Video-to-Audio Readiness Checklist

1. Keep the complete original recording and any individual speaker tracks.
2. Flag charts, demonstrations, or phrases such as “over here” that depend on seeing the video.
3. Add a short recorded clarification or a useful episode-page link when listeners need more context.
4. Clean up distractions while preserving natural speech and the guest's intended meaning.
5. Balance both voices and review transitions, background noise, and the final audio.
6. Hand over the guest details, editing notes, resource links, and approval instructions to your production team.

Your Video Interview Is Finished. Now What?

You finish a video interview, upload it to YouTube, and move on to your next appointment. The conversation went well. Your guest shared a few stories, answered questions you know your customers have, and gave advice worth hearing. You're happy with the recording, but there's somebody who could benefit from it who's probably never going to sit down and watch a 35-minute video.

Maybe they're driving to work, walking the dog, or getting through a pile of dishes. They already listen to podcasts, and your conversation would fit right into their day. If you've been wondering how to turn a video interview into an audio podcast, you might be closer than you think. You have the conversation. Now you need a reliable way to turn that recording into something people can find, follow, and comfortably listen to.

I've talked about this in my own video on recording interviews and producing podcasts. One approach I use is to record a conversation on video, extract the audio, and prepare it for podcast distribution. You can record one conversation for people who watch and people who listen, without asking your guest to show up twice or trying to recreate the same interview in a different format.

Of course, pulling the sound out of an MP4 file doesn't necessarily mean you've finished an audio podcast.

Video viewers and podcast listeners have different experiences. Somebody watching YouTube can see the chart your guest is pointing at, recognize who's speaking, or understand why everyone suddenly starts laughing. Somebody listening in the car has only the audio. A conversation that works perfectly well on video might need a sentence of clarification or a small editorial adjustment before it makes sense without the picture.

Then there's the sound itself. Your microphone might be louder than your guest's. Somebody might have a noisy connection, or there could be an awkward interruption that was easy to overlook during the original recording. These aren't necessarily reasons to throw away an otherwise good interview. They're things to identify and address while preparing the audio version.

After that comes the podcast-specific work: adding the appropriate introduction and ending, finishing the audio, preparing the episode information, publishing through a podcast host, and checking whether the episode actually appears and plays correctly on the listening platforms you've connected.

My preference is to keep that production work separate from the interview itself. I want the business owner to concentrate on asking good questions, listening to the answers, and having a worthwhile conversation. The editing, publishing, and back-end details can follow a repeatable process handled by a production team.

That process begins with something fairly simple: knowing exactly which recording you're working with.

Start With a Recording You Can Actually Use

Before anybody starts editing your podcast, make sure the complete recording is available.

Imagine finishing a 40-minute interview, downloading the first video file you see, and sending it to your editor. The file opens, the picture looks fine, and the conversation plays. Then, halfway through editing, somebody notices that your guest's audio drops out for 15 seconds.

In this hypothetical situation, the recording service was still processing a separate audio track when you downloaded everything. The editor now has to stop, ask you to check your recording account, retrieve another file, and possibly redo work that was already finished.

That's an avoidable headache, especially when you're producing interviews regularly.

I prefer starting with the complete original recording, including any separate speaker tracks the recording service provides. Keep a copy of the original, too. If an edit goes wrong or somebody later questions whether a sentence was taken out of context, you want to be able to return to what was actually said.

One reason I like recording services such as Riverside is the ability to work with individual audio and video tracks. In my Riverside recording tutorial, I demonstrate how participants can be recorded separately rather than having every voice permanently combined into one file.

Think about what happens when your microphone sounds great, but your guest is quieter or has some background noise. With separate tracks, an editor can work on the guest's audio without applying the same changes to yours. They can adjust levels, reduce certain noises, and make more precise edits.

That's particularly useful when one person is recording in a quiet office with a good microphone and the other is using a laptop in a less controlled environment.

You can still produce a podcast from a single combined recording. I've never believed you should make the process unnecessarily complicated just to get started. Separate tracks are helpful, but they aren't a requirement for every interview. If the conversation is understandable and the recording is usable, there's usually a reasonable place to begin.

The other part of the handoff involves information about the conversation itself.

Suppose your guest mentions a price that has changed, accidentally shares something confidential, or asks afterward to correct a statement. You don't want your editor guessing which passage matters. A note like "At 18:42, remove the discussion about the unreleased product" is much more useful than "Can you clean up the middle part?"

The same applies when a recording has a missing section, a microphone problem, or an answer you want reviewed before publication. Give your production team specific instructions, preferably with timestamps, and identify anything that needs your approval.

For a typical interview, the handoff doesn't need to be elaborate. The complete recording, the guest's correct name, relevant notes, and a clear understanding of who approves the finished episode will get you a long way.

I also wouldn't spend hours listening to every second of a recording just to invent editing notes. If the interview went well and there are no known problems, you can tell the team that. The editor should still review the material and flag anything unusual.

A good editor can make decisions about cutting awkward pauses or cleaning up an interruption. They shouldn't have to guess whether you intended to publish confidential information or whether your guest gave the correct price for a service.

Having those decisions settled at the beginning also means you can preserve the original conversation while preparing a separate version for audio listeners. That's especially important when the video includes something the listener can't see.

Make the Conversation Work Without the Picture

Imagine you're interviewing a contractor who pulls up a drawing and says, "See how the water runs down this side?" You both understand what he's talking about. Maybe you spend the next five minutes discussing the problem, and the video makes perfect sense because viewers can see the drawing.

Now imagine somebody listening to that same conversation while driving. They hear you talking about "this side" and "that area over there," but they have no idea what either of you is pointing at.

That's something I want an editor to watch for when converting video interviews into audio podcasts. The conversation needs to make sense without the picture. That doesn't mean describing every facial expression, gesture, or object in the room. Most interviews work well as audio because the interesting part is what people are saying. It's the occasional visual reference that needs attention.

Let's say a roofer interviews a landscaper about drainage problems around a house. The landscaper shows a drawing and explains where water collects after a heavy rain. The advice is useful, but part of the explanation depends on seeing the drawing.

The editor could flag that section and ask the host to record a short clarification: "For anyone listening, we're talking about rainwater coming off the roof, collecting beside the foundation, and needing a path away from the house."

That single sentence might be all the listener needs. If the drawing contains details that can't reasonably be explained in audio, the host could direct listeners to the episode page, where they can see the original video or a relevant illustration.

The drainage example is hypothetical, but it demonstrates the kind of editorial decision worth making. You want to preserve the useful conversation while making sure the listener isn't missing something essential.

Of course, sometimes a video contains a brief visual moment that doesn't affect the information being discussed. Maybe the guest holds up a coffee mug, waves at somebody, or smiles when you make a joke. There's no reason to interrupt the entire interview to explain every movement. If the conversation makes sense without it, leave it alone.

The same judgment applies when cleaning up the actual speech.

I generally want to remove unnecessary setup chatter, repeated false starts, awkward interruptions, and unusually long gaps that slow down an episode. If you spent three minutes figuring out whether your guest could hear you before the interview started, your audience probably doesn't need those three minutes.

But I don't believe in removing every "um," "uh," breath, or pause just because editing software identifies it.

Some hesitations are distracting. Others are simply part of how somebody thinks and speaks. A guest might pause before answering a difficult question or laugh before telling a story. Those moments can help the listener understand the person's meaning and personality. Remove too much, and the speaker can start sounding like a collection of disconnected sentences.

There's also a difference between somebody searching for a word and somebody repeating the same false start six times. The second problem might be worth cleaning up. The first might be exactly how that person naturally talks.

I want the conversation to be easier to follow without making the speakers sound like different people.

Automated editing tools can help identify silences, repeated phrases, and filler words, but I'd be careful about accepting every suggested cut without checking what happened.

