Monday, December 10, 2012

Podcast Secret Tips - Podcast Clients Are Your Friends

Are you a podcaster? Do you love the excitement of recording your own voice, then broadcasting to the world via the Internet? Do you download podcasts from the Internet and later listen to them either on your personal recording device or computer? If so, what you are about to read is important information to you.

When a person downloads a podcast from the Internet, they use what is called a 'podcast client.' A podcast client is simply a piece of software used to download a podcast. You may have heard the term 'media aggregators' in the past? Well, they are one in the same. Media aggregators are designed to grab hold of a podcast via its online form or feed and then download the recording.

A quick look at Wikipedia will deliver a list of aggregators to include:

o Adobe Media Player

o Akregator

o Amarok

o Canola

o Flock

o iTunes

o Juice

o Mediafly SyncClient

o MediaMonkey

o Miro

o Rhythmbox (GNOME)

o Songbird

o Winamp

o Zune

Do the same for Client Software and the list will be five times longer.The best thing about these programs are that they are mostly free. However, like anything, they all have different bells and whistles. So, research several to locate one that meets your needs.

You may have heard of RSS feeds? Well, the aggregators and client software programs download RSS feeds the user instructs them to monitor. The file then instructs the server holding the RSS feeds containing podcasts to download them.

Much like the trusted RSS feeds a person may download from their favorite blogs or websites, podcast client software enables a person to read over the information pertaining to any topic they may be interested in without even launching a web browser.

Why People Love Listening to Podcasts   Talk Radio Podcasts - What to Talk About   How Podcasting Can Help Your Online Business   Podcast - How Did it All Begin?   

New Speakers - Do You Know About the Power of Podcasting?

New speakers who use pod-casting have one of the most powerful marketing systems at their disposal, and because of that they are likely to benefit with some of the highest incomes online. Most people are amazed by them, they see them as rock stars who live the jet set life.

Moreover they see them as someone who has overcome the #1 most recognized fear, public speaking. With today's technology anyone can add this venue to their business, without the hassle of travel and hotel rooms etc. The online equivalent to making a living by talking on stage is to deliver a pod-cast.

Its a recording stored on a website that often is similar to a radio broadcast, it has some music to lead into the conversation, It may even have some limited advertising. The creator of the pod-cast usually sets a weekly schedule where they may create 3 or more recordings on various subjects.

Now this alone can be very entertaining not to mention, with thousands to choose from we can very quickly find a niche specific audio to begin to follow. In addition for new speakers looking to extend their online income this can be a big boon to their pocketbooks.

Here's why, according to Podtrac, (Advertising Effectiveness Studies) Ads on pod-casts are 3 times more effective over traditional online video and 7 times more effective over TV. So with one broadcast alone you can increase your sales by 3 to 7 times over sponsored links and television.

Moreover 68% of your listeners will have a more favorable opinion of you and your ad after hearing it over other more traditional ads. In addition there is a 73% average increase in the likelihood to purchase form you over other advertising systems as well

So as you can see new speakers have great opportunities to generate leads and sales using this pod-casts.

Why People Love Listening to Podcasts   Talk Radio Podcasts - What to Talk About   How Podcasting Can Help Your Online Business   Podcast - How Did it All Begin?   Podcasting - A Look at What it is and How it Started   

Creating a Podcast That Brings Great Value to Your Subscribers

Among the many new words coined in the World Wide Web these past years is the term - podcasting. If you are an avid internet user, you may have been seeing it a lot. Perhaps you even know of somebody who is into creating a podcast. This technology is very interesting especially for internet marketers who started using this one to further promote their online businesses and emphasize their expertise in their respective niches. You can create your own podcast using appropriate podcasting equipment. There are available tools that you can easily find on the net. You can be a podcaster without having to go through the nitty-gritty part of learning complicated and hi-tech equipment or computer programs.

You can check out those easy to use equipment and tools in creating a podcast. But aside from learning the technical side of making a podcast, it is equally important that you are well-guided with smart podcasting tips that will help you come up with a great output. In creating a podcast, you have to make sure that you deliver VALUE to your subscribers. Don't only focus on the technical quality of the output. I mean, no matter how clear and crisp the sound quality of your output is, if there is not much value on the content, I don't think people would love to continue receiving podcasts from you.

Contents are very important so don't take it in stride. To have the ideal contents, you have to make sure that the information that you are offering to your subscribers is something that is relevant to their needs and interests. Thus, before making a script, you first have to research on the topics that you will tackle. It must be something that your target market or audience is interested in knowing and something that could also make a contribution to their lives or their work. Some podcasters do research by surveying their target market to find out their needs and interests.

