It isn’t as sexy as video. It isn’t as trendy as mobile advertising or social media, If you ask anyone in our industry if they do it, chances are, they don’t.
Podcasting.
Often overlooked and underrated, podcasting is a fantastic way to communicate with your customers and fans, expand your reach and, frankly, have a lot of fun. The best part about it? It’s practically free to do and easier than almost anything else you have in your repertoire.
It’s cheaper, faster and much more simple to produce than video. It isn’t as complicated as getting into the mobile game. It isn’t nearly as time consuming as social media. You don’t have to replace any of those activities—if you’ve got twenty minutes a week and a microphone (you almost certainly do, on both counts) you can be a successful podcaster.
Still not convinced? Wizzard Media announced that 1.4 billion podcast downloads were processed in 2009. They are just one source for podcasts. People are listening. What do you want to say to them?
Choose a Topic
What do you have to talk about? I know there is something related to your business that you can talk about for 20 minutes. Do you release new products every week? Would you like to interview people in your company or in your industry? Choosing a topic shouldn’t be too difficult; even the most esoteric topics have listeners.
Just as with blogging, though, don’t feel that you need to be all business. It is often better to podcast about a topic you’re passionate about. Listeners will get to know you and your bio (which you’ll mention at the start and end of each show) will lead them back to your business.
Plan, Plan, Plan
One key to listener retention is ensuring that listeners know what to expect. Once you’ve chosen your topic, stick to it. If your topic is fine art, don’t spend ten minutes talking about your dog. Listeners won’t stick around waiting for your main topic to come up. You don’t need to be completely inflexible, but vary too wildly and you’ll turn off the listeners you’ve worked to attract.
Part of listener expectations is your schedule. Ideally, you will publish your podcast episodes on the same day(s) every week. Like blogging, content published on a regular schedule is preferred by the people that consume it.
Another key to listener retention is repetition. Not repetition in what you say, but repetition in how you say it. Be yourself, or choose a persona that you can stick with. Consider your topic, and plan your style accordingly. Worried about your voice? Don’t be! Be natural. You’re not Tom Brokaw or Oprah, and listeners don’t expect you to be. Your voice is fine.
Once you’ve got a plan, you’re ready to investigate the technical details of recording, editing, uploading and promoting. The good news is all those things are a breeze once you’ve got your plan in place!
Daniel M. Clark is a co-host of the Geek Dads Weekly podcast (geekdadsweekly.com).
Download the entire FeedFront issue 11 here – http://www.scribd.com/doc/29057000/FeedFront-Magazine-Issue-11
FeedFront issue 11 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2010/07
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Great article. It’s amazing the relationship you can build with your audience. Be sure to listen to a few podcasts before you start, as it helps to have some examples of good and bad podcasts to help shape where you want to go with yours.
Absolutely! Making podcasts has really impacted on my own company, helping us generate more interest and customers.
My biggest tip would be to invest in good equipment to ensure you sound great. The bar is getting higher all the time as good audio equipment has come down in price.
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