10 Tools and Tips for Podcasting
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So you want to start a podcast series. You have taken the time to develop a podcasting strategy. And now you've decided to use audio messages to reach out to clients, prospects and the public.
But where do you begin?
Luckily, today we have a ton of choices for creating, distributing and promoting your podcast. And most are low cost or free. Let's look at some of the most common choices -- in beginner's language.
RECORD YOUR PODCASTS
1) Do-it-yourself talk radio show platforms -- The latest trend in podcasting is the new self-serve talk radio platforms. These services allow you to create and manage your own Internet radio show. You schedule shows at a predetermined time slot; and you and guests and listeners call in via telephone. The show is automatically recorded and the recording distributed afterwards as a podcast, or available in a little Web player that you can embed in websites.
The platform I use is BlogTalkRadio.com, which is 100% free. By your 2nd show you'll think it's easy-peasy. There are other choices, too, such as Talkshoe.com and Podomatic.com. One of the best features of these platforms is that they give you opportunities to market your show and attract listeners. These are powerful platforms that just a few years ago would have been a dream -- now they're reality. And they're free or very low cost.
2) Recording /editing software -- If you don't want a live "talk show," but just want a recording, then consider getting recording software, Recording software is a good choice if you are recording a monologue or recording individuals physically present in your office.
Plug a headset or microphone into your computer and you are ready to rock. You'll need a good stereo microphone or headset. A USB headset is best, so that you do not have to worry about sound card quality in your computer. You can get a quality headset for $30 - $50 from Plantronics or Logitech, two quality brands.
Save your audio as an MP3 file format, which is the standard for podcasts.
Afterwards, you can use the software to edit your recording. Simple editing, such as cutting out portions of the recording, is easy to do. Advanced tasks, such as combining several recordings into one, may take more practice.
Audacity is a popular recording software, in part because it is free. However, being open source it's rather geeky. You don't get support and have to figure things out of your own or by searching on the Web to find others who may have written about similar problems on their blogs.
For other software choices, check out Robin Good's review of podcasting software: http://www.masternewmedia.org/audio_music_publishing/podcasting/podcasting-and-audio-editing-tools-guide-20070311.htm
(3) Record a conference call -- A third common option is to hold a conference call and record it. This is a viable option if you are interviewing someone at a distance and have to use the phone for the interview. FreeConference.com offers a service where it will record a conference call and provide it to you in MP3 format. (You still have to distribute the recording -- see below.) They also offer transcription services -- see "Transcripts" below.
Conference Calls Unlimited goes a step further, and offers a dedicated podcasting service with its conference calls.
And for low budget calling, great sound quality (usually) or for international recordings, try Skype coupled with Pamela, a recording software add-on.
4) Use a digital recorder -- Another approach to recording podcasts is to use a digital recording device, and then upload the recording to the Web. A digital recorder is best used when all parties to the recording are physically present.
Susan Ward at About.com offers some tips for choosing a digital recorder: http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/beforeyoubuy/bb/digrectranscrib.htm
DRESS UP YOUR PODCAST RECORDING
Your podcast does not need to be dull and boring. You can dress it up with music and even professional announcers, just like a radio show.
5) Voice-over talent -- Hire voice-over talent to create professional introductions and announcements. A professional announcer can add credibility to your podcast when used to introduce and close your recording. Voice over talent is surprisingly affordable and easy over the Web at Voices.com: http://www.voices.com/podcasts-and-podcasting-voices.php
6) Add music clips and sound effects -- Make your podcasts sound professional with music clips for intros and outros. Do not just add your favorite music -- remember, it is copyright protected. Instead, purchase a royalty-free music clip as an instant download on the Web.
You can purchase a 10-second music clip online for as little as $4.99 at Opuzz.com. Also see: The Music Bakery (http://musicbakery.com) and Premium Beat (http://www.premiumbeat.com). For as little as 99 cents a clip you can find edgier, independent artists at Podsafe Music (http://music.podshow.com/).
