Last time we talked about how to record the raw material for a podcast. This month we are going to look at how you can edit it, add background music and output a finished MP3 file for your internet or intranet site.

If you followed my instructions last time you should have a .WAV or .MP3 file. If your recorder is an Olympus there is a chance that it is in the.WMA format. If so, we need to convert it to .WAV before we can go any further.

This isn’t too difficult – there are convertor packages available on the net. One is Switch, which is available for both Mac and PC.

While you are connected you also need to download an audio editing program. You can spend a small fortune on these, but the one I recommend is free. It is called Audacity and is open source. Don’t laugh – it is easily as good as paid-for options.

So Google Audacity and download it. While you are on the Audacity web site download the LAME encoding software too. This is also free and will let you output MP3 files from Audacity.

Once you have installed both you are ready to go.

If you now open up the audio you recorded earlier using Audacity you will see the waveform on the screen. Pressing play will let you review your audio and you will see the progress bar move across the waveform as it does so.

You can zoom in to take a closer look. In fact, I recommend you do just that. Now, to edit out any “umms and aahs” just click and drag over the audio you want to remove and press delete. As the Meerkat would say: “Simples!”.

If you have recorded a separate intro for your interview you can now highlight this, copy it and paste it onto the front of the interview audio. It is all quite intuitive.

What about music? You can’t just go and steal any piece of music you like as you would be in breach of copyright. However, there is a lot of podcast-ready music out there that you can buy and even pod-safe music that you use for free.

Two sites worth looking at are Podsafeaudio and MusicAlley.

If you want to have background music with your speech that can also be accomplished. Create a new track and paste your music into that. You can adjust the volume of the music using the pinch tool, which looks like two small triangles with a piece of tape running through the middle. Now if you play the track you will hear your voice and the music.

Once your audio is edited you are nearly there. Save the project and then use the “File>>Export as WAV” option to output your finished audio. I know that ultimately we need an MP3 file, but bear with me.

The trouble with mixing various pieces of audio together is that you you end up with differing audio levels. This can be hard to fix manually, but there is an easy way to do it.

Google Levelator – there are versions for Mac and PC. Now drag and drop your output WAV file to Levelator and let it work its magic. It will give you yet another WAV file with perfectly corrected audio levels.

Open this file with Audacity again and you are nearly there. First we need to set the MP3 quality level. Go to the Audacity preferences, select “File Formats” and set the MP3 bit rate to 64kbps. This is good enough for speech and will usually play over the net quite happily without stuttering or stalling. Now use the “File>>Export as MP3” option.

There you have it – your finished edited MP3 file.

Next time we will look at how you can play it on your web or intranet site and integrate it with iTunes.

Interested in a new, cutting-edge tool that can reach millions of potential customers? Then you are looking for PODCASTING!

And unlike radio shows, which are transferred through the air in radio waves, and regulated and controlled by the FCC, there are no regulations or rules for podcasting, as long as you don’t use copyprotected property.

A podcast is an audio file stored on the Internet that customers can download to their computers or MP3 players and listen to whenever they want.

Now, you may be thinking, “So what – MP3 files have been available for download from the internet for years!” Well, what makes podcasting different and truly useful as business tool is that customers can subscribe to programs they are interested in. This means that free and easy-to-use podcasting software automatically downloads new podcasts to your customers’ computers as soon as they are available.

Just how big is the potential reach of podcasting? Consider these numbers from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. According to their research:

[o] More than 22 million US adults own an iPod or other MP3 player – 13% of men and 9% of women

[o] 20% of the lucrative 18- to 28-year-old market owns an iPod or other MP3 player

[o] 29% of the people who own an iPod or MP3 player have downloaded a podcast

This translates to 6 million U.S. adults who have downloaded podcasts – a truly impressive figure considering podcasting is still a relatively new technology.

The keys to the early success of podcasting is that it offers great choice and convenience, plus ANYONE can do it with the right tools.

o Offer Your Customers Choice

Podcasts can be about any topic you can think of. They might be music, a talk show, a lecture, a recorded tele-seminar, a sermon, etc. Possible applications for podcasting include:

– Interviewing authors and leaders in your industry, then offering the interviews through a podcast on your website.

