You’ve probably heard of podcasting, but do you know why it’s important? This powerful communication tool is being adopted faster than any other broadcast media in history. Having a good podcast strategy can ensure you’re keeping current and leveraging the most effective media tools to build deeper relationships with your target audience.

Engage Your Audience

Having greater reach and more direct touch points with your audience is something every communication strategy aims to achieve. Podcasts provide a direct communications link to an global audience with next to no incremental cost. Taking a small amount of time to develop a podcast strategy can result in a new communications channel that engages a world-wide audience.

A podcast strategy can also leverage all the social tools on the Internet to encourage interaction and engage your audience on a deeper level. Users can do more than tune-in to a podcast. They can follow links, give feedback, pause or rewind, share content, or engage in many other ways. With a good podcast strategy, you can monitor your user engagement and respond to it quickly.

Build Trust

You already know that trust is essential for effective communications. Like Radio and TV, podcasts are publicly broadcasted rich media and carry more credibility than press releases, lectures, emails, or most other common communication tools. Podcasts put the persuasive power associated with a global broadcast at your disposal.

A podcast is delivered to users whenever they’re ready and choose to play it. A person who receives information through a podcast is more empowered than a person who receives the same information in a presentation, flier, or by other traditional means. Podcasts give your audience more control over their experience, which helps build greater trust between you and your users.

Be Relevant

Web 2.0 is a reality. If you’re not familiar with terms like “social media”, “blog”, or “podcast”, you’re quickly losing touch with the standard tools people are using to communicate. With hundreds of thousands of podcasters, and over 18 million regular podcast users in the USA, podcasting is becoming an important part of the Web 2.0 world.

Podcasting also presents relevant content to your audience. People who listen to or watch podcasts do so because they want to. With a solid podcast strategy, you can deliver messages that are in-line with your goals, and draw in an audience that already sees a benefit in what you are saying.

If you think podcasting is only relevant for teenagers and Silicon Valley tech start-ups, think again. Libraries, hospitals, local retailers, fortune 500 companies, universities, professors, police departments, fitness trainers, authors, or just about any organization with a need to communicate in the modern world can use podcasting, and in a great many cases already are. Podcast strategies can be powerful, competitive, and a lot easier to implement than you might have ever imagined.

Feel free to send me an email if you have questions about how you could implement a podcast strategy. My email is rian [at] dailysplice.com.

I’ve been working with some companies these days trying to set up podcast strategies. One of the first things we need to consider when setting up these strategies is what resources they have to dedicate to podcasting. Podcasting can be as simple as picking up the phone and leaving a message, which is great for recording quick media releases or news updates, but it can also be a really big production depending on what you want to do.

I’ve tried to break down the types of podcasts someone can do in terms of what is needed in terms of post-production resources. I’ve done this with audio podcasting in mind, so if you are thinking of doing video you should probably triple or even quadruple the effort estimates here.

The Phone-In Podcast

This is as simple as making a phone call. It takes one person and zero post-production time, but it is telephone quality. It is possible to spend an extra 5 - 10 minutes making optional enhancements to the show notes and tags after recording.

The Editless Record-Upload Podcast

This takes very little production time and can have high production quality depending on your recording equipment and the skill level of the host. It involves a minimal amount computer work which could take anywhere from 10-30 minutes of post-production time per episode. The average person could do one of these from start to finish, but they’d need to have access to some equipment and software.

The Trimmed Podcast

This introduces editing to the production, which takes time and some extra skills. If the editor is familiar with the software it will not take too much time. Depending on the length of the recording and the skill of the editor this could take an extra 15 - 60 minutes of post production time per episode. The average person could do one of these from start to finish, but it’s likely you’d have one person hosting it and another person doing the post production.

The Template Podcast

This is a good podcast to produce if you have a regular show that has certain standards. You can get professional sounding production quality with not a lot of extra production time. However, it does require some up-front production time to produce high quality templates. It will take an extra 15 - 60 minutes of post production time per episode. The average person could do one of these from start to finish, but it’s likely you’d have one person hosting it and another person doing the post production. Yet another more skilled editor may even do the templates.

The One-Man Band Podcast

If you’ve got a studio and you’re a talented host, it’s quite possible to record your podcast and add all the effects and music clips and everything you need as you go. You’ll need a lot of stuff to set this up though and you’ll need to know what you’re doing. If you do, it’s possible to record good shows with very little post-production time.

The Full Edit Podcast

This kind of podcast takes a lot more care and attention. It involves serious post-production time and some skill with the editing software. It probably involves a lot more care when recording as well. It may take 60+ minutes of extra post production time per episode. One of these podcast will probably involve a one or more people other than the host who handle the production of the shows.

