As a podcaster, you must regularly back up your podcasts irrespective of the total episode count. There are many ways you can back up your podcasts and safeguard them. Today, we will take you through the entire process of podcast backup with a list of fantastic backup options for your podcasts! So without further ado, let’s just get started.
Why Backup?
Backing up your podcasts is an absolute necessity, and there are countless reasons stating why. Here are a few of them.
- Your device might get damaged due to environmental circumstances such as floods, hurricanes, tornados, fires, etc.
- Your files might get corrupted due to the presence of malware.
- Sudden system crash or failure
And many more…
All of these instances could lead to hours of simply frustrating redo work! Hence, to prevent such situations, you must make regular backups of your podcasts.
How to Back Up your Podcasts?
The key to effective podcast backups is redundancy. Ensure that you have enough redundancies throughout the entire process of recording and editing every episode to be on the safer side.
The 3simply frustrating redo worker way to protect your podcast data. Here the entire strategy revolves around storing three different copies of your podcast files.
Two of them will be within local devices or mediums, and the remaining one will be stored in an offsite platform such as the cloud.
In simpler terms, the backup division would look like this:
- 1 copy on your laptop/pc
- 1 copy on an external hard drive
- 1 copy uploaded to Google Drive or any other cloud platform.
If you regularly back up your podcasts in these three locations, rest assured you are safe from any unintentional deletions, laptop damage, etc., which can hamper your podcasts.
Keeping the three locations in mind, let’s check out how you can back up your podcasts with the 3-2-1 strategy.
Once you are done recording the podcast and have captured all the required audio and video files, immediately transfer them from the SD card or the original location to a hard drive, Google Drive, and your laptop/pc.
You should consider getting a hard disk drive of at least 1TB storage capacity or even more to ensure that you do not run out of space by just storing one podcast.
You must transfer the original file as a precautionary measure. In case any of the audio files become corrupt during a transfer, you will consider
Now, when you have a copy on your pc, hard disk drive, and Google Drive, start editing your podcast and make the necessary change You must transferanges, and copy all the edited and other files into your Google Drive and the hard disk drive you previously used to ensure that every copy is identical to each other.
Once the final copy of your podcast is ready to be published, upload this version to all the other three mediums we were working with – laptop/pc, hard disk drive, and Google drive. Ensure to recheck at least twice to ensure that all the files are properly uploaded and identical in all three mediums.
Local Backups
Local Backups or on-premises backup refers to the procedure of backing up your podcasts to any local device which is easily accessible and close to the data source. Here are a few options you can consider.
Hard Disk Drive
A hard disk drive is an excellent way to store all your audio files and save them from any sudden mishaps. You can easily find the best hard disk drives, preferably with a higher storage count, and connect them to your laptop or pc.
You can then transfer all the necessary files from the system into your hard disk drive and keep a safe copy preserved!
DVD-R
Even though you might consider DVDs to be not much of use considering the emerging cloud backups, let us assure you, DVDs are indeed a great way to back up your podcasts! DVDs are versatile and portable.
You just need to connect your writable DVD, copy the files to it, and you are sorted.
There are multiple resources for Mac and Pc backups that podcasters use, like MiniTools Shadowmaker. You can use it to sync and clone all the data and files to your backup drive with just a click. Also, you can set a specific period, and the backup happens automatically every time!
Your Operating System Options
Every operating system has its steps for backing up the data and information. Taking the most common operating systems into consideration, Windows and IOS here is a quick procedure on how to back up your podcasts.
Windows 10
Here’s how you can back up your podcasts on Windows 10:
Step 1periodStep 2: Click on Update and Security. Click on Backup. Click on Backup and Restore (Windows 7)
Step 3: ClickSet up Backup
Step 4: Select the folder to save your automatic backups. Click On Next.
Step 5: Choose the “Let me Choose” option to select your data files and destination.
Step 6: Under the data files, add all the podcast folders that you want to back up. Click on Next.
Step 7: Click on Change Schedule.
Step 8: Click on Run backup on a schedule.
Step 9: Choose the frequency of backup as per your interests.
Step 10: Click on Ok. Click on Save Settings, and that’s it!
IOS
Mac has a built-in backup tool, Time Machine, which can easily back up all your podcasts with the following procedure.
Step 1: Connect any external hard drive to your Mac. The options could be USB, FireWire, or Thunderbolt, depending on your drive.
