PROFIT LAB

Pre-training Day 5: Comfortable Space Preparation Guide
Pre-training Day 5: Comfortable Space Preparation Guide

Lesson Overview

Understand How to Create a Safe & Comfortable Space to Record

How to 'Hack' Your Way to Great Sound Quality

Why a Cat Bed Is More Useful Than SoundProof Panels

In this pre-training segment we break down what you can do to create a safe space to record in, including everything you'll need to know about improving the sound quality and getting that studio crisp sound.

Homework Assignment...

Prepare Your Recording Space

Comfortable Space Prep Guide

One of the best things you can do leading up to the Podcast Profit LAB is to get yourself a comfortable and safe space to practice and complete your podcasting work!

For some of you, space isn't always a luxury that you have to play with... I promise you, there's nobody that can appreciate that as much as me.

Most of the time, as we are always travelling in different locations, I never have a dedicated podcast studio.

But one thing I always try to do is to create a SAFE environment that I can record my podcasts, as loudly and as creatively as I like WITHOUT disturbing anybody else around me.

Let's go through some of the steps you can take to create your safe podcasting space...

Getting Your SPACE Setup

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You can pretty much guarantee that none of us here are going to have the budget to drop an amazing setup like Joe Rogan has...

But that doesn't mean that you can't make your space both inviting, inspiring and CRUCIALLY a podcasting space.

First let's talk about some of the important things you should consider for your podcasting space.

Location, Location, LOCATION!

One of the first things you should consider for your podcast space is its location. Are you able to be in a safe environment away from distraction that you can speak Loudly without worry of being disturbed or interrupted?

Most people when deciding how to setup their podcast will have three choices...

Permanent Podcast Setup - If you have a spare bedroom or room you can use

Semi-Permanent Setup - You have a space you can use at certain times of the day like the living room or the bedroom (you'll need to setup your area before you record)

The 'Jamie' Setup - You have no home, no reliable consistent space or even reliable internet... but don't worry, if I can do it... so can you!

Whichever situation you are in, remember that with a good plan and good habits, you'll be able to consistently get prepared for recording amazing content for your show.

Decided which situation works best for you and begin to form in your mind what location is best to use. In the next situation, we'll cover some things to consider when picking which room you want to record in...

Consider Audio Quality

Someone once told me...

"You can have the world's best microphone but if you're recording your podcast in a cave or down a well, it'll suck."

One thing that is critical to think about when you're selecting your podcasting space is how does it sound?

Sound will often bounce of hard surfaces creating an echo sound which can sound unprofessional and can make your show appear to be a low quality production.

Where as cushioned surfaces and furniture can cushion the sound waves as they bounce around your room, reducing the echo!

Think of speaking on the phone in a bathroom (all hard surfaces) compared to your living room (usually full of soft surfaces)

This is something you will definitely want to experiment with (make sure when you get your mic you go and try out different areas to see what sounds best).

"But Jamie, I'm in an unfurnished apartment and I don't have any furniture... what do I do?!"

Don't worry I've got you! Remember that when looking at audio quality there are a few steps you can take to improve the sound in your room. We call this process Sound Treating, which is different to something that you may have heard called Sound Proofing.

Sound Treating VS Sound Proofing

Let's start of by clarifying the difference between sound treating and sound proofing, as it's often focused by many podcasters!

Sound Proofing: Is when you 'isolate' a room from any unwanted external noise.

Sound Treating: Is when you improve the way that the sound, well... sounds within that room.

So you could put up a foam tiles inside your studio, but it won't stop you hearing someone screaming outside of the room (convenient if it's an emergency)

Similarly you could stop any sound coming externally but if there's big open surfaces the audio will sound terrible.

What I would like you to focus on is a little sound treatment (if needed) to get your space and audio sounding CRISP.

Here's some things to consider...

Acoustic and Reverb

Remember I mentioned podcasting down a well being a bad idea? That's because of acoustic and reverb.

Too much acoustic and reverb is what can make your show sound amateurish. Finding the best sounding room is a great starting point to make sure you're minimising the amount of acoustic and reverb.

Improvise!

Tons of podcasters are in a position where they can't dedicate a specific room to their podcast studio. In these situations it's a good idea to improvise a podcast setup.

If you've got too much reverb, you can do simple 'hacks' like hanging up a big duvet over a clothes rack around your podcasting setup to absorb as much sound as possible.

You can even put a cat-bed around your microphone if you want to get super creative.

Semi-Permanent Setup

If you've got a bit more of a permanent setup you can create a recording studio which can still be used for other purposes.

Most people prefer this setup and convert their home office for both podcasting and regular office use.

You can buy or make sound treated baffling boards or partitions on stands. These can be set up to form a mini ‘deadroom' around your recording area, and can be tidied away afterwards, but remember you'll still need a reasonable amount of room to store them.

Another option is to use acoustic blankets or curtains which can be hung on rails or hooks.