Suppose a guest says, "I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you've already tested the system." If an automated edit accidentally removes "wouldn't" or cuts away the condition at the end, the meaning changes completely.

A similar problem can happen with prices, dates, names, or advice that depends on a specific situation. A guest saying something worked under certain circumstances isn't necessarily recommending that everybody do it.

That's why I want questionable edits checked against the original recording. A clean-sounding sentence isn't necessarily an accurate sentence.

Good audio editing preserves the guest's advice, including the limitations and conditions that make it useful. You can remove distractions without removing personality or changing the meaning.

Once the conversation works for somebody who can't see it, the remaining audio work is about making both speakers comfortable to hear together.

Make the Audio Comfortable to Hear

You start listening to an interview, and the host sounds great. Then the guest answers the first question, and suddenly you can barely hear them. You turn up the volume, the host asks another question, and now the host is blasting through your speakers.

After a few rounds of that, you might give up and listen to something else. The conversation could be excellent, but the audio is making it harder to enjoy.

Editing the conversation and finishing the sound are two different jobs. One deals with what people say and how the discussion flows. The other deals with how everything sounds when somebody presses play.

When we're preparing an audio podcast, I want the speakers to sound reasonably consistent, even if they recorded from different locations using different microphones. That usually involves balancing their levels so neither person is noticeably louder than the other.

Background noise is another consideration. Maybe your guest has a fan running, somebody closes a door, or there's a faint hum throughout the recording. Some of that can be reduced during production, particularly when you have separate speaker tracks.

But there's a limit to how aggressively I'd clean things up. I've heard recordings where somebody tried so hard to eliminate every bit of background noise that the speaker's voice started sounding artificial. Parts of words disappear, or the audio gets that strange, watery quality you sometimes hear with excessive noise reduction.

I'd rather have a little harmless room noise than damage somebody's voice trying to make the recording perfectly silent.

The editor should also check for distortion, abrupt fades, sudden changes in volume, and awkward transitions. If a serious microphone problem can't be repaired without affecting the conversation, I'd rather know about it before the episode gets published.

Sometimes the best repair is reducing a distracting sound. Other times, a host can record a short replacement line or clarification. Occasionally, a section really is too damaged to use, and that needs to be discussed rather than disguised with processing.

Once the conversation sounds right, there's the matter of packaging it as an actual episode.

I generally like a short, recognizable introduction that tells the listener what show they're hearing, who's hosting, and what the episode is about. You don't need a two-minute commercial before every interview. A brief branded opening followed by a useful introduction to the guest or topic is usually enough.

You can reuse certain elements, such as an opening theme or a consistent show introduction. Just make sure they fit the episode and transition naturally into the conversation. If the recording begins with the guest halfway through an answer, somebody needs to check whether that transition makes sense.

Music can help identify the show and make the opening feel consistent. It needs to be music you have permission to use, and it shouldn't compete with the person speaking. The same principle applies at the end of the episode.

For the closing, I prefer giving people one useful next step. That might be visiting the episode page, checking out a resource the guest mentioned, following the show, or contacting you about a service. Trying to squeeze five different calls to action into the last 30 seconds usually makes the ending more complicated than it needs to be.

If you're sending listeners to a website, choose an address that's easy to say and remember. A complicated URL filled with random characters might work as a link in your show notes, but it's not particularly helpful when somebody hears it while driving.

The finished recording also needs to be exported in a format supported by your podcast host and the listening platforms you're targeting. Services such as Apple Podcasts publish official audio requirements, including guidance about file formats and audio levels.

Those technical specifications belong in your production checklist. You don't need to memorize loudness measurements, bit rates, and encoding settings to host a good interview. Somebody responsible for the audio export should understand them and follow the applicable requirements.

What matters to you is checking the finished result.

I like listening to the opening, a few places throughout the conversation, the transitions, and the ending. Headphones can reveal problems that aren't obvious through speakers, while a phone speaker provides another useful listening test.

Pay particular attention to the transition between any prerecorded introduction and the original conversation. A professionally recorded intro can sound much louder, cleaner, or closer than a remote interview. The difference shouldn't be so dramatic that the listener has to adjust the volume when the guest starts talking.

You also want to catch accidental silence, missing words at edit points, or an ending that cuts off too quickly.

At the end of this process, you should have an approved audio master that sounds consistent, preserves the conversation, and is ready to publish. Keep that file as the final production version rather than making everyone guess which of several similarly named exports is the correct one.

Publish the Episode and Check Where It Appears

You upload your finished audio file, fill out the episode title and description, and click Publish. Everything looks successful. Then you open Apple Podcasts, search for your show, and the new episode isn't there.

Did something go wrong? Maybe, but not necessarily. Publishing an episode and having it appear in every podcast app are separate parts of the process.

The first thing you need is a podcast hosting service. This is where your finished audio files live and where you manage information about your show and episodes. Your website might have a page for each interview, but your podcast host handles the underlying audio distribution.

The connection between your host and podcast apps is something called an RSS feed. Think of it as a continually updated record of your podcast. It contains information such as your show's name, episode titles, descriptions, artwork, publication dates, and the location of each audio file.

When a listening platform is connected to that feed, it can recognize new episodes as you publish them. You generally don't need to upload the same audio file separately to five different podcast apps every week.

There's an important distinction between connecting your show for the first time and publishing your next episode.

When you're starting a podcast, you may need to submit or claim the show through individual platforms. Apple provides guidance on podcast hosting solutions, including hosting providers that support RSS feeds and show submission. Spotify explains how to distribute a show to other listening platforms.

The exact process depends on your hosting service and the destination platform. Some connections may be handled through your host, while others require a separate submission or account verification.

Once those initial connections are established, future episodes generally reach the connected platforms through the feed.

For the broader release process, our guide explains how to publish an audio podcast through a host and verify the episode in the listening apps.

That doesn't mean every platform updates at the same moment. There can be processing delays, approval requirements, and differences in how quickly apps refresh their listings. I wouldn't promise somebody that an episode will appear everywhere the instant they press Publish.

Before publishing, there's also the information that goes with the audio.

Give the episode a clear title, an accurate description, and the correct guest name. Check the show artwork, language, and content settings. If you mention a website, book, or resource during the conversation, make sure the relevant links are included where listeners can find them.

I wouldn't copy the same generic promotional paragraph into every episode description. Somebody browsing a podcast app should be able to tell what this particular conversation covers and why they might want to listen.

For example, if you interviewed somebody about fixing common drainage problems around a home, the episode title and description should make that subject recognizable. A vague title like "Another Great Conversation With Our Special Guest" doesn't give a prospective listener much to work with.

The description should also match what was actually discussed. You don't want to promise a detailed tutorial when the conversation was really about business decisions or personal experience.

There's also the question of who owns and manages the publishing accounts.

If you're working with a production team, you should know which account holds your podcast, who has permission to publish episodes, and who is responsible for correcting mistakes. You don't want to discover six months later that nobody knows how to access the hosting account.

I'd rather have the account ownership and publishing responsibilities settled when the show is established. The production team can still handle the technical work without leaving the business owner uncertain about who controls the show.

After the episode goes live, somebody needs to check it.

Open the listing on the platforms included in your publishing workflow. Confirm the correct episode appears, the title looks right, the audio actually plays, and the links work. Keep a record of the published URLs so you can share them and troubleshoot problems later.

This is particularly important for a new show. A hosting service might indicate that your feed is working, but that alone doesn't establish that every podcast directory has accepted or listed the show.

If Apple Podcasts is included in your publishing workflow, check the listing there. Do the same for Spotify and any other agreed destinations. When a particular platform hasn't processed the episode yet, record that status and follow up instead of assuming everything is finished.

Suppose you discover that a guest's name is misspelled or a section of audio needs replacing. Make the correction through your podcast host's supported process, keeping the existing episode identity when appropriate. Then check that the updated information reaches the feed and the relevant listening platforms.