– Offering late-breaking industry news.

– Offering in-depth information to niche customers.

– Medical organizations can offer podcasts on such topics as bariatric (weight loss) surgery, diabetes control, glaucoma, alternative medicine, and more.

– Religious organizations can use podcasts to distribute weekly sermons, missionary updates, extol their beliefs and offerings, and otherwise share their message, globally, as long as listeners have an internet connection.

– Preschools and Day Care Centers can offer parenting tips.

– Universities can offer audio lectures, student calendars and orientation, and campus tours.

– Travel agents can offer audio tours of popular cities.

– Chambers of Commerce can introduce potential tourists, conventions, and businesses to their cities.

– Museums and historic sites can offer private guided tours of their facilities.

– Conference presenters can offer podcasts of their sessions for people who were unable to attend the live events and save on postage and fulfillment costs.

– Companies and non-profit organizations can offer training to their employees and volunteers.

o Offer Your Customers Convenience

If you publish or plan to publish any type of audio file for your customers – whether audio newsletters, teleconference calls, interviews, lectures, etc. – podcasting simplifies everything for both you and your customers.

Once customers subscribe to your podcast, you won’t have to worry about sending them an email to download a new MP3.

Instead, your message will land directly on your customers’ desktops every time you create a new podcast.

The convenience continues even after the download. Once the podcasts are downloaded to your customers’ computers, they can synch them to your MP3 player, burn them to a CD, or simply listen to them through their computer speakers. In other words, customers can subscribe to your podcast, download it, and take it with them as they go out jogging or commute to the office.

Best of all, not only are podcasts themselves generally free, but so is most of the podcasting software your customers will need to listen to podcasts!

Both podcasts and podcasting software are easy to find on the internet and are easy to use.

Podcasts are pre-recorded audio files. Usually they are in MP3 format. They are not live broadcasts. Listeners typically download them and then load them onto their iPods, MP3 players, or other portable media devices for later listening. Because podcasts are mostly spoken word, the MP3 files can be created at a lower fidelity than music MP3s, hence deliver a considerable amount of audio content with surprisingly small file sizes.

People listen to podcasts when and where they traditionally listened to radio or music: during their daily commute, at the gym, or on airplanes. Unlike radio, there is no constant dial searching. A podcast listener is usually committed to listening to the full show.

A compelling podcast can be created quickly, simply, and with little to no investment in hardware and software. All one needs is a computer, a simple microphone, and audio recording/editing software. Inexpensive and even free recording/editing software like Audacity can be downloaded from the Internet.

After creating your podcast, the MP3 files are hosted either on your own Internet site (or a third party site that specializes in podcast hosting). A simple RSS/XML file is also hosted on your site. The RSS file allows iTunes and other podcast aggregators to link to your MP3 and distribute it. Of course, one does not need to register or link via iTunes. An RSS file for a podcast intended for internal company communication can be accessed by employees outside of iTunes and other public podcast aggregators.

Why Podcast?

Your audience is captured and motivated: Podcast listeners download your podcast by choice. It offers them the content they want. They listen to it to the exclusion of competing media. Unlike listening to music, spoken word podcasts require a greater cognitive investment.

Good PR: An informative, entertaining, and engaging podcast host or ensemble cast can create a rapid and deeply personal relationship with the target audience. Across all forms of social networking and social media, the key to success is delivering emotional content. Podcasting shares the ability of radio to create a one-to-one relationship between listener and host.

Bring focus to issues: We all know the media blows it when it comes to covering a given industry. There is a lack of balance and perspective. A podcast helps you tip the balance back in your favor by not only focusing on news and events that better reflect upon your industry, but allows sober, detailed comment. A podcast gives you time to deliver a message that reaches beyond the headlines.

Get the emotional content exactly right: We all know an improperly worded email can have negative consequences if the reader misinterprets the message’s emotional content. At times it is difficult to distinguish between professional language and a message that is unnecessary terse. A podcast allows you to deliver messages to clients and colleagues with unambiguous emotional content.