From the information you can gather, you can come up with a series of topics that can arouse the interest of your target listeners. You can also visit online discussions where your potential subscribers frequent. This way you can interact with them and at the same time gather information. You must also be particular with the entertainment aspect in creating a podcast. This means that you need also to incorporate the right music or background to make your show more interesting. Don't settle for pure and monotonous voice lest your subscribers will fall into a deep sleep. Especially when you use podcasts to promote your online business, you have to devise ways in order to keep the attention and interest of your listeners.

Most people these days are less patient. So, you have to keep them really interested in what you have to say or show. Also, don't forget to make "everything" easy and convenient for your subscribers. Thus, don't make your podcasts too long. Make it brief yet straight to the point. Try to inject some humor, too. People love to listen to somebody who is not too stiff and monotonous. Humor can draw more people to you also. A successful podcast creation boils down to the quality of the content and its delivery. Creating a podcast must something that is well-thought-out and not just a product of sheer desire to earn a lot of money online.

Why People Love Listening to Podcasts   Talk Radio Podcasts - What to Talk About   How Podcasting Can Help Your Online Business   Podcast - How Did it All Begin?   Podcasting - A Look at What it is and How it Started   

Finally, Somebody That Will Listen to You!

All it takes is an opinion, a microphone, and a computer and the world of Podcasting can be yours. As of September 2008, more than 173 million Ipods have been sold worldwide. Behind every one of these Ipods is a listener begging for interesting material. When the music gets old, oftentimes these listeners wander into the world of the audio podcast. This is where you come in....

Much like blogging, the key to a successful podcast is picking a great topic. A topic that will not only excite you, but resonate with your listeners. The most successful topics fall into one of two categories, informational and controversial. To get some ideas, simply log onto Itunes and download a few popular Podcasts in both categories. This will help you understand what sells.

Informational podcasters were the pioneers, discussing topics such as finance, medicine, or sports. They educated and entertained listeners at the same time, and by doing so, built a loyal fan-base. The other primary group of podcasters rose to prominence using controversial topics such as politics and religion. People like Rush Limbaugh made a fortune for themselves by appealing to a narrow group of political radicals on the radio, and you can do the same on your podcast. Because the cost of entry is so low, you can pick a topic that may only appeal to a limited number of people, but hopefully those people will be passionate and dedicated to your cause.

After topic selection, the next step is setting up the equipment to record and edit your podcast. Programs such as Recordforall, Replay Radio, and Mixcraft are good pay programs, but for me, the best option is FREE! Wild Voice Studio is a completely free program that is a breeze to use. You will be up and Podcasting in no time. While this software makes things easy, you must spend some time with the editing. If your podcast doesn't sound professional, your listeners won't come back, period. A couple of key things that every podcast should have are a nice intro, a disclaimer, and some nice audio segways. These add to the professional appearance of your podcast.

Now that you have your first podcast edited and ready for the airwaves, the next step is uploading to Itunes. While there are other sites to find Podcasts, this is by far the most popular. Register your podcast, upload your content and then wait for the listeners to come. A couple of key tips for success: Choose your name wisely, develop a regular posting schedule (Usually 1 per week for starters), and develop a simple website to accompany your cast. Oftentimes you will want to refer your listeners to articles or clips. This leads to the final component of your podcast, MONETIZING IT!

Much like blogging, there are a few key ways to monetize your blog. If you're podcast is an information cast, you have two primary methods of making money. The first is selling products, either your own, or your affiliates. For those that choose to speak about the controversial topics such as politics, your primary means of revenue will be advertising, both on your site and on your podcast. If you have ever listened to Rush Limbaugh, you know how ridiculously overwhelming the advertising is. Try not to overwhelm your audience with too many ads because unlike the radio, your listeners will simply fast forward past them if they are boring. Keep them sweet and simple.

So that's it. In no time, your podcast will be up and running. If the content is good enough, the listeners will come and the revenue will follow! So get up and start brainstorming those topics!

Good luck and happy podcasting!

Keys to Success:

Spend some time on topic selection. If it isn't interesting or informational, no one will listen.

Make it professional. Practice recording and editing to perfect your sound. There is a reason that Paul Harvey was a radio god. He perfected the voice and the delivery.

Make it fun. If your listeners are falling asleep, it doesn't matter how good your material is.

Focus on listeners and content before you monetize. If you overwhelm your listeners with ads before they are hooked, you will chase them away.

Why People Love Listening to Podcasts   Talk Radio Podcasts - What to Talk About   How Podcasting Can Help Your Online Business   Podcast - How Did it All Begin?   

