Podcast Freq

Often people want to join the podcasting evolution but wonder whether they will have the time commitment, whether the medium suits them. They are very natural fears that we all have in the early days.

The best suggestion that I would give is launch a series of podcasts - one that has a finite end. This works really well for companies that want to test podcasting as a communication tool.

By setting a finite number of shows you give yourself a way out - one that is natural and not down to podfade. If you then find out that you love podcasting, that it is generating the kind of interest that you are looking for then you can continue the show - either with another series or by launching into a show format.

The only thing to note is that it takes a while to build a loyal audience, so if you are doing a small number of shows in the early days be aware that your audience grows over time.

One of my favourite “podcasters about podcasting” is Dave Jackson. He announced on his last show that he has started Cooler Webistes saying

” I have created some packages geared towards podcasters who are looking to host their files at Libsyn, and have a Wordpress Blog on their own site. Are you ready? It’s only $1.99 a month and you have more than enough space to host your blog.

BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE.

School of Podcasting Members can get an additional 20% off (login to get coupon).”

This is a one in a series of fantastic offers from Dave, and it is worth checking out School of Podcasting site as there is 1) great information/tutorials and 2) Some great discount deals.

I produce 4 podcasts each week and to do that there are some tools and kit that I would not be without.

1) The Levelator - this free program from Gigavox saves so much time, levelling out automatically the sound levels. I now cannot remember what it used to be like doing it manually!

2) My moleskine journal - I love it and would hate to be without it. I jot notes, ideas for shows, the rough outline of the shows

3) Skylook. I used to use Hot recorder but I had constant problems and moved to Skylook to record telephone interviews a few months ago. It has been so consistent and also much higher quality of sound.

4) My g mail accounts. The feedback was getting lost at my normal e-mail address so I set up a free account with google - now they are all in one place and makes the show so much easier to produce.

5) Skype. How else could I record half hour interviews with people all over the world and not have a huge bill. We can often take this technology for granted but for me it is cherished!

One of my favourite podcasters is Mitch Joel. He always makes you think, not only about how social media is changing the business world but also how you, as a podcaster, can help social change. Today, he has posted about how Podcasters Build Real World Communities.
Each time you listen to the news, you can find yourself thinking that the world has forgotten how to reach out in a positive way to each other. This post shows that indeed the sense of community is still alive and well, that we as podcasters have a role to play not only in the vitural/on line sense but in our local communities as well.

I am coming up to my 100th episode on The Engaging Brand - I cannot believe it is so near. I cannot believe that it is 100….that seemed so far away when I started. Here are my tips to maintain your motivation and stop podfading
1) Always have a plan for the next 2 shows…so you never feel under pressure to produce which causes you podstress!
2) Connect with other podcasters as they inspire you, they act as support, they act as idea generators.
3) Listen to other podcasts - they give you ideas of how to evolve.
4) (This is a personal one and won’t work for everyone) I don’t have a set day to produce the show. I produce 2 per 7-10 days but the days vary. Then I can build it into my schedule.
5) Use tools to speed up the process, for example The Levelator.

I love podcasting. I love the way it is allows you to share, to collaborate, to connect with people all over the world. For me, I try and keep that in mind and use it for motivation when I feel too tired.

I am starting to really enjoy Facebook and think it is a great tool for podcasters

1) Another way that you can promote your show that is FREE!
2) Another way to connect with listeners, especially those that do not like audio commenting.
3) Chance to ask questions about how to take your shows forward - through polls.
4) Love the applications. It helps save time by having many of the applications that I use in one place.
5) It acts as a motivation tool - I have joined groups that are podcaster related for ideas, tips etc
6) Way to promote events that you may be holding.

What I am looking for is a software platform that will bring my online communities together - will Facebook do that? Well, that is the direction it is going and at this point if I have to bet on one social networking site then Facebook is my favourite.

