Quite frankly, listening to podcasts is not something I enjoy or take the time to do. I am a visual learner and would rather read something than listen to it as I find reading to be a much faster way to gather the information I need. However, with the proliferation of audio listening devices, like the entire iPod family and other mp3 players, I have to admit that I think I’m in the minority. The world is listening to a wide variety of audio files, far more than ever before in history, and I need to get on the bandwagon or get lost in the dust.
What is a podcast anyway? A podcast is an audio file that you create in .mp3 format that is uploaded with an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) file to your server for your target market to download in any number of programs created to receive or subscribe to your feed. audio so they can listen to it at their leisure on their computer or personal mp3 device.
Why should you create a podcast? I think it serves as a marketing tool for the solo service professional who might want to do one of the following:
–create an internet radio show or talk show where you create content-rich broadcasts for your target market
–conduct a series of teleclasses in which you interview experts who have solutions to problems facing your target market
–promote a print book, e-book, or CD/DVD series by releasing promotional snippets to a wider audience
–provide short, valuable expert advice to your target market (my Get More Customers Online podcast consists of the weekly article I write for my newsletter)
Many podcasts are around an hour long, especially when they consist of recordings of radio shows or teleclasses. However, I think the listening threshold for most people is around 10 minutes. So, that means your podcast must be 10 minutes or less in length. If it’s longer, you really have to grab their attention in the first 10 minutes to keep them listening the whole time.
Good content and a good voice are key to maintaining interest. Don’t make your podcast a long ad for your services or products – share useful information with your target market to help them solve their problems. And, you need to have a good speaking voice. There is nothing worse than hearing someone read a speech with a monotonous delivery. So, for maximum impact when recording your podcast (especially if you’re only recording yourself), get up and walk around, smile, gesture, or do what you normally do when making a speech. Modulate your voice, the same way you would when having a 1:1 conversation with someone: put feeling and emotion into your words. I pretend I’m talking to my best friend, and that helps me with a lively delivery.
What are the steps to create a podcast?
1. Listen to a few podcasts to get an idea of what others are doing. To listen, you’ll need a podcatcher, which lets you subscribe to podcasts the same way you subscribe to blogs. I prefer iTunes as my podcatcher of choice, which is a free online download. You’ll also need to find podcasts, and the fastest way to do that is through podcast directories, which includes the iTunes store. Podcast Alley, one of the most popular podcast sites, has a large podcast directory, and Yahoo Podcasts has a podcast search. To find others, simply search online for “podcast directory.”
2. Plan your podcast. Who is your target market? What do they want to hear? How will your podcast be unique from others in your industry? What is your format (interviewing others, hosting a teleclass, or recording yourself)? How long will your podcast be? How often will you deliver your podcasts?
3. Record your podcast. Many people choose to record their podcast with free software called Audacity. It has an easy learning curve and advanced features for more experienced podcasters. Mac users may want to check out Garage Band. For the best recording sound, do not use the microphone that came with your computer or is built into your laptop. You’ll want to get a more professional one, like the ones offered at Plantronics or Radio Shack.
4. Save and upload your podcast to your server. Once you’ve created your podcast as an mp3 file, you now need to save and upload it to a server via an FTP program (such as CuteFTP) to make it available. You can upload it to your website or use one of the many podcast hosting services available. The problem with uploading it to your website is that the audio files take up a lot of space and you can quickly use up all of your hosting account’s storage capacity, not to mention your monthly bandwidth capacity if your podcast is popular and downloaded with frequency. That’s why I use a paid audio hosting company, Audio Acrobat, which offers me generous storage and bandwidth for a semi-annual fee. Another popular podcast hosting company is Hipcast.com.
5. Create your podcast feed. You can create your podcast feed from scratch, but I recommend using a feed service to do it. If you use a podcasting hosting service, this feature is included in your service package. For everyone else, the fastest way to create your podcast is through Feedburner.com. This is the same service that creates RSS feeds for blogs. The benefit of creating your podcast feed from this site is that you can create a browser-compatible feed, track your circulation, and enhance your feed with its SmartCast technology.
6. Publish and promote your podcast. If you use a podcast hosting service, the service will publish your podcast and notify various podcast directories of the availability of your new podcast. However, you can enter the information directly into the major podcast directories. You’ll also want to promote the podcast on your website, blog, and in your ezine. One of the easiest ways to do this is to add feed subscription buttons (called chiclets) to your sites. You will need to cut and paste the HTML code into your templates to create the chiclets. You can get instructions on how to post subscribe buttons from the various podcasters you want to feature. Lastly, you’ll want to create “album art” for your podcast, or a graphical representation that many podcatchers upload with the mp3 file. Album art can be from 170×170 to 300×300 square pixels at 72dpi. Any graphic designer can help you create this graphics file.
7. Earn money with your podcast. Podcast advertising is still fairly new, but companies like Fruitcast.com or PodcasterAds.com are good places to start. Another option is to place Google AdSense listings on all of your sites that include your podcast, or find sponsors for your podcasts, just like you would for a radio show.
Don’t let the world of audio pass you by! Podcasting is a very inexpensive way to help spread the word about what you do and offer to the world.
Copyright (c) 2006 Donna Gunter