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With podcasts only growing in popularity with each year that goes on, more and more new podcasters have found themselves needing an editor to maintain, grow, and manage their series. As an editor, it’s important to know how to reach out to and secure prospective clients, but it can be tough to narrow down where and how to do so. If you’re a podcast editor on the hunt for your next, or even first client, we here at Notetracks have got your back with the best practices and tips to make it happen. Podcast editors can be the tipping point from having a good podcast episode to a great one; from saving podcast creators precious time to offering invaluable technical expertise, podcast editors improve the quality of a podcast, ensure consistency, and provide excellent feedback that’s needed for a great release. With many podcasters trying to do it all – social media, partnerships, editing, and creation – the need for a podcast editor has never been higher than it is now. With such an in-demand service you’re providing, along with our tips and recommendations, you should be able to secure a podcast client with much more ease than ever.
Continue reading on to find out how you can effectively, easily, and efficiently market your podcast editing skills to the masses and secure your next client.
If you haven’t already, having a portfolio to highlight your best work as a podcast editor is integral to securing a client. A portfolio demonstrates the quality of the your work, your ability to deliver a polished final product, and your podcast editing style. A podcast editing portfolio should be brief, but detailed enough to present your editing strengths, skills, and experience to a prospective client. Whether you host your portfolio on your own website or send it out to clients as asked, it’s a good idea to have it widely available across your online presence, such as featured on social media or in a sendable PDF, so that prospective clients can always find it.
Creating your own website for your podcast editing gig is substantial in establishing your online presence, showcasing your services, providing contact information, and increasing visibility in search engines. Your website is a dedicated platform to promote you, your services, and your experience to customers, a digital reflection that makes clients take your business seriously. You want prospective clients to view you as someone who’s knowledgable and capable in their profession, so sharing small posts or blogs about your interest in podcasts, podcast editing, and audio can show clients your expertise and passion in the world of podcasting. Lastly, ensure your website is easy to navigate, concise, and is mobile friendly to maximize accessibility. For a great new guide on how to create an excellent webpage to host your portfolio and editing business on, check The Ultimate Guide to Creating an Effective Website for Podcast Editors and Managers from the folks over at Tansy Aster Academy.
Next, you should consider offering your services on freelancing platforms such as Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer. These websites allow podcast editors to set their own rates and manage their clients by themselves, along with providing portfolios which can give clients an idea of your editing style. The majority of these platforms have a section where your clients can leave reviews, which then inspires trust and confidence in your work to other prospective podcasters.
Each platform has different rules, features, and fees, so compare each website to determine which would work best for you and your services. In freelancing, success comes from pitching yourself well, fostering and building strong client relationships, and staying consistent in your client search; while it may feel overwhelming to get started on these marketplaces, that seemingly have tons of editors just like you, remember that everyone gets started somewhere and having patience, determination, and consistency is key.
Additionally, you shouldn’t strike out traditional job boards either! Podcasters post job listings often for editors and team members, so keep an eye on sites like Indeed and Glassdoor and apply to what you can. There’s also a myriad of remote work sites like WeWorkRemotely, Wellfound, and Remotive who have dedicated sections for editors, technical support, and the like, making your job search more focused.
You should be promoting your podcast editing services on your social media accounts if you haven’t been already! Social media further establishes you as a podcast editor through networking with industry professionals, generating brand awareness, and sharing your work with an audience of prospective clients and connections. Social media is a good tool to use in finding clients as often, podcasters will post calls on their stories and feeds regarding needing an editor – use instances like this to pitch yourself and foster an industry relationship. You can also reach out to podcast creators via direct messaging or mentioning them, inquiring about whether or not your services can be used.
Additionally, being active on social media can inform you about the latest trends going on in podcasting, which then sharpens up your portfolio, showing clients that you can follow the changes as they happen within the industry. Overall, social media can be a valuable tool for podcast editors, allowing them to connect with others, promote their work, build their brand, and stay informed about industry news and trends.
