Podcasting is becoming more and more popular every year, and that’s across the web as a whole, not only in the blogging niche.
There are shows about sports, dieting, business, tech news, literally every possible topic imaginable.
So where does your blog come into this picture? Well, I’m not here to convince you that podcasting (or live podcasting) is the holy grail for your internet career, but it can surely bring some worthwhile benefits if you’re not afraid of having your voice recorded.
(The benefits are exactly what we talked about in one of the recent posts here at We Blog Better: 4 Benefits of Adding a Podcast to Your Business.)
The actual realization that a podcast might just be the droid thing we’re looking for comes from other successful bloggers, who, at some point in their careers, decided to launch a podcast. For instance, Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income launched his in 2010, and he even said that it’s been one of the best decisions he’s ever made for his brand.
So, how to decide if it has the potential to be one of the best decisions for your brand as well? More than that, what about live podcasting?
Is live podcasting for your blog?
First of all, podcasting is serious work. If you don’t have the time to do this work then it’s strike 1, 2, 3, all at the same moment.
However, live podcasting, at least in my opinion, is a lot less work (hour for hour) than standard podcasting.
Of course, you always have to come up with a pretty clear idea of what you want to talk about and why your podcast will be valuable to your audience, but when it comes to the actual broadcasting, doing it live is simpler.
In the end, when handled right, podcasting can bring some great benefits to your blog. Making it more recognizable, and also strengthening your position in the niche.
The main thing is that people always find it easier to interact with you and believe what you’re saying if they can hear your voice (or better yet, see you). It gives your brand this personal touch that the big guys usually lack.
The biggest challenge
As often with any form of online promotion, the challenge is the marketing. I.e. getting people to tune in to your live podcast so you get an actual audience to speak to.
I won’t hide the fact that in order to pull it off you either need to heave a healthy audience already, or a good marketing machine supporting you.
This is actually quite funny (yet true at the same time), but the biggest challenge in live podcasting isn’t the technical stuff, it’s getting people through the door.
The equipment
If you’re not scared of the project and think that you can handle the marketing part then let’s talk some technical details.
There’s not much stuff you have to buy to start podcasting, but there’s one mandatory thing – a quality USB microphone. Something like Samson C01U (available on Amazon) is enough. It’s around $70 and really does its job well.
It’s an USB microphone which means that you don’t need any additional equipment to make it work (like a mixer, or an audio interface, etc.). This makes everything really quick and down to earth.
The environment
One of the biggest challenges in audio production is noise.
(By the way, apart from freelance writing, I’m also a musician, and that’s why I know this stuff. Anyway, I digress).
Really, noise is the most ruthless killer of every voice recording. And the sad part is that if your audience can hear the noise, they immediately start thinking (even subconsciously) that you’re probably not all that professional.
If you don’t want to invest in some soundproofing equipment then at least do the following:
- Record in a room that has a lot of furniture in it (furniture gets rid of the echo and consumes a lot of the background noise).
- Close all the windows and doors.
- Place your microphone away from the computer (so it doesn’t pick up the computer noise).
As I said, these are basics, but not doing any of these vs. doing them all is going to make a huge difference in audio quality.
Mind that you don’t get the chance to remove the noise in postproduction – in live podcasting there’s no postproduction.
Surprisingly, audio quality is one of the most important success factors for your podcast. If your audio sounds really bad, no one will listen to you, no matter how great your content is.
Your live podcasting server
The way live podcasting works is that you – the podcaster – are not actually sending the audio to each individual listener. Instead, you’re sending it to a server, and then the server sends it to the listeners.
This server is something you can launch on your own machine/computer. But it’s not an advisable approach. The thing is that audio streaming consumes a lot of bandwidth, and if you’re hoping for any decent audience, you will need a really serious internet connection to pull this off.
That’s why I advise you to look into external servers. For instance, there’s a service at WebNet Hosting called IceCast hosting that makes things quite easy to set up. They provide you with a piece of software that you can use to stream your audio program directly to the server.
Unfortunately, it does require some investments, but it’s also easily scalable depending on the size of your audience and the audio quality you want to provide.
At this point, you’re basically good to go into the world of audio podcasting. There’s just one additional cool thing you can do.
Launching a traditional podcast
Why not take your live recordings and publish them as a traditional audio podcast (one where your audience can subscribe to a prerecorded audio program)?
This involves some additional steps, like learning a thing or two about audio production, setting up RSS feeds for your podcast, and submitting them to podcast directories like iTunes, but in the end it may be well worth it.
If you want to get some more info on this, feel free to visit this great resource: how to podcast by Cliff Ravenscraft.
Finally, what’s your experience with podcasting or live podcasting? Are you planning to launch an audition like this as part of your extended blog offering?
About Karol K
Twitter: vagish
says:
I’ve never tried podcasts but I know a friend of mine does a monthly one which is in fact a great idea. It really works out for them, and generally is a good idea.
Vagish recently posted..Arcade Machine with a Touch – Apex Touch
Hey Karol,
Nice post and Thanks for sharing this important post with us. I really enjoyed this post while reading and till now I never used this method but after reading this post I will surely gonna apply this method to my blog.
Sudipto recently posted..Best Android Phone Under 10000
Twitter: treysmithblog
says:
These are great tips on how to launch a podcast that blog readers would love to watch. Make sure that your podcast is audible to make sure that your message is efficiently sent to your readers or subscribers.
