Last week I attended Affiliate Summit in New York. While I was there I was able to attend the Podcasting 101 session with my Geek Dads Weekly co-hosts Daniel M. Clark and Joe Magennis. They were part of the session along with Trisha Lyn Fawver of Affiliate Marketing Fanatics. Trisha is on the Affiliate Marketing Fanatics podcast with Mike Buechele. The panel was moderated by Lisa Picarille, who has such a fantastic voice and who is the co-host of the Affiliate Thing podcast with Shawn Collins. What I learned from this session was that podcasting is such an easy way to get your voice out there and gain an additional audience.
Basically all you need are a few things to get started podcasting. A voice, a mic and recording software. Luckily every since computer has the last two pieces and if you are blogging you should already have a voice. If not then why are you blogging?
A Voice
As a blogger you have a unique voice in your writing and because of that you have a unique perspective on things that can translate to the spoken word. Do you review blogs, how about an interview series with the bloggers that you review, you can review the blog in writing and then do an interview with the blog owner via Skype as something extra to add to your post. Then make that an actual podcast and you can tap into a whole other audience.
A Mic
Many laptops have an internal mic that you can use to record your voice. It isn’t the greatest but it works. If you want to step up you can get an external mic and record better sound. You can even use a telephone to call into sites like Blog Talk Radio. There are many ways to record your voice.
Recording Software
If you are a MAC user then you have it all set with Garage Band but as a PC user I use Audacity to record my own voice. I also use a program called G-Recorder to record my own voice and the people that I talk with with Skype. When I record on Skype I can download the MP3, open it with Audacity edit it. This is a very easy thing to do.
Get it on Itunes
You also need a way to get your podcast onto iTunes. If you are using WordPress then you have some great options like PowerPress and PodPress. These plug ins will help you get your new content uploaded into iTunes. Once it is there you can use all your blogging and SEO skills to get that show seen by an entirely new audience and also give your existing audience something new and fresh from you.
Practicing what I Preach
Personally I am working on a video podcast. I am learning how to do this correctly and in the meantime I am creating the content anyway and posting it to Vimeo and Youtube. Once I figure out how to do the video podcast the best I can it will go up to iTunes and it will be an enhancement to my current blog.
makes sense….but i think the true wisdom is in your title: "shut up and podcast." most podcasts are: 1) waaay too long; 2) people yammering about nothing of interest or with no purpose.
podcasters need to think about, "what do i want my listeners to get?" vs. "what do i feel like blathering about today?"
and, podcasters, we don't need to hear every bloody detail about getting your coffee, your phone call to your girlfriend, or why it took you six times to get the line at your audition. The Rule of 3s, people. Look it up.
Very true. Nothing is worse than listening to a podcast and wondering just when the podcaster is going to get to the point.