Step 2: Go to System Preferences > Time Machine. Click on “Select Disk” and select the backup destination.
Step 3: Your backup will now start. The time machine will automatically back up all your data every hour.
Third-party Options
Some of the third-party podcast backup solutions you can choose are:
AOMEI Backupper
AOMEI Backupper is an incredibly easy solution for backing up your podcast files and recovering them quickly. The AOMEI Backupper user interface is straightforward, which makes it easy for beginners to work on.
Macrium Reflect
Macrium Reflect is a completely free and robust software to back up all your podcast data and keep it secured. It is highly reliable and has quick recovery capabilities.
Cloud Backups
If you do not want to invest in external devices for backing up your podcast, cloud backups are the way to go. Nonetheless, to be on the safer side, always back up your podcasts on both local backups(external devices) and the cloud as per the 3-2-1 strategy, which we discussed above!
Cloud Hosting Options
Here are a few cloud backup options you can choose from to back up your podcasts.
Backblaze
BackBlaze is a very simple and beginner-friendly platform to back up your podcast files on the cloud. The pricing plans start at $6 per month, and you get unlimited storage to back up your MAC or pc effortlessly!
Dropbox
Dropbox is another prevalent backup option for podcasters with storage space starting from 2GB to unlimited storage. The 2GB storage option is available for free.
However, it is always recommended to upgrade to the Professional plan or other paid plan options for increased storage. The paid plans in Dropbox start from $16.58 per month to $20/per month.
MediaFire
If you find Dropbox slightly expensive and looking for more alternatives, MediaFire is the next best choice. You will receive 1TB of storage at just $7.50 per month. Upgrade to the higher plan of MediaFire, which is $80 per month, to get 100TB of storage.
It also offers you a Basic plan which comes with 10GB storage which obviously wouldn’t be the ideal option for backing up your podcasts.
Local vs. Cloud Backups: Pros and Cons
If you are confused about whether you should choose a local backup for your podcasts or a cloud backup, here is a quick breakdown of the pros and cons of each one of them.
Cloud Backup Pros
- Cost-effective: Using cloud backup services to back up your podcast will be less expensive in comparison to local backups. You don’t need to buy external hardware every time. You just need to pay a regular subscription fee, and your backup will be safe and secure!
- Data protection: In cases of physical or environmental disasters like a tornado, hurricane, flood, etc., your local backed-up podcasts might get destroyed. However, if your data is backed up in the cloud, you can easily access the files back by just logging in to another device!
- Data accessibility: All you need to access cloud backup podcast files is just a sound internet connection. You can easily access your stored podcast data from anywhere and anytime without any hassle!
- Better data security: Every cloud backup host comes with cybersecurity staff that keeps regular checks on your stored data and prevents the risk of data breaches and cyberattacks.
- Scalability: You can easily scale the cloud services without the need to purchase extra hardware or software. You can easily scale up your cloud services by switching your plans on demand!
Cloud Backup Cons
- Takes time to backup: Depending on your internet bandwidth and the volume of podcast data, the cloud backup procedure might take a lot of time. The time can range from hours to days for a complete backup!
- Potential data loss if the contract ends: You need to be very careful and scrutinize every bit of the terms and conditions of the cloud host about canceled contracts. Check out how long the cloud provider will keep your backup data upon cancellation to avoid any unforeseen situations.
Local Backup Pros
- Fast recovery: You can recover large volumes of data and audio files real quick since local backups are not dependent on your internet connectivity.
- Know the location of your data: Your cloud provider can store your backup data anywhere without you having any knowledge about it as per the data compliance regulations. However, with a local backup, you already know where your hardware is stored and can easily access your data!
Local Backup Cons
- No protection from local disaster: During disasters like hurricanes, floods, and similar other environmental disasters, your local backups will be at stake and have higher chances of getting destroyed!
- Not easily scalable: Getting expensive hardware to scale up your backup storage can simply go over the budget. Hence, if you have large volumes of podcast data stored, it will be tough to scale with a local backup storage.
Keeping all of the points into consideration, you must always back up your podcasts in both cloud and local storage to safeguard your files from any unexpected situation.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know how to back up your podcast, you must be consistent with this practice. This will ensure that you do not need to spend time and money on recovering your files later, either lost or damaged. Always remember the 3-2-1 strategy while backing up your podcasts, i.e., 3 copies, 2 local, and 1 offsite! Thus, figure out your suitable backup choices and backup your podcasts today without any further delay!
