Learn how to become a podcast editor during nap time. This flexible, quiet side hustle is perfect for moms. Get the step-by-step guide to gear, software, and finding clients—no experience needed.
The monitor is quiet. You have your lukewarm coffee. You have somewhere between 45 minutes and two hours before the tiny human wakes up demanding snacks.
You want a side hustle that lets you contribute financially and keep your brain engaged, but you have strict requirements. You can’t take client Zoom calls because of the background noise. You can’t do anything that requires intense, unbroken four-hour concentration blocks. And you definitely don’t want to join an MLM.
You need a “headphones on, world off” kind of job.
Enter: Podcast Editing.
It is rapidly becoming one of the best “nap time businesses” for moms. Why? Because the podcast industry is exploding, and millions of hosts hate listening to their own voices to edit out mistakes.
If you are organized, detail-oriented, and enjoy working quietly on a computer, you can absolutely become a podcast editor during nap time. Here is your step-by-step roadmap to starting from scratch.
Why become a Podcast Editor During Nap Time?
Before we get into the “how,” let’s look at why this specific role fits the stay-at-home mom lifestyle so perfectly.
- It is 100% Silent Work: Unlike virtual assisting or sales, there are no phone calls. You wear headphones. You could be editing a high-profile business podcast while rocking a sleeping newborn in a glider.
- It’s Project-Based: You aren’t trading hours for dollars in a strict 9-to-5 window. As long as you hit the deadline, it doesn’t matter if you do the work at 1:00 PM during nap time or 10:00 PM after bedtime.
- High Demand, Low Barrier to Entry: You don’t need a degree in audio engineering. You can learn the basics in a week of dedicated naps using free YouTube videos.
What Does a Podcast Editor Actually Do?
Don’t let tech jargon scare you off. At its core, podcast editing is just digital scrapbooking with sound.
Your job is to take the raw recording the host sends you and make it sound professional. A beginner podcast editor usually handles these three tasks:
- Cleaning: Cutting out the “ums,” long pauses, dog barks, and awkward stumbles.
- Mixing: Making sure the host and the guest are at the same volume level so the listener isn’t constantly adjusting their radio.
- Packaging: Adding the show’s intro music at the beginning and the outro music at the end.
That’s it. As you get better, you can offer advanced services like removing background noise or show note writing, but the basics are simple.
The Nap Time Roadmap: How to Start (Step-by-Step)
You don’t need thousands of dollars of equipment to start. Here is the lean approach to launching your editing side hustle.
Step 1: The Gear (Use What You Have)
Do not buy a new computer yet. If you have a decent laptop (Mac or PC) that isn’t ten years old, it will likely work.
You do need decent headphones. You cannot edit using your laptop speakers.
- Good: The wired earbuds that came with your phone.
- Better: Over-ear headphones (like the Audio-Technica ATH-M20x, usually around $50) help you hear details better, but start with what you have.
Step 2: The Software (Start for Free)
The software used to edit audio is called a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). It sounds intimidating, but it’s just a program where you see squiggly lines representing sound waves.
- If you have a Mac: Use GarageBand. It comes pre-installed, it’s free, and it’s surprisingly powerful. Many professional editors started here.
- If you have a PC: Download Audacity. It is free, open-source software. It looks a bit outdated, but it is incredibly robust and hundreds of thousands of podcasts are edited on it.
Step 3: The Learning Phase (YouTube University)
During your next few nap times, dedicate your time to learning your chosen DAW. Don’t try to learn everything about audio. Just learn how to edit a vocal track.
Go to YouTube and search for these exact phrases:
- “How to edit a podcast in GarageBand for beginners”
- “How to remove ‘ums’ in Audacity”
- “Basic podcast mixing tutorial”
Watch the videos, open your software, and practice clicking around.
Step 4: Build a Portfolio Without Clients
This is the biggest hurdle: How do you get hired without examples, but how do you get examples without being hired?
The Solution: Edit yourself.
Record yourself reading a page from a book into your phone’s voice memo app. Purposefully mess up. Throw in some “ums,” cough, leave a long pause.
Then, import that file into your computer and edit it. Make it sound flawless. Add some free stock music to the beginning. Export it as an MP3. Voila! You have your first portfolio piece demonstrating a “Before and After.”
Step 5: Finding Your First “Nap Time” Clients
Don’t compete with seasoned pros on giant freelance sites right away. Look for beginner podcasters who are overwhelmed.
- Facebook Groups: Join groups for podcasters (e.g., “Podcast Movement Community” or niche groups like “Moms Who Podcast”). Don’t just post “I’m an editor, hire me.” Instead, look for people asking questions like, “How do I get rid of this background hiss?” Answer their question helpfully. Build trust.
- Offer a Beta Rate: Find a new podcaster and offer to edit their first three episodes for a heavily discounted “beta tester” rate in exchange for a testimonial.
3 Tips for Nap Time Productivity
When you only have 90 minutes, you have to work smart.
- Save Every 5 Minutes: Mom life means interruptions. Don’t risk losing an hour of editing work because the toddler unplugged your laptop. Hit “CTRL+S” constantly.
- Use Templates: In your software, set up a “template” file that already has your standard music tracks loaded in. This saves you 15 minutes of setup time every single episode.
- Edit with Your Eyes First: Once you learn what an “um” looks like on the sound wave (usually a small, round blob), you can cut them out visually before you even listen back. This speeds up the process immensely.
Ready to Quiet the Noise?
Becoming a podcast editor during nap time isn’t an overnight get-rich-quick scheme. It takes practice to train your ears and learn the software.
But if you are looking for a legitimate, scalable skill that you can do from the comfort of your couch while the house is silent, this is it. Grab your headphones, download Audacity, and start cutting those “ums.”