Become a Podcast Editor to Quit Your Job with Steve Stewart

Today, Steve Stewart shows us how to start a business being a podcast editor to be successfully unemployed. The number of podcasts are growing all the time and there will an even more of a need for technical people to do the work behind the show.

In 5 years, there could be double the amount of podcast which means there will be double the amount of people needing to have their shows edited.

I am excited to have Steve Stewart on the Successfully Unemployed Show. Steve is a successful podcast editor and has not had a job for many years. Like Steve, you can be successfully unemployed.

Article Contents show

How Steve Makes Money Without Having A Job

Steve’s career as a podcast editor was born out of a side hustle. He was editing his own podcast from 2010 to 2015, and somebody else asked if he could edit theirs. Once they hired him, a bunch of other people started hiring him.

From January of 2016 to June of 2016, it exploded. Steve had to give up everything else he was doing, including his day job.

How to Quit Your Job with Passive Income
Get the Best Selling Book FREE!

What Steve Was Doing Before And How He Became Successfully Unemployed

Before, Steve was an assistant manager of a records store, and he tried growing a financial coaching business for eight years. He tried working on it full time, after he quit his day job, but it didn’t take off. It was fortunate for him that his podcast editing work exploded when it did.

When Steve transitioned to being successfully unemployed, the security factor worried him and it is still a concern. If podcasting ever falls out of favor, he will be out of a job.

When Steve quit his job, he had already paid off his mortgage, his wife had a good job with health insurance, and within eight to ten months of quitting, he was making more money than he did at his day job.

Listen to the Podcast Episode with Steve Stewart

Steve Was At The Mercy Of His Store Manager

Steve’s job as an assistant manager was at a retail chain that he loved. He sold records, cassette singles, and CDs. As he was walking up the ranks from employee, to assistant manager, to eventually store manager, the company opened a flagship store not to far from his home.

Steve didn’t have the seniority to be the manager there, so he worked for a man who always said Steve didn’t see the big picture. One day, Steve was trying to order a CD for a customer and couldn’t find it. Once the customer left, the manager took Steve into the back room.

The manager was fuming and said Steve didn’t try hard enough to find it. The manager was angry and pounding his hands on the table and it was the first time Steve felt fear at work.

How Steve Learned The Business

When it comes to podcast editing, Steve was self taught. He was able to learn some software to burn CDs and he was a DJ for a while. Steve was learning the digital version of audio as it was becoming more accessible for consumers.

There was a software that came out about 20 years ago, called Audacity, that he liked and he learned how to use it. He used it for editing his podcast and he learned things over time.

There are courses available and free resources on YouTube. You can learn almost anything these days.

Watch the entire podcast editor interview here:

How To Get Started As A Podcast Editor

It is hard to create a business as a podcast editor and it takes about three years to become profitable. Steve’s numbers from his first two years were not as good as his third year.

By then, he had worked through some of the kinks and the processes of his business.

To get started, there are courses. If you like Adobe products, you can get Audition, which is their audio program. In addition, there is Hindenburg, but Reaper is one of the best ones for editing podcasts. Audacity is free and Steve has been using it for 20 years. He has become efficient with it.

First, you need to learn how to do what you are trying to do. To be a podcast editor, you need to learn your DAW, Digital Audio Workstation. If it is a brand new program, learn it from scratch and use it to get better at it.

Finding clients is the biggest question. There are a lot of podcasters out there who would love to have someone else edit their podcast, but you don’t want to give your time away.

If you are in the U.S., you have to make $20.00 an hour for your efforts. Otherwise, this is just a hobby. Steve makes a lot more than that.

You need to provide excellent customer service and you need to deliver whatever you promise. This includes deadlines and the quality of the product.

Excellent customer service helps people overlook your flaws and your deficiencies. There are a lot of things Steve is not good at, but those things are overlooked because he provides excellent customer service and he is trusted.

Steve Can Use The Shows He Has Edited to Promote His Business And Find New Clients, But It Is All About Networking

Steve had his own podcast and he had a catalog of content, but that is not why he was hired as a podcast editor. There are quite a few people that Steve got to know and his energy and excitement about the medium of podcasting got them excited about podcasting better.

He was able to point to his podcast to show credibility. If people don’t have all of the answers they need before hiring Steve, they ask. Open that door, so people can ask you questions. Once they have your ear, the trust factor goes up and that is key.

There Are Questions A Podcast Editor Should Ask A Potential Client

Steve always asks a potential client, “What is your goal with this podcast”. This is the most important thing to know. After that, clients may ask some technical questions about mics and recording.

The real question for an editor is how do I get you the files. Other questions include finding out the format and how the client wants the show to progress. After that, there are the deliverables.

Do they have a website they want Steve to upload to their media host, is there any marketing involved? Steve only does the audio production, not the show notes or marketing.

Steve does most of the work for his clients, after they press stop on the podcast.

