Podcast Freq

I am at the Podcast Expo and yesterday saw Franklin McMahon present 10 tips on how to become a podcasting rock star. Here is a summary that I hope you will find useful

1) Market outside your podcasting community.
2) Take aim at profitability - aim to make money.
3) Promote your strengths, what people cannot get anywhere else…
4) Create a community.
5) Be confident sell your show!
6) Think content
7) Don’t “make a show” - build a brand
Have a game plan - take control of becoming successful.
9) Delegate what you are not good at
10) Be smart with any interaction that you have.

podcasting, podcast + success, podcasting community, franklin mcmahon, podcast expo

People often ask me where I got my interview training - are you joking?? I am a Chartered Accountant by trade, not an interviewer. But I did get a great piece of advice early doors which has helped me a lot.

Someone said to me interview on behalf of the listener, not the interviewee or even yourself. That has stayed with me. I podcast on areas that I would like to think, are my strengths or areas of my expertise. The temptation to continue speaking rather than interviewing is often very high!

However, on the podcast I am there on behalf of my listener…it is my role not to show off my expertise, not to show off the guests expertise but to ask the questions that are in the listeners head.

I have received great feedback, from listeners and from guests that this makes it more conversational and also improves the value of the content. Not sure that I get it right all the time but always try and keep this at the front of my thoughts.

interviewing techniques, podcasting, podcast, listener feedback

So the podcast expo is here and I am so looking forward to meeting the people behind the voices. I am also looking at learning more about podcasting. Like many, I have learned on the job….and by making mistakes! But these next few days I want to develop my skills and my thinking

1) I want to learn more about creating dialogue
2) I want to learn more about doubling your audience
3) I want to learn more about creating great audio
4) I want to learn more about how people keep their format fresh

Well will let you know how my learning goes….

podcasting, how to podcast, pme, podcast expo, audio

I am really starting to love facebook, well I always have but I am now using it for inspiration for my podcast. Let me explain

1) Seeing faces, faces that listen to your podcast is fantastic, to see that you are affecting real people’s lives.
2) Connecting with potential interviewees…I have arranged about 6 future shows purely via Facebook.
3)Resources. Using the question format for feedback for the show and also to help solve technical issues.
4) Using the ‘message all’ members to let them know about shows but adding into the message something personal as a way of connecting.

I love facebook as our little home for all The Engaging Brand people…it is like our own community, our own meeting place.
[tags] facebook, groups, community, podcasting, podcast,

I am a firm believer that business are underusing podcasts as an internal motivation tool - over at The Podcast Sisters their latest podcast looks at various ways of using podcasts.

The show covers development, communication, projects, recruitment, collaboration across divisions/functions and also as a feedback tool. Great stuff…well worth a listen as many shows talk about the concept but this shows gives you loads of practical ideas.

podcasting, corporate podcasting, business podcasting, internal communications, the podcast sisters

As a podcaster you are often asked about what you do….being prepared with your answer, is very important. So take 10 minutes to work out how you would reply to the following questions

1) What do you do?

My answer = I am a show producer. (Tends to pique interest somewhat!)

2) What is the show about?

My answer for The Engaging Brand is…. to help leaders inspire, motivate and engage people at work, why? to boost profits!

3) What is a podcast?

It is a radio show on steriods! You choose what you want to listen to and it will automatically download to your computer for you to listen to at your leisure….no time contraints, no content you don’t want…just 100% content.

SO HOW DO YOU REPLY LET ME KNOW!

[tags] podcasting, podcaster, what is a podcast, audio files [ /tags]

Podcasting News has given us an insight into PodShows announcement at the Podcast Expo coming up this week.

“Podcasting startup PodShow is expected to formally announce a partnership with TiVo next week that will bring PodShow’s video podcasts to TiVo users. The agreement promises to make Podshow’s content available to millions of new viewers, directly on their televisions.”

I have always believed that podcasts will show strong growth when the user interface is simple and using technology that people are used to…like a TV. My mum is in her 70’s and feels intimidated by the technology….but if I said you can listen to The Engaging Brand through your TV…she would! Now I know my mum is not typical but her feelings are…..the content is not the issue, it is it’s strength….if we could break the mystery of how to listen then podcasts are ready for growth. I only hope that Sky in the UK does a similar deal!

podcasts, podcasting, tivo, podshow, podcast media expo, listening to podcasts

For anyone who is responsible for corporate podcasting, there is a new book out The Business Podcasting Book- I hasten to add I haven’t had time to read it yet, but from the standard of authors Michael Geoghegan, Greg Cangialosi, Ryan Irelan, Tim Bourquin, and Colette Vogele, it looks like it should be a great read….and a long one at 420 pages.

More and more corporations are starting to look at the use of podcasts as part of their communication strategy or their marketing plan. Why? Because it is an incredibly cost effective way of creating value for your consumers….and also more than that, the long tail effect means that the audience will grow over time ….it is not a one hit wonder such as press adverts.

corporate podcasting, michael goeghegan, marketing + podcast, business podcast

I cannot believe that the Expo is next week, it seemed to be ages away and then it has almost arrived! I have posted before that I will be at the Podcast Expo and on a panel which will be talking about how to market your show.

Before you attend these events, I think it is important to think about what you want to get from attending. What will success look like for you?

