Portia Jones is a freelance travel writer and host of the Travel Goals Podcast, which combines interviews with travel experts & insiders with on-location destination profiles, all done with fantastic audio quality.
Travel Goals Podcast
If you have ever wanted to learn what it takes to plan and record audio while travelling, this episode will get you started.
And although yes, Portia and her producer/husband Luke do have some pretty slick equipment to get the job done, that does't mean that's the only way to do it.
In our conversation today, we have a great discussion on the strengths of audio, and how to make yours shine, with just a bit of planning and preparation.
When Portia interviews people in destinations like Peru and Saint Lucia, she has largely set up those contacts in advance. When they record street sounds and background audio, they make sure to get lots of versions so that there's as good a chance as possible of capturing something that works.
And where's the best place to edit and prepare your on-location episode? Likely back in your home studio or office, but Portia recommends, whatever you do, to get in the moment and immerse yourself in the creation, to really get in the zone.
Travel Goals strives to set the standard for what audio, and travel audio in particular, can be. The opportunities abound, indeed how many people have told her, "I never would have thought of talking about our destination through the medium of audio!"
Action Advice
6:55 - Adapting your content plans to circumstances, and running with it.
8:10 - Telling stories in audio, dropping listeners into an environment and capturing those sounds.
8:52 - Equipment suggestions for recording in the field.
9:47 - How long it takes to put a destination episode together, complete with a library of clips and options. How to get in the zone and focus.
11:55 - The mindset towards capturing high-quality audio, yet knowing it may not be perfect.
14:30 - How do locals feel about being on a podcast.
15:26 - Being approchable, yet clear about what you need and what people you interview can expect. Reminding them where they can find the episode once it's published.
16:50 - Dropping listeners right into a destination so they can get a sense of what it's really like.
17:32 - Always consider the listener's experience, especially when doing a detailed, complex episode. Put the time in to make it as good as you can.
22:25 - On being realistic about your time, and consider having fewer episodes that have higher quality.
24:38 - Listening to other podcasts helps you pick out things you can add to your own.
24:55 - Gimlet's 90 second rule: switch something up every 90 seconds, to keep your listeners from drifting off.
28:35 - Marketing and promotion tips.
Travel Podcast the World
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Travel Goals Podcast
Pip in the City
Episode: "Why Peru should be on your travel bucket list for adventure, culture and food"
Episode: "Why you must visit the charming Black & White Villages of Herefordshire in England"
Episode: "Sacred places, pilgrimages and how spiritual tourism became a new travel trend"
References
Zoom H6 portable recorder
Big Travel Pod
People
Luke Jones, South Girl Production Music
Where is My Hit Single? podcast
Places
Wales
Herefordshire, UK
Saint Lucia