How To Make a Podcast with Text-to-Speech Voiceovers

Imagine crafting a great podcast with no microphone, studio, or hefty budget and still producing the best audio content for your listeners. Anyone can now transform written words into rich, lifelike audio experiences. You can transform blogs into dynamic spoken stories and video and podcast scripts into audio episodes. Also, businesses can roll out branded podcasts without stepping into a recording booth. All of these are made possible with AI text-to-speech (TTS) tools.

Today, we will discuss how to create quality podcast episodes with TTS tools. This guide will cover the planning, scripting, and producing stages of creating a human-like AI-powered podcast episode.

Planning your AI Podcast - What to Do First

Like the typical human podcast, you shouldn't start your AI podcast in a rush. Take a step back and plan it like you’re preparing for an actual human podcast, whether it’s a solo podcast or a conversational podcast. Here are things you need to consider before creating any line of audio:

1. Choose a topic and a format

Decide on your podcast's subject matter or theme and how AI fits into the content. AI voices usually work well with solo podcasting and narrative podcasts, but they should be well-thought-out and worked on to ensure that your audio content sounds natural.

Pay attention to pacing, pronunciation, sentence structure, emotion, tone and pauses and refine them to enhance the listener’s overall experience. AI can also create conversational podcasts but will require extra effort to perfect the voices to ensure smooth flow.

Decide what tone matches your brand and content, such as casual, professional, humorous, playful, serious, etc. This will also help you create the perfect podcast script.

2. Podcast length and posting frequency

Podcast lengths are categorized into five different groups:

• Micro Podcasts: These podcast types are typically under 15 minutes (between 5 and 15 minutes). They are usually short episodes that deliver quick insights, updates, or bite-sized stories. TTS voiceovers can work perfectly for this podcast format.
• Short-form podcasts: They are compact yet detailed and offer a single topic or discussion with enough depth (15-30 minutes).
• Standard Podcasts: Standard Podcasts are the most common podcasts out there, lasting as long as 30-60 minutes.
• Long-Form Podcasts: Long-form podcasts include conversational or narrative-driven explorations with multiple segments or guests. They last as long as 1-2 hours.
• Epic Podcasts: They are extensive, unhurried episodes that cover broad topics, multiple stories, or freeform discussions lasting over 2 hours.

While considering your options for text-to-speech, aim for lengths where pacing and voice quality remain engaging. Micro to standard podcasts (5–60 minutes) often work best to avoid listener fatigue from synthetic tones. The shorter the episode, the better the listening experience.

Also, decide how often you want to post your content: bi-weekly, weekly, monthly, etc.

Writing your Podcast Episode Script

The success of your AI podcast episode relies on the script written because it determines how natural and engaging the final audio will sound. You don’t want to sound robotic or irritate your audience with the words they’re hearing, so creating the script appropriately is the ultimate way to go. However, as much as you don’t want to sound robotic, you can still use generative AI like ChatGPT and Grok to generate your script.

Here are some considerations when generating your script using AI:

• Conversational flow: Ensure the AI generates a script with a natural, human-like tone. Prompt it to write like it’s writing to a friend and avoid formal or robotic phrasing.
• Pacing and Pauses: Instruct the AI to include pacing markers to create natural breaks and prevent a rushed or monotonous TTS output. Also, request a varied sentence to create a smooth rhythm.
• Emotional Alignment: Match the script with your podcast’s mood. It helps the TTS voice sound appropriate, even if emotion settings are limited.
• Audience Focus: Let your generative AI know who your audience is. With that information, it can tailor the content’s depth and style to suit your audience. Prompt it to avoid overloading sentences with jargon that could overwhelm your audience.
• Structure and Flow: Specify a clear structure (intro, main content, outro). Inform your tool to make the transitions smooth and logical. For example, requesting a strong, engaging hook at the start and a call to action at the end of a section could significantly engage your audience.

Example of AI prompt for generating a podcast script

“Write a 400-word podcast script for a solo tech podcast episode titled 'The Basics of Quantum Computing,' for beginner tech enthusiasts. Use a friendly, conversational tone as if talking to a friend and avoid formal or robotic phrasing. Structure the script with a clear intro (include an engaging hook to grab attention), main content (explain quantum computing basics in simple terms), and an outro (end with a call-to-action, like subscribing or exploring more episodes). Keep the transitions smooth and logical between sections.

For pacing, include natural breaks with markers like '[pause 1s]' or ellipses ('...') at least 4 times, and vary sentence lengths for a smooth rhythm suitable for text-to-speech (TTS). Remember, the content is for beginners, so avoid using heavy jargon or overloading sentences with technical details—keep it clear and digestible. Match the mood with an upbeat, curious tone to inspire excitement about the topic. Ensure it aligns with TTS delivery. Use simple language compatible with TTS, and if needed, provide phonetic spellings for tricky terms (e.g., 'quantum' as 'kwon-tum').”

Turn your Script to Audio with SoundMadeSeen

Now that you have your script, it’s time to convert it to audio stories. SoundMadeSeen’s TTS is the perfect tool for this process, and we’ll be using it in this content. Why? It has multiple voice options for different content types, tones, and moods. Some other features include language translation and integration with other content creation tools—like video and audiogram makers—to explore different content options and formats and reach a wider audience.

Here’s how to generate professional AI voiceovers using SoundMadeSeen:

1. Start a new project

Create an audio on SoundMadeSeen

(Alt text: Create an audio on SoundMadeSeen)

To access SoundMadeSeen’s TTS tool, create an account or log in. If you are directed to SoundMadeSeen’s main page, select “Create video” and then “Text-to-speech” to get started. If not, prepare to upload your script.

2. Prepare and input your script

SoundMadeSeen offers a text editor where you can type or paste your script directly. It’s best to input your script in smaller batches rather than all at once to give your audio a natural flow and integrate pauses into it appropriately. Begin by typing or pasting the initial portion of your script (like the intro or first few sentences) into the editor. Hit the “Create Script” button to process that section and move to the next step. Once that’s done, copy and paste or type the following sections similarly until you’ve entered everything. This batch approach helps you control the pacing more effectively and allows you to edit your content appropriately.

3. Customize AI voices and settings

SoundMadeSeen offers a library of realistic AI voices; explore the options to find the one that matches your podcast’s vibe. Click through the voice previews to hear samples. Also, ensure you set your pacing markers (e.g., “[pause 1s]”) according to your script to ensure natural breaks.

4. Generate the audio

After inserting your script and adjusting your settings, click the “Generate” button at the top right corner. You’ll be directed to an editing tool to edit your audio further and generate written content like blog posts, podcast descriptions, and show notes. After that, download your file.

Conclusion

Launching a podcast has become faster, easier and more efficient than ever. AI tools like ChatGPT for script writing and SoundMadeSeen for sound and audio generation through TTS technology are perfect for excellent podcast production. To make it even better, SoundMadeSeen allows creators who wish to expand their reach to use other content formats like videos and audiograms. Its well-integrated connection of all its content creation tools makes it easy to create all content formats they need in just one software, saving them the stress of heading to different apps for different purposes.

Try SoundMadeseen and see how it works. Experiment with its AI voices, video creation, and other content creation tools, and the best part is that you can do all that on a sufficient free trial. Give it a try today!