Lei Broch recently posted..The successes and horrors of Android
I haven’t really tried podcasting, vlogging has worked well for us though. Though your argument that podcasts can be listened to on the go is something to consider, it could drastically shorten the time between the content becoming available and it reaching the client’s ears.
Luis recently posted..Responsive Design Español
Twitter: techblowup
says:
Launching a live podcast in our blog is not an easy task. And for newbies it is much harder. Nice post.
Prakash recently posted..Best Mobile Phone Under 10,000 Rs (Android | Windows Smartphone) 2013
Hi Karol, tnx a lot for this post. Great job. I will try launch live podcast on my blog. Salute…
Twitter: Rohitkabdwal
says:
very nice tips karol,
its a hard stuff for small bloggers but,
pod-casting is the most efficient way of publishing your blog into the global and live market.
you’ve given very nice tips karol…! thanks :)
Rohit kabdwal recently posted..Java: What is Java (basics covered)
Twitter: Ahometo
says:
Thanks you for sharing this post. I will start testing the results like?Tôi c?m th?y h?i h?p không bi?t k?t qu? s? nh? th? nào. Nh?ng tôi c?m th?y r?t vui. vì mình v?a tìm ???c m?t ?i?u thú v?.
n?i th?t recently posted..Tranh PURPLE
Twitter: learntopodcast
says:
Keep in mind that HUGE podcasters like Leo Laporte get the majority of their listeners from people who listen later. With this in mind, I tell people to start a podcast, grow your audience, and THEN think about podcasting live (this helps you get your feet wet with a simpler setup). One of the powers of podcasting is the time shifted element. If you must do live, check out mixlr.com or spreakr.com (easier options than shoutcast, etc).
Twitter: carlosinho
says:
Thanks for pointing that out, Dave. I will make sure to check out both of the solutions you’re mentioning.
Karol recently posted..Behold! The Great Huge Secret of YouTube Traffic Finally Revealed by Internet Marketing Gods
I haven’t attempted podcast yet, because of the long time it takes to release new contents often and regularly, but i have included some video presentation in e-commerce sites, because i think that video contetnts is a great way to capture customers’ attention.
Twitter: carlosinho
says:
Surely it won’t hurt you. It’s always worth to give it a shot! Thanks for commenting.
Karol recently posted..Things To Do Before You Make It Big On The Internet
Twitter: brokerhollywood
says:
Great article Karol. I have not attempted live podcasting yet, because like you said, the toughest thing about it is gettng people through the door. But taking live podcasts and publishing them as a traditional audio podcast is a great idea. I do agree that having people listen to you and/or see you speak is the most effective way of connecting with your follower. Right now I have been making YouTube marketing videos for my business and so far the response has been very positive. Thank you for the information Karol. I appreciate it :)
Sam Martinez recently posted..Hollywood Hills Real Estate is set to go BOOM!
Twitter: carlosinho
says:
Thanks for the comment. What’s your method of recording these videos? I mean, can the audience actually see you or is it a visualization of some kind?
Twitter: bryanclark
says:
We actually implemented this strategy on a client’s blog in October of last year. After 6 podcasts (1 weekly) they saw an 80% spike in traffic. It’s certainly not a bad strategy.
Bryan Clark recently posted..Why Repurposed Content is Sexy
Twitter: carlosinho
says:
Wow, that’s great news. What was the niche where this was implemented (if you don’t mind sharing)?
Karol recently posted..Behold! The Great Huge Secret of YouTube Traffic Finally Revealed by Internet Marketing Gods
Twitter: bryanclark
says:
It was in the finance niche. The client was looking for independent brokers that wanted to affiliate themselves with a larger broker. The podcast was well received, although the niche was relatively small. Great results.
Bryan Clark recently posted..You Suck at Twitter
Excellent posting is one of the best ways for getting links and increase your site rank. It shows that you are not a spammer and try to provide some useful content to your users.
Alina recently posted..2013 Taiwan International Festival of Arts – A significant Platform for performing Arts!
don’t know what is better podcasting or vlogging, i am going to give a shot to both of them for my next blog after making to certain point for my current venture
Hemu recently posted..Wife Birthday Quotes
Twitter: carlosinho
says:
I guess it mainly depends on your personal preference. But there are also some pros and cons for both. From a listener’s/viewer’s perspective, for example, videos require more concentration, while podcasts can be listened to on the go. However, not everything can be presented as a podcast. Sometimes the visual part can be crucial, depending on the niche.
Karol recently posted..Behold! The Great Huge Secret of YouTube Traffic Finally Revealed by Internet Marketing Gods
Twitter: writetojohnmak
says:
Karol, podcasting is a great way to gain credibility and trust! It’s not in my plans to launch a podcast but I have seen that it is very helpful when you have actually something newsworthy to say! Thanks for sharing.
John
John Mak recently posted..Best Ways You Can Perform Your Own Advanced Security Tests on Your Computer
Twitter: SamuraiTradingA
says:
To be honest I’ve never really seriously considered putting together a podcast even though I do listen to quite a few. It’s something definitely worth thinking about down the road once my current projects are off the ground though. This gets a bookmark and I’ll be coming back when I get the chance to actually pull something like this off.
Cody recently posted..Emini Day Trading Series: 8 Advantages of Trading Emini S&P 500 Futures
Twitter: techinitio
says:
Right now I haven’t tried this method to extend my reach via my blog. But after I read this, I plan to give it a shot…wont hurt me, would it?? May be it will be a game-changer for me.
Thanks for share Karol!!!
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