Did you know podcasting is as easy as making a phone call? There are a whole bunch of podcasts services out there that let you record episodes of your podcast by dialing a number and leaving a message. I spent a little time trying out a few of these services today. I’ve summarized my findings here. I think if you just want to effortlessly start creating podcasts on the fly you should be able to find what you need in this blog post.

Cinch

This is the most simple podcast tool you will every find anywhere until they invent some way to telepathically publish podcasts from brain-to-mp3. All you do is make a phone call, record the message, and hang up. You don’t have to set anything up. Cinch even sets up your RSS feed using your phone number… http://cinch.blogtalkradio.com/yourphonenumber.

You can literally pick up your phone right now and call +1646.200.0000, leave a message, hang up, and then go to http://cinch.blogtalkradio.com/yourphonenumber to find your podcast.

You can attach a phone number to a word so that you don’t have to make your phone number known to the public. For example, I changed my RSS feed from http://cinch.blogtalkradio.com/myphonenumber to http://cinch.blogtalkradio.com/dailysplice. But that’s the ONLY setting up that you can do.

There’s two problems though:

1. They put their own audio signature at the beginning of the recording. It’s only a second long, but if you absolutely can not have a 3rd party message in your podcast (I guess it’s an advertisement), then you can’t use this service.
2. It’s a little too simple. I mentioned that the only setting you can do is change the RSS url for your phone number. You can’t log into your account, you can’t do episode titles or show notes, you can’t delete a show if you screw up, and if someone knew your phone number I guess they could change your RSS feed url. Also, it’s one phone number for one RSS feed, so you can’t make updates to your feed from multiple phones.

My Cinch RSS Feed

• recorded using my cell phone (long distance charges apply)

Gabcast

This is one step up from cinch in terms of complexity, but the complexity vs features you get is totally worth it. Basically, you have to set up an account to start, and then you have to deal with an automated menu when you call in to identify your podcast. This lets you call from any phone to update your podcast, and you can playback your episode over the phone before publishing it. Then you can log in after the fact and ad show notes and manage recordings.

The problems with Gabcast are:

1. The free part is limited. If your show gets popular you’ll need to upgrade for a minimal costs to increase your bandwidth allowence
2. It didn’t work reliably when I tried it. The first test I did worked beautifully, but then when I called back to record the real deal I got a busy signal. Later when I tried again it just kept ringing. Then site went down too. Maybe I just got unlucky, I don’t know. I’ll try again another day and update this post if it works.

GCast

GCast is about as easy or easier to use than GabCast, but there are a couple advantages.

1. It doesn’t look like there are bandwidth or storage limitations
2. You can upload audio files, so if you want to record and edit your podcast professionally and then upload it rather than recording by phone, you can.
3. It’s done by the folks at GarageBand.com, so they’ve integrated some mixing tools that leverage their huge database of royalty free music. This feature isn’t really in the scope of this post, so I’ll mention it but that’s it.
4. It actually works =)

The only disadvantage of this service is that they mention in the description that they make money from adding audio or video advertisments. I didn’t get any ads attached to mine though… maybe those get added later? Probably at their discression anyway. However, they do also say they will probably come out with a paid option to get rid of the ads.

My GCast RSS Feed

• recorded using skype (free, terrible quality, but probably has more to do with the fact that I’m just using my dinky built in laptop microphone)
• recorded using my cell phone (long distance charges apply)

Hipcast

With hipcast you can record your podcast by phone, skype, the on-site recording studio, or even by uploading an mp3 file. You can even do video. You can have multiple podcasts and you can call from any phone and update any of your podcasts using the automated phone menu. It’s not as simple as some of the other ones, but it really does have all you’ll need to get podcasting effortlessly and still get high production quality when you need it. The problem is… it costs money. 5$ per month will get you a basic startup account. If your podcast gets popular you’ll have to start upgrading which means more $$$. Of course, if you get to the point where you have to upgrade then it’s probably not a bad thing.

My Test Hipcast RSS Feed (this may not work eventually because I canceled my account so I don’t keep getting charged)

• recorded with skype (free, terrible quality, but probably has more to do with the fact that I’m just using my dinky built in laptop microphone)
• recorded with a mobile phone (long distance charges apply)
• recoded on the hipcast site (free)

The Pickup Podcast is a pleasantly surprising show about dating advice for men. The reason I say ‘pleasantly surprising’, is that I expected it to be seedy and disrespectful to women, but that is not the case. It’s very professionally done and presented. Each episode describes tactics, frames of mind, and advice on how to heat up your dating life. Many episodes feature the hosts and a high-profile member of the online “seduction community”, a group of guys (and girls, for that matter) that share knowledge about meeting, attracting, and dating women. Interestingly most of the techniques can be applied to everyday life, not just dating. It’s like building a confidence and communication skills toolbox. So before you sit down and watch another rerun of Saturday Night Live, tune in to these guys.

