So you chickened out did you? You wanted to do videos but after the first one you decided that being in front of the camera wasn't your favorite place to be. Or maybe you started out doing teleseminars and decided that you wanted to do a regular series.
Or maybe you're just starting out and you know you don't want to write and you don't want to be in front of the camera. But you still want to create content and give it away. So how are you going to get out of the situation you're in and still create content to give away?
Have you considered the lowly podcast? Yup, that holdover from the days of talk radio when journalists would don their cans and pull up a microphone. Okay, I'm showing my age again. Stop smiling to yourself. You in the back, giggling is not allowed. It makes you look childish. Not exactly something an upcoming internet marketing magnate wants to project.
But that's basically what a podcast is. It's simply a regular radio show without the radio. Okay, let's make that a talk radio show without the radio. So what does it take to create a podcast?
A microphone, a computer, and enough related topics to make it a podcast and not just an MP3 that's been posted to the web. Of course, a website to post the podcast to would be nice. Which makes it perfect for the budding journalist or internet marketer who doesn't want to write and is afraid of their own image. Okay, so what do you really need in order to create a podcast?
First off, you don't create a podcast. You create a series of podcasts. One is an MP3 or digital recording. A regular series is a podcast. So that's the first thing you need. A series of topics. These will form the subject of each of your podcasts.
The second thing you need to do is determine how long each podcast will be. Ten minutes, fifteen minutes, one minute, one hour? Now go back to your subjects. Can you actually do it in that length of time? Would you be better doing other things? Basically, you need to plan out your podcasting schedule. This may mean arranging for interview subjects or researching or any number of other things.
Now, you need to write each podcast. Actually you only need to design each podcast. You won't actually write anything. Think webinar... but without the slides. You're going to talk for the length of time of your podcast, directly from your notes. Consider practicing at least once. As you get better at talking off the top of your head this step may become a problem. However, when you are starting out practice makes perfect. You'll know when practice takes away from the spontaneity of your presentation.
Now take your microphone. A headset type is best. Adjust the microphone so it sits just below your jaw close to your neck. Now startup your computer. You'll need a recording tool of some type. I use WavePad but there are a number of other free tools available. Once you've finished recording you'll need to save the result into MP3 format.
Of course, if you're like the rest of us, you'll have made mistakes while making your recording. Don't despair. That's what the editing step is for. If you've only made a few errors you can ignore them. If you've got a lot of dead space or mistakes you can always eliminate it by editing out the errors.
Now upload to the web site. Congratulations you've finished your first podcast. Now repeat until the series is ended. Post to the website according to the schedule you developed in your plan.
How Do You Promote a Podcast and Get More Listeners? Is a Podcast Difficult to Produce? School and College Radio Internet Marketing - Using Podcasts
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