So many people want to get their podcasts launched, but fail dismally. The big question is why would the podcasts fail?

• Lack of Focus

When you go on the internet, the weapons of mass destruction are everywhere. You make time to start your podcast, but you get distracted by opening your email, the nice forum link about the super case study where the guru has made $6945 per day, about the gorgeous video on the South Sea Islands. When you look again, time is up, and what have you done, not a single stitch of constructive work that brings in the money.

You need to F.O.C.U.S. the abbreviation for follow one course until success. If you are serious in getting your podcast on the air, you have to focus on what you are doing, get a business plan drawn up, and do not let the shiny objects blind your vision. Follow your plan without getting sidetracked. Set the old kitchen clock for thirty minutes. Plan your podcast and what you are going to say. Record it. Your thirty minutes have been well spent, you have a podcast to show at the end of the day.

• Parkinson’s Law

Say you want to launch a digital audio file but there is no urgency when you want to launch it, time will just pass without any podcast in the pipeline. Change your plans by taking the trusted old kitchen clock and put an hour aside for your digital audio file. You work for twenty-five minutes and take a five-minute break and you work for another twenty-five minutes and proceed with this method for a week. Suddenly you have a series of digital audio files you can start launching. Ignore the powers of mass distraction, do not panic, those powers will always be just a click away.

• Lack of a True Small Niche Market

You dream about raving fans and many of them. One way you will not have any fans is if you have a broad topic. Nobody will take notice of your podcast. The answer is to niche down, niche down again and niche down a third time. You will start engaging with your fans who will turn into raving fans. Dominate this precious niche. This is really powerful advice and is where your momentum is gaining traction. Those raving fans will become your traction and share your podcasts with their friends. Once you have traction, you can broaden your topic and move out.

The majority of the competition never geared down, they still have a broad niche and no raving fans.

• Unrealistic expectations

Podcasting is exploding right now, there are a lot of people finding a lot of success.

Take great care. Podcasting is not a sprint to the finishing line, but a marathon run over a longer distance, but the pace is a lot slower. Build your audience slowly, but offer tons of value and look at the long game. The big gurus have lots of followers, but they also started at the point where you are now. They also had only seven downloads the first day from which most of the downloads were from themselves. On week two there were only twenty downloads, it is a slow and steady growth in which you need to build your audiences slowly.

It is a lot of diligent and persistent work to produce a digital audio file every day, so set realistic expectations. Maybe you can only produce a podcast once a week or even once a month. Consistency is the big secret and not to miss out on the scheduled time for the digital audio file.

• Unwillingness to invest

You do not invest only money in your podcast project. Time, energy and willingness to invest in yourself are as important as to invest money in the project. Mentors, Masterminds and courses are all tools you can invest in to save a tremendous amount of time and fast forward your success, but it costs money.

• Anxiety Syndrome

Anxiety syndrome affects all humans negatively, this resembles our doubts and fears, however, your competition is also affected by doubts and fears, consequently, it allows you to embrace it, so move forward and become the master of your changing uncertainty to certainty.

The digital marketing world is undergoing tumultuous changes and every marketer is seeking their way on trying new technologies. Within this scenario, the podcast shows the sign of resurgence. It has become a buzz word among the techie world, which the top social media marketing companies are employing to achieve success with their campaigns.

Are you thinking to create a podcast for your business, but don’t know where to start from and how to achieve success with it? Then, this article is just perfect for you.

What is Podcasting and why you need it?

Podcasting is a digital content medium, that’s usually in the form of audio or digital radio. Unlike any other social platform, it allows you to consistently deliver high-quality, relevant and targeted content to a massive audience. Moreover, you can personally connect with your audience on a one-on-one level.

But, to maximize its potential in your favor, you need to plan a strategy. It’s like a professional media outlet, which usually the professionals make, but if you are trying to make an amateur effort, then you’ll need to do it correctly.

