It was over 18 months ago when I first published a podcast from this blog, and although my podcast episodes are infrequent this underused publishing medium is gaining traction for me. I release a podcast from this blog on average once every 60 days. Downloads have steadily risen and a snap shot from the past 7 days shows wide exposure to a global audience.
Listen to this post in podcast format;-
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Chart Showing The Total Podcast Downloads In The Last 7 Days:-
These encouraging statistics reinforce that podcasting is effective and when other benefits are considered you?ll see that a self published podcast is especially powerful;-
Why Podcast?
Podcasting builds authority ? Like speaking from stage, writing a book or appearing on TV or radio a podcast will elevate your position and help establish your authority. Authority in your market place leads to better conversions and increased profits ? a by product of the higher prices your ?expert? status will allow you to charge.
Voice allows rapid authoring ? Audio content is faster to produce. When you can create content faster, your production time lessens and your capacity to create increases. The more content you can put out there the greater opportunity there is to strengthen your connection with your community and reach more people.
Trojan horse method -?When you publish a podcast not only will listeners play that podcast from within their web browser but many will download the mp3 file from your site or from Apple iTunes. This gets your content on to their computer or mp3 device (such as an iPod) where it may be played multiple times resulting in increased exposure.
Traffic -?Podcasting brings increased?traffic. When you create a podcast and publish it to iTunes you access some 34 million people who listen to podcasts per month. The iTunes interface suggests podcasts to listeners based?on a relevancy algorithm similar to that of Google. Listeners will bleed from a similar?channel to your own within categories.
Podcasting is a rising trend ? Comparative to 2008, in 2012 twice the number of Podcast will be downloaded by Americans . An increase from 17.4 millin to 34.6 million in 4 years [source emarketer.com]. My prediction is that this will continue to rise so the sooner you jump on this wave the better.
Source eMarketer.com
Choosing The Right Format For Your Podcast
There are number of ways you can structure your ?show? and finding the best fit for you will be dependent on your own skill set. Whilst there are many, many variations most Podcast Shows are a variation on one of the following formats.
- Solo Presenter ? You deliver all the content. Episode lengths may be short and if you consider this format like an audio blog post creating content creation is quick and easy. For a n extended?show style format you will stronger presentation skills and a depth of content. More difficult!
- Co-Host - When you double up with a co-host you must?establish who does what. One person is going to anchor; introduce the show at the start and provide the structure. The other may be primarily responsible for the content. Whatever you decide the roles to be make sure you choose a co-host who compliments your skill set and you clearly define roles. If you don?t your delivery will be messy.
- Interview -?This is my favored and probably the easiest format. You host and bring in experts on specialist subjects. This gives your audience expert insights on broader topics and exposes you to new audiences ? the people you interview are likely to promote the interview to their own following.
Whatever format you choose find a medium that works for you. You may decide on a combination of the above.
What Equipment Will You Need?
There is a very low barrier to entry when it comes to podcasting, so much so I am confident you already have all the kit you need to get started. That said assembling the right tools at this stage will get you of to the best start. Here is my recommended list of basics;-
- Audio recording application; Garage Band (for Mac) or Audacity for all platforms will record good quality and export in the required mp3 format.
- A good quality microphone - This is the only real investment you will need to make. A good quality microphone will record far better sound quality compared to your in built microphone and will dramatically improve your production values. Yeti, Rode Podcaster and my choice the Audio Technica 2020 are all excellent mid range USB microphones
- Somewhere to host your media ? To reduce bandwith strain on your website hosting you would be wise to host your mp3 files on a remote server. My choice is Amazon S3.
- Podcasting plugin -?You will require a podcasting plugin to create an inbuilt player on you WordPress blog. The best choice is the ?Blubrry? podcasting plugin?as it provides advanced tracking metrics which I detail below.
?Raising The Bar With?Increased?Production Values;-
We?ve just covered the basics for getting started, however to take things up a notch for a more professional podcast get a branded intro/outro jingle made like the one you hear on the Incredible Internet Marketing podcast. Use a professional voice over artist and add backing music and sound effects then add these bumpers to the start and end of your show. I?ve found branding to be an important factor that influences recall and repeat visits to my show.
When recording Podcast interviews over Skype you might suffer from call drops every now and again. To avoid any break in sound ask your interviewee to also record the sound at their end. You can edit the 2 single tracks together afterwards to create a seamless high quality track. This technique is referred to as double headed recording.
Measuring The Effectiveness Of Your Podcast
When you use the Blubbry Powerpress Podcast plugin you access an advanced measurement tool. Use this tool to track which episodes are most popular and use that information to shape your future content. When you know which topic matters resonate most with your audience you can create future shows on similar topics knowing that they will be effective. Few marketers track to this level, if you do you will be ahead of the pack!
Leveraging Your Podcast For Wider Exposure
There are many ways you can increase the reach of your podcast by leveraging your content through multiple channels. A podcast that has multiple in streams gives you wider exposure and ensures you are not dependent on a single or limited number of traffic sources. Reliance on one or two traffic sources is dangerous for your business.
Announce your podcast through the following channels;-
- YouTube ? Add slides to your audio and create a short video teaser of your podcast like the interviews found here. This will act like a trailer and will pull an audience from You Tube to your blog. Remember to include your website url in the video description and include a call-to-action at the end of your video.
- Social Channels ? Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest should all form part of your leverage strategy. When you announce your new podcast episode across your social platforms you will draw people to the episode and positively influence your search engine rankings with strong social signals.
- Press Release -?Creating a Press Release is my default setting for all podcast interviews. The name of experts often have high Google searches and due to the emphasis the search engines place on news releases a Press Release draws traffic and helps increase ranking. Press Releases may also result in media contact and interviews.
- EMail List ? ?Seems obvious but often overlooked. A good Podcast will increase your authority with your subscriber base (assuming your content is good). They will get to know you better, advancing trust and through increased touch points your sales will improve ? I?ve found there to be a direct correlation between frequency of communication and sales volume.
Want to learn how to better your skills as a podcast host? I recommend;-
?Podcast Like A Radio DJ by Dan Lions
Get?Podcast Like A Radio DJ HERE
Dan Lyons is a well-known Celebrity DJ of 15 years and an accomplished podcaster. His course Podcast Like A Radio DJ has helped shape many of the improvements I?ve made to my podcast over the last 18 months. He teaches?..
- How iTunes can attract up to 350 leads a day to your business!
- How To Build Your Podcast Studio easily! (Nobody Talks About This)
- How to create endless podcast content from your business?.
?and many, many more gems only a seasoned pro like Dan knows. Highly recommended if you are serious about Podcasting.
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