Here’s your checklist.
Preparing yourself for a podcast is a fundamental--but often neglected--step in creating an effective podcast. Ever attend a conference and find yourself stuck listening to a “rambler?” Well, with a podcast, your audience won’t be stuck: if you ramble, they’ll move.
Preparing for a podcast is actually quite simple:
Think through what you want to say, and over how many podcasts you want to say it. Will this be a one-time message that is applicable for the coming year? Or this the first of a monthly series?
Then, write it out: at least an outline, and at most an actual script. Read it aloud. Practice the words until you flow smoothly through what you want to say.
Finally, record it. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to create an effective podcast if you simply prepare yourself for it.
After recording you’ll of course want people to hear what you have to say. There are essential syndication practices, but think too about who you are trying to attract. Then, look at your existing website, email campaigns, and other online and offline efforts: where could you add a link or note about your podcast?
An interview with Jackie Huba
Jackie talks about taking a company’s best customers and turning them into influential, loyal, and enthusiastic evangelists. She will lead a workshop at the WOMMA conference in January: during her interactive presentation on creating customer evangelists, participants will learn how to develop grassroots marketing strategies and programs that create communities of influencers who expand and drive sales.
The Influentials: How to Identify, Reach, and Motivate Key Influencers
Ed Keller -- consultant, author, and speaker -- is widely recognized as an authority on consumer trends and forces driving consumer market behavior in the US and around the world. In 2005 Ed established his own consultancy. Ed's book, The Influentials, co-authored with Jon Berry, established him as a leading authority on word of mouth marketing. The Influentials was selected as one of five finalists for the 2004 Berry-AMA Book Prize for Best Book in Marketing, an honor that recognizes books whose innovative ideas have had significant impact on marketing and related fields.
Building the perfect podcast.
On the Internet, everyone can be a publisher. But that doesn’t mean that everyone has something to say. You do. And podcasting let’s you say it. Literally.
But like all good messages, they start with an idea, and the clearer the idea the better. In planning what you’ll talk about, think about why you are developing this message and who should hear it. Think about what differentiates your service or product, and for whom that matters.
At the same time, think about the complexity of your message: can you say it all in one 5 minute session? Or is it better delivered as a three-part series? Are you offering a “newscast� or similar periodic podcast? Planning how you will structure your podcast campaign is the start of an effective podcast.
See how our content planners can help you create an effective podcast.
If you’ve heard the the old adage “measure twice, cut once� then you already understand the importance of preparation. For a podcast this advice is a key to success.
A few minutes in advance organizing what you want to say will make your final product much better. Have you ever recorded your own introduction and greeting for your mobile or office voice mail? Did you get it right the first time? Most people don’t....and all we’re really talking about in that case is stating your name clearly!
Now imagine that you’ll be talking for 3, 5, 10 minutes or more. Very few people can do that extemporaneously, and those who can have usually had lots of practice. As an exercise, listen to a handful of podcasts: you’ll quickly note that some are well-planned while others ramble, stammer, and backtrack. Which style do you prefer? Now put yourself in a prospective customer’s shoes and ask the same question.
Remember, the audience is listening. Don’t make them regret it.
See how our scripting team can help you develop your podcasting content and tune your message.
Creating a podcast involves recording your message. Of course, you knew that. You can call in and simply use the phone, or, you can record your message and then upload it.
See how we can help by recording your message for you, editing it as necessary and then uploading it for you to our podcasting server.
Editing your podcast can be simple...or a nightmare. If you use our planning tools you’ll significantly reduce your editing tasks. At the same time, there are certain things that can only be accomplished with digital editing.
For example, rather than creating from scratch a standard introduction each time you record an ongoing podcast, you can create a short intro and then splice it onto each edition of your podcast. The same holds true for the ending segment of your podcast, where you’ll tell people where to find out more about you offer.
See how our editing services can really cut down on the work required to create a super podcast.
Recognize there are two schools of thought here: one holds that your podcast should feature your voice. The other holds that your podcast should be meaningful to whomever chooses to listen to it, with no effective constraints on how it actually produced. We support both schools.
If you prefer to use your own voice in your podcasts, we offer an easy way to get that done. On the other hand, if you prefer to use professional voice talent we can help with that too.
TIP: If you’ll be building a global audience, you may want to consider using native speakers proficient in the languages you’d like to feature. It’s a nice feature that is truly appreciated by those who choose to listen in a native language. Our professional voice services are perfect for this.
See how you can tap our selection of professional voice talent.
Content planning
We can help you plan and develop your podcast content. We can:
1. Suggest a content strategy, and tie that to your current online and offline marketing efforts;
2. Develop a periodic content plan that keeps your podcast up to date and on-time: the world is full of “Part Ones” that never managed to get to “Part Two.”
3. Help you tune your podcast for a specific audience: remember, you are not locked to “one message for everyone.” Instead, you can create specific messages for specific markets as easily as you can make a phone call.