Post-Production Checklist: Everything to Do Before You Hit Publish

Publishing an episode is the end of a production process, and like any complex process, the final

steps benefit from a structured checklist. Without one, small things get missed — the typo in the

title, the uncorrected transcript, the thumbnail at the wrong resolution — and they're there

permanently once the episode is live.

Here's a comprehensive pre-publish checklist for video podcast episodes.

Audio checks:

• Dialogue edited: filler words, dead air, and unwanted content removed

• Levels consistent throughout: no jarring volume spikes or drops

• Noise reduction applied where needed

• Music/intro/outro balanced against dialogue (music shouldn't compete with voices)

• Final mix checked on multiple playback systems (headphones, laptop speakers, phone

speaker)

• Export format correct for your host platform (stereo/mono, bitrate, sample rate)

Video checks:

• All camera angles synced and verified

• Color match between cameras confirmed

• Intro/outro sequence included

• Captions generated and reviewed for accuracy

• Thumbnail exported at correct resolution (at minimum 1280x720, ideally 1920x1080 for

YouTube)

• Aspect ratio correct for primary platform

Metadata checks:

• Episode title reviewed: descriptive, contains relevant keywords, correct capitalization

• Show notes written, links verified and working

• Guest name and links accurate

• Chapter markers added (for YouTube and podcast apps that support them)

• Episode number correct in sequence

• Correct publish date and time set

Platforms check:

• Uploaded to podcast host (RSS will distribute to Spotify, Apple, etc.)

• Uploaded to YouTube with correct title, description, chapters, thumbnail

• Short-form clips exported and scheduled for social media

Doing this from a saved checklist rather than memory catches the recurring small errors that

accumulate into a pattern of slightly rough professionalism.