How we edit
Our goals & process for editing your
podcast content
Table of contents
Poise's editing team
Poise works with a team of professional editors to ensure your content is clearly communicated and works well narrated.
Our goal is to improve the listening experience for your audience and make any content enjoyable as a podcast.
We review your submission, make suggestions and divide into multiple episodes. But we never change the meaning of your content.
Our process of editing your content
Before starting to edit, our team takes the time to fully understand your content and goals for your podcast.
We begin our editing process with developmental editing. This is when we:
- Review your content to understand its structure & flow
- Divide your content into episodes
- Script episode intros & outros
The second stage of our process is copy editing, where we:
- Edit your content to make it more conversational
- Break up hard-to-read paragraphs & long lists
- Include calls to action for your audience
Finally, we focus on proofreading your content and preparing the publishing details:
- Create the show description
- Craft episode details - title, summary & description (show notes)
Throughout these three stages, Poise's editors share a clearly annotated document of all changes made for you to review and sign-off.
Developmental edit
In this first stage of our editing process, we're thinking big picture, with the aim of improving the structure of your content.
Structural planning
First, Poise's editors review your content to understand the structure and flow.
We then look to see if your content would work as well as a single podcast or better divided into multiple episodes.
We want every episode to work well as a self-contained podcast.
Best practices:
- Set goals for your podcast
- Divide your content into self-contained episodes
- Keep narrated podcasts under 15 minutes
Episode intro
Your podcast needs an introduction where you greet the listener, introduce yourself and tell them what the episode is about.
We script all introductions for you and also recap the previous episode throughout the series.
Best practices:
- Welcome your listeners & introduce yourself
- Let people know what’s coming
- Recap the previous episode
Episode outro
Your podcast also needs an outro where you summarize the episode and share insights into what's coming next.
We create all outros for you, making sure to thank your listeners and include a call to action - whether that's your website, email or promotion.
Best practices:
- Summarize the episode
- Thank your listeners
- Provide a clear call to action & contact details
Copy edit
Once we've established the structure of your show and episodes, it's time to fine-tune your content and focus on details.
Headings
First, we scroll through your content and look at the section headings. Concise headings like “Introduction” or “Conclusion” are disruptive when spoken aloud.
We make them more conversational whilst still letting the listeners know what's coming next.
Sentences
We review every sentence structure and avoid repetition. Complex sentences are often broken up to make it easier for the listener.
At times, removing or replacing some words makes the content sound more natural when narrated.
Visual content
In case your content is supported by visuals, our editors will summarize those references into text. Any tables or graphs will be transcribed and explained to the listener.
Shorter lists
If possible, all shorter lists and bullet points will be expanded into short paragraphs to make the podcast more conversational.
Longer lists
Longer lists can slow down the listening experience. It is better if each point is made into a short sentence. In some cases, we might even transform longer lists into paragraphs.
Numbered lists
Numbered lists can be tiring to the listener when the list has more than five points. Often, removing the numbers and reading the points as short sentences is a good fix.
Links
We edit all links and calls to action in your content. They work best when explicitly read out to the listener, including the name of the page, product or service being linked to.
References
We check every reference within your content and adjust them to suit narration. Any references to the original medium will be rephrased to refer to your content as a podcast, show or episode.
Proofreading & publishing details
This is the last stage of Poise's editing process where we proofread your content and prepare all the details you need to go live.
Show title
A podcast show cannot exist without a unique and enticing title. Along with the artwork, the show title is the first thing listeners see and rely on when they search for your podcast.
We will help with ideas for your podcast show title and double-check the availability to make sure the show is all yours.
Best practices:
- Create a unique & enticing title
- Make sure it is easy to say & spell
- Double-check the availability of the title
Show description
Your show description is there to help the listener understand what the show is about, who the show is for and how often it’s published.
Once we’ve discussed your podcasting goals, we’ll craft your podcast show description for you.
Best practices:
- Tell your listeners about you & your background
- Describe what your show is about & who it’s for
- State your release schedule & stick to it!
Episode title
Every episode needs a great title that grabs the listener and makes them want to press play.
For single episodes, the title of your content (blog post, article) might be good to go.
If we’re creating a series, then our editors will craft individual episode titles for you.
Best practices:
- Make it concise but outstanding
- Don’t include episode numbers
- For a series, keep the formatting consistent
Episode summary
Episode summary is a 1-2 line sentence to let your listeners know what to expect.
We will summarize the episode highlights for you.
Best practices:
- Keep it short & sweet
- Avoid saying “In this episode” & get straight to the point
Episode description (Show notes)
Podcast listeners find new shows through recommendations and search results. This is when your show notes come into play.
Show notes should be fun and enticing, provide a more detailed summary, include links to references, list your contact details and promote social media profiles.
Our editors will write your show notes based on the content of your episode and your podcasting goals.
Best practices:
- Keep it below 500 characters (Apple Podcasts)
- Format your description, making use of bold, paragraphs, lists & links
- Optimise keywords for SEO
Show categories
Every show needs a primary and secondary category to help listeners browse and discover shows.
For a full list of categories to choose from, please see this list provided by Apple.
Show & episode keywords
Every show and episode can use between 3 to 5 keywords that search engines and podcast players use to understand the content of your podcast.
Remember, podcasts are great for SEO if you use keywords properly!
Have any questions?
We’d love to answer any questions about our editing process or hear feedback about this page.
Please email us at hello@narratedbypoise.com for a quick reply.