Here are 4 steps you must follow to be on the right path to podcasting success:

1. Determine the Podcasting Frequency

As podcasts consist of an episodic series, so before anything else, it’s essential to decide on its frequency. Just like any other content medium – TV show, blog, etc. it’s equally important to create its schedule and stick to it. Nothing can be more frustrating for a podcast audience, then bearing an erratic podcasting schedule. So, stay consistent and inform your audience about the schedule, for their easiness. As a newbie, you can start as bi-weekly and as time progresses, you can try weekly to multiple times in a week. But, don’t forget your ultimate goal of keeping your audience engaged.

2. Make a Decision on Its Format

Deciding on whether you want to make an audio or video podcast is quite daunting, which most of you must have experienced. Simply speaking, the format doesn’t matter; it’s the quality that has all the value. So, do what you are good in and can perform in the best way. If you are not good on camera, don’t have a great place to shoot and your content is longer, then go for the audio podcast.

Even, if you are not good on a mic, then scrutinize the choice, depending upon the entertaining level your podcast will provide. Moreover, look out for what your competitors or similar niche people are doing and which format they are using. This information will surely help you in taking the right decision.

3. Decide on its Length

Determining the optimum length of the podcast is a tricky beast, which can only be done through trying and testing on what works and what doesn’t. The optimum length is 12-15 minutes if you are a sole host. Even if you are covering many interviews in one, then even try keeping it short and informative. And always stop before you feel that you have exhausted the topic. While in the case of co-host podcasts, 15 minutes still remain an optimum length to keep the audience interested.

Although, there are various popular podcasts as long as 45-60 minutes like Internet Marketing for Smart People by Copyblogger (Robert Bruce). Thus, what’s important here is the experience of the podcaster and the type of content. If you are really confident over the mic and have interesting content to keep audience engage, then you can work on a longer format. But, if you are a newbie, then do it cautiously. Moreover, if you have the power to make a crappy content interesting, then going longer will help you in providing more knowledge to your audiences. But, if it’s not the case, then keep it short to guide your audiences to it conclusion. Obviously, it’s not wrong to experiment here until you get it right.

4. Focus on Production Quality

This is one point that most of the podcasters don’t stress upon, whilst it’s valuable for its success. It can either build or break your audience. So, focus on how your podcast sounds, how its segments – sound and audio quality is. You can overcome it by using a good-quality microphone and an HD camcorder. If you look fussy or your audience can’t hear you properly, then your podcast will be of no value.

Hence, these are the 4 crucial steps you need to follow to achieve success with your podcast. Apart from these, keep these important points in mind too:

• Your intro should tell the audience what your podcast is all about within 30 seconds of listening. Moreover, try crafting a good elevator pitch that explains your podcasting in 1-2 sentences and add it to every episode.
• Try dividing your podcast into different segments to make it interesting just like a TV or radio show.
• Create an awesome podcast and you think that all is done. No, stop! It’s the post production that gives your podcast a professional feel. So, pay emphasis on it.
• Edit it and take the time to correct the sound levels. You can also use software for this.

After knowing all this, if you are thinking that why to spend so much time on improving a podcast when it can be uploaded directly. But, don’t forget, if you’ll not pay attention to its minor details, the same your audience will do. So, think over it again!

If you have managed to come too far in this article, then you must be thinking that too much work is involved in making a podcast. But, it’s going to be in your favor as now you know the crucial steps to its success and doesn’t have to simply make it for no value. Moreover, it may seem laborious to you than blogging or using other social platforms but think of your interests first. If you like doing it, give it a shot as you’ll not lose anything, will only gain results.

So, what’s your views regarding podcasting? Are the social media marketing companies’ over-promoting it or does it really offer so much value?

In only a few short years, podcasting has become an essential part of creating a solid corporate image on the Internet. From major New York publishers to solo entrepreneurs, businesses are using the power of this new format to get their messages heard by millions of potential customers. Unfortunately, the medium has its limitations, three of which are outlined below. A smart podcaster can surmount these problems, and the solution may be as simple as investing in podcast transcription services.

