What kinds of podcasts are out there?
Will I find a podcast that I might be interested in? How can I listen to a podcast?
Can you help me download my first podcast?
Do I have to commit to anything?
Does it cost anything?
How can I get started in podcasting?
Can I try it out first before I have to buy anything? What happens if I love it and want to podcast professionally?
What you need to know
Introduction
How to download
Project #1 – Get set up and listen to a podcast Uses of podcasting
Forums on podcasting
Preparing your first podcast
Project #2 – Preparing to podcast
How to become a podcaster
Project #3 – Become a podcaster
Going Pro
The length-to-width ratio
How much time should I put into my podcast? Project #4 – Developing your podcast Maintaining Momentum
Project # 5 – Keep your podcast going!
Action steps
Useful sites
Do it now! – for personal podcasters Do it now! – for business podcasters
Wrap up
Summary
Watch your step
The three things you need to know Stay tuned…
If you tell people that you are getting into podcasting and would like them to subscribe, they will probably tell you that they can't since they don't have an iPod. The great thing about listening to podcasts is that you don't even need an iPod to do it! And, while its beauty is the potential portability, you don’t need a portable MP3 player to join either! If you have either one you can enjoy podcasts on the go. But all you need is a fairly recent computer with a program like Windows Media Player and you can get started right away.
>>>TECHNICAL TERM: WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYERA little bit later we will look at some sites that are good places to go to get a variety of podcasts and we’ll go into a little greater detail about the technical aspect of listening to podcasts. But for now we will look at how you go about downloading and listening to a podcast and listen to a one right now.
What we’ll do next is download the program you need to get podcasts, then we’ll find a podcast and tell the program to retrieve it for us, then we’ll enjoy listening to one.There are many free retrieval programs (called aggregators) out there, but we’ll use Doppler, which is one of the best ones… and it’s free! Are you ready? Let’s get started. >>>TECHNICAL TERM: AGGREGATOR
1. Go to http://www.dopplerradio.net/
2. On the right-hand-side of the pages is a download bar with the most recent Doppler program on it. Click on that program.
3. Once it is on your computer, click on the Doppler set-up file and your computer will begin the process to set it up for you.
4. Once Doppler is set up, get on the Internet with your favorite browser.
5. Go to http://www.podcastalley.com/.
6. On the left-hand-side of the page use the pull-down menu to choose a Podcast Genre you’re interested in.
7. In the center column, just below the Podcast Genre list, you’ll find a long list of podcasts in the genre you’ve selected. Scroll down this list and click on a couple titles that catch your eye to see a brief explanation of what they’re about.
8. When you’ve decided on one that you’re the most interested in, click on “subscribe” which is just below the expanded explanation.9. This will take you to another page that displays the feed’s URL in a small box. Copy the URL displayed in that window.
10. Maximize your Doppler window.
11. On the bottom right side of your Doppler screen, click “add feed.”
12. In the GUI that opens up, paste the URL into the line that reads “URL.”
13. Click “add feed” on that screen.
14. You will see the feed status beginning to climb as Doppler goes out and gets the podcasts for you. Go get a coffee, it could take a moment.
15. When the feed is complete, go to My Music Files (or wherever you keep your music).
16. Click the icon that matches the name of the podcast you wanted to listen to.
17. Windows Media Player should open and begin playing. Sit back and enjoy the show.
>>>TECHNICAL TERM: BROWSER >>>TECHNICAL TERM: URL >>>TECHNICAL TERM: ICON
I’ll bet you found that incredibly easy! In fact, it probably took longer to read about than it did to actually get started!Uses of podcasting
• Radio stations have turned some of their programs into podcasts which they upload daily and make available to people who might enjoy the program but are unable to listen to it when it is initially broadcast over the airwaves.
• Companies like General Motors and Microsoft, create podcasts that combine information and product news for people who may be interested, such as investors or car or computer buffs or industry analysts.
• Companies can put basic instructions and training manuals on podcasts for someone to talk through a new user step-by-step.• Musicians, poets, writers, and other creative people can create podcasts of their work so that they can market themselves to a wider audience.
• Churches create podcasts of their sermons which they make available to anybody, replacing the cassette tapes which used to be a popular format for ministers.
• News channels, like CNN, will put their headlines and some of the brief news stories into a podcasts format.
