool and resize designs instantly.
Podnews – Daily Podcasting Newsletter
Curated by James Cridland, Podnews is a daily newsletter sharing global news in podcasting and on-demand audio. In addition to the newsletter, get access to the latest events and job opportunities.
Other noteworthy podcasting newsletters include Inside Podcasting and Podbrief, which highlights news from New York City.
Headliner – Create Audiograms
With Headliner, create short videos from your podcast audio files to promote your show on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, or Snapchat. With the free plan, create five videos per month but upgrade to remove the watermark, use your fonts, and customize the intros and outros.
Calendly – Scheduling
Book guest interviews with Calendly, a scheduling tool that showcases your availability, sends calendar invites, and automated reminders. Eliminate the back-and-forth of finding the right time to record and avoid maneuvering multiple time zones.
Upgrade to the paid tiers for group meetings, custom email notifications, and more.
PODGO – Podcast Advertising
If you’re ready to monetize your podcast, PODGO will connect you with advertisers.
There is no minimum listenership to join the free membership and you can join host read ad campaigns without sending pitches or submitting approvals. You’ll have complete control over the brands you work with and submit ad placements when you release new episodes.
Podpage – Website Building For Podcasters
Podpage is one of the simplest ways to build a website for your podcast, no coding or technical skills required. Creating a website from your RSS feed, Podpage automatically creates episode pages when you release a new episode.
Try Podpage for free (forever) and upgrade to receive voicemails, build a mailing list, write a blog, add transcripts, and more.
Wave
Manage your books and send invoices to clients with Wave Financial, an accounting, invoicing, and receipt tracking software.
With the free plan, you can create and send invoices, send out automated reminders at various intervals, input and track expenses, and generate financial statements at the end of the year. Only pay a fee per credit card transaction or bank payment.
Check out Wave Financial here.
SpeakPipe – For Voice Memos
Want to interact with your listeners by receiving voice messages?
By adding SpeakPipe to your website, listeners can send you voice messages from anywhere on your website. Using SpeakPipe, listeners can share their questions, feedback, or comments to later air on your show. Interact with your community by sending back voice replies.
With the free tier, you will have access to 100MB of storage, and listeners can leave voice notes for up to 90-seconds. Paid tiers include more recording time, storage, and widget customization.
Auphonic
Free for two hours of audio per month, Auphonic is a post-production software that balances speaker levels and reduces noises and hums. Upload your exported audio file to Auphonic to polish your audio so it is not too loud or quiet before adding the final mp3 file to your podcast hosting platform.
Otter.ai – Transcriptions
Otter.ai is an AI-powered transcription tool that will convert your audio file into text. In addition to identifying speakers, searching for keywords, highlighting, and inserting comments.
Related: 4 Reasons Why Podcasts Transcripts Are Worth It
Listen Notes
Use Listen Notes to discover new podcasts, listen, and share. Curate playlists, search by people, topics, or places.
Google Analytics
While Google Analytics may not technically help you produce your podcast, it will come in handy when you’re making important decisions that may impact your show.
Google Analytics is a free tool that helps you better understand your website visitors. Use these insights to improve your site, determine your audience demographics, and create more content that resonates with your audience.
Here are some questions that Google Analytics can help you answer:
- What episodes get the most traffic to my website?
- How many pageviews is my website getting?
- How long are listeners spending on my website?
Check out Google Analytics here.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool that helps you monitor how your website is performing on search results. It will also point out errors that may negatively affect your Google ranking.
Podcasters can use Google Search Console to see what search terms Google users use to find their website and identify the top-performing keywords, click-through rates, and impressions.
Check out Google Search Console here.
Summary
Overall, various free podcasting tools can help you produce, market, and monetize your podcast. Although some have a paid tier with added perks, I recommend starting with the free services and upgrading once you’ve established a need and can confirm that a tool either saves you time or money.
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