So the 3G iPhone is all the buzz this week, as is anything Steve Jobs touches. But what does it mean for podcasting?

Let me start my prediction by saying podcasting, as it is right now, in my opinion is not mobile.  “What?? The whole idea is that you download it and take it with you… isn’t that as mobile as it gets?”

Well, not really. Last I checked, about half the people listening to podcasts are listening direct off the website.  That means they are connected to the Internet, which means they are very likely sitting down in front of their computer, which means they are not moving around.

Podcasts are more valuable on the go, there is no question about that, and I’d be willing to bet most of those people sitting in front of their computer watching the progress bar move along while they enjoy their podcast would probably rather listen to that show on the bus or on a run or wherever else.

People don’t take them on the go because it’s a pain to get them onto their iPod. By “it’s a pain” I mean you have to do something. Even if that something is simply plug your iPod in and wait for the new files to transfer, it is something, and these days “something” is a pain.

What the first iPhone represented was the arrival of the long awaited mobile web in North America. What I think this 3G iPhone will represent is real access to the mobile web in North America. By that I mean the speed will start to go up and the data prices will start to come down.

So then comes my prediction. Not only will it be easier to syc your podcasts up automatically, it will also become easier to stream them on the go.  This will take away the pain of taking your podcasts to go, but it will also take away the limitations of the RSS feed with media enclosure rule. We might see “mediacasts” being aggrigated on the fly and streamed from various parts of the web instead of being placed on your device.

So I guess I’m kind of predicting that the 3G iPhone, in terms of what it represents in the media delivery timeline, could kill the “podcast” in favor of “mediacasts” that include things like YouTube videos that arn’t meant to ever be downloaded.

So if it happens, let me say you heard it here first. If it doesn’t then lets just forget this post ever happened. =)

Last week I looked at podcasting from the point of view of the average hobby podcaster. I was thinking back on the patterns I’ve seen while conducting a number of interviews with podcasters. They all had some expertise that they were passionate about, and all seemed to have the attitude that they just loved doing it and had no intention of stopping any time soon.

I drew the conclusion that podcasters think of what they do as art, and they just love doing it regardless of whether or not money ever finds them. This isn’t the whole story though.

There are more and more organizations popping up that are trying to incorporate podcasting into their communications strategy. These are often times information rich organizations like newspapers, research companies, science organizations, etc. It’s not the case, in these situations, that the host of the show has decided to podcast. In this situation, someone has been assigned to come up with a podcast strategy and produce the shows, using the in house talent and expertise as voices and sources. In some cases the podcasts that are being released were recorded for some other medium and simply pulled out of the archive and repurposed.

I talk to these kinds of podcasters too, and I still find they have the same profile as the hobby podcasters. They have expertise and are passionate about it, and have no intention of stopping. They are not being produced purely because they make money, in fact they usually don’t make money and sometimes the organizations producing them don’t even track their subscriber numbers. But these kinds of podcasts are more of an early stage “experiment” than a genuine and artistic means of expression for an expert.

So regardless of whether podcasters are motivated by the “art” or by the “experimental factor,” it still doesn’t seem that many people or organizations are doing it with the expectation that it is going to turn a profit. Podcasters, professional or hobbiest, are doing it because it’s fun and exciting, and that’s one reason we all love tuning in.

Well, for the moment very few people podcast for money. I think people have dreams of podcasting for money or to increase their business traffic, but that’s not why the bulk of podcasters are doing it.

Podcasting is an art. Some people are very very good at it, and they make a decent living from it. Some people are not so good at it and they make a decent living at it. But the people who are making a decent living at it represent perhaps a percent of a percent of a percent (or .0001% in laymans terms) of the total people doing it and it in no way represents what it really means to be an artist.

There are some absolutely fantastic podcasts out there that absolutely nobody knows about, and in most cases the hosts probably don’t even really care. Podcaster’s podcast because they want to. They are passionate about something and they want to talk about it, its as simple as that.

How do I know this? I know from experience that it is very difficult to make a podcast that will generate revenue. But lately I’ve been getting some new insights into the average joe podcaster’s mind. I’ve been talking to a lot of them. You can find a lot of the interviews we’ve been doing on the podcast guide on Tuesdays.

I haven’t been approaching the money makers yet, but I have approached a number of vetran podcasters. Hosts of podcasts like 100 Word Stories (the podcast with the most episodes out there) and History According to Bob (soon to have 1000 high quality history lessons under his podcast belt). These guys don’t care if they ever make a dime. Lawrence from 100 Word Stories says “I’m going to do a podcast every day until the day I die, so when I miss one you can check the papers.” That pretty much sums up the vibe I get from almost everyone I talk to.