Undiscoverable Content

When content is easily indexed by Internet search engines, it is considered “discoverable.” This means users can find the content through simple keyword searches, making it more likely to draw visitors. Unfortunately, search engines are not optimized to index audio and video content. Podcast transcription allows podcasters to place a text version of their podcast alongside the audio version, which allows search engines to index the content and drive targeted visitors to the site.

Inaccessible Content

In audio form, a podcast is inaccessible to visitors with hearing impairments. A podcaster can spend a great deal of time creating the best content possible and still miss the opportunity to connect with customers because they literally cannot hear what’s contained in the podcast. By using a podcast transcription service, a content-creator can eliminate this issue and show sales prospects and other site visitors that his/her company is sensitive to all their customers’ needs.

Unsearchable Archives

A successful podcast series may run for hundreds of episodes. In this situation, the podcaster’s show archive becomes an invaluable reference tool for checking past content, ensuring message continuity and recycling material by expanding upon a past discussion in a new show. Unfortunately, it does not take long before an audio archive becomes unmanageable. Without an easy method to pinpoint desired content, the successful podcaster may have to wade through hours of material to find what he or she needs. Podcast transcription makes archives immeasurably more useful. A podcaster simply performs a keyword search. The needed content is pinpointed effortlessly.

With all of these benefits, it is easy to see why using a podcast transcription service after every episode should be considered a best practice in the podcasting industry.

Podcasting is a new audio technology that can be attached

to RSS for easy delivery of audio files. Bloggers or publishers

can publish these ‘audio’ or ‘radio’ files which subscribers

can automatically download and enjoy.

The Free encyclopedia Wikipedia, defines “Podcasting” as

“making audio files (most commonly in MP3 format) available

online in a way that allows software to automatically

detect the availability of new files (generally via RSS),

and download the files for listening at the user’s convenience.”

Dave Winer, the RSS Pioneer and Innovator states “…Podcasting

works the same way (as RSS Feeds), with one exception. Instead of

reading the new content on a computer screen, you listen to the

new content on any capable mp3 player on the computer or hardware

player such as the iPod. Think of your player with Podcasting as

having a set of subscriptions that are checked regularly for updates.”

Podcasting comes from the two words: iPod and broadcasting.

Put simply, Podcasting is basically adding audio files to your

RSS Feed or Blog. It also turns your RSS Feed into a radio

broadcast, the only difference between it and regular radio

is distribution. Regular radio ‘pushes’ the signal out; in

Podcasting — the listener initiates or ‘pulls’ the cast with

their subscription and automatically downloads the audio file

or radio program.

Making a Podcast is also relatively simple.

First, you have to record your audio file, you can use any platform

or application to make your recording. One good choice would be

Audacity, (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) because it’s free,

cross-platform and you can mix together multiple audio files with it.

If you’re using the Mac, GarageBand may work for you, it’s also free.

(http://www.apple.com/ilife/)

Make your audio file and convert it to MP3 format i.e. save it with

a .mp3 file extension. Upload it to your web server.

Next, create your Podcast RSS newsfeed — just describe your Podcast in

your RSS file and place a link in this file to your MP3 file.

Each ‘item’ contains an ‘enclosure’ tag as in this example of a

Podcast of a Grateful Dead song.

Remove asterisks in live

code.

You can also post and advertise your Podcasts on your website by

using the familiar orange xml with a speaker logo added.

Your subscribers can download and listen to your Podcasts on their

computer or through their iPods. It should also be noted UndergroundMedia

has released Podcasting search plugins for the increasingly popular and

RSS friendly Firefox browser.

