Question 1

I just purchased purchased a package, what now?

Accepted Answer

Congratulations, you are on your way to a great gift! We'll make sure we can complete your request in the time you indicated. If we can we will send you an invoice. In the meantime, start to compile a list of your closest friends and family that you think would make great contributors to your podcast, we'll send you a template to help get you started. Review the questions that we sent you as part of your package and determine if you like those or want to write your own, pick and choose, it's up to you. Then get ready to record your voice. We'll send all the materials to your participants so you don't have to, we'll compile, produce the show, and post it online. Once the show is complete, you can send it to your loved ones or we can.

Question 2

This sounds hard and complicated, what does the process look like?

Accepted Answer

Upon receipt of your request submission, we will verify that we can complete your request in your timeframe and will send you an invoice. 
Once we have received payment in full, the gift giver will receive a comprehensive "PodPacket" that outlines the process and everything needed. 
The PodPacket will contain:
an intake form about your gift recipient.
a contributor template so you can provide the names, emails, and affiliation details. Contributors can be attendees from an event or milestone, relatives, friends, coworkers, etc. 
a list of prompts that the contributors (and you) can answer along with recording and submission instructions. 
Once we receive the completed intake form and list of contacts, our team will meet with you to gather more details. This meeting will help shape the episode(s). 
As the audio files start to come in, we will review everything and try find common themes or threads throughout the recipient's life. We may then reach out to some of those contributors to do a special segment recording with someone from our team. 
Once all the audio files are received, the editing process will begin, it's magic, trust us. 
A draft episode will be sent to the gift giver for approval. Edits can be made within reason but shall not exceed more than 3 rounds of changes. 
For more details, please see our terms and conditions. 
After approval is received, the episode will be shared with you on givecast.us. From there, you can download or share the file with anyone you wish.

Question 3

I have a great idea but don't see a package that matches my genius, what do I do?

Accepted Answer

Complete our contact form and tell us what you're thinking.

Question 4

I received a message from you that my participants have not sent anything, what do I do?

Accepted Answer

Reach out to your collaborators and encourage them to participate, even if they don't like their voice 🙄 (they love the person they are speaking about and they love them, not their voice). Bribe them with treats or some nice old shaming tactics. Work your magic, we believe in you!

Question 5

I'm interested in purchasing a gift and heard that I will have tasks, what are they?

Accepted Answer

We will need a list of all the possible contributors you know that also know the gift receipent. These can be attendees from an event or milestone, relatives, friends, coworkers, etc. We'll need their name, email, and how they know the gift recipient. Don't stress we'll supply you with a template.  
You may wish to record your message, so you'll need to do that. 
Once the draft episode is sent to the gift giver, we will need your approval. Edits can be made within reason but shall not exceed more than 3 rounds of changes. 
Decide if you want to send out the gift or have us send it.

Question 6

Who makes a great contributor?

Accepted Answer

Anyone that is a good story teller (even if they are not, we might be able to work our magic) and is willing to share their love of the receipient. It's almost easier to answer who doesn't make a good contributor and that's anyone with an axe to grind or is upset with the person.

Question 7

What types of things should I not say?

Accepted Answer

Anything mean or sarcastic, calling someone out, or bringing up a grudge. We're aiming for sincerity and positivity, the news already gives us our fair share of strife, no?

Question 8

How long will my podcast take to put together?

Accepted Answer

It depends on which package you purchase and how proactive your participants are but the average production time is 6–8 weeks per episode. We strongly advise giving yourself as much lead time as possible between production and presenting your gift. Also you may have to nudge your contributors for their participation. 😉

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