Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI) Group

Standard Operating Procedures for Text to Audio Conversion – How to create a Podcast and Embed it on a Post or on a Page

Author: Ethan Coomber, Research Assistant III, Data Science and Podcast Library Development 

Ethan Coomber, Research Assistant III, Data Science and Podcast Library Development

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/contributors-biographies/research-assistants/ethan-coomber-research-assistant-iii-data-science-and-podcast-library-development/

Most recent update: 7-12-21

*As of the writing of these steps, the Anchor feature that converts articles to podcasts is relatively new. As of my most recent communication with representatives of Anchor, they are planning on adding features that would simplify this process.

Converting an Article to a Podcast

• The first thing you will need to do is create an account on Anchor who has recently partnered with WordPress to allow users to link their accounts and convert articles into podcasts. The link to do so is below.
  • https://anchor.fm/wordpressdotcom
    • It is important to note that Anchor will not let you link to a WordPress account if you create a generic account it must be an account linked with WordPress. This link should allow you to do so.
• Once you have linked your account, you will want to go to the tab for “Episodes”.

• On the episodes tab, there should be a button that allows you to import articles from your WordPress account.
• Unfortunately, as of this update, Anchor does not have a feature to allow users to search for a specific article. I have spoken with workers from Anchor who have told me they will work on implementing this feature right away so check and see if they have finished implementing a search bar or some other way to filter. As of this update, the articles are loaded in chronologically with the most recent articles appearing on the first page.
  • If you are looking to convert an article that was recently published on WordPress, it should appear on this page or one of the first few.
  • One option you have to try to find specific articles is to use the (command F) feature of a mac or the (control F) feature of windows. This allows you to search for a specific keyword within a page.
    • With the publishing date of the article you are looking for in mind, you should be able to find the article within a few minutes. Articles that were published earlier will take longer to find than articles published in the last couple weeks. Many of the articles have dates in their titles so as you go through the pages, you will be able to tell if you have passed your articles if the dates in the titles are from before when the one you are looking for was published. Similarly, you will know you have not arrived yet if the titles are from dates after the one you are looking for.
    • Each time you go to a new page, you will need to press the (command F) function, and then the (return) with the title (or a keyword or phrase from the title you are looking for) in the search bar. This will quickly search the page and tell you if the title you are looking for is there. If no results are found, you know you can go to the next one.
      • I have found this speeds up the process as I get in a rhythm of pressing the button for the next page and then quickly searching the page I am on.
      • If you do not press (command F) function, and then the (return), the search tool will not update and tell you if the word you are looking for is in the page.
      • You may want to play around with these features with an article on the first page or two to make sure you understand before searching for an article published several years ago.

• Once you have found the article you are looking for, you will then press the large create episode button.

• You will then be presented with the option to “Automatically convert to audio” or “Record” yourself.
• If you would like to quickly automatically convert the article, select that option.

• There are several voices you will then be able to select from. You choose the one you like most.

• Anchor then converts the entire article.
  • As of now there is no way to select only a portion of the text to convert so the entire article (including headers and captions) will be converted.
• Once the article is converted, you will then press the “Save and continue” button.

• Several optional features will then pop up. If you would like to add a song or messages to your podcast, this is the place where you would do it. Once the podcast is how you would like it, you then press the “Save changes” button.

• If you would like to update the episodes “Cover art”. Select the pencil to the right of the podcast.

• Scroll to the bottom and upload whatever image you would like.

Embedding a Podcast into an article

• Once you have published an article on Anchor, you are now able to embed it within your article for viewers to listen and read at the same time.
• When on Anchor, make sure you are on the Dashboard. There, you should see a button that says “View public site”. Click this button.

• You will then be directed to a page that gives several options. You will then press the button that says “Listen on Spotify”

• This will then take you to a page on Spotify instead of Anchor. Here, you will see all articles published using your anchor account. It may take a couple minutes for recently converted articles to show up on this page.
• Once you see your podcast title, when you hover your mouse over the podcast, a box with an arrow pointing upwards will appear in the bottom right of your highlighted podcast. When you click this button, it will copy a link to your podcast on Spotify. You will use this link to embed your podcast.

• Returning back to your WordPress article, insert a block where you would like your podcast to be embedded. When you press the plus button to insert a block, choose the browse all option. Scroll all the way down to embeds and select the one with the Spotify icon.

• You will then be able to past the link you previously copied from Spotify, and your podcast will now be embedded.

Editing a previously published podcast

• Anchor stores all previously published podcasts in the Episodes tab.
• Once you are in Episodes, select the button in the bottom right that says “Last”. This will take you to where all published podcasts are.

• If you would like to edit a podcast, click the three dots to the right of the podcast and select “View episode details”

• This is where you can edit and save your podcast.