There are countless online communities and forums for podcasters, editors, and listeners out there, just waiting for you to take advantage of! With a simple Facebook search, you’ll find an endless amount of podcasting groups with thousands of active members that you can join. With broad groups like Podcast Nation to focused editing groups like Podcast Editors Club, Podcast Editors Mastermind Group and the Podcast Support Group, these communities often encourage you to share your services with the overall goal of growing the podcasting community. Further, a lot of these groups have podcasters asking for editors, which narrows your search down exponentially. Reddit is also a good source of forums to access, with r/podcasting, r/audioengineering, and r/podcasts all having from 100K to 2M active members.
Additionally, plenty of podcast directories and industry websites have a section for hiring podcast editors, allowing you to find job listings quickly as compared to waiting for a client to reach out to you. You can check out websites like Podchaser and Podnews to see if there are any opportunities available.
In person events can often be some of the best places to make connections and secure yourself a client! Podcasters everywhere attend events and conventions every year, hoping to broaden their network and foster valuable industry partnerships. Get out there and introduce yourself – even if you’re not securing clients, you are creating a relationship, getting your name out there, and learning from others. Make sure to promote your services as much as you can, as it’ll contribute to building your brand awareness as a capable, ready to work editor.
Moreover, attending events also allows podcast editors to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and changes in the podcast industry. This knowledge can help editors provide better services to their clients and improve their chances of finding new podcasting clients overall. A few events to check out include Podcast Movement and Podfest, which both run annually.
If you’re a beginning editor with very little or no experience, you can always complete an internship for a podcaster or podcast production company. Working on varied podcast projects during your internship will help you build your portfolio and showcase your skills to potential employers that you may be currently lacking. Further, an internship in podcast production can help you develop soft skills such as communication, teamwork, time management, and problem-solving. These skills are transferable to other industries and can help you become a more well-rounded professional podcast editor. If you’re currently enrolled in a post-secondary program, contact your program or co-op advisor to see if there are any internships available.
You can also volunteer your services, just to get started. You need to remember that your work is valuable and should be treated as such – however, when you’re just starting out, doing a few projects non-gratis can allow you to gain more editing experience, create and develop industry relationships, and build your portfolio.
Oftentimes, to garner experience, you have to give yourself that experience to begin with! Starting a podcast gives you a piece of content you can edit with no restraints, time restrictions, or limitations, allowing you to take your time to learn new skills and further develop your podcast editing experience. Additionally, having your own show demonstrates to prospective clients that you have first hand experience creating a podcast, which in turn, allows you to see their perspective as a creator more deeply.
If you’re open to just directly DM’ing or emailing someone, the good ol’ fashioned way exists for a reason. For example, if you’ve found yourself listening to a podcast pointing out audio errors or places where improvements can be made, you’ve actually found yourself a lead! Reaching out to already established podcasts can be a good way to find a client, especially those run by an individual or small team. It can never hurt to reach out, and even if they don’t need an editor, you’ve still made a valuable industry connection that can be valuable to have in the future. Further, a lot of places you reach out to will often save your resume or podcast editing portfolio, allowing them to reach out to you should an editing opportunity come along.
To conclude, finding podcast clients as a podcast editor does not have to be difficult. With our guide, you’ll be able to employ the best practices to secure a client and start freelancing in the podcasting industry. From developing a stellar portfolio to social media and networking, utilizing all of these options will make finding clients a lot less daunting. Have any client-finding tips we missed? Share it with us in the comments!
Need a place to work alongside clients and fellow editors? Podcasters and editors work the best together when they have a place to communicate and collaborate seamlessly – which is where Notetracks comes in! With our plethora of commenting, recording, editing, and collaboration tools, you and your new client will be equipped with a dynamic platform where creating and editing entertaining podcasts becomes a breeze. Check us out today.
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