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Podcasting

Posted by on 8th Jul 2012 | 3 comments
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Today I am going to start a new series of blogs on the theme of ‘podcasting’. Podcasting is a portmanteau of two words – ‘iPod’ (pod) and ‘broadcasting’ (casting). It is defined as a digital audio technology in which audio content is delivered to portable media players after an user subscribes to it. The podcasts are generally free in nature and the user can download and listen to them at their conveniece.

Richard Berry, from the University of Sunderland, UK says:

“Podcasting is both a converged medium bringing together audio, the web and portable media player, and a disruptive technology that has caused some in the radio business to reconsider some established practices and preconceptions about audiences, consumption, production and distribution.”

Adam Curry, an MTV VJ, is the person behind this trend. He came up with the idea of automating the delivery of textual content and syncing them with portable audio players. Since we are dealing with “blogging” niche, let’s talk about the merits, demerits, uses of podcasting in the world of blogging.

Podcasting in Blogging

I came across a podcast for the first time when I was guest blogging on Basic Blog Tips. The owner, Ileane, runs her own podcast where she talks about blogging, making money online, setting up an online business and lots of other stuff. Gradually, I started to research more on this and found that many popular bloggers are making use of podcasting to:

  • gain traffic
  • connect with their audience
  • make money through their blogs
  • build brand
In other words, these four factors are the ingredients of any successful blog. Ain’t it?
For me, podcasting in the blogging industry stands to gain immensely because through podcasting, you can directly communicate with a subscriber.

Podcasting – A Filtered List

Through podcasting, you can build a really targeted list of people where the conversion rate is really high. These subscribers become the crowd of those people who are really interested to hear what you have to say. Now think from the perspective of making money through blogging. If you were to recommend a niche product to this prized list, don’t you think the conversion rate will be high?
If someone is taking a step to subscribe to your podcast feed, it is a signal; a signal that you are on your way to create a brand name, to create an authoritative niche where subscribers are willing to know what you want to say.

Podcasting – Abandoning the Written Word

In fact, some bloggers say that podcasting is much better than writing. Writing down a blog post takes no less than an hour whereas podcasting takes less that 15 minutes. Secondly, why should someone write something for 1000 words when the same can be conveyed through a 30-second podcast? The arguments sound convincing but being a writer myself, I cannot abandon the written work in favor of podcasting.
I think that blogging, combined with podcasting, is a lethal weapon. What do you say?


Chitraparna is a web content developer, professional blogger, social media enthusiast, and contributor on various social media blogs. She is the founder of SocialVani, a resource to build blogs and businesses.

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3 comments - Leave a reply
  • Posted by Jennifer Woodard on 8th Jul 2012

    I great that a combination of written posts, podcasts and I would like to add short videos are a very powerful tool and something I am looking into adding to my site.

    Jenn
    Jennifer Woodard recently posted..Six Steps to Creating Content to Build Buzz for Your BusinessMy Profile
  • Posted by Andi Leeman on 9th Jul 2012

    Hi Chitraparna, I love Podcasting, I have not done much in my new position but used to do it myself and loved it, using free audio recording software, a cheap headset, with a rough draft of what I wanted to say then chat away I could get the points over far better than if I were to write it. I am considering doing Podcasts for my boss and think every blog should consider them.
    Andi Leeman recently posted..Internet Business Opportunities: Turning $5 into $50 and more.My Profile
  • Posted by Colin Gray on 9th Jul 2012

    Excellent guide there.

    You’re right, Podcasting is a great addition to Blogging, but not a replacement. You can get a lot of added value out of it by transcribing your Podcasts though, and offering that transcription on your blog. This gives you a ton of search engine friendly content, and makes sure your blog benefits from the effort of recording, as well as your readers.

    There are a ton of services that make it quite cheap to have that done you too, such as oDesk and Freelancer.

    Cheers!
    Colin