Audio course production: what we learnt making The Phoenix Formula
The Phoenix Formula is a 24-week audio course built from a podcast archive. Here is what we would repeat, what we would check earlier, and what a first-time course maker should settle before recording.
In short: Test demand with a waiting list before you spend on production. Check every quote and story in the scripts against the source. Keep episodes short, master them to one loudness, deliver by private podcast feed, and get express consent for instant access before you sell. Disclose any synthetic voice at the start.
The Phoenix Formula is our audio course on creativity: a short welcome, then 24 weekly episodes presented by Mia Moore, each with a short PDF workbook, delivered as a private podcast feed. It costs £149 including VAT. It was built from the archive of Creative Conversations, our podcast, and making it taught us more about the parts around the recording than the recording itself.
Test the demand before you produce
We put up a waiting-list page first, before any production spend. The same page can turn into a buy button once the course is ready. If nobody joins the list, you have saved yourself the cost of 24 episodes. If people do, you have an audience to tell when it opens.
Check the source material before you edit
The scripts came from the podcast archive, and the first drafts contained quotes that did not match the source recordings. So we checked every quote against the transcripts, and cut any story we could not verify. We also softened claims that went further than the science supports, took out references to a live cohort, and told listeners that some stories are composites, in the welcome episode and in the Start Here guide.
If a guest's own personal disclosure is retold in your course, let them hear that part before launch, even if they gave written permission. It costs one email.
Keep the format small
Ours is mostly 10 to 15 minutes an episode, weekly, with a one-page workbook. That makes it easy to finish and easy to produce. Putting it on a private podcast feed rather than a course platform means there is nothing for the listener to learn: it plays in their podcast app, and workbooks are linked from the show notes. If you would rather record narration in a proper room than at home, that is what audiobook recording at the barn is for.
If any of the voice is synthetic, say so first
The course is partly voiced with a consented cloned voice and is labelled as synthetic. We say so in the welcome episode, in the presenter's own words, so no listener hears it first and wonders. We cover the consent side in how we clone a voice with consent. Automated checks catch drift in the audio. They do not catch a sentence that sounds wrong, so a person has to listen to all of it before you sell it.
Master to one standard
Every episode goes to the same specification:
| Setting | What we used |
|---|---|
| Loudness | -16 LUFS integrated |
| Peak ceiling | -1.5 dBFS |
| Format | 128 kbps stereo MP3 |
| Metadata | ID3 tags, with a 3000 pixel cover embedded |
| Structure | Intro and outro on a music bed |
Pick one loudness for the whole series and check it on every file, because a listener on a commute notices an episode that is quieter than the last. Our loudness targets for podcasts and platforms page covers the choices.
Check the music licence too. A licence that covers your promo does not necessarily cover the course itself, so register it for the product you are selling.
Sell it lawfully
If buyers get access the moment they pay, UK rules for digital content apply. Regulation 37 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 says a buyer pays nothing for digital content supplied during the cancellation period unless they gave express consent to it starting then and acknowledged that they lose the right to cancel. The seller must also confirm both in writing afterwards.
We did it with a tick box on the sales page covering both points, stored the consent on the order, and repeated it in the confirmation email. If the consent were missing, the email would offer the cancellation right instead. This is general information, not legal advice, so check your own set-up.
Mistakes to avoid
- Recording before the scripts are checked.
- Mastering each episode by ear, so the loudness drifts across a series.
- Selling instant access without recording the consent.
- Adding a second course before the first one's feed, workbooks and emails have been tested end to end.
If you are planning your own, the video course planning guide covers module length and retention, and the Academy announcement lists the courses that follow.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk, The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 37, read 5 November 2026
Related guides
- Planning a video course: modules, length, retention
- Talking-head course set-ups on a budget
- All guides and tools
The picture at the top of this page is an illustration, not a photograph of a client or a real job.
Questions we get asked
How long should an audio course episode be?
Ours are mostly 10 to 15 minutes, released weekly with a short PDF workbook for each. Short episodes are easier to finish and fit a commute or a walk. The Phoenix Formula has a short welcome and 24 weekly episodes.
How do you deliver an audio course?
We use a private podcast feed, so listeners play it in the podcast app they already use. Each buyer gets their own subscribe link by email after purchase. Workbooks sit on the website and are linked from each episode's show notes.
Can I sell instant access to a digital course in the UK?
Yes, but you need the buyer's express consent to start access straight away and their acknowledgement that they lose the right to cancel, then confirmation of both afterwards. Without that, the cancellation period applies. This is general information, not legal advice.
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