When a client is interested in hiring Steve, he explains what he offers and asks about tools they want to use. LastPass is a password manager that allows you to share access to different websites without the other person ever knowing the password.

After a discussion about the format, there would be talk about music, bumpers, sponsorships, etc. From that point, Steve need information about the media host.

Steve goes through every minute of the audio, cleans it up, takes out the noise, takes out the stumbles and “ums”, etc. to his best ability. He takes away all of the obstacles so the message comes across clearly.

For Steve, he only does the audio, but he does have a list of resources that people can choose from to get what they want.

Steve is the guy behind the stage who pulls the ropes, he isn’t the one on stage singing. When it comes to marketing, artwork, and contacting guests, he doesn’t provide those services.

Steve Conducted An Industry Survey About Pricing And Editor Hourly Rates And The Results Were Interesting

Steve needs three to four business days to turn a file around. Last year, Steve did a survey in his Facebook group for podcast editors.

For a 60 minute audio, the average price charged for editing is $105 and average pay was about $40 an hour. If an editor is able to get the audio done in two hours, they are either not doing a good job, or they very efficient and are not charging enough.

Having A Podcast Editor Isn’t Required, But It Makes The Listener Experience Better, As Well As Making Your Show Competitive

It isn’t bad to have a podcast where guests pause or say um. However, there are competitors out there that edit their podcasts and their listeners will have a better experience, because those audio obstacles will be gone.

Content is king. If you were able to get Barack Obama on your podcast and he was on the phone, on Air Force One, and there was a lot of background noise, you will still post it.

How to Quit Your Job with Passive Income
Get the Best Selling Book FREE!

However, if there is a way to enhance the listeners’ experience by removing the crutches and taking out the airplane noise and bring the volume up to the same level as yours so it plays well, that show will stand out more than the show that records on their phone and publishes on Anchor.

You have to be concerned about competition. There isn’t a topic out there that doesn’t have any attention.

When People Hire Steve, They Typically Know His Work

When people hire Steve, they know what he is going to do. He is only going to work with peers in his niche.

If someone is putting out a comedy show, Steve isn’t going to push too hard to get that client. If someone is putting out a personal finance show, and they ask Steve to edit it, there is already credibility, because they know who he is.

Steve knows the general sense of the content and he generally knows what your message is, because this content is his specialty.

You Can Scale A Podcast Editing Business

When Steve first started editing four years ago, he was way undercharging for the work he was doing. Over time, as he got more clients and experience, he started raising his rates for new clients.

You need to find a justifiable reason to increase your rate for older clients paying a lower rate and not just raise the rate. Once it hits a critical level, you have to charge more money, especially if new clients are paying double.

After charging more, become more efficient and put processes in place to take care of the business side. You have to get your bookkeeping in order and have ways for people to pay you quickly and easily. Accounting software is helpful.

If the business keeps growing, you may need to bring on more people. There are other people who are at the beginning of their side hustle. Steve has found some people and trained them. He regularly sends work out to five people, and he doesn’t need to worry about employee benefits, because they are all contractors.

You Can Learn How To Edit Podcasts From Steve

Steve offers an editing class about once or twice a year. It includes four, one-hour meetings, and it will probably be offered this year after March.

He also offers a course on how to use Audacity. It is not the complete version of how to use it from start to finish, but it does give you an understanding of what the program is, where to get it, what buttons to use, etc. There is an upper tier level that people can purchase, where he shows the tips and tricks he uses to edit faster.

How Steve Is Giving Back To Make Things Better For Others

The phrase giving back is for people who have borrowed something or who were in debt to someone. Giving means no strings attached.

Giving was always something Steve did when he was working his day job. He has always been excited about the medium and the success of other people. He has always contributed to the conversation.

At one of the first FinCons Steve participated in, he brought his gear and set it up in a side room before the conference began. He invited other podcasters to come in and he taught them some things.

Now, Steve is an active participant in Facebook groups.

He has his own Facebook group that he leads with Mark Deal for podcast editors, and he is holding a conference for them. There is going to be so much value that will be given at that conference.

The Advice Steve Would Give To Anyone Who Wanted to Become A Podcast Editor

If someone wants to become a podcast editor, hopefully they have some experience under their belt. If they do, they can participate in communities, both online and offline.

A lot of people will list themselves on Upwork, but that is when you will make less than $20 an hour, because someone else is getting a cut. If you find a client on your own, you will make more money.

Local meetups, Facebook groups, and conferences can be great places to network and interact with people. When people get to know and trust you, they are more likely to hire you for work.

The Advice Steve Would Give His Younger Self

Learn how to budget, learn how to save, and learn how to do your taxes. In 2005, Steve took the H&R Block training course to learn how to do taxes. He did tax preparation for a season and love it.

Even today, he feels like he understands the 1040 and taxes, for the most part, even though it has changed.