Here are my Groups that you can join
The Engaging Brand
The Podcast Sisters

Rob Safuto from Blubrry has just produced a video that highlights Songbird

From the website - “Songbird™ is a desktop Web player, a digital jukebox and Web browser mash-up. Like Firefox®, it is built from Mozilla®, cross-platform and open source.” For all the features check out the Songbird feature

I love the ability to search from the jukebox directly to a website - and I also love how quickly the program pulls the shows from the sites. Worth checking out.

I recently interviewed David Meerman Scott on The Engaging Brand podcast. David is a superb communicator and I learned so much from talking to him. Podcasting is part of the new tools available to reach your consumers. Here are some ideas that I took from the interview
1) It is not about convincing others of your skill, it is building their trust by providing great content, time after time.
2) It is basically free - so why not do it!
3) It is not about applying the old rules to new marketing…it is about creating new rules.
4) If you want people to talk about you then don’t control the conversation, involve them in the conversation.
5) Marketing used to be about convincing the media to talk about you, now it is about people choosing your content and talking about it.

David is a wonderful person and this is one of my favourite interviews. Although he talks about new marketing in general you can see the learnings for podcasters. Summary

Great content, Involve, Choice, Free

As a former Group Finance Director of a large organisation, I am the kind of person that people would need to convince to sign off on a podcasting investment….so how do you track success.

First of all, I would say that the cost of investment is so low that the return does not have to be that big to pay for itself! You can make podcasting as expensive as you want, however I would start small - prove the incredible worth and then invest more if you feel you have to. To measure the return it does depend on your aim. Here are my quick thoughts

1) Is it about understanding the new media? Then measure understanding before and after
2) Is it to increase sales? Then measure conversion rates from the podcast page, track sales leads, give a promotional code and track the success.
3) Is it about improving your reputation in the market? Then measure what people are saying - what is the ratio of positive to negative comments, both on line (via google alerts, technorati watchlists) and traditional media (through a clipping service)
4) Is it about increasing the conversation ? Track number of comments, trackbacks, e-mails, track members, sign ups
5) Is it an internal initiative? Track employee turnover rates, employee satisfaction, referrals, understanding before and after of the company story.
6) Is it about reducing costs - track the budget vs actual on stationery, recruitment costs, pr, advertising/marketing, recruitment costs

Podcasting is not an end in itself - it is a tool that I think you should use as part of a branding focus. As an FD with the low investment my question would be why not instead of why should we?

1) Give a CD away to people you meet who have not listened to a podcast as a taster.
2) Get a business card of your podcast details.
3) Send audio comments to other podcasters
4) Join podcasting groups
5) Use social networking to create a community
6) Put an advertising sticker on the top of your PC
7) Put a link in your e-mail signature
Use Google Adwords
9) Write articles for magazines
10) …..and if all else fails stand naked in Times Square with only your podcast address covering your modesty….mind you prison might upset your production schedule so may be not!

We recorded the latest show of The Podcast Sisters and in this weeks show we cover how to get noticed by listeners and directories alike. I love working with the Sisters as it has definitely given me different views, different ideas of how I can take my podcast forward.

Although it is easy making a podcast (or relatively!) that is only half the story. There are 2 other areas that podcasters need to think about..

1) How can I make it easier for non podcasters to understand the concept and to listen to the show. Many may listen to the shows on mp3 players but others will want to listen on the computer, mobiles etc A good test is to get your mum to look at your page and ask her what it is telling her and getting her to listen to the show. If it passes the mum test, then great….(as a woman myself not being sexest!)

2) Do your title, subtitles, keywords, descriptions etc sell your show, do they encourage search engines and people trying to find great podcasts to find them?

What they don’t say is podcasting is easy……attracting an audience can be hard…..but exhilarating and rewarding

The Blubrry blog highlights a new service called Mahola which is Hawaiin for Thank you. Mahola describes itself as
” Mahalo is the world’s first human-powered search engine powered by an enthusiastic and energetic group of Guides. Our Guides spend their days searching, filtering out spam, and hand-crafting the best search results possible. If they haven’t yet built a search result, you can request that search result. You can also suggest links for any of our search results.”