Deleting an episode and starting over shouldn't be your automatic response to every correction. Depending on the host and listening platform, the correction might take time to appear, and different types of changes may require different handling.

I don't consider the job finished merely because the upload screen says "Published." The finished deliverable is an episode your audience can find and hear through the destinations included in your production workflow.

Make the Next Episode Easier to Produce

You've finished another interview, and the recording is ready. Now what happens to it? Do you email somebody the video file, send a Google Drive link, or upload everything into a folder and hope the right person notices?

I've seen how quickly podcast production can turn into a collection of little decisions. Who has the recording? Did the guest send their biography? Are we supposed to remove that story near the end? Who writes the episode description? Has anybody checked whether the audio is actually playing on Spotify?

When you're producing one interview, you can probably keep most of that information in your head. When you're recording every week, those little questions start eating up time that could be spent preparing for your next conversation.

That's why I prefer having a repeatable production handoff. You finish the recording, send the necessary materials, and the team knows what to do next.

The basic package is straightforward. Your editor needs the complete recording, any individual speaker tracks that are available, the guest's correct name and relevant details, and any notes about sections that need attention.

If you mentioned a book, website, or resource during the interview, include the correct links. If you want a specific introduction recorded or a particular closing message added, provide that information too.

You should also know when you're expected to review the episode.

Some hosts want to approve every finished audio file before publication. Others establish editing guidelines and let their team handle routine releases, bringing back only unusual questions or corrections.

Either approach can work, provided everybody knows who has final approval.

I like keeping the responsibilities clear. Somebody handles the conversation edit. Somebody makes sure the audio sounds right. Somebody prepares the episode title, description, and other publishing information. Somebody publishes the approved file and checks the release.

One person might perform several of those jobs, but none of them should depend on everybody assuming somebody else took care of it.

It also helps to maintain one approved audio master and a record of the final episode links. That way, if you need to promote an interview six months later, you aren't hunting through old messages to figure out which version was published or where listeners can find it.

The workflow should improve as you use it.

If your editor repeatedly has to ask for missing guest names, make that part of the recording handoff. If one microphone keeps causing problems, address it before the next interview. If episode descriptions require several rounds of corrections, agree on the information and format the team needs.

Your production process should eliminate repeated decisions while leaving room for editorial judgment.

Every conversation is different. One guest might need a clarification added because they referred to something on screen. Another might have a perfectly clean recording that needs very little editing. A good production process accommodates both without making the host manage every small detail.

This is how I think about the division of work at DFY Podcast. My team handles the production side, including audio editing, sound finishing, publishing, and the other tasks involved in preparing episodes for listeners.

I don't want a business owner spending the afternoon adjusting volume levels, figuring out RSS feeds, or checking whether the latest episode appeared in Apple Podcasts. Those jobs matter, but they're not necessarily the best use of the host's time.

Your job during the interview is to ask useful questions, listen carefully, follow up when something interesting comes up, and give your guest room to explain what they know.

Once the recording ends, an established team can take over the technical and publishing responsibilities.

That doesn't mean you never make another decision about your podcast. You'll still have opinions about what should stay in an episode, how you want the show presented, and what you want listeners to do next. Those are decisions worth keeping.

The routine work can follow a process you've already agreed on.

When you finish your next interview, you know where the files go, who's handling them, and how you'll know the episode is available. You can concentrate on preparing for your next guest instead of wondering whether the last recording ever made it into a podcast app.

Your Next Recording Already Has a Destination

Think about that person driving to work who would enjoy your interview but isn't going to watch a 35-minute YouTube video. They don't particularly care which recording software you used, how many audio tracks you downloaded, or which service hosts your podcast.

They want to find a conversation worth hearing, press play, and listen without having to fiddle with the volume or wonder what somebody is pointing at.

You've already done the work of finding somebody interesting, preparing your questions, and having a worthwhile conversation. There's a good reason to make that recording available to people who prefer listening.

You don't need to record a second interview for them or become a full-time audio engineer. You need a dependable way to prepare the audio and get it where listeners can find it.

For your next interview, I'd suggest starting with the recording you already have. Pick one that went reasonably well. Make sure you have the complete file, note anything you want corrected, and decide which podcast platforms you want your show to appear on.

That's enough to begin a useful conversation about production.

If you're wondering which parts of that process you should handle yourself, take a look at DFY Podcast's production services. Bring a sample recording and tell us how you're currently handling your interviews. We can discuss what needs to happen with the audio editing, sound finishing, episode publishing, and release checks, including anything that's already working well and doesn't need to change.

My preference is to establish the production routine before you're juggling another recording, another guest, and another release date. When the next interview ends, you should know where the files go, who's handling them, and how you'll know the finished episode is available.

You handle the conversation. We'll handle getting it ready for the people who want to listen.

About Robert Plank

Robert Plank is a podcaster, author, entrepreneur, and podcast producer who helps business owners turn recorded conversations into published content. He hosts Marketer of the Day and works with the DFY Podcast team on editing, audio finishing, publishing, and repeatable production workflows. Contact Robert and the DFY Podcast team to discuss your podcast.

Resources

• DFY Podcast Audio Production and Publishing Services
• Robert Plank's Video Interview and Podcast Production Walkthrough
• Robert Plank's Riverside Recording Tutorial
• Marketer of the Day on Apple Podcasts
• Apple Podcasts: Finding a Podcast Hosting Solution
• Spotify for Creators: Distributing Your Show to Other Platforms

Get Help With Podcast Production

If you have a recording and want a repeatable way to get it ready for listeners, explore DFY Podcast production services or contact the DFY Podcast team to discuss your recording, production needs, and publishing workflow.

Still planning your first show? Learn how to start a business podcast with people you already know and build a format you can keep publishing.

Continue Reading

• Is It Too Late to Start a Business Podcast in 2026?
• How to Publish an Audio Podcast: A Practical Workflow

The post How to Turn a Video Interview Into an Audio Podcast first appeared on DFY Podcast.

Audio Podcast Publishing Checklist

1. Collect the complete original recording, separate speaker tracks when available, guest details, and timestamped editing notes.
2. Edit the conversation without changing the speakers' meaning or removing important qualifications.
3. Balance the speakers, finish the sound, and review the opening, transitions, and ending.
4. Export an approved audio file that meets your host's and listening platforms' requirements.
5. Prepare the episode title, description, artwork, and resource links.
6. Publish through your podcast host and establish any first-time platform connections.
7. Check that the episode appears and plays on the intended platforms, then save its public links.

Your Video Interview Is Finished. Is the Audio Podcast Ready?

You finished a useful video interview, but someone who wants to hear it on the drive to work can't find it in their podcast app. The conversation is recorded, your guest shared some good advice, and maybe you've already uploaded the video to YouTube. Now you'd like that same interview to appear on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so people can listen without watching a screen.

If you're wondering how to publish an audio podcast from interviews you're already recording, you probably don't need to start over. You can use the sound from your existing video. There are a few production steps between having a recording and having an episode that's comfortable to listen to, easy to find, and ready for people to follow.

I've talked about this approach in my video on recording a talk show. Around 7:39, I explain how you can extract audio from a video recording and use it for a podcast. You're recording one conversation for people who watch and people who listen. That makes more sense than scheduling a separate audio interview with the same guest just because you want to publish somewhere else.

There are some differences in how those audiences experience the conversation, though. Someone watching your YouTube video can see your guest pointing at a chart, demonstrating something on a computer, or holding up a product. Someone listening through headphones doesn't have that information. If the guest says, "You can see the difference right here," your audio listener might have no idea what they're talking about.

The sound itself deserves attention, too. Maybe your guest was quieter than you, someone bumped a microphone, or your recording software captured both voices on one track. In my Riverside recording tutorial, around 3:34, I demonstrate a recording setup with individual tracks. Having separate tracks gives an editor additional control over each speaker, although you can still produce a podcast when everything was recorded together.

