Key areas we will cover in chapter 11:

• ✓ choosing a topic
• ✓ how to go about podcasting
• ✓ some real-life experiences.

While we have looked at the most common social media platforms, there are also many others. Personally, I don’t have time to ‘trial’ them all. Instead, I wait until others have done that and then I decide if it’s worth my time to use them; you may do the same. As the saying goes, it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese!

Quick facts on podcasting

Here are some interesting podcasting facts:

• Sixty-four per cent of podcasts are listened to on a smartphone or tablet.
• Podcast listeners consume five shows per week on average.
• Twenty-one per cent of Americans over the age of 12 listened to a podcast in the past month.
• There are over one billion subscribers on iTunes alone.

What is a podcast?

Think of a podcast as a short radio show on a particular subject that interests you and is delivered to your smartphone and out through your headset or player.

Do you listen to the radio or do you spend your travel time listening to podcasts like many people do, particularly if you are on a bus or train? It’s not just music or audiobooks going on in people’s headphones. Podcasts are now huge and there is one on just about every subject you can think of. I listen to several each week, and I really look forward to the next episode of my favourites landing on my phone. In fact, going back to the radio when I don’t have a podcast to listen to seems strange now. And they don’t all need to be about work. My husband subscribes to several cycling podcasts because that is his hobby and learning more or listening to interviews educates and motivates. One of my hobbies is writing fiction so I listen to podcasts on writing and publishing as well as marketing. I can use the marketing knowledge podcasts for both business and pleasure because there is always something to learn.

Don’t be scared!

The first time I ever recorded an audio and put it out there I was worried I’d do something wrong, say the wrong thing or annoy people, but once I got over myself and realised it didn’t have to be perfect, it was plain sailing. Remember, to launch something, it doesn’t have to be perfect — it just needs to work. Think about how many updates Microsoft has done in its time — it didn’t launch a perfect product right at the beginning and even now it adds updates and fixes bugs. Your podcasts, in fact everything you do marketing wise, will get better as you go.

Getting started

Some people prefer to make podcasts rather than videos because they are not on camera, just on microphone. Just like the chapter on video, there is some basic equipment you’ll need, but you can make a start with your smartphone and the basic audio editing software you may have on your computer, such as GarageBand. My very first one was an audio version of an article I had published on LinkedIn, the idea being that those who were time poor could listen to the article rather than read it. Whatever your reason for giving it a go, you’ll need somewhere to host the files and some means of getting the podcasts to your audience. I’ll share what I have done because I like it easy.

Get the recording

Your smartphone audio recorder is a good starting place, though a professional microphone would be much better if you have the budget. Google what others are using and make your own decision according to your budget. Make sure there is no background noise and make a clear recording of what you want to say; then save the file. I save it to Dropbox directly from my phone and then access it from there. If you can do it without the need for editing, all the better and easier it will be for you — in fact, many podcasts don’t get edited because it makes them more natural. If you are interviewing someone who is not in the same room as you, you can Skype them and record the conversation. There are various software options available, depending on your computer, to make this a bit easier and give you the best recording results. Either way, you end up with an audio file ready work with.

Top and tail it

You’ll need to pre-record an introduction — which is usually a couple of minutes — about what is on your show this episode, as well as an ending or outro. The latter usually thanks the listener for tuning in and promotes the business a little — a neat way to wrap everything up. These two sections are then added onto the main audio file via your audio editing software to create one file.

Upload and share

Take a look at www.soundcloud.com and www.podbean.com. Both are free or have a paid version for more functionality. It’s as simple as uploading your file to the site and making it available for others to listen to. If you use PodBean, you can link that to the iTunes store for easy subscription and access — the easier you can make it for your listeners, the better. If you use SoundCloud, you will need to point people to your channel, or you can embed the file into your website or blog post. Just like YouTube, there’s basic information to fill in when you’ve uploaded your podcast and also a space to add the written content version or transcript of the content if you have it — great for the search engines.

Podcasts are another great way to get your thoughts and ideas, or publicise others’ knowledge, via interviews and to promote your own brand at the same time. Interviewing other thought leaders and sharing that knowledge is also great for your own learning and networking. Who wouldn’t want to record an interview with someone they admire?

I asked Craig Oliver of The Project Guys about his experiences creating and delivering podcasts. His show is called ‘Talking Better Business’ and he was happy to share his story.

This is Katie’s story; she believes you need to find your niche to stand out.

Conclusion of chapter 11

Content can come in many forms and indeed a piece of content can be changed into another form. From a blog post can come a podcast; from a customer question can come a blog post — and it goes on. What content do you have already that you can practise podcasting with?