Podcast Freq

My dad was a huge mentor to me, and he achieved succes despite his dyslexia….I was thinking the other day how podcasting could have changed his life. He always felt that he was “under read” and found it difficult to learn new techniques etc because of his inability to read. Podcasting could really help people with similar issues and open up a whole new world of experiences. Has anyone got any stories of how podcasting has changed someone’s life?

As we near year end it is important that we sit down and review progress with our shows, have you achieved what you wanted to? It is not important how you measure it, via downloads, comments, growth, revenue etc but have you achieved what you set out to ?

Then just take 30 minutes to set some targets for 2007

* How do you want your podcast to evolve?
* What will your targets be?
* How will you market your podcast?
* Do you want to start a new podcast?
* Do you want to start to monetarise your podcast?
* How is the podcast helping your personal success and brand?
* What do you need to learn about and develop to keep a pace with the technological advances?

It is a great time to sit down and reflect, and ensure that 2007 brings you all the success that you deserve.

When you think about it your podcast is like a gift, for all the great wrapping, bows and string…it is the gift inside that you love. The podcast is like that…the promos, the album art, etc are all required to make the gift attractive but it is the content that will capture your heart. Always make sure that 75% of your effort or time is creating the right “gift of content” to the recipient!

I am undecided on music in podcasts. In The Engaging Brand I have put music in, and now have taken it out. It does give a more professional feel - but I have 2 main concerns

1) Isn’t it taking podcasting too near to radio shows?

2) What is it there for? What value does it give the listener?

3) I fast forward through the intro music…I listen to podcasts for the content, I don’t want the music.

Am I in the minority, for non-music related shows do you fast forward? Does it relax you into the show? Does it provide value?

This is a question that keeps rolling around in my mind, after all there is so much content out there and at this point 99% of it is free…so why would people pay, when they don’t have to? Here are my thoughts but please feel free to add yours…

1) To develop a paid for podcast, you will need to develop a premium brand….one that delivers results to the listener, that they build trust in your content and will pay because it is from you.

2) Niche podcasts that have content that you can NOT get anywhere else…maybe stories, personal journey’s, insights into your book, your research etc

3) Tailored podcasts to an individual

4) “How to podcast series”

What are your thoughts?

Many of the podcasting experts have posted thier predictions for 2007 Leesa Barnes, Paul Colligan reviewed his 2006 predictions, Bourne Media so I thought I would give you my thoughts on what we should be thinking about to stay ahead of the pack.

1) Mobile pod listening. The great aspect of podcasting is the ability to listen to what you want, when you want to…and mobile phones are a great tool. The mobile phone companies are now entering the podcasting world, and I think this will grow your audience even more…..and could be the most important technology for 2007.

2) There needs to be a way of finding the smaller podcasts easier…at the moment the directories tend to highlight the bigger podcasts and this becomes self-filfulling prophecy that they continue to grow. There is a need to support the lesser well known podcasts so that people don’t become “bored” with the popular ones. I think there may well be a move from some of the more popular as people search for new stimulation/entertainment….but is there a directory that helps you to do this now?

3) Tailored podcasts. The podcasts are still for general consumption - albeit often for niche audiences. The power could lie in individualised, tailored podcasts…the ultimate personalised listening.

4) Learning and development lends itself to podcasting…but is there a brand leaders out there?

5) Interactive technology. Podcasting still struggles to get true interaction with the audience. Would be great if when you are listening you could text, phone in etc while listening…

So what trends do you believe will emerge in 2007?

Interviewing is a great way to bring some variety of thought to your podcast. Here are 4 quick tips that will help the interview run smoothly……

1) If you are with the person, don’t move the microphone between the two people. Keep the microphone between the 2, as if you move it you may miss the end of the question, or the start of the answer.

2) Ask open ended questions, people can be nervous and if you allow them to answer yes or no then the interview won’t flow. So start your questions with how, why, what…..

3) Listen attentively and ask the questions that crop up in your mind, you are acting on behalf of the listener. If you stick strictly to a script the conversation won’t flow as much and also leave the listener wanting you to have explored some areas more.

4) Try and start your question with a reference to the interviewee last comment so that they link.

I have sometimes recorded telephone interviews only to find that my voice has not registered in Hot Recorder. I have just found out that you need to check you are using the default quality on Hot Recorder rather than high quality, not sure if this is the total answer but since I did this…touch wood, no problems. The other thing that I do now is always record in audacity as well…so I have a back up for my part of the conversation. Hope this helps!

As the podcast audience grows and IF you want to monetarize your podcast, you need to be ready in 2007. So one thing that you can do is prepare a simple media kit for potential advertisers….you can pull this together yourself if budget is tight or post a project on elance, which is a great way to get value for money. You need to explain to advertisers how you will deliver value for them….so

Who is your target audience? Who are your listeners?

Sample of your podcasts, including an audio promo

Any statistics for your show -like downloads, reviews, return on advertising on your blog, level of influence within your specialised area

Your 2007 plans for the show

Upcoming events to drive listenership

In basic terms - answer the question “What’s in it for me?”

Often listeners are not comfortable recording an audio file or do not have a microphone…so why not set up a voicemail account. Here are some cheap ways of providing a listener line for your podcast

Vonage

Skype

MaxEmail

OneBox

It is all about making it as easy as possible for people to join in the conversation, there are many packages out there which are incredibly great value.

Your blog can provide a good feedback system via the comments to your show notes. As your podcast grows the comments can become overwhelming, and therefore why not try a bulleting board. You can link your blog to the bulltin board via a program like phpBB. This can really help develop a conversation about your topic and build a sense of community.

I announced the workshop that Leesa Barnes is running in March 2007, in the UK. Leesa pointed out that the posting was slightly incorrect and the link you need is Buzz Marketing Workshop. Go on over and join in the fun. Leesa is a wonderfully energetic speaker and so enthusiastic about blogging and podcasting, we are even going to arrange a “Geek Dinner” in London during the event…watch out for details on this blog.

Podcasting empowers an individual by bring an easy way to get your content out there, and it also empowers the listener to tune in or out, to choose when, where and how they listen to content. So how can you use empowerment so that it works for you, rather than against you.

1) Give as many channels as possible for the listener to contribute…e-mail, telephone, mychingo

2) Constantly surpise them so that you empower them to talk about your show

3) Deal with both negative and positive feedback, give them dialogue to empower them to understand your viewpoint.

4) Make it easy for them to join your listenership, don’t give them an excuse to tune out