Before You Begin

iTunes is the Big Show: Before you embark on a podcast, check out iTunes. iTunes aggregates most of the podcasts out there. Do some keyword searches on the topic you’re interested in. One key to developing a successful podcast is finding a niche not covered. You might even be surprised to find a whole category wanting for a good podcast.

Discover Your Company’s Internal Talent: You might be surprised that quiet guy keeping the LAN running can rock a mike and has esoteric knowledge that translates well into a podcast.

Make A Realistic Production Plan: Map out your first dozen shows. Will you do this weekly? Every two weeks? Monthly? What’s a reasonable release schedule you can maintain?

Keep to a Predictable Release Date: If you decide to do a weekly show, make sure you release weekly and on the same date. As you attract fans, they will expect your show at a certain interval and get a bit cranky as your begin to slide from a weekly show to every two weeks to monthly to “whenever”.

Podcasts can be listened to on a computer using any media playing software. Subscribing to a podcast is the same as subscribing to a blog and some blogs are used to distribute podcasts, so they can be down loaded or a link is given to the audio file. These files can then be transferred from a computer to a portable device.

Anyone with anything to say, with a strong desire to voice their opinions, or simply entertain can create a radio style podcast with little cost and time. All it takes is a microphone, computer and an internet connection. Subject matter for podcasting is restriction and regulation free, but the success of a podcaster will always be reliant on the quality of material and level of professionalism by the broadcaster.

Podcasts Replacing Radio Chat Shows

Talk back radio style podcasts are popular content and have no worries with copyright law as long as there is no music played without first obtaining permission or purchasing the right. Therefore, podcasts are rising in popularity, and home based broadcasters are becoming as famous as radio show hosts. Shows are recorded at home and distributed globally via the internet to thousands of listeners, and these numbers can soon be in the millions.

Podcasts through the internet can reach a broader audience than any local or national radio. Businesses are starting to take note of the figures in terms of audience that can be reached through podcasting and the potential for blogs and podcasting as a content distribution tool in the future.

Podcast Creation

Planning is a key factor when podcasting and essential for delivering quality material, keeping listeners coming back for more, and building a strong regular listener base. A higher level of technological savvy is needed to record, upload, host and distribute podcasts. There are companies making these processes easier for future podcasters and expectations are positive and high for this form of broadcasting.

Podcasts allow individuals to distribute their ideas and show their talent on a global platform. Podcasts range from travel journals, short film makers, daily recipes and cooking tips, shows introducing the latest bands, comic book conventions, product reviews, and news media.

Planning a podcast starts first with the ideas, progressing to notes and then a script can be created. Even if the script is only used loosely it would act as a guide and keep a natural flow to the program and its sections in sequence, including musical slots, and introducing previously made interview material. If a podcaster plans to create a regular show or series then several shows should be planned up front before the initial launch.

There are a lot of ways to advertise an up and coming podcast and podcast series, and all channels need to be used to maximize success in the initial stages. Blogging is a popular way, forums, other popular podcast and all social media: Facebook and Twitter are strong advertising potentials and it would be worth signing up for other social networks around the world.

Entrepreneurs are often upon the lookout for new effective ways to promote their brands, and podcasting can be one of them. Increasingly popular in the recent decade, podcasts have become attractive to a great number of enterprises doing business online. If you’re willing to

upgrade to a new level of communication with our audience, increase outreach and acquire loyal customers, podcasting is the right option for your business.

The number of active podcast listeners is growing year by year. In the US only, the podcast audience is estimated to reach 57 million people by the end of 2016, increasing by 75% since 2013. This can be compared to a number of monthly active users of a huge social network, like Twitter. A new study has shown that nearly 65% of podcast listeners are likely to buy a product after hearing a call-to-action. All this makes podcasting a really smart investment for business. The following 5 milestones will help you to get started with your business podcast and make it a success.

1. Define your podcast format

At the initial stage, you need to map everything out: what will be the format, the length, and the consistency of your podcast? It can include several types of content, such as solo, interview, co-host, and video podcast (vidcast). For better effect, you should mix different content that corresponds with the subject. Recommended podcast length is not more than 60 minutes, since more information can be difficult to memorize. Create a list of 5-6 key topics and split them into a few episodes. This will help to keep your audience excited and motivate them to visit your podcast again when the next episode goes live.