Of course, I also get the vibe from most of these guys that if they did get a big advertising offer they wouldnt hestitate to snach it up… but so would any artist who’d been painting pictures and storing them in his basement. The point is, if those paitings were to stay in the basement their entire lives the artist would just keep adding to the pile, and so will podcasters.

After doing lots and lots of podcast reviews, it seems like we’re witnessing the beginnings of new media genres on the internet. Podcasting makes it galactically easier to express yourself creatively and distribute it to like-minded viewers.100 Word Stories is a great example of a podcast that has built a community around its theme. The theme is simple: a (very) short story. It’s easy to fall into the groove of this format. If you have a creative mind you can come up with such a story in no time, and it’s easy for people to consume as well.

Sketch comedy is another podcast theme that has broken out. A lot of these seem to be video podcasts, which is probably due to classic shows like Saturday Night Live and Mad TV. As a kid, I used to pretend I was a cast member on SNL. I would come up with my own characters and comedy sketches and act them out. Podcasts like Ask Blackie and The Monkey Box took it a step further than me. This is the kind of stuff I would have done if the technology was available at the time. Am I old?

Let’s look at some aspects of these two formats.

• Short duration. Short episodes are easier to produce. They don’t require expensive equipment and a lot of time editing. If you’re doing a video podcast, there is certainly more expense and more work to be done during production, but it’s very manageable. For listeners, there is less investment required to sample the podcast and determine whether or not they want more. I favor shorter podcasts in general (unless it’s a topic I’m fascinated with), because in my experience, longer episodes tend to contain less relevant content.
•  Familiar format. Everyone’s seen Saturday Night Live or some reasonable facsimile. You know what to expect. There is fond nostalgia built in here as well. These podcasts remind me of watching Bill Murray specials and the commerical for Jewess Jeans.
• Timeless. Content doesn’t get old. It’ll still be as funny and as relevant 5 years from now as it is today.
• Produces on a consistent schedule. Many popular podcasts don’t produce every day or even every week. There are numerous podcasts that run in seasons, just like TV. They produce a few episodes a month on their on-season. However, the majority seem to release an episode every day or on a specific weekday.

We’re always on the lookout for new podcasts that fit into these genres. There are a ton more that I haven’t mentioned, but we’ll be talking about them over the next few weeks on our podcast. If you know of any, please leave a comment or submit it to our directory, or both!

I take the bus every morning, and for some reason I’ve developed this habit of looking at people’s ears while I’m sitting there. No, I don’t have any creepy ear fetishes; I just like to see how many people are listening to iPods.

I’ve started to realize something. At least on my morning bus route, the vast majority of people who have the white earbuds dangling from their ears sit in the back of the bus. The people in the front are usually chatting with their friends, powdering their nose, or just staring blankly ahead. Nearly everyone in the back is listening to their iPod.

I’ve even started making a game of it. I call it “check-the-ears, predict-the-seat.” Ok, I don’t actually have a name for it, but I have found that if I look at a person’s ears when they get on the bus, I can usually predict if they’ll make their way to the back or dump themselves into the first available seat.

So who cares? Well, some day in the future I may be interested in throwing some ads up inside buses. The kinds of ads I want to put in there would specifically be targeted to iPod listeners. So, if I can get them into the back somewhere, at least if it were on Route #7, they’d probably be more effective.

DISCLAIMER: Although my data collection methods may seem foolproof, sitting on a bus and looking at people’s ears isn’t actually considered a scientific process. It’s probably not safe to base any million dollar ad campaigns off these findings quite yet.

I’m revisiting the issue of podcast numbers out there, because this is an important factor in our service and its implications.

Feedburner reports that it currently serves 230,000 audio and video podcasts. That’s a sizeable number already, but what percentage of total podcasts do they host?

A couple weeks ago, I wrote that DailySplice’s directory has about 1000 podcasts (a fairly small directory so far, but growing steadily.) Feedburner hosts about 33% of those, indicating that there could be over 650,000 podcasts out there.

We’ve since acquired a list of 33,000 podcasts from various hosts. By hosts, I mean the server that provides the RSS file, not the media files themselves (although that’s an interesting issue as well.) The largest RSS hosts are:

• Blogtalkradio, which hosts about 16%;
• Feedburner, which hosts about 10%;
• Libsyn, which hosts about 7%

These numbers are quite a departure to what I’ve seen in the DailySplice directory; I didn’t expect Feedburner’s contribution to be as low as 10%. This list contains only 1% of Feedburner’s total hosted feeds. The numbers for blogtalkradio seem to be in the same ballpark: only about 6% of blogtalkradio’s  87,000 shows are in this list. If the percentage of listed podcasts are the same for other hosts, this could indicate that there are between 550,000 and 3.3 million podcast feeds out there. The latter number seems outlandish, so I intend to do some more verification when more data is available. I’ll also take a look at how many of these are actively producing new content, which will be a more convincing measurement of podcast growth.