There's also the publishing work. A podcast hosting service stores your audio and provides an RSS feed that listening apps use to discover your episodes. Your episode needs an accurate title, description, artwork, and the appropriate distribution connections. Somebody needs to check that the finished recording actually appears and plays where you intended.

I prefer having my podcast production team handle most of that work. As the host, you should understand enough to provide the right materials, make editorial decisions, and approve the result. You shouldn't have to become an audio engineer or spend your afternoon figuring out why a podcast directory hasn't updated.

It starts with making sure the recording you hand over is complete and gives the editor something useful to work with.

Start With the Complete Recording

Before anyone starts editing your podcast, make sure you have the complete recording. That sounds obvious, but there's a difference between having a video file you can watch and having all the original material an editor might need to produce the audio version.

For example, if you record an interview using Riverside, you may have a combined recording along with separate files for each speaker. Those individual tracks can be especially useful when one person has a microphone problem, speaks more quietly, or has background noise that doesn't affect the other person.

Imagine your guest has a dog barking in the background while you're explaining something important. With separate tracks, an editor may be able to reduce the noise on your guest's recording without affecting your voice. If both speakers are combined into a single audio file, there's less flexibility. You can still edit the conversation, but some problems become harder to isolate.

Make sure the files have finished uploading before handing them over. Some recording services continue processing or uploading individual tracks after you end the session. Downloading whatever is available immediately might leave you with incomplete files when better recordings are still being prepared.

I also recommend keeping the original recordings after the episode is finished. If you discover a mistake later, want to create a shorter clip, or decide to reuse part of the interview for something else, having the original gives you options that a heavily edited file might not.

The next thing your editor needs is some direction about the conversation itself. Did the guest mention something confidential? Was there a factual mistake that needs correcting? Did someone lose their connection halfway through an answer?

You don't need an elaborate production document. A note like "At 18:42, remove the discussion about the client's pricing" tells the editor what to do. "Please clean this up" leaves them guessing.

This is also when I'd look for anything that only makes sense because the original interview was recorded on video.

Suppose you're a roofer interviewing a landscaper about drainage around a house. Your guest points to a drawing and says, "The water comes down here, runs across this section, and collects over there."

That explanation might be perfectly clear on YouTube. For someone listening to the audio, it's almost useless.

You could record a brief clarification explaining that water flows off the roof, crosses the patio, and collects near the foundation. If the drawing is particularly important, you could also direct listeners to the episode page where they can see it.

The goal is to give listeners enough information to follow the explanation without describing every visual detail. You don't need to interrupt a perfectly good story to explain where someone was sitting or what their hands were doing.

If the conversation makes sense without the picture, leave it alone.

For a closer look at that adaptation, read how to turn a video interview into an audio podcast that listeners can follow without watching the screen.

This is one reason I wouldn't automatically treat every video interview as a finished audio episode the moment you extract the sound. Most of the conversation may already work beautifully, but a handful of references can make the audio version confusing.

Sometimes the best solution is a short recorded clarification. Other times, the host and guest may have already explained enough elsewhere in the conversation that a small edit can solve the problem. The editor should work with what's actually in the recording rather than inventing an explanation.

By the time editing begins, the team should have the source files, any separate speaker tracks, and notes about what needs attention. That gives them enough information to decide what to remove, what to preserve, and what may need clarification before the episode can be finished.

Edit the Conversation Without Losing Its Meaning

One of the decisions an audio editor has to make is whether to remove a hesitation, leave a pause alone, or cut out a sentence that seems unnecessary. Sometimes the answer is obvious. Your guest starts explaining something, gets interrupted by a notification, and begins again. You probably don't need both attempts. Other times, removing a few words can change what the guest actually meant.

I prefer editing that makes a conversation easier to follow without making everybody sound like they memorized a script. You can remove the recording setup, microphone checks, repeated false starts, distracting interruptions, and unusually long silences.

If you spent three minutes figuring out whether your guest could hear you, nobody needs to sit through that before the interview begins.

But not every pause is a problem, and not every filler word needs to disappear. Someone might say "um" five times while trying to begin an answer. Cleaning that up can make the explanation easier to understand. On the other hand, if a guest pauses before answering a difficult question, that hesitation might be part of what makes the response interesting.

Removing every breath and gap can make two people sound as though they're talking over each other, even when the original conversation was relaxed.

Automated editing tools can help identify filler words, silence, and repeated phrases. They're useful for finding material worth reviewing, but I wouldn't let software make every editorial decision without checking the result.

Pay particular attention to numbers, names, negative statements, and qualifications.

Imagine a business consultant saying, "I wouldn't recommend hiring another salesperson until you've fixed your follow-up process."

If an edit accidentally removes "wouldn't," or cuts off the condition about fixing follow-up, the finished episode could communicate very different advice.

The same thing can happen with a guest discussing a medical procedure, financial decision, or legal issue. A sentence that originally included "in certain circumstances" shouldn't become an unconditional recommendation because the shorter version sounds punchier.

I want the edited conversation to be easier to understand while remaining faithful to what the speakers actually said. If a guest qualifies their advice, that qualification matters. If they make a joke that helps explain their personality or a business situation, there may be a good reason to keep it.

Once the conversation is cleaned up, the audio episode needs a recognizable beginning.

A short introduction can identify the podcast, tell listeners who's hosting, and explain why this particular conversation is worth hearing. You don't need two minutes of dramatic music and a biography before getting to the guest.

You can maintain a consistent branded introduction across episodes while changing a sentence or two to introduce the current topic. That gives the podcast a familiar opening without making every episode sound identical.

If you're using music, make sure you have permission to use it and that it doesn't compete with the spoken words. Listen to the transition into the interview, too. A reusable intro that ends abruptly or cuts into the guest's first sentence can make an otherwise good edit feel unfinished.

The ending deserves similar attention.

You might invite listeners to visit a resource mentioned during the interview, subscribe to the podcast, or visit your website to discuss a service. Choose one next step that fits the conversation.

Reciting five different websites and three social media accounts gives listeners too much to remember, especially when they're doing something else.

If you're directing someone to a website, use an address that's easy to say out loud. Longer links can go in the episode description, where listeners can open them later.

When I review an edited conversation, I'm listening for whether the speakers still sound like themselves and whether their explanations remain accurate. A little repetition or an occasional breath is usually less distracting than an edit that sounds unnatural or changes the meaning.

A good editor knows when to make a cut and when to leave the speaker alone. You want your audience to hear a conversation, including the natural moments that make it worth listening to.

Make the Audio Comfortable to Hear

Imagine you're listening to an interview. The host sounds perfectly normal, but the guest is so quiet that you turn up the volume to hear the answer. Then the host asks another question, and suddenly you're reaching for the volume control again.

That's a problem worth fixing before the episode gets published. Even when the conversation is interesting and the editing is good, inconsistent sound can make it frustrating to listen to.

Audio finishing deals with the way the recording sounds after the editorial decisions have been made. The conversation may contain exactly the right material, but listeners still need to hear both speakers comfortably, without sudden changes in volume or distracting background noise.

One of the first things to check is the balance between speakers.

Maybe you're recording with a decent microphone, but your guest is using a laptop microphone across the room. Your voice might sound full and clear while theirs sounds distant. An audio editor can adjust levels and apply processing to make the difference less distracting, although the original recording still limits what can be repaired.

Background noise is another consideration.

Air conditioning, keyboard typing, traffic, and microphone bumps can all find their way into a recording. Some of that noise can be reduced or removed. The trick is knowing how far to go.

More noise reduction doesn't automatically mean better audio. If you process a voice too aggressively, it can start sounding metallic, muffled, or strangely artificial. I'd rather hear a natural voice with a little harmless room noise than one that's been cleaned so thoroughly that the person no longer sounds like themselves.

Distortion is a different problem.