2. Get sound recording equipment

Although podcasting isn’t typically too expensive, it still requires some voice recording equipment and software. What’s really great is that you can get started even with your smartphone, which has a built-in microphone, and free sound editing apps. As a beginner, you’ll need to test the waters in podcasting before increasing your spending. Moving forward, it’s recommended to purchase a professional microphone and mixer – good quality should be your top priority!

3. Start your first recording

Before starting the first recording, revise the text you’ll need to say. Don’t worry too much about doing the show. Be confident that your audience knows what to expect. Speak slowly and clearly and don’t panic if you make a mistake. Even professionals can get puzzled from time to time. Once the recording is ready, listen to it several times to make sure that nothing was missed.

4. Publishing to podcast hosting platforms

To maximize audience outreach, make sure to publish your content to at least one of the most popular podcast hosting platforms like SoundCloud, iTunes, Archive.org, Amazon S3, Ourmedia.org, Podomatic, PodBean, Buzzsprout. Sometimes, finding the right hosting platform for podcasting can be a tricky task. The choice may depend on the audience size, functionality, ease of use, and pricing. Since podcasting platforms take care of hosting your content, you don’t need to buy large storage for your website in order to make it available online. Popular podcast hosting platforms have hundreds of thousands of monthly active users, so you’ll definitely find the audience which will be interested in your content. Some podcasting websites even allow recording and editing audio online, thus helping to simplify and streamline the time-consuming process of editing podcast audio at home.

5. Adding a podcast player to your own website

When you run a podcast about your business, it’s important to add it to your own website as well, so that customers who are already familiar with your brand can listen to your audio content, and new website visitors are motivated to spend more time on it. This can be done with an embedded podcast player. Don’t worry; you don’t have to be a technically-advanced person to add a podcast to your website. In most cases, it’s enough to simply copy an embed code from a podcast hosting platform like SoundCloud (where you have already started publishing) and paste it on your website right where you want the podcast player to show up. If your website uses a CMS like WordPress, you can install one of the numerous podcast plugins available and publish podcasts right from your website dashboard!

Podcasting is a powerful opportunity businesses should use to engage their audience, build trust around the brand, and increase lead generation and sales. Popular podcast hosting platforms can provide you with great outreach, and your own website should be a target destination for active podcast listeners, where they will more likely convert into real customers.

The term podcasting has been floating about on the radio and in discussions with

friends, but you’re still not sure what it’s all about and if it’s relevant to your

business.

I’ll start by explaining in simplest terms what a podcast is.

A podcast is the combination of an audio or video file and a RSS publishing file,

placed on an Internet server and available for downloading.

Let’s say you plug a microphone into your computer and record a 15 minute blurb

about an area of knowledge you have. Now you have a sound file on your computer

waiting for a home, and you want that home to be on the Internet for millions of

people to listen to.

You will first need to find a “host” company to take your file and put it on their

“server” to make the file available to the world. This is called a “podcasting” server.

Once you have contacted a server and have placed your file on their server, you will

want people to find your file. To do this you have to create a special document that

“publishes” your file to the world.

This document is called an “RSS” file – which stands for Really Simple Syndication. In

this document you will put vital information like subject matter, keywords, website,

contact info and other information about the podcast and your business.

When this RSS file has been created, it is placed in the same folder as the audio file

on the podcasting server. When you have posted an audio file and published it using

your RSS file, you have successfully created a “podcast”.

Now you want people to be able to find your podcast

There are many online directories for podcasts that have searchable databases.

These services are generally free. On these sites people with new podcasts fill out a

form telling the world about the subject of the podcast, which is posted to the

directory.

Once your podcast information has been posted, anyone visiting that directory

searching for podcasts containing the subject matter of your podcast, will

immediately find a link to your podcast.

Of course the more directories you list with, the more people you’ll expose your

podcast to.

Another great thing about these directories is that Google and other search engines

visit these sites to find content, so there is an even greater chance of people finding

your podcast.