In addition to music, you can also purchase sound effects clips. For everything from police sirens, to crowd voices, to swooshes and bangs - try Sound Dogs where sound effects start at around $3.00. (http://www.sounddogs.com)
DISTRIBUTE YOUR RECORDING TO THE WORLD
An audio recording is not truly a podcast unless it is contained in an RSS feed. The RSS feed is a technical way of distributing your podcast on the Web so that each episode can be delivered directly to your audience via feedreader programs (such as Google Reader) or podcatcher programs such as iTunes.
The listener subscribes to your podcast episodes, similar to subscribing to an email newsletter. Except -- instead of receiving updates via email, your listeners are notified that a new podcast episode is available, via a feedreader program or via iTunes.
Also, people with iPods will download your latest podcast episodes by "syncing" their portable device with their iTunes software on their computers. (That's how they transfer your podcast recordings into their little iPods.)
Obviously you can see there's a huge advantage to putting an audio file into a feed because of the automatic notifications and the ability to transfer recordings to listeners' portable iPods. This is crucial if you want to develop and grow a loyal repeat audience. You want to build up your podcast subscriber list, just like building up an email newsletter subscriber list. Thus, your starting point for distributing your podcast is your feed.
7) Set up your feed -- So how exactly do you get your MP3 file into an RSS feed in the first place, so that people can subscribe or download to their iPods? There are two common ways to do this.
- Set up a blog. Upload your MP3 file to the Web if it is not already online. Then link to the MP3 file in a blog post. Blog software automatically generates an RSS feed and it will include your MP3 recording as an enclosure in it.
- Or use one of the all-in-one services described above, such as BlogTalkRadio.com or Podomatic, as they automatically place your audio into a feed for you.
You can also have your Webmaster build a feed by hand. However, with so many free or low cost services available today, that seems a bit like reinventing the wheel to me. Save your webmaster's time for more important tasks.
8) Optimize your feed -- You want to optimize your RSS feed so that your podcast recordings can be found by people searching the Web and on iTunes, via keywords and tags. The handiest tool I've found for optimizing your feed is FeedBurner.com. Sign up for a free FeedBurner account. FeedBurner offers a special set of services just for feeds with podcasts, allowing you to assign keywords and do other things to make sure your podcast gets found when people search in iTunes especially.
9) Submit your podcast to directories and podcatchers -- You should also submit your podcast feed URL to as many podcast directories and podcatcher aggregators you can find. Some will ask for descriptions of your podcast, including keywords and categories. The more places your recordings can be found online, the bigger an audience you can get. Make sure you at least have submitted your podcast feed URL to these major ones: iTunes, Podcast Pickle, Podcast Alley, Odeo, and iPodder/Juice,
10) Offer transcripts or detailed show notes -- Search engines like Google and Yahoo can't hear. They have no ears. In other words, today the search engines do not index audio. The only way they can index audio recordings is if they are given accompanying information in text form.
You can increase the likelihood of your podcast being found in search engines if every recording is accompanied by a blog post or Web page with detailed, keyword-rich text describing the content in the recording. The more detailed, the better.
Or you can post a written transcript online. CastingWords (http://castingwords.com) offers a reasonably priced transcription service over the Web you can handle 100% online.
Remember too, human beings read faster than we listen. Your audience may prefer to read the content of your recording rather than listening -- it's faster and they can refer back to it easier.
BONUS TIP
11) Add an audio player to your website or blog -- You know those little clickable players you see on websites? When you click on the little arrow, you launch the audio.
You need one of those for your website and/or blog. It increases the chances of people listening.
Wimpy Player (http://www.wimpyplayer.com) is a well-regarded option, but you can find many on the Web by doing a search in Google.
If you run a WordPress blog, there's a free plugin called PodPress that I highly recommend. PodPress automatically inserts a player in your WordPress blog post. It will also conveniently track the number of listens and downloads for each recording.
If you use one of the all-in-one podcasting services, such as BlogTalkRadio,com, they provide a little clickable player you can embed into your website or blog.
CONCLUSION
OK, so there you have it -- my top 10 podcasting tools and tips.
There's a lot more, of course. Just do a Google search on any one of these tools or tips and I guarantee you'll soon be overwhelmed.
Better yet, investigate these tools or tips first. These will get you started podcasting like a Pro, without all the confusion.