If someone shouted into a microphone and the recording clipped badly, simply lowering the volume afterward won't restore everything that was lost. Some repair tools may help, but a severely distorted recording might need a replacement passage or another solution.

That's something the production team should flag rather than quietly deliver as though nothing happened.

Transitions also matter. Listen for sudden changes in volume when the introduction ends, when music fades out, or when two edited sections join together. A guest's answer shouldn't suddenly sound louder because it came from a different recording segment.

There's also the question of how to prepare the finished audio file.

Your podcast hosting service and the listening platforms you're using have supported formats and technical requirements. Apple Podcasts publishes official audio requirements, including guidance for audio files, compression, and sound levels.

You don't need to memorize loudness measurements, sample rates, or every export setting to run a business podcast. Those details belong in a production checklist, where someone can apply them consistently and update them when necessary.

What I do recommend is actually listening to the finished audio before approving it.

Check the opening, several places throughout the conversation, the transitions, and the ending. Try headphones, then listen to part of the episode through a phone speaker. You may notice a quiet guest, an awkward edit, or music that's competing with the introduction.

If you're reviewing a recording that had a known problem, listen to that passage specifically. Don't assume that applying an audio effect means the problem has been solved.

You don't necessarily need to listen to every second of every episode yourself if you've assigned that responsibility to a production team you trust. Someone, however, needs to be responsible for the final listening check.

I also think it's reasonable for the production team to tell the host when a recording has a problem that can't be fully repaired. Maybe a guest's microphone kept cutting out, or an important explanation was interrupted by a bad connection. It's better to identify that issue before publication than to pretend every recording can be made perfect.

Once the audio has been edited, finished, and approved, the next job is getting that file into the podcast publishing system with the correct information attached.

Publish Through a Podcast Host and Check the Listening Apps

You've finished editing the interview, balanced the sound, added your introduction, and exported the audio file. Now you need somewhere to publish it so listeners can find the episode in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the other podcast apps you want to support.

This is where your podcast hosting service comes in.

A podcast host stores your finished audio files and provides the information that listening platforms use to display your show. Your business website might have a page for every episode, but it doesn't necessarily need to store the audio or handle podcast distribution itself.

The connection between your hosting service and podcast apps is called an RSS feed.

Think of it as a regularly updated record of your podcast. It contains information about the show and its episodes, including titles, descriptions, artwork, and the locations of the audio files.

When you publish a new episode through your hosting service, the feed gets updated. Podcast apps already connected to that feed can discover the new episode and make it available to listeners.

You generally don't need to upload the same audio file manually to every podcast app each time you release an episode.

Apple explains this relationship in its official guide to finding a podcast hosting solution. A hosting provider can create and manage your RSS feed, help investigate technical issues, and provide tools for publishing.

Before releasing the episode, I want the information attached to it checked just as carefully as the audio.

That includes the show's name, episode title, guest's name, description, artwork, language, content settings, and any links mentioned during the conversation.

If your guest's name is misspelled in the episode title, that's something to correct before publication. If you promised listeners a downloadable resource, make sure the link actually goes somewhere useful.

The episode title should tell listeners what they're getting. You don't need to stuff it with keywords or make outrageous promises. Give someone enough information to recognize the subject and decide whether they want to listen.

The episode description can provide more detail, introduce the guest, and include relevant websites or resources. I wouldn't automatically copy the exact same promotional paragraph into every field. Each piece of information has a job.

There's also an important distinction between connecting your podcast to a listening platform for the first time and publishing future episodes.

If you're launching a new show, someone may need to submit or claim it through the appropriate platform process. Getting your podcast hosted doesn't guarantee that every directory has already accepted and listed it.

The exact steps depend on your hosting provider and the listening service.

Spotify explains this in its distribution guidance. For example, a podcast hosted with Spotify is available there, but reaching other platforms such as Apple Podcasts requires additional submission. Some hosting services provide tools to help with this process.

Once those connections are established, future episodes will generally appear through the existing RSS feed. There can still be processing delays, and different apps may update at different times.

I wouldn't promise a client that an episode will appear everywhere immediately after clicking Publish.

This is where publishing verification becomes important.

After publication, someone should open the actual episode in the listening apps included in the agreed workflow. Check that the title and artwork are correct, press Play, listen briefly, and confirm that the description and important links are present.

If the podcast is supposed to appear on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, check those destinations. If additional platforms are part of the arrangement, check those too.

Keep a record of the public episode URLs. They give you reliable destinations to share in emails, on your website, and with your guest.

The hosting account itself also needs a clear owner. Make sure you know who controls the account, who has publishing permission, and who can make corrections when necessary.

If you discover a mistake after release, your production team should follow the hosting provider's correction procedure. Where appropriate, preserve the existing episode identity rather than accidentally creating a duplicate. Then check that the corrected version reaches the intended listening platforms.

I don't consider the publishing job finished simply because the hosting dashboard says the upload succeeded.

I want to know that someone can open the podcast app, find the right interview, and hear the episode we intended to release.

Give Your Production Team a Handoff They Can Repeat

You've finished recording a 30-minute interview. The guest has signed off, you've stopped the recording, and you've got another meeting coming up in 15 minutes. Ideally, you should be able to send the recording to your production team with a few notes and get on with your day.

That's the way I prefer to handle podcast production.

In my talk-show video, around 10:22, I discuss having my team handle production work so I can concentrate on the conversation. I want to spend my attention asking good questions, following up on interesting answers, and getting something useful out of the guest.

Of course, your production team still needs the right information from you.

If they have to chase you down for the guest's name, ask whether a certain passage should be removed, or guess which website you wanted mentioned at the end, the process gets unnecessarily complicated.

I recommend putting together a simple handoff that you can use after every recording. It doesn't have to be an elaborate project management system. A shared folder, a standard set of instructions, and a clear approval process can cover most of what happens repeatedly.

Here's what I'd include:

• Recording files: The complete interview, including separate speaker tracks when available.
• Guest details: Correct name, title, business, and any relevant information needed for the introduction or episode description.
• Editing notes: Timestamps for factual corrections, confidential material, missing audio, or sections that need special attention.
• Episode resources: Websites, downloadable materials, and the specific next step you want listeners to take.
• Approval instructions: Who reviews the finished episode, who can authorize publication, and when the release is expected.

For example, suppose you record an interview on Tuesday and want it published on Friday.

Your editor needs enough time to prepare the audio, your team needs to finish the episode information, and somebody needs to approve the result before it goes live. If you're responsible for approval but don't review the file until Friday afternoon, the team may not be able to meet the planned release.

You can avoid a lot of confusion by deciding in advance who owns each stage.

One person edits the recording, another might prepare the episode description and artwork, and someone with publishing access uploads the approved file. Depending on your operation, one team member might handle several of those tasks.

Approval and publishing authority should be explicit.

If a guest requests a correction or the editor finds a potentially sensitive passage, the team should know who makes that decision. An editor can identify a problem without being expected to decide whether a guest's statement is legally appropriate or factually correct.

I also like keeping one approved audio master for each episode.

That way, the file being published is the same one that passed review. You don't want several versions floating around with names like final, final2, and final-really-this-time, leaving somebody to guess which one belongs in the podcast feed.

After publication, record the episode's public links and whether playback was checked on the intended platforms. This gives you a reliable reference if you want to share the interview with your email list, send it to the guest, or revisit it later.

Over time, pay attention to recurring problems.

If guests consistently have quiet microphones, improve the recording instructions you send before interviews. If your team repeatedly asks for the same missing information, add it to the handoff.

Maybe you discover that your introduction requires too many revisions because the guest information isn't collected properly. Or your episodes are ready on time, but nobody remembers to check their public listings. Those are specific issues that can be addressed in the routine.

There will always be occasional exceptions. A guest might request a correction, an audio file might be damaged, or a podcast platform might take longer than expected to display an episode.

Having a repeatable process gives the team a way to recognize those exceptions and handle them without reinventing everything.