Once your podcast has been posted to a number of podcasting directories, it is now

available to millions of potential listeners worldwide.

How does one listen to a podcast, you might ask?

It is very simple. Once they have clicked the link on the directory or your website,

the podcast will automatically download and play in whatever audio player is

appropriate for the podcast file.

Then VOILA, they are listening to your podcast.

The beautiful thing about an RSS file is that once it is registered with a directory,

you don’t need to go back to the directory if you decide to add new podcast

episodes. All you need to do is update your RSS file to show that there more

episodes associated with the podcast. Listeners will be made aware of this if they

locate your podcast after a new episode has been added.

Millions of listeners and Google users are searching for information in podcast form

to listen to at their leisure. This is the most beautiful part of podcasts. The listener,

once they have downloaded a podcast, can listen to it many times over, at their

convenience.

How can podcasting help your business?

Simple, a key part of your RSS document is your website URL and company

information.

When someone listens to your podcast, this information is made clear to them

inside your podcasting information. Consequently this can generate a serious boost

in Internet traffic to your website which can result in more sales.

You don’t need to be a radio professional!

If you speak with customers on a daily basis about your specialized knowledge, you

are perfectly positioned to record and release a podcast.

Where to start?

First, get a decent microphone for your computer – USB microphones are best – and

practice recording to get comfortable recording yourself and delivering your

message. The process is the same for video, but a video file will be created instead

of an audio file.

When you have a recording you’re happy with, save it as a file in its own folder, and

contact a podcasting service provider. You can find one on the Internet.

Once you have located a podcasting service provider they will help you with the rest

of your podcast, right down to creating an RSS file and properly posting it on a

podcasting directory.

It is important to find a host that provides ‘unmetered’ hosting. If your hosting is

metered, the more often your podcast is downloaded, the more your service

provider will charge. An unmetered host charges a set rate regardless of the number

of downloads.

Podcasting is a wonderfully affordable way to be heard and found. It is portable and

easy to access. Once you get the hang of it, podcasting can be an easy way to reach

potential clients.

Podcasting truly is a great gift for small business.

Some bloggers choose to have multiple types of content on their blogs, with good reason. Different people learn different ways, or enjoy taking in different types of information.

Because of that, and since having your information all over the place on the Internet helps you to be found, many bloggers have added podcasting to the mix.

Podcasts can be audio or video, or a combination of the two. What they are not, however, are written.

However, some podcasters choose to have their podcasts transcribed and others do not.

Here are a few thoughts on whether or not you should have your podcast episodes transcribed:

Reasons Not to Have Your Podcast Transcribed

Many people, especially those starting out with blogging aren’t making any money blogging and typically, you have to pay someone money to transcribe your podcasts.

Of course, you can type them out yourself, but that is more time consuming than you might think. It takes most transcribers, who tend to be very fast typists, about 4 hours to transcribe a 1-hour audio or video.

Because of that, you can imagine how time consuming and therefore how expensive it can be to have your podcast episodes transcribed.

Also, most people who are listening to your podcast want to do just that – listen (or in the case of video podcasts, watch). If they wanted to read, they would just read regular written blog posts, rather than subscribe to a podcast.

Reasons to have your Podcast Transcribed

While audio and video content is great, written content is the way to show up well in Google and other search engine searches. While it’s not impossible to show up without transcripts, transcripts certainly increase the odds of your blog posts that include podcast episodes being found.

Additionally, some people learn better by reading, and especially when the subject matter is involved or tutorial in nature, people may find that having everything written out in a form that they can mark up and refer back to, to be a big help.

There may also be times when people cannot listen to a podcast since doing so may disturb other people around them, and if they have a transcript available, they can still take in the information without inconveniencing others.

Finally, transcribed podcasts can be repurposed in other ways such as by being compiled into eBooks.

My Conclusion

The only downside to having your podcast episodes transcribed are time and money – which are factors to consider, for sure.

But in my opinion, the pros of having your podcasts transcribed by far outweigh the cons, and as soon as you are able to swing it financially, I would encourage you to have your podcast episodes transcribed and make them available to the readers of your blog.