For further interest and research you might want to try some of these

handy links:

– Yahoo mailing list for Podcasters:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/podcasters

– The official iPodder website: http://www.ipodder.org/

– Podcast Alley, a large Podcast directory: http://www.podcastalley.com

– Podcasting News, Podcasting news site: http://www.podcastingnews.com

– Podcast.net, very comprehensive searchable list of Podcasts: [http://www.podcast.net/]

– Check out Dave Winer and Adam Curry; founders/facilitators of Podcasting http://radio.weblogs.com/

For Bloggers and RSS users, Podcasting adds an exciting new way to

connect with their subscribers and audience. Since it combines the MP3 format

and iPods; Podcasting will no doubt, add an explosive element to your

blogs and RSS Feeds. Early innovators or users of Podcasts can extend the

reach and scope of their blogs and/or RSS feeds by pulling in more subscribers

and listeners.

Don’t let this new innovation pass you by — give your Blog or Site the

competitive edge of audio. Start Podcasting…

What is a podcast?

Pod casts, sometimes known as web casts or net casts, are a popular form of communication. Podcast are audio or video digital media files released on a periodic basis as episodes. With an extremely large range of topics and content, be it science, religion or comedy, it’s no wonder that everyone has a podcast or two that they just love. So not only do you love them but you have to keep coming back for more.

Transcribing podcast

However, podcast are more than just a form of entertainment they are a new frontier in business, marketing and even education. Podcast are now used as tools to pass on important messages and spread the word on behalf of educators, businesses, and individuals. It then follows that we would want the message to reach and be understood by as many people as possible. This is where podcast transcription comes in. Converting podcast audio/video to text can help reach individuals that would otherwise be overlooked by conventional podcast such as the hearing impaired.

Podcast Translation

Going a step further and not only transcribing but also translating the podcast opens up a whole world of possibilities almost literally. The world seems to be getting smaller by the day but what is definitely increasing is the amount of inter-cultural relations that often necessitate the bridging of language differences. So if you are using podcast as a tool for getting your message across to an international audience then podcast transcription and translation is definitely something you must consider as part of your strategy. After all, that extra bit of effort might be the difference between epic failure and phenomenal success.

How to transcribe or translate a podcast

Unfortunately, it takes time and effort to get podcast audio/video transformed into written text. Luckily, there are a bunch of transcription and translation services available, some better than others but all offering the opportunity to get your message across to a wider audience. With lots of competitive pricing and guarantees of up to 100% accuracy your professionally transcribed podcast will be high quality and not break the bank. Not to mention it will also save you the time of having to do it yourself. So now it’s up to you to make the decision to take your podcast to the next level so they can reach the audience you want them to. Whatever you decide it cannot be denied that getting your podcast transcribed or translated can offer you more advantages than not.

Today, I will answer the question, “Is It Difficult to Do?”

Quick answer is “No.” But there are some things that you need to pay attention to in order to produce a quality product. If you do not have a quality podcast in this day and time, your listeners will probably only end up being your family and close friends. If you want to expand your reach, you should invest in a few pieces of equipment that will improve your quality.

Now, if you are doing a video podcast, you definitely will need a camera. If you are going to use your lap top, you probably have a camera built-in. If you are using a desk top computer, you can purchase a cheap camera that will sit on top of the monitor. The other option is to purchase an actual video camera, but this could also be the most expensive option.

For an audio podcast, you can use the microphone built into the computer itself. But it will also sound like you are using the microphone built into the computer. For just a small investment, you can purchase a headset and microphone combination. This will improve the sound quality and help you to stand out from those who just want to use their cell phone or computer microphone.

For a bit more, you can purchase a little better Condenser microphone, such as a Blue Yeti or Blue Snowball. These work well as long you stay close to the microphone. I have used a Blue Yeti and you can see it here!

If you truly want to go all out and get to the professional sounding quality, you can purchase a Dynamic Microphone. This style of microphone only picks up sounds that are directly in front of it. It’s the type you see in pictures of radio stations where the DJ is speaking directly into the mic. The condenser mic’s pick up sounds from AROUND the microphone… basically, the room. Which is why it sounds “funny” unless you are directly in front of the microphone, like I am right now.

So, there you have a list of some of the equipment you will need. In the next article, I will answer the question, “Is it complicated?”

We all agree that having a website and a blog is important for any business, but what about a podcast? Can this style of audio content really make any difference to your target audience and your profits?