For me, the division of work is straightforward. I want the host concentrating on having a useful conversation, while the production team takes care of editing, finishing, publishing, and checking the episode.

That doesn't mean the host never makes a decision. It means those decisions arrive at the right time, with enough information to make them.

When you finish your next interview, you should be able to hand over the recording, flag anything that needs attention, and know who's responsible for getting that conversation to your listeners.

Let the Conversation Be Your Part of the Job

Think about the last interview you recorded. Maybe your guest explained how they solved a difficult business problem, shared an unexpected lesson, or told a story you hadn't heard before. You spent your time preparing questions, listening to the answers, and following the conversation wherever it became interesting.

That's the part of podcasting I want to spend my time doing.

I don't want to finish an interview and immediately start worrying about audio levels, file formats, RSS feeds, or whether Spotify has picked up the latest episode. Those jobs matter, and somebody needs to do them correctly. I prefer having a production process where my team handles that work while I concentrate on the conversation.

You should still know what happens after you stop recording. You need to provide the complete files, identify anything that shouldn't be published, and make editorial decisions when necessary. You also need confidence that somebody has listened to the finished audio and checked the episode on the platforms where you expect people to find it.

The person who finds your interview in a podcast app probably doesn't care which software you used to record it. They want to hear both speakers clearly, follow the conversation without needing the video, and listen to the whole episode without fighting the volume control.

That's the kind of work we handle through DFY Podcast Production.

If you're already recording video interviews and want to publish them as audio podcasts, bring us a sample recording and tell us how you're currently handling editing and distribution. We can discuss what needs to happen with the audio, how the episodes should be prepared, who's responsible for publishing, and how releases will be checked.

You can keep recording the conversations that matter to your audience. Your production team can take care of making those conversations available to people who would rather listen.

The next time you finish a video interview, you should be able to concentrate on the next conversation while your production team makes sure the last one is ready for someone listening on the drive home.

About Robert Plank

Robert Plank is a podcaster, author, entrepreneur, and podcast producer who helps business owners turn recorded conversations into published content. He hosts Marketer of the Day and works with the DFY Podcast team on editing, audio finishing, publishing, and repeatable production workflows. Contact Robert and the DFY Podcast team to discuss your podcast.

Resources

• DFY Podcast Production Services
• Robert Plank's Video on Recording a Talk Show and Repurposing Audio
• Robert Plank's Riverside Recording Tutorial
• Apple Podcasts: Finding a Podcast Hosting Solution
• Apple Podcasts: Audio Requirements
• Spotify for Creators: Distributing Your Show to Other Platforms

Get Help With Podcast Production

If you have a recording and want a repeatable way to get it ready for listeners, explore DFY Podcast production services or contact the DFY Podcast team to discuss your recording, production needs, and publishing workflow.

Still planning your first show? Learn how to start a business podcast with people you already know and build a format you can keep publishing.

Continue Reading

• Is It Too Late to Start a Business Podcast in 2026?
• How to Turn a Video Interview Into an Audio Podcast

The post How to Publish an Audio Podcast: A Practical Workflow first appeared on DFY Podcast.

A Practical Starting Point for Your Business Podcast

1. Make a list of people in your professional network you would enjoy interviewing.
2. Invite one person to a 20-minute conversation about their work, lessons, and experiences.
3. Ask a few thoughtful questions, then follow the answers instead of rushing through a script.
4. Publish the complete conversation and choose useful excerpts that make sense on their own.
5. Share the finished episode with your guest and keep the relationship going.
6. Choose a recording and production routine you can realistically maintain.

The Best Podcast Guests Might Already Be in Your Contacts

Somewhere in your contacts is a former coworker, mentor, vendor, or referral partner you've been meaning to catch up with. Maybe you haven't spoken in a couple of years. You see their occasional LinkedIn updates, you know they're working on something interesting, and every so often you think about reaching out. Then another week goes by, and nothing happens.

What if you invited that person onto your podcast? You could spend 20 minutes catching up, asking about their business, finding out what they've learned, and having a conversation that other people might enjoy hearing. If you've been wondering whether it's too late to start a business podcast, I'd suggest looking at the people you already know before worrying about the size of the podcast market.

Starting a business podcast in 2026 can seem a little intimidating. There are established shows with hundreds of episodes, professional studios, well-known guests, and years of experience. It's easy to look at all that and assume you've missed your opportunity.

I've wondered about the size of the podcast market myself. There's a pretty big difference between a podcast somebody started five years ago, published three episodes, and abandoned, and a show that's still putting out useful conversations every week. A total show count doesn't tell you how many of those podcasts are still publishing.

Suppose you started recording one 20-minute conversation every week. Your first guest could be somebody you worked with years ago. The next could be a vendor who knows your industry inside and out. Then maybe a mentor, an employee, a referral partner, or somebody you've gotten to know through LinkedIn or Facebook.

You're giving those people an opportunity to talk about themselves, their experiences, and what they're working on. You're also creating a reason to reconnect that feels a lot more natural than suddenly popping up and asking whether they have any referrals for you.

Afterward, you have an actual podcast episode. You might also have a few interesting moments worth sharing on LinkedIn, Facebook, or YouTube Shorts. You can tag your guest, share the conversation, and give their network a chance to discover you too.

Of course, somebody still has to edit the recording, write the show notes, create the graphics, and publish everything. That's work, and it's one reason I believe in separating the conversation from the production. Your time is better spent talking to interesting people and following up with them than spending your evening adjusting captions on a video.

When you have a recording ready, use our guide to publish your first audio podcast to see what happens between the interview and the finished release.

Before deciding the podcast market is too crowded, consider what you're actually trying to accomplish. If your goal is to build business relationships, stay in touch with people, and consistently have something worthwhile to share, the people you already know give you a practical place to begin.

How Much Podcast Competition Is Actually Active?

Podcast totals can seem intimidating. But a directory's total show count and the number of shows still publishing are different measures.

Before you give up on starting your own show, I think we need to ask three different questions. How many podcasts have been created, how many are still active, and how many new podcasts are being launched? Those numbers tell us very different things.

The answer changes depending on who's counting and what they consider active. A show that publishes monthly might qualify under one definition, while another report might count only shows that released an episode in the past 30 or 90 days.

Imagine opening a business directory that contains every company ever registered in your industry. Some companies are doing great. Others closed years ago, changed ownership, or haven't answered their phones in a decade. You wouldn't treat every historical listing as a competitor that's actively fighting for your customers today.

Podcasting has a similar problem. A show doesn't necessarily disappear from Apple Podcasts or Spotify when the host stops recording. Those old episodes can remain available for years, contributing to the total number of podcasts even though nobody is producing anything new.

For somebody who's willing to show up consistently, that's worth considering. You're not necessarily competing with every podcast that has ever existed, and your potential guests and customers aren't necessarily choosing among every show in a directory.

What About All the New Podcasts?

New shows add to the total, but launching a podcast is different from keeping it active.

A show can launch, publish twice, and disappear. Another might have started ten years ago and still release an episode every Tuesday. You need comparable reporting periods and definitions before calculating percentages or drawing conclusions about how long new podcasts tend to survive.

What interests me more is what happens after somebody starts.

It's relatively easy to record an introductory episode, interview a couple of friends, and announce that you've launched a podcast. The harder part is keeping the show going when your business gets busy, a guest reschedules, or you haven't figured out what to talk about next.

I've also compared podcasting with book publishing. Business owners continue writing because they have particular expertise, customers, and experiences worth sharing. Nobody expects every business book to compete directly with every other book ever published.

Your podcast doesn't have to compete with every podcast either.

If you own an accounting firm, for example, you're probably not competing for the same guests, relationships, or business opportunities as somebody hosting a celebrity gossip podcast. Even within accounting, you might interview local business owners, tax professionals, commercial lenders, and attorneys you've worked with over the years. Those conversations serve a particular professional network.