If you are like most people, you are not very technical and creating a podcast sounds like a huge project that is way over your head. In fact it really is quite simple to record and edit an audio file. Once you learn the basics of the editing software, you will be able to create future podcast files in less than an hour.

I have done all the research for you to be able to create very inexpensive and professional sounding recordings for your podcast. Here I have listed six steps to get you started in creating audio files for your podcast.

Download and Install Audacity

Audacity is free and open-source software that you can use to record and edit your audios. This software is quite user-friendly and has all the features you will need to create and edit a basic podcast. Do a search for Audacity download, go to the download site, pick your computer platform (Windows or MAC), and follow the prompts to save the file and install the software.

Download the LAME MP3 Encoder

Now, don’t let the technical name of this step scare you. This encoder is really just one file. Do a search for LAME MP3 Download to find what you need.

When you download the file, write down the directory where you put it. I would recommend downloading it to the directory where you placed the Audacity files to make it easy to find. On my PC that directory is c:/Program Files/Audacity. If you can’t find the Audacity directory, then just choose a directory that makes sense to you.

You will need this file later because it will be required when you save your file as an MP3 format. MP3 is the popular file format used on the web for audio files. This format is smaller in size than other formats and is widely utilized by most software capable of listening to audios.

Setup Audacity

1. Open Audacity using the shortcut created for you when you installed the software
2. From the Menu bar, select Edit > Preferences
3. Click on the File Formats tab in the Preferences box
4. Under the Bit Rate field, select 64. (This bit rate will give you a good quality recording while keeping the file size small)
5. Click OK
6. You should now be all set to start recording. There are many other options to play around with, but for now, the defaults will be more than adequate.

Start Recording

To record all you need to do is click on the button that contains the red circle. This is the record button. Once you press the button, recording will start, so be prepared to start speaking right away.

If you make any errors while recording, just keep on going. You will be able to edit those pieces easily later on (Look for Part II of this article to learn how to edit with Audacity). If you have too many long pauses in between your sentences, you will be able to remove these later as well.

If you find that you really botched things up and just want to start over, click on the X in the top left corner of the audio track that popped up when you started recording. That will delete the track. When you press the Record button again, a new track will pop up. Make sure if you create a new audio track, you deleted the bad one, otherwise, when you play the recording both tracks will play at the same time.

When you are done recording, click the button that contains the yellow square. This is the stop button.

Save Your Project

Once you are done recording and are happy with your results, you will want to save the project. Audacity uses the .aup extension. This extension will allow you to reopen your project at a later date and edit it or add to it.

Export Your Audio to MP3

In step 5 you created an .aup file that can be used to edit your audio file at a later date, but in order to add your file to the web for listeners to hear, you will need to export your audio as an .mp3 file.

1. From the menu bar, select File > Export as MP3…
2. During the very first time you try to export to an MP3 file, Audacity will ask you to find the LAME MP3 Encoder that you downloaded in step 2. Just browse for this file and select OK.
3. Next you will be asked to enter the directory and file name of the mp3 file.
4. Click the Save button.

Congratulations! Your audio file is now ready to be uploaded to a server for access to your customers and listeners!

That is really all there is to recording an audio and getting it ready for the web. When you are ready to get into a little more with your audios and learn how to edit, look for Part II of this article, which will walk you through the steps of editing parts where you messed up and want to re-record. You will have the option of removing parts of your audio, adding to it, and re-doing some of it.

Before an archer can win a competition, she needs to locate the target. On a shooting range, her target is the bullseye.

This is no different for communicators. Their target isn’t a bullseye but something like attitudinal change or new knowledge. Their tool isn’t a bow and arrow, but a carefully crafted message. But they’re shooting for a target.

If you want to create a terrific podcast, you need to have a target to shoot for and be clear about what you’re aiming for.

What’s your bullseye?

Some of the best media content is created by producers who explicitly know what they want their content to achieve. Their bullseye might not be a round target but a carefully defined editorial goal or purpose.

For example, to convince voters to support a local social action project, persuade teenagers to quit smoking or convince motorists to buy a new model car.

Each and every technique they use to communicate will have been chosen because they’ve carefully calculated how it will help them achieve their editorial purpose – or hit their target.

