Using Zoom to Record A Podcast Remotely: A Step By Step Guide

Using Zoom to record a podcast? Great choice as it has become the go to tool for many top podcasters.

In fact, Zoom has brought in more users than it did in all of 2019 in just a few months time.

But why Zoom, and what’s all the buzz around the platform?

Podcasters who usually record their shows in-person need a way to keep up with their upload schedules.

Unfortunately, most podcast hosts are not familiar with how remote recording actually works – much more why they should make the jump from well, Skype, to Zoom.

We used to love Skype – and still do actually. But Zoom has somewhat changed the landscape – and you should change with it as well.

In this article, we’ve outlined the best way to record your podcast remotely using Zoom.

We hope that it’s enough for you to make the switch, and more importantly make your podcasting process much easier – regardless if you’re in your home, or on some tropical island in the middle of the pacific.

So, shall we begin?

What is ZOOM?

Zoom, similar to Skype, is a video conferencing software. It allows you to connect with anyone in the world with a stable internet connection and a Zoom compatible device.

While Zoom does have a paid plan, you can easily get started for free and experience most of its features.

With the free plan, you can record unlimited audio and video with a maximum of 2 people (including the host). If you have 3 or more people, your call will be limited to 40-minutes.

Most podcasters prefer to use Zoom over other video conferencing platforms because of its ease of use and various file formats.

It even allows users to call in!

Using Zoom to Record A Podcast: Using The Right Settings

Before you start recording, you want to make sure that you are using the right settings.

Recording a show using the wrong settings (for podcasts) can result in lower-audio quality and video. Plus, it can also provide you with the wrong file types for post-production.

Zoom has three recording settings – Account, Group and User.

To verify that your recording settings are at the optimum for each type, you need to:

Account

• Log into your Zoom account as Administrator.
• Click on Account Settings.
• Under the Recording tab, click on the “Local Recording” option and make sure it is enabled. If disabled, use the toggle to enable it. If a verification dialog appears, click on “Turn On” and this will verify the change you made to the settings.
• (Optional) To make this setting mandatory for anyone using your account, click on the “lock” icon and choose “Lock” to confirm the order.

Group

• Log into your Zoom account as Administrator.
• Click on Group Management.
• Choose the group you wish to access and then click on its “Settings” tab.
• Under the Recording tab, click on the “Local Recording” option and make sure it is enabled. If disabled, use the toggle to enable it. If a verification dialog appears, click on “Turn On” and this will verify the change you made to the settings.
• (Optional) To make this setting mandatory for anyone using your account, click on the “lock” icon and choose “Lock” to confirm the order.

User

• Log into your Zoom account and choose My Meetings Settings (if you’re an account admin) or Meeting Settings (if you’re an account member)
• Under the Recording tab, click on the “Local Recording” option and make sure it is enabled. If disabled, use the toggle to enable it. If a verification dialog appears, click on “Turn On” and this will verify the change you made to the settings.

How To Start A Recording On Zoom

Zoom provides a no frills recording process, making it absolutely easy for anyone to start an audio recording.

Here’s how you do it:

• Start a meeting with you as host.
• Click Record.
• Click “Record on this Computer”. As the “host” you will then see a recording indicator of the top left part of your screen. So long as it’s there, this will tell you that the recording is currently active. Participants will also be able to see this indicator.
• Click on “Participants” to see which of your participants are also recording the session.
• After the meeting is done, Zoom will automatically convert the recording.
  Once the conversion is complete, the folder where the recording is saved will automatically open.

NOTES:

• Dial-in participants will be notified by a message that the session is being recorded.
  If the meeting unexpectedly shuts down or if the conversion process is interrupted, the recording files could become corrupted and non-recoverable. Restarting or shutting down your computer, putting the hard disk to sleep, or closing your laptop will interrupt the conversion process.
• If a session ends prematurely, or if the conversion process gets interrupted, the recorded file can become corrupted and will not be recoverable. Actions like shutting down your computer while recording, putting it to sleep or closing your laptop will interrupt the conversion process.
• If you were able to end the session successfully but the file failed to convert, you can try and convert the file again by going to the file’s location and double clicking on said file.
  You have the option to record sessions in active speaker, gallery and shared screen layouts.

How To Record Separate Tracks

The main reason why you should do this is to make post production less of a hassle.

You see, when you record using separate tracks, you have more wiggle room to edit out errors or any unwanted noise.

It’s not that you wont be able to do this on a single source file – but having separate files just makes it much easier.

Here’s how you do it:

First, you need to make sure that you allow “local recording” on your account settings.