Instead of having one conversation and disappearing for another year, you have a reason to keep reaching out, publishing, sharing, and following up. The podcast becomes part of how you maintain those relationships.

I wouldn't tell you that simply staying active guarantees you'll stand out. You still need interesting guests, useful discussions, and a reason for somebody to listen. But if you can build a podcast that you're willing and able to continue publishing, you've addressed one of the biggest practical obstacles.

A lot of podcasts get started. The real test is whether you're still having worthwhile conversations six months from now.

Start With People You Already Know

Think about the people you've worked with over the past five or ten years. Former coworkers, employees, bosses, vendors, mentors, referral partners, and even people you've connected with on LinkedIn but never really gotten to know.

There's probably a pretty decent guest list sitting right there.

When business owners consider starting a podcast, it's easy to assume they need famous people, established authors, or industry celebrities to interview. They start thinking about how to get somebody with 100,000 followers onto their show before they've even recorded their first episode.

Meanwhile, they might already know dozens of interesting people who have built businesses, solved problems, made mistakes, changed careers, or figured out something useful along the way.

Let's say you worked with somebody five years ago who has since started their own company. You've seen a few updates on Facebook or LinkedIn, but you haven't had a real conversation in ages. You could send them a message asking to catch up, and maybe you'll eventually find a time that works.

Or you could say something like, "Hey, I'm starting a podcast where I interview interesting people I've worked with over the years. Would you want to come on for 20 minutes and talk about what you've been doing?"

Now you have a specific reason to reconnect, something interesting to discuss, and an opportunity to give that person a little attention for their accomplishments.

I think that's a much better starting point than trying to figure out how to attract the perfect audience before you have anything worth sharing.

The Relationship Is Worth More Than the Download

Let's say you interview a former coworker who now runs a successful business. You talk about the decisions they made, what surprised them, how they handled setbacks, and what they're excited about next.

Maybe the episode gets 50 downloads. Maybe it gets 500. Either way, you spent 20 minutes reconnecting with somebody who knows you, has their own professional network, and might be somebody you collaborate with again.

Of course, downloads matter if your goal is to grow a media business or sell sponsorships. But for a business owner who's using podcasting to network, the conversation itself has value.

Think about your referral sources. These are people who already understand what you do and might recommend you when somebody needs your services. You probably know you should stay in touch with them, but the usual options can get a little repetitive.

You can send another email asking how things are going, exchange messages around the holidays, or try to schedule lunch when both of you have time. Those things are fine, but inviting somebody to tell their story gives you something more substantial to share.

You're asking about their work, listening to their experiences, and giving them an opportunity to be heard. Then, when the episode goes live, you have another natural reason to reach out. You can send them the recording, share a short clip, and continue the conversation.

A vendor might explain a problem that your customers don't realize exists. A former boss might share a lesson that changed how they manage employees. A mentor might tell you about a mistake they made 20 years ago that still influences their decisions today.

Those conversations can teach you something while producing useful material for your audience.

I wouldn't approach every contact as a potential referral commission. People can tell when you're only interested in what they might do for you. Invite somebody because you're genuinely interested in their experience and believe there's something worth discussing.

You can certainly meet new people through podcasting too. But when you're getting started, consider making a list of 20 people you already know and would enjoy talking with again.

At one episode per week, that's nearly five months of potential guests before you need to worry about recruiting a single stranger.

Ask Better Questions and Let the Conversation Do the Work

"What's your secret to success?"

That's a pretty simple question, but think about how rarely somebody actually asks you that. Most of the time, when you're talking to coworkers, customers, or business contacts, there's some immediate problem to solve. Somebody needs an answer, a decision, a favor, or an update.

How often does somebody sit down with you for 20 minutes because they're genuinely curious about what you've accomplished, what you've learned, and what you're working on?

That's one of my favorite things about interviewing people. You get to make somebody else the interesting person in the room. You give them permission to talk about experiences they might not otherwise get an opportunity to share.

You also don't need to be some brilliant interviewer who spends three hours preparing questions or memorizing a guest's entire biography. A handful of good questions, followed by genuine curiosity about the answers, can take you a long way.

You could ask somebody how they got started in their industry. Maybe they planned to do something completely different and ended up running a business almost by accident. Maybe they've been doing the same thing for 25 years, but their approach has changed dramatically.

Either way, there's usually something interesting to explore if you're willing to listen.

Follow the Answers Instead of Rushing Through Your Questions

One question I especially like is asking somebody how they've failed and what they've learned from it.

Everybody can tell you what they're good at. They've probably answered that question on their website, their LinkedIn profile, and every introduction they've given at a networking event.

But ask about a mistake that changed how they operate, and you might get a much more useful conversation.

Suppose you're interviewing a business owner who mentions that they hired too quickly during a period of growth. They could give you a generic answer about the importance of hiring the right people. Or you could follow up by asking what went wrong, when they realized they had a problem, and what they do differently today.

Now you're getting into the details somebody listening might actually use.

The same thing happens when you ask what drives somebody crazy about their industry. Maybe your guest works in real estate and is frustrated by unrealistic seller expectations. Maybe they're an accountant who's tired of business owners showing up in April with a shoebox full of receipts. Maybe they're a consultant who keeps seeing companies purchase expensive software without changing the processes that caused their problems.

Those are hypothetical examples, but the principle is simple. Specific frustrations often lead to specific stories. You give somebody room to explain what they've seen, why it bothers them, and what they believe should happen instead.

I also like asking what somebody's working on right now and what has them excited about the future. That gives the guest an opportunity to talk about something current instead of spending the entire interview recounting their career history.

You might learn about a project, a new direction for their business, or something they've been experimenting with that hasn't turned into a formal announcement yet.

There's no requirement that every answer be profound. Some conversations will be funny. Some will get technical. Sometimes a guest will say something you disagree with, and you can push back a little. That back-and-forth is part of what makes the conversation worth having.

You Don't Have to Script the Best Moment

One of the traps with podcasting is trying to manufacture an amazing interview before you've even started recording.

You write 25 questions, arrange them in the perfect order, and decide exactly what you want the guest to say. Then you spend the entire conversation thinking about your next question instead of hearing the answer to the one you just asked.

I'd rather have a real conversation with a few thoughtful questions and see where it goes.

A guest might mention something unexpected about an old boss, a failed project, or an industry practice they can't stand. You can ask them to explain. You might disagree, laugh about it, or connect it to something you've experienced yourself.

Nobody planned that moment, nobody rehearsed it, and you couldn't have written it in advance.

Twenty minutes is enough time to get into a meaningful subject if you stay curious and don't waste half the interview reading a long introduction.

Your job is to ask something worth answering, pay attention, and give the other person room to surprise you.

Turn One Conversation Into a Week of Content

You've just finished recording a 20-minute interview. Your guest told a funny story about a mistake they made early in their career, explained something frustrating about their industry, and shared a piece of advice that probably would have saved them a few years of headaches.

You could publish the entire episode, put a link on Facebook or LinkedIn, and hope somebody listens. That's fine, and you should absolutely make the full conversation available. But you probably have several smaller pieces of content hiding inside that recording.

I like to say that quantity leads to quality. If you have a decent 20-minute conversation, you might end up with four or five interesting moments that are 30 or 60 seconds long. Those moments don't necessarily happen because you planned them. They come from having enough of a conversation that something worthwhile eventually comes out.

Maybe your guest says something surprising about how they manage employees. Maybe they explain a common mistake their customers make. Maybe you ask a follow-up question, and they give you an answer that's much better than anything either of you expected.

Those are the moments you want to find.

Give the Best Moments Their Own Life

You've probably seen the short videos I'm talking about. You're scrolling through LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, and somebody is speaking directly to the camera. There are captions across the bottom, sometimes white and green, with individual words lighting up as the person talks.