Such techniques include words, music and sound effects.

Create a learning outcome first

In the learning profession, our bullseye isn’t an “editorial purpose” but a learning outcome.

A good learning outcome follows a very specific grammar. It explicitly describes the task your learner will be able to perform at the end of her learning.

It describes the context in which that task will be performed. And the standard to which that task will be performed.

This is the first thing you need to do to create a phenomenal learning podcast.

What is it that your listener should be able to do when he or she finishes listening?

In what context will they perform this task? And to what standard will they be able to do it? Before you even start planning your podcast, you need to be really clear – actually very explicit – about what learning you are trying to achieve.

A question about your podcast

Once you’ve located your bullseye – in other words you have explicitly described the task you want your learner to perform – you need to ask a few key questions before starting production.

The most important question is: is audio podcasting the most ideal learning method to achieve your learning outcome?

If you’re teaching someone to lay ceramic tile, audio is probably not the most effective method. Consider video instead. But sharing a new sales technique might be.

I meet a lot of enthusiastic types who blindly believe that audio podcasts will save their world. OK, perhaps that’s an exaggeration.

But many falsely believe that podcasting is suited to every learning situation. It’s not. Audio is great for narrative. But it’s lousy for complex detail. It’s great for knowledge but lousy for learning psycho-motor skills.

The key to successful podcasts is knowing when they’re going to work for you and when they won’t. Professionalism is typified by the discipline not to use audio when it clearly will not help you.

Once you have determined that audio is the best method, you need to break your task down into easy-to-learn chunks of information and create a structure. Structure is another conversation.

Recap

1. Explicitly describe the task your learner will be able to do at the end of your podcast. For example, “identify potential barriers to selling life insurance…”

2. Be explicit about the context in which this task is being performed. For example, “…to Generation X teachers…”

3. Be explicit about the standard to which this is performed. For example, “…to increase closing rate.

4. Ask yourself, is an audio podcast really the best method for your learners to learn this task? If it is not, consider your alternatives. If it is the best method, it’s time to think about structure.

It seems like everyone is talking about this whole podcasting thing. It also seems like everyone has a favorite podcast that they like to listen to, but how do you find podcasts to listen to?

Here are the top 5 ways to find podcasts to listen to:

1. Someone’s website. Many website publishers have links to their podcasts right on the website. Comedians are really good about linking to their podcast right from their webpages.
2. Twitter. Many podcasts publishers will tweet out when there’s a new episode of their podcast. You can simply do a search on twitter for the word “podcast” and you’re likely to find something that you would want to listen to.
3. Google. Well, yes, Google. Do a search for whatever topic you’re interested in followed by the word podcast and enclose your search string in quotes. For example: “aviation podcast.” Performing the search with the string in quotes, tells Google that you’re looking for something with those 2 words on the page. If you don’t find a podcast in something that you’re looking for, why not start one yourself?
4. Your friends. Ask your friends what podcasts they like to listen to. They may not know what a podcast is, or they may subscribe to several different podcasts. If you happen to like something that a friend of yours also likes, that’s an instant conversation starter.
5. iTunes music store. If you don’t already have it installed, install the free iTunes player, and go to the iTunes music store’s podcast section. They have a very thorough and categorized list of different podcasts in almost every genre imaginable listed. You can subscribe from within iTunes and have the podcasts automatically delivered to your computer whenever a new episode comes out.

Bonus #6: Go to libsyn.com and do a search for podcasts there. Liberated Syndication is a podcast distribution network. You can search their website for podcasts to listen to and subscribe to your preferred podcast right there.

The iTunes music store is probably the cleanest and easiest to navigate.

I should also mention, that you do not need an iPod to listen to podcasts, nor do you need an iPod to install and use iTunes. If you have an iPod, you need iTunes to use the iPod, but you do not need an iPod to use iTunes.

You will need to create an iTunes music store account in order to subscribe to podcasts through there, but the account is free and the vast majority of the podcasts listed in the store are also free to subscribe and listen to.

There you have it. That’s 6 different methods that you can use to find podcasts to listen to.