4 steps to make every podcast voicemail feedback sound better

As a podcaster, you probably know how exciting it is to receive a voicemail! It confirms that you have human beings listening and wanting a conversation with you. With some basic editing, these voicemail messages can also be enjoyable for the rest of your listeners.

All of these ideas and tips will apply in any audio-editing software, but I focus on Audacity's specifics in the audio podcast, so make sure you listen to hear all the details!

1. Listen for valuable content

Never play a voicemail you haven't already heard and know what the listener has to say. Their voicemail may be special, but you don't have to play it if it doesn't work for your podcast episode.

  • Is it relevant to your content?
  • Is it asking for an answer you'll have to find?
  • Is it addressing content that is far too old?
  • Does it provide value to your listeners?

2. Process to sound better

Voicemail may come in through a variety of methods:

  • phone call,
  • recorded on smartphone app,
  • sent through a computer with SpeakPipe or similar, or
  • recorded on cheap or professional podcasting gear.

Because of this, the audio quality will differ every time. Try to make the quality the best you can, but don't try to conform the voicemail to your same studio level of quality. Try any or all of the following methods to enhance the voicemail audio.

  • Noise removal—Be careful with this because you could make it sound worse than it already is. I rarely run noise removal.
  • Adjust volume—Some voicemail will simply be too quiet or too loud overall. I always raise the volume of voicemails so they're close to my own volume.
  • Compress—This will even out the loud and quiet spots of voicemail so the volume is fairly consistent. This usually isn't necessary with phone calls. Again, I always do this so their sound matches mine.
  • Normalize—Potentially separate from the previous two tips, normalizing will ensure that the voicemail is never above a certain volume level, so they won't be louder than my own voice.
  • Basic equalization—Depending on the quality of the recording, some basic equalization (EQ) can sound a lot better. Even a simple bass boost. But make sure you're not boosting anything twice by running an effect on the voicemail before you play and then after you've recorded.

Of these steps, I only compress and normalize, unless absolutely necessary to do anything else.

For some great tips on audio-editing from an audio engineer, listen to episode 58 and episode 59 of The Podcasters Studio

3. Edit for clarity, relevance, and brevity

The honest truth is that listeners may be nervous, conversational, irrelevant, or unprotecting of their privacy. Making some basic edits to their audio before you play it in your podcast can make your podcast flow more smoothly, and make the listener sound a lot better.

  • Remove excessive verbal crutches like “um,” “uh,” “ya know,” and such. But don't get obsessive about this; just remove the ones that stand out and are easy to remove.
  • Remove private information like school names, phone numbers, or email addresses.
  • Cut irrelevant fluff like repetitions, unnecessary lead-ins, or unnecessary side notes.
  • Trim silences at the beginning, end, and any time that gets awkward within.
  • Do not change their intent! If editing their message changes the meaning of their feedback, this could be a form of slander.
  • Shorten if too long, or piece together multiple messages. Google Voice cuts off at three minutes. I like to keep voicemails short, but if something really requires the extra time, piece them together so they sound like a single message.

Make sure you let voicemail-senders know that they may be edited for clarity, relevance, or brevity.

4. Export as uncompressed WAV

Always save the unedited voicemail, and make a high-quality export. This is especially important if you will recompress your audio into MP3, like recording directly to a drive or importing the edited voicemail into your podcast project.

Important tips for handling listener feedback

Need personalized podcasting help?

I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback

  • Comment on the shownotes
  • Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221
  • Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me

Disclosure

This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

About the Author
As an award-winning podcaster, Daniel J. Lewis gives you the guts and teaches you the tools to launch and improve your own podcasts for sharing your passions and finding success. Daniel creates resources for podcasters, such as the SEO for Podcasters and Zoom H6 for Podcasters courses, the Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin for WordPress, the My Podcast Reviews global-review aggregator, and the Podcasters' Society membership for podcasters. As a recognized authority and influencer in the podcasting industry, Daniel speaks on podcasting and hosts his own podcast about how to podcast. Daniel's other podcasts, a clean-comedy podcast, and the #1 unofficial podcast for ABC's hit drama Once Upon a Time, have also been nominated for multiple awards. Daniel and his son live near Cincinnati.
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Thaxxence
Thaxxence
11 years ago

When I record in Audacity, there is a weird phantom static hiss. It’s even there
when no microphone is connected. What is this and how can I fix this?
Also, when recording, what my mic picks up is really faint, but
recording on another computer with the same mic it sounds just fine.
Help?

1
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
50%
5/5

Enter your name and email address below to learn “7 Ways to Get More Podcast Reviews” FREE!

Almost there!

50%

See what Apple Podcasts and other popular podcast apps search with the Podcast SEO Cheat Sheet!

This form collects information we will use to send you podcasting-related updates with tips, offers, and news. We will not share or sell your personal information. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Almost there!

50%

Before you go! Don’t miss this FREE checklist, “20 things you should do before recording every podcast episode”!

This form collects information we will use to send you podcasting-related updates with tips, offers, and news. We will not share or sell your personal information. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Almost there!