What Is A Podcast?

A podcast is a type of RSS feed that your audience can subscribe to. But instead of using text or video as content, it uses audio. It’s like having your own radio show, but to a targeted audience who are genuinely interested in what you have to say.

The word podcasting is a combination of the words “iPod” and “broadcasting” as when they first created you needed an iPod to play them. Today a podcast can be listened to on many devices including computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

A Podcast Is Personal And Real

Listening to somebody’s voice in an audio recording can be more effective than reading the written word because you can convey more emotions. It’s also easier for people to listen to an audio recording while they’re doing something else. For example, when driving, commuting to and from work, when exercising or generally on the move. You don’t have to be in front of a computer screen.

It’s Convenient For Your Audience

Your audience don’t have to be online when you post your podcast. They can download it and listen to it later. This is convenient for both you and your audience, because you can create and publish a podcast whenever you like and they can listen to it whenever they are free.

Podcasts Are Easy To Produce

You can produce a podcast no matter where you are in the world. As long as you have an internet connection. You can even use a smartphone to record it on. There are apps like Google Play Music, Pocket Casts, and AudioBoom that you can use to record audio directly from your phone. You then just upload it to the internet and your podcast is ready for your audience to download and listen to.

It’s Simpler Than A Blog Post

Recording a podcast can be easier than creating a blog post. In the first instance, you don’t have to worry as much about making spelling mistakes or incorrect grammar. Because you’re talking rather than writing, you can say more in a shorter space of time and worry less about whether you’ve spelt something incorrectly or missed a comma here and there.

You Can Reach A New Audience

Podcasting allows you to reach a larger audience. If you create a podcast based on a blog you have written can can also breach a different audience with the same content as your blog. There’s no limit as far as the type of information in a podcast. Anything from self-guided walking tours, talk shows, training on a particular subject, to storytelling are all possibilities.

Here are some tips and tricks to help you pick the best podcasting equipment for your new podcast:

Invest In A Decent Microphone

A microphone is the most important piece of podcasting equipment you will own — it serves as the primary link between you and your audience. Generally speaking, with microphones, you get what you pay for, but this doesn’t mean you need to spend a fortune on your podcast mic.

Microphones that are specifically designed for podcasters usually have a USB interface that lets users plug the mic directly into their computer. If you plan to record your podcast in a studio setting where two or more people will be speaking, choose an omnidirectional mic to ensure all voices are recorded.

If you plan to record your podcasts using a mobile device such as an MP3 player or a tablet computer, look for a microphone that has a 3.5 mm plug that can be inserted into a mini headphone outlet. To minimize background noise when recording a podcast in the field, look for a mic that can be clipped onto the speaker’s shirt, near their mouth.

VoIP Service or Telephone Recorder?

If your podcast is going to follow a traditional talk-show format with phone calls from guests, you’ll need to use either a VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) service like Skype or invest in a telephone recorder. If you’re lucky enough to have reliable high-speed Internet service, conducting your podcast interviews using VoIP will allow you to easily record the conversation on your computer. Podcasters who have slow Internet connections should use either a landline or cell phone for interviews and record the conversations on a digital telephone recorder.

Headphones

A decent set of headphones is an important piece of podcasting equipment that allows you to save time while improving the overall quality of your recording. Wearing headphones while taping your podcast lets you monitor exactly what is being recorded live, which saves you valuable editing and re-recording time. New podcasters tend to turn their heads frequently while recording, leading to the telltale fluctuations in audio volume that have become the hallmark of rookie podcasters. Using headphones during your podcast recording sessions will help minimize variations in your audio quality and improve your credibility as a seasoned podcaster.

Once you become more involved in podcasting, chances are good you will want to invest in additional podcasting equipment like a digital mixer, an upgraded sound card and advanced audio software. Before you run out and spend thousands of dollars on professional podcasting equipment, it’s a good idea to learn the basics of podcasting using the affordable, simple gear we’ve listed here.