Will it be
Learnings and improved knowledge of podcasting
New contacts
Building your audience
Finding new resources and equipment
Inspiration and motivation

These will be different for different people. The key is understanding your personal goal and then spending some time to work out how to achieve it. For instance the balance between attending speaking sessions vs exhibitors stands vs networking. If you will be there then let me know and let’s hook up…..for me inspiration is my goal so the more great people and variety of people the better!

podcasting, pme, podcast and media expo, marketing + podcast, goals

We invest a huge amount of time in our podcasts, it is like a child to us! So when we receive feedback that is either negative or sounds picky, it can be difficult. I would offer these thoughts on negative feedback

1) Remove the emotion and look at the core of the message - if there something that you can learn from. Don’t dismiss it just because of the emotional words.
2) The feedback is not necessarily representative of ALL listeners.
3) Deal with it positively - often if you write back in a positive way you diffuse the situation and actually can lead to that person being positive about you and your work.
4) There is a saying that any PR is good PR….I like to think that any feedack is good feedback as it shows that you have stoked emotion in someone.
5) If you are not sure about the issue..ask your facebook group, or blog readers for what they feel…..try and get some research to either back up the point, ideas of how to address it or indeed feedback that is positive that balances your perspective.

Remember whatever you produce in whatever walk of life - some people will love, others won’t….you cannot please every person.

podcasting, podcast, negative feedback, podcast communities

Yesterday I was with a client in London which meant a 7 hours of travelling….which I love as I catch up on podcasts! I was struck by how many people had earphones….I don’t know if this was me just noticing for the first time, or whether there does seem to be a growing trend. Yesterday 1 in 4 (my estimate) of people were listening rather than reading, talking, sleeping etc

It struck me that the problem is not delivering your content…the medium is there, people are using mobile players. The problem is that most people are still not aware of the podcast possibility. I think it would be a safe bet that most of those people were listening to music.

My takeaway…if all those people can download music, then they can download podcasts. If we could convert just a 1/3rd of those people to podcasts then that would change the landscape for podcasts. The market is there, the product is there…we just need to bridge the two!

podcasts, podcasting, music downloads, mobile, audio

A question that I get asked often! My honest answer is no, not if you can afford not too…podcasting is intimate, people are listening not for adverts but for content.

After saying that, I do advertise on one of my podcasts. Why? Genuinely at the time I needed the money. The advertising paid the monthly bills which meant that I could develop the company at a slower pace, ensuring that it achieved what I wanted it to achieve.
The pay off was that I would not include prerecorded adverts…I read them myself and try and build stories around them, thus making it less intrusive. Do I feel guilty…in a sense yes, as podcasting was meant to breaking free from commerciality….but then no! My listeners get great interviews with some of the leading business thinkers….for free. I spend about 5-6 hours a week putting this content together…..is a 30 second story a fair pay back, well I think it is reasonable.

The decision is yours….but whichever way you go, remember that a strength of podcasts is the lack of commerciality, so if you do advertise how can you ensure that even that section adds value?

podcasting, podcast, advertising, making money online, the engaging brand, commercials

Engagement seems to be the order of the day. How engaged are your listeners to the content that you produce? Here are 5 ways to measure your listener engagement.

1) I still believe that reviewing the trend on your listenership is important and a true measure of whether people are gaining value from your content. I look at the last 6 months and ensure that the trend is upwards. I also look at the shows on The Engaging Brand that have the highest downloads - what did those shows cover, what was the format…..are there lessons that you can use for future shows.

2) What is the level of interaction. This may be comments, both audio or written. Again, which subjects achieve higher interaction from listeners?

3) I love Facebook as an engagement tool. Form a group and watch the membership both in terms of numbers and also again in terms of interaction within the group.

4) Set up a Google Alert. Are people talking about your content? Is the influence of your show growing?

5) 65% of my work comes from people who listen to the show (YTD - 2007) I track business contacts gained through the show. For me this says that people trust in my work, are engaged with my style and content.

engagement measures, podcasting, podcast metrics, google alerts, increasing listeners

For me one of the best podcasting tools out there, is The Levelator. Well The Levelator has a new home over at The Conversations Network.

For podcasters, the levelator remains an invaluable tool. Here is what they say at their website

“Have you ever recorded an interview in which you and your guest ended up at different volumes? How about a panel discussion where some people were close to microphones and others were not? These are the problems the post-production engineers of Team ITC here at The Conversations Network solve every day, and it used to take them hours of painstaking work with expensive and complex tools like SoundTrack Pro, Audacity, Sound Forge or Audition to solve them. Now it takes mere seconds. Seriously. The Levelator is unlike any other audio tool you’ve ever seen, heard or used. It’s magic. And it’s free.”

Doug Kaye says “I’m equally excited to announce thatThe Levelator has also come home. From now on, future development, distribution and support of The Levelator will be done here, and to kick things off, we’ve just published a newversion (1.2.1) for OS X and Windows. The Linux versions willbe available shortly.”

podcasting, the levelator, doug kaye, podcast tools

Just 2 more ideas in our series of promoting your podcast. These ideas are ones that either I have used or that I know other people have used successfully. Not all the ideas will work for you but it is intended to inspire you to think wider than podcast directories.

Today we look at Y.

Y= You are a great sales person for your podcast. After all you are the content, your ideas, your work is what you are wanting others to buy into. Why not offer to do local speaking events and introduce people to podcasting. For instance, your local college might want speakers on how podcasts can be an invaluable development or research tool. Clubs for seniors might want to know about the new technology so that they can understand their grandchildren! Research your area and look for ways of providing value….of course during the talk you get the chance to reference your show!

podcast, podcasting, speaking events, promotion,