The clip gets right into something interesting. You don't have to watch a five-minute introduction, sit through an advertisement, or figure out who the guest is before hearing the useful part.

For example, suppose a guest explains that their biggest hiring mistake was choosing somebody who interviewed beautifully but couldn't handle the actual work. During the full interview, that story might take three minutes to develop. But somewhere in those three minutes, they might deliver a particularly useful 45-second explanation of what they changed about their hiring process.

That could become a short video.

Another excerpt might show the guest explaining what business owners misunderstand about their industry. A third might capture an unusual answer about what they're excited to work on next.

Somebody who wouldn't commit to watching a complete interview might still find that one-minute explanation useful. If they're interested enough, they can watch or listen to the full episode.

Of course, every interview won't produce five amazing clips. Some conversations work better as complete episodes, and some individual moments need too much context to stand alone. You don't want to chop up somebody's explanation so aggressively that it changes what they meant.

The goal is to find genuinely useful excerpts, give each one enough context to make sense, and publish them where your audience already spends time.

Let Your Guest Help the Conversation Travel

There's another advantage to interviewing people instead of sitting alone and talking into a microphone every week. Your guest has their own connections, and some of those people might be interested in what they've shared.

When you publish a clip featuring somebody, you can tag them on LinkedIn or Facebook. You can send them the finished video and make it easy to share. Maybe they repost it. Maybe a colleague comments on something they said. Maybe somebody in their network discovers your business for the first time.

None of that is guaranteed, and I wouldn't expect every guest to promote their appearance. But you're giving them something useful to share rather than simply asking them to advertise your podcast.

You're also giving yourself a natural reason to follow up. Instead of sending another generic check-in message, you can tell your guest that you enjoyed a particular part of the conversation and wanted to share the finished clip with them.

Over several months, those recordings can become a collection of full episodes, short videos, guest stories, and useful observations from people throughout your professional network. Some clips might get considerable attention. Others might reach only a handful of people who happen to be interested in that specific subject.

Either way, you have something concrete to publish and a person you can reconnect with when you share it.

That's a lot more interesting than opening LinkedIn on Monday morning, staring at the empty posting box, and trying to invent something clever to say.

Build a Podcast You Can Actually Keep Publishing

You record a great interview on Tuesday. Now somebody has to edit the recording, clean up the audio, write the show notes, create the graphics, make a few short videos, upload the episode, and schedule everything to go out.

If you're running a business, where exactly are those extra hours supposed to come from?

That's one of the practical problems with podcasting. Recording the conversation might be the easiest part. You sit down with somebody interesting, ask a few questions, enjoy the discussion, and 20 minutes later you've got an episode. Then you realize how much work is involved in turning that recording into something people can actually find and watch.

A business owner can be excited about podcasting and still find that production work competes with everything else they're supposed to be doing. You have customers to take care of, employees to manage, emails to answer, and probably a dozen other things that need your attention.

Adding another complicated weekly project isn't especially appealing.

That's why I like keeping the hosting side of podcasting as simple as possible. Have one good conversation every week and build a repeatable process around it.

Borrow the Talk-Show Model

Think about Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, or Jimmy Fallon. Different personalities, different styles, different audiences, but they all use a format that's remarkably easy to understand.

A host shows up, welcomes interesting guests, asks questions, tells a few stories, and has conversations that other people want to watch.

The guests change. The subjects change. Sometimes a conversation is hilarious, sometimes it's serious, and sometimes something unexpected happens that becomes the most memorable part.

But the basic format stays the same.

I think business owners can borrow a lot from that approach without pretending they're running a late-night television show.

You're not hiring a studio audience or booking celebrities. You're inviting somebody from your professional world to spend 20 minutes talking about their experiences.

One week, you might interview a business owner you've worked with. The next week, it could be somebody who supplies an important service to your industry. Another week, you could invite a mentor or former employee who has an interesting perspective on how things have changed.

You already have a format, a reason to invite somebody, and a general direction for the conversation. There's no need to reinvent the show every time you record.

Separate the Conversation From the Production

There's another piece of this that I feel pretty strongly about. I don't think you should have to become a video editor, graphic designer, SEO writer, and social media manager just because you want to host a podcast.

Those are separate jobs, and they take time to do well.

That's why my company, Done for You Podcasting, handles the backend for business owners who want to focus on having conversations instead of producing all the content themselves.

My team and I can take a recording and work on the SEO show notes, graphics, short-form reels, posting, and scheduling. We can help get that material published to your website, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms where it makes sense for your business.

The idea is to take something you already did, a 20-minute conversation, and give it several opportunities to reach the people who might find it useful.

Of course, 20 minutes a week isn't the entire commitment. You still need to decide whom to invite, coordinate schedules, prepare enough to have a worthwhile discussion, and follow up afterward. Even with somebody handling production, you're responsible for maintaining those relationships.

But there's a big difference between spending your time on those activities and spending an afternoon figuring out why the captions on your latest video won't line up properly.

I'd much rather see a business owner use that time to invite another guest, reconnect with somebody they've lost touch with, or follow up on an interesting conversation.

You might also choose to do the production yourself, especially when you're getting started. There's nothing wrong with that. Just be realistic about what you're signing up for and whether the workload will still seem reasonable after you've published 10 or 20 episodes.

A weekly podcast should fit into your business instead of constantly interrupting it. If you can make recording, production, publishing, and follow-up predictable, you have a much better chance of continuing long enough to develop relationships beyond a single interview.

Your First Guest Is Probably Closer Than You Think

Go back to that person you've been meaning to reconnect with. The former coworker who started a business or the referral partner whose LinkedIn updates you keep seeing but never quite get around to commenting on.

You could spend another six months thinking about whether podcasting is too crowded, comparing microphones, looking at download statistics, and trying to come up with the perfect show concept. Or you could invite that person to have a 20-minute conversation.

That's where I'd start. Pick somebody you genuinely want to talk to, somebody whose experience you find interesting, and ask if they'd be willing to come on your podcast. Tell them you'd like to hear what they've been working on, what they've learned, and what they think other business owners should understand about their industry.

You don't need to promise them thousands of listeners. You don't need an elaborate studio or a perfectly rehearsed introduction. Give them a chance to talk about themselves, ask questions you actually care about, and see where the conversation goes.

When you're finished, you'll have a recording you can turn into an episode. Maybe there's a particularly interesting 45-second moment worth sharing on LinkedIn. Maybe your guest explains something that would make a useful short video. Maybe the best part is something you learned that changes how you think about your own business.

Then follow up. Send your guest the finished episode, share a clip if there's something worth highlighting, and thank them for spending the time with you. Keep the relationship going beyond the recording.

Some interviews will be better than others. Some clips will get more attention, and some guests might eventually become referral partners, collaborators, or customers. Others will simply be people you enjoyed catching up with.

The relationship doesn't have to produce a sale to make the conversation worthwhile. You've spent time learning about somebody, given them an opportunity to share their experience, and created something you can both look back on.

You can do that again next week with somebody else.

Your first guest might already be sitting in your contacts.

About Robert Plank

Robert Plank is a podcaster, author, entrepreneur, and podcast producer who helps business owners turn recorded conversations into published content. He hosts Marketer of the Day and works with the DFY Podcast team on editing, audio finishing, publishing, and repeatable production workflows. Contact Robert and the DFY Podcast team to discuss your podcast.

Resources

• Is It Too Late to Start a Podcast in 2026? on YouTube
• Done for You Podcasting

Get Help With Podcast Production

If you have a recording and want a repeatable way to get it ready for listeners, explore DFY Podcast production services or contact the DFY Podcast team to discuss your recording, production needs, and publishing workflow.

Continue Reading

• How to Publish an Audio Podcast: A Practical Workflow
• How to Turn a Video Interview Into an Audio Podcast

The post Is It Too Late to Start a Business Podcast in 2026? first appeared on DFY Podcast.