Internet Marketing Tools - Podcasts For List Building

You know I'm all about list building...and taking advantage of all sorts of tools to get traffic that will help build my list...help you grow your list. Podcasting is one of the recent internet marketing tools that anyone can use for list building.

What is a podcast you ask? Well, it is a free video or audio series...the easiest way to look at it is like radio of television show...one that you download and play on your computer or iPod or phone.

Kind of go back in history a bit...100 years ago or so we had newspapers...you could read stories and even have some pictures in them. Then radio came along and things changed, right?

So take that analogy and apply it to the internet. We had the internet...lots of websites with words and pictures...well, then podcasting came along and brought audio to the net just like radio.

The advantage to podcasts over radio is you don't have to listen to the "show" only when it airs. I mean, people used to sit around and listen to the radio as a family, right? Well, now you download the show and you can listen to it whenever you want.

You can listen right from your computer or put it on an MP3 player...or you can burn it to a CD and listen to it in your car while you are driving to work...whenever!

So if you're interesting and provide great content in a podcast you will have people who want to listen to it. You know a lot of people like listening to talk radio...but there's all the interruptions...news, weather, the same commercials over and over. That can be really frustrating, because a 30 minute show might really only have 10 or 15 minutes of content in there.

Podcasts work because a large percent of the population are what is called "auditory learners"...meaning they learn by listening. They don't want to read your website...they'd rather hear your voice and they'll be more responsive because they enjoy it better.

There's a certain percentage of people who would just rather listen to you than read... maybe because of the convenience...it saves them time, because they can do it while they are driving or running or cleaning the house, whatever.

So really a podcast is you talking into a microphone, recording a conversation...or just recording yourself...then turning it into an MP3 file, uploading it and then the RSS feed...the same RSS which is the basis of blogs, delivers that MP3 directly to either iTunes or the desktop of your potential audience.

So, okay, so at the end of the day a podcast is just a different way of delivering audio content, right? A very convenient way for the user to deliver audio content, right?

Whether you have a list already and you want to expand your audience, or maybe you are new to list building, you can put podcasting into your bag of internet marketing tools. Expand your reach and include people who want to listen rather than read and you will watch your business...and your list...grow!

Why People Love Listening to Podcasts   Talk Radio Podcasts - What to Talk About   How Podcasting Can Help Your Online Business   Podcast - How Did it All Begin?   Podcasting - A Look at What it is and How it Started   Podcasts As Internet Marketing Tools - Is Audio Or Video Better?   

Podcast Tutorial - Announcing 5 Steps to Create a Successful Podcast

A Podcast, to put it simply, is a portable radio station that you can play on your mp3 players or your iPod. A person who records Podcasts may choose to do this because they want to get their singing voice heard by a wider audience, they have particular political views that they want to express, or they like to help people around the world with various how-to tips and other helpful advice and programming. Whatever a person's reason for the desire to be heard, podcasting has taken radio by storm and has given every person an affordable way to have a voice.

So what is the best way to get started creating your own Podcast? This easy tutorial will help.

Podcast Tutorial Step #1: Determine your reason for wanting to create a Podcast and come up with a plan for your show schedule. It is a good idea to be consistent, because your listeners will want to pinpoint when they can download your show.

Podcast Tutorial Step #2: Get the equipment you need to record. In order to record your Podcast, you will need a microphone and audio equipment that will allow you to record and edit your voice. There are plenty of audio programs available online for free, so try those before you decide to invest any money. You don't need a microphone that is top of the line, but you can go to your local electronic store and ask what a good microphone would be to make recordings on the computer. Smaller stores typically have more knowledgeable staff in my opinion, so shop around.

Podcast Tutorial Step #3: Familiarize yourself with XML and RSS. XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language and it is similar to HTML code (Hyper Text Markup Language) but it is used to be very contextually sound in a document to ensure that there are no missing tags or "bad HTML" that would not allow information to show up. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a description of frequently updated data such as blog posts.

Podcast Tutorial Step #4: Upload your podcasts to your website using an FTP program. Many websites have embedded FTP programs where you can directly upload your content, and other websites require you to use an FTP program outside of their program itself. In either case, you can upload your podcast files as well as your .rss descriptions to your website.

Podcast Tutorial Step #5: Get subscribers! The more people you pass out your new podcast URL to, the more subscribers you will get who listen to your information. Put it on your signatures, profiles and business cards and pass out your information to everyone you meet.

Why People Love Listening to Podcasts   Talk Radio Podcasts - What to Talk About   How Podcasting Can Help Your Online Business   Podcast - How Did it All Begin?   Podcasting - A Look at What it is and How it Started   

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