Though these are easier to tidy away, they are a bit more permanent in the sense that you're probably going to have to attach something to your wall to support them.

Get Your Equipment

The next step is to make sure you have all of your gear! If you haven't yet checked out of equipment buying guide, you'll want to jump over to that section of the membership site!

When you are setting up your space, it's seriously awesome to be able to create your own podcasting setup.

Not only does it give you that 'feeling' that this is the real deal, it'll also help you to layout your space so that you feel comfortable in the environment you're recording in.

Having your equipment also gives you the opportunity to test out the acoustics in different rooms! Can't do that without your microphone... right?

Are You Doing Video?

One thing to consider when you are planning out your podcast setup is if you are going to be doing video.

Personally, I recommend for most brand new podcasters to not even worry about video.

You've got enough on your plate right now with launching the show... don't even think about trying to add another plate that you need to spin and worry about.

I've personally found that people who start a podcast and want to 'do it all at once' with the whole podcasting, live streaming, YouTube, Facebook Live, Facebook groups at all... inevitably fail.

This is because most of the time they are biting off more than they can chew.

For you guys, let's focus on ONE thing.

Your Podcast, the Audio and how good it sounds.

However, if you are going to do video then you may want to make sure your setup looks nice!

The easiest way to do this is to create a nice background for your 'studio'.

All it can take is a few nice plants, a nice picture frame, or if you're super fancy a TV with your logo on the background (I mean, if you've got an unlimited budget, why not?)

But my advice is DON'T worry about it.

Stick to audio, don't overwhelm yourself as there are ways in which you can actually create Video content for your show in the future (once you're consistent).

For now, let's focus on Audio!

Keep it simple folks!

Get SETUP In Advance!

This one is REALLY important. When we are starting on June 10th, you guys and gals aren't going to have time to be re-arranging your living room, your office and setting up your equipment because we're going to be getting started on the important stuff.

So please try to find some time leading up to the start of the Podcast Profit LAB to make sure you're on-board, prepared and ready to get going!

Set Podcasting HOURS

This is a powerful technique that I've actually implemented within my business for many different aspects, but it's something AWESOME I call 'Non-Negotiable time'.

This is where you agree with whoever you need to in your life (family, friends, kids, your dog, your sister, your pet hamster, Dr Phil...) that at a set time each week is your Non-Negotiable time to do your podcast.

This helps you to know when you're going to be recording your show so that you can stay ahead of your content while making sure you have the time, quiet and space to record your show.

It's a good idea to talk about this with other members of your household to make sure they all KNOW that time is non-negotiable so you can set it up without interruption!

Make It Inspiring...

One of the best things you can do to make your podcasting space fun to be in is to make it inspiring.

Now inspiration will be different for different people...

For some it might be creating a wallpaper background with a podcasting image, it might be setting some podcasting goals and putting them on your wall, it might be creating a vision board or it could even be putting up podcasting related pictures!

Whatever is going to help you be inspired everyday about your podcast consider putting up to help motivate and inspire you to get behind the mic.

One super easy thing to do with this is to use sticky notes and every time you have a podcast idea is to put that sticky note on your wall in-front of your computer screen.

Maybe having a notepad at the side of your desk with Podcast Notes on it could be all you need.

Try to find a way to make your space inspiring so that you can be motivated to get in-front of the microphone as often as possible!

Consider a Podcast Vision Board

Vision boards are incredibly powerful and one of the things you might not realise is that by becoming a podcast host you're becoming essentially a reporter.

As your influence grows you'll have amazing opportunities open up to you which could take you and your business into some incredible directions!

Why not think about how your podcast could influence your life and create a vision board of what your life could look like after 2/5/10 years of podcasting consistently?

How about becoming an internationally recognised speaker?

What about a best-selling author?

How about rubbing shoulders with the TOP people in your industry?

What about being recognised for helping people on a DEEP level at an awards ceremony?

What about crossing $1 million dollars in sales because your podcast propelled you there?

How about hosting a meetup event for your 1,000's of followers who listen to your show?

What about a LIVE event you host, from all of the influence you've gathered?

These are all possible with a podcast as you'll sharpen your speaking skills, grow credibility, grow an audience, constantly be making new connections and partnerships, be connecting with people on a deep level and giving insane value to people regularly.

What COULD success look like for you if you're consistent with your podcast?

Put it on your board, write it down, talk about it everyday...and you'll be that much more likely to achieve your goals.

Finally... Take Action!

As good as the ideas above might be for your own Podcast studio, if you don't take action IDEAS is all they will be.

Make a covenant with yourself and commit to getting setup and prepared BEFORE your season of the LAB launches!

Action is the name of the game and even if it's just 1 of these tips you do, it'll mean you're setting the intent to have a successful show before we even begin!

You got this!

Please reach out to the group if you need help with anything!

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Pre-training Day 5: Comfortable Space Preparation GuidePre-training Day 5: Comfortable Space Preparation Guide