They have search results for podcast and I have to say I am impressed with the depth of resource despite the beta status. Well worth checking out.

I was giving a speech last night in London for the Institute of Direct Marketing on How Web 2.0 is changing the marketing world. After my presentation was Heather Gorringe from an SME called Wiggly Wigglers. She gave a fascinating insight into why she has ditched traditional advertising and now uses podcasting and blogging to talk with her consumers. Here are some notes on her talk.
1) She has over 30,000 downloads of her show per month - that is people that are hearing the Wiggly story. There is no way that an advert in a magazine could achieve that level of exposure.
2) If a discussion is worth having in the Wiggly team it is worth having on the show - if that means debate, disagreements even arguments then that is fine on “air” as the podcast is there to show the values, the beliefs, who is at the other end of the phone. It is showing the human side of the names on the WIggly website.
3) Despite the fact her market is the UK she has a global audience. Yesterday she received orders from New Zealand, Washington for natural bouquets to be sent to UK friends and family. Something that a magazine would not have achieved.
4) On the show she demo’s new potential products - live. If it doesn’t work then they don’t edit, they laugh! The podcast is an insight into their company, their story and so her only rule is that the show should be authentic, tell the truth and show the honesty of the Wiggly people.
5) They have introduced 8 new products(think it was 8!) based on reader/listener feedback.
6) Emotive storylines have produced huge repsonse - the show about the post mortem of a calf (Husband who is on the show is Farmer Phil), the live birth of a calf, an arguments about hedgerows and one of the largest audiences was when she fell out on air with her Wiggly co host over cats!! This just shows the importance of being you, of not sterilising the content, of letting people hear and see YOU.
7) They record the show on the “Wiggly” sofa (Their normal family sofa) Apparently it has become the star of the show with people actually wanting to vist and sit on the Wiggly sofa - even reporters have rushed to the sofa!!! This family sofa has become part of the iconic brand! What a cool idea…
7) Would she go back to traditional advertsing - no. She believes that selling is a thing of the past and it is now about telling your story. Who are Wiggly Wigglers, who are the people who grow, pack and make my products…..she believes Web 2.0 allows you to show the human side, to invite cutomers into your world, join the community.

Great story…great name - WIggly Wigglers, and now I have to wangle an invite to sit on that Wiggly sofa!

1) I am talking at the Podcast Expo on Creative Ways to Grow Your Audience each Week in September.
2) I met up with my very first boss who was a huge inspiration to me - we had lost touch and he found me online. I have now interviewed him and realised why he inspired me so much.
3) I have lost 53lbs in weight on a dieting Middle Age Shed podcast.
4) I have gained 64% of new clients in 2007 from The Engaging Brand podcast.
5) I pay my monthly bills from my podcasting. This allows freedom for work that I really want to do!
6) I have been asked to write a book purely from my podcast (Not sure I will do it but great to be asked!)
7) Looking through my network - 53% of my weekly contacts are with people who contacted me initially via my podcast.
I have talked to many of my favourite authors including Seth Godin, Dan Pink, Mark Sanborn, Steve Farber, Marshall Goldsmith, Shel Holtz and many more, which is the most exciting feeling.
9) My self confidence has grown - I used to hate public speaking!
10) Saved loads of money - stopped magazines, papers, some learning events as I get them all from podcasts.

Over on Podcast Sisters there is a post about the importance of social communities. I believe that we need to think more about social networking as part of the podcasting experience. The community is a way of
1) Spreading the word about your work.
2) Discussing how your podcast needs to evolve.
3) Giving a face to your listeners.
4) Allowing dialogue to continue after the show.
5) Developing the content from you talking to you listening.

I am not sure of the total journey that I will take at the moment, but a few moments ago I started The Engaging Podcast and Blog community at Facebook as a way of exploring how and why…..join in should be a great journey.