How long has it took you to hear about the marketing strategy of “podcasting”? Did it take you weeks, months, years… or even a decade? Well I for one can say that I was introduced to this marketing strategy around about 3 years ago. And it’s a strategy that is definitely effective and easy to use.

Podcasts are nothing but audio files uploaded to your website, blog, or podcast directory. By far the biggest podcast directory online is iTunes. If you can get your podcast onto this site, you can see a lot of good things happening for you. This is similar to Youtube, and in fact, it may actually be MORE effective for you than Youtube.

How is this so? Well, as you may already know, there are a lot of people on Youtube uploading and distributing their videos. In some niches, you have so much competition that it can take a while for you to get a lot of traffic back to your site (or even eyeballs to your videos) – unless you do some form of direct promoting or advertising.

So with everybody flocking to Youtube, you can stand alone with podcasts and get traffic that way. Podcasts are so easy to create. In fact, if you have a Youtube video, if you can extract the audio from the video… THAT can be a podcast for you! It’s that easy, and then once you extract the audio, you can submit them to the podcast directories.

In your podcasts, hopefully you mention your website address or URL. Without mentioning this, doing a podcast is kind of pointless. Your goal is to deliver excellent information, while at the same time getting promotion for your website. So be sure to include your website information so that people know where to get more information from you.

Podcasts are typically submitted as “MP3” files. This is a compressed file type that sometimes are of high quality – but not always. If you want high quality audio files, you will want to convert your podcasts into “WAV” format or “AIF” format. These 2 formats are uncompressed audio files… and their file sizes are much… MUCH bigger than MP3.

You will want to use an audio program such as Audacity to edit and make changes to your audio files. This is a free software that can be found online, and it’s one of the best free software online that can enhance your business. Another tool like this that you could use is a program called “Camstudio”.

Podcasts are gaining steam these days. On almost every website, there is an app or a podcast logo that basically means to visit the Apple iTunes website to download the podcast or the app. Once you join iTunes and upload your first audio file, you will want to put this very same badge on your site also.

Podcasting is a very effective tool that you can use to improve your sales and profits – without spending a dime to do so. All you have to do is record your content, upload it to iTunes and the other podcast directories, drive traffic to it, and use it to boost your credibility and get traffic back to your site. It’s very simple.

Good luck with using podcasts in your online business today.

When setting up a website or new business, many entrepreneurs instantly think about creating a blog through which they can promote new products and services. However, blogging isn’t necessarily the best way to do it, although having a blog is an important aspect of any website.

Here are the benefits of using podcasting to reach out to your visitors.

1. It’s Personal and Real

One of the reasons why podcasts can be more effective than blog posts is because they seem that little bit more real. Videos and audio recordings as opposite to text written on a screen often appeals to many people, and it’s also easier for people to put on a video while they’re cooking or doing something else. Watching somebody talk in a video or listening to somebody’s voice in an audio recording can be more effective since you can convey more emotions, such as tone of voice or facial expressions.

2. It’s Convenient For People

Your listeners don’t have to be online at the time you post the podcast – they can watch it later and catch up. This makes it convenient for both you and the listeners, since you can create and post content whenever you like and they can listen or watch the podcast whenever they are free.

3. It’s Easy To Do

There’s nothing complicated about making a podcast. All it involves is a camera or smartphone to record it on and a connection to upload it to the internet and post it on your website. You can make videos no matter where you are in the world, and as long as you have a Wifi connection, it can be uploaded instantly.

4. It’s Simpler Than a Blog Post

Making a video or recording for your podcast series can be easier than creating a blog post, since you don’t have to worry as much about making spelling mistakes. Since you’re talking rather than writing, you can say more in a shorter space of time and worry less about whether you’ve spelt something incorrectly or missed a comma here and there.

5. Videos Are More Appealing on Social Media

If there’s a link to an article and a link to a video, more people will be attracted to the video than the article post. This is because videos are more visually appealing to most social media users, which means that your website will get more clicks, visits and interest.