• Go to “My Meeting Settings”
• Turn ON “Local Recording”

NOTE: Using multiple tracks means bigger data. So I advice that you save this on your computer.

Once you’re done with this, you then need to:

• Launch the Zoom app
• Click the “Gear” icon on the upper right part of the screen to open up “Settings”
• Click on “Recording”
• Tick the “Record a separate audio file for each participant who speaks” box

And that’s it!

Inviting Podcast Guests To A Zoom Meeting

There are several ways to invite your guests to a Zoom call.

• Sign in to your Zoom account.
• Start or join a meeting.
• If you’re the host, click on the “Manage Participants” option found in the meeting control panel
• Click “Invite” at the bottom of the participants panel.

You can then choose from these following invite options:

Email

• Click on the “Invite by Email” tab.
• Choose an Email provider.
• Add recipients to the email and click send.

Contacts

• Click on the “Invite by Contacts” tab.
• Select the name of the contact you wish to send an invite to.
• Click on “Invite” found at the lower part of the screen
• Select contacts and click Invite.

URL/Link Invitation

At the bottom of the invitation window, you will see Copy URL & Copy Invitation.

• Click on Copy URL and copy the meeting join link by using Ctrl + V on Windows, or cmd + V on for Mac and either send it directly to your contact, or paste it on a notepad.
• Click on Copy Invitation and copy the entire invitation text by using Ctrl + V on Windows, or cmd + V on for Mac and either send it directly to your contact, or paste it on a notepad.

Creating A Scheduled Zoom Meeting

Desktop

• Using a desktop client, go login to your Zoom account.
• Click on “Meetings”
• Choose the meeting you wish to invite people into and click “Copy Invitation”.

You can then choose to send the invitation by email or through a messaging app.

Web Portal

• Using the Zoom web portal, login to your account.
• Click on “Meetings”
• State the topic of the meeting

NOTES:

• You can add the meeting to either your Google Calendar (which will automatically create an event) or Outlook Calendar (which will generate a .ics file that you can add to your calendar)
• You also have the option to manually copy the meeting information by clicking “Copy the invitation”on the lower right side of the screen. If you choose this option, you then need to click “Select All” and then copy the invitation and send it through whatever method you decide to use.

Using Zoom to Record A Podcast: Post Production

Now that you have the raw files, it’s time for post production.

Without question, post-production is one of the hardest parts of podcasting; and is the reason why many podcasts sound like crap and why those that don’t – spend money on professional sound engineers.

The problem with post production is not because it’s just difficult, but because the one doing the editing needs to understand what constitutes “good sound quality”.

Sound quality you see is very subjective.

Take music recordings for example. Each producer has his/her own way of tweaking the source file, sometimes creating an end product that completely sounds unique to his/her peers.

For audiophiles, a single drum hit can make them say, “ah, that sounds like it was produced by (name of producer)”.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you won’t be able to do it. But unless you already have previous experience with it in the past, the outcome might not be that desirable.

Now for those that don’t have any experience in post production, but want to pop their cherry – well here are all the things you need to do and/or consider.

Editing Dialogues

• Editing out mistakes
• Cutting out section if you are gunning for a specific episode length
• Removing dead air or shorten pauses to make things sound more fluid

Repairing and Enhancing Audio

• Removing background or ambient noise
• Equalization
• Adding compression
• Gating

Adding SFX/Music

• Layering
• Adding fade in and fade outs
• Cutting music
• Adding intros and outros

Mixing

• Checking that volume levels are good
• Panning audio layers

Mastering

• Adding limiters to the source file
• Choosing between stereo and mono
• Exporting the source file

And that’s not even all of it when it comes to using Zoom to record a podcast remotely!

Look, I’m not trying to prevent you from trying to do post production yourself. In fact, I suggest that you try doing it at least once to fully appreciate the work that sound engineers do.

But then again, I know for a fact that you want your podcast to sound professional. And I know we are both in agreement that the only way to do that is to get in touch with professional sound engineers.

We at Podblade can help you with that.

We have a team of highly experienced sound engineers that are ready to work on your source file and dish out a high quality podcast episode that will exceed your expectations.

And the best thing is that it will only cost you $20 per episode!

Now why that affordable?

Because we know our worth and are sure that after you sign up for our $20 Trial Episode, you’ll never go to another podcast editing company.

Now if you want to better understand the services we offer, and why we believe that we are your best option, click the banner below and schedule a FREE call with us this week!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed our article about using zoom to record a podcast remotely.

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the article, please feel free to add them at the comment section below.

You guys stay safe, ok?!

Talk to you on the next episode.