• Sports teams create podcasts to tell fans about what is going on, like a very specialized sports show just for the team you're interested in. Or fans create podcasts to share opinions or rants about their favorite teams.
• Museums, art galleries, and historical sites create broadcasts for users to listen to as they walk through, replacing the human guide that would do tours, and allowing an individual with a personal audio player to go through at their own pace.
• The director of the sci-fi television show “Battlestar Galactica” creates a regular podcast to tell subscribers about the behind-the-scenes effort to make the show.• Individuals with opinions and ideas make their own podcasts in order to share those opinions and ideas with the rest of the world.
• Politicians create podcasts as a way to relate to their platform to listeners in a format that does not get interrupted by their opponents.
• Schools create podcasts of their lessons so students can listen again and again.
• Book or movie reviewers can review books in podcast format.
• Chefs who want to have their own cooking show but haven’t quite yet been contacted by a network can host an audio version of their cooking show. This is not a bad idea to also market step-by-step cooking podcasts for college students who have just moved away from home.
• Companies are using podcasts as an alternative for meetings or conferences.
• Experts in the field create podcasts to tell others about development and their field: like an entrepreneur sharing moneymaking ideas or a leader of global development calling for the end of poverty.
This may seem like a lot of different ways, but it is far from comprehensive and by the time you’re done reading this you’ll likely have thought of more ways to use podcasting! Whatever you decide to do, be sure that it’s something you enjoy. Podcasting is not only about convenience, it should also be about having fun!
>>>SECRETS OF THE PROS! BRAINSTORM TO FIND CREATIVE USES FOR PODCASTING
Forums on podcastingForums are a place on the Internet to post and receive messages >>>TECHNICAL TERM: FORUM
Think of forums like bulletin boards where people post questions and suggestions and advice along with responses. It’s similar to the home message board by the telephone in a lot of people’s kitchens. It’s a highly interactive way to communicate on the Internet.
http://www.podcastingnews.com/forum/
This is an excellent forum about podcasting, covering absolutely everything you could imagine about the industry from content and creating podcasts to podcasting and the law and the business of podcasting.
http://www.podcastpickle.com/
This is an excellent site about podcasting and it has a forum as well.
If you have questions about podcasting, whether technical or otherwise, these forums should help you. But be a good Internet citizen and help others who have questions once you’ve gained some experience!
Preparing your first podcastIn a moment you'll get a chance to do your very first podcast. It's easy. It's free. And it should take less than 10 minutes (although your actual podcast will only take about five minutes).
As you read through this book you will discover that content is a vital to finding and keeping subscribers. So before you began your first podcast, start out on the right foot by creating good content. While some podcasts have fancy sounds and a witty host and guests, your initial podcast will just be you but it will still be posted on the Internet, so you want to make a good quality podcast, especially if you fall in love with podcasting and want to continue.
Project #2 – Preparing to podcast1. Spend 1 to 2 minutes and brainstorm some topics you are interested in. He doesn't have to be new and brilliant content for your first podcast, it should simply be something you have a passion for.
2. Select one or two of those topics that catch your eye.3. Spend 1 or 2 minutes and brainstorm interesting facts that you know about those topics
4. Group those facts together under one or two headings.
5. By now, you probably see the one you want to podcast the most. If not, you'll need to choose one now.
6. Go online and find a web site that talks about that topic as well that you can review in your podcast.
7. Write down an upcoming event that is related to your area of interest. For example, if the area you're going to podcast on his genealogy, you might be able to find a local genealogical society which has a genealogy fare coming up. If you can't find anything, think of a past event that you can review.
8. Develop a brief script on your own, or from the example in the Example box that follows this exercise.Here is an example script for your very first podcast:
“Hello and welcome to our very first podcast at [your web address, which you will get shortly… in the next exercise]. My name is [your name] and today we’re going to be talking about [your topic]. In this podcast we’ll be talking about [heading #1] and [heading #2]. Later, we’ll review a website and talk about an upcoming event.
First, we’re talking about [heading #1]. Did you know that… [talk about the interesting facts you wrote down].Second, we’re talking about [heading #2]. Did you know that… [talk about the interesting facts you wrote down].
Now is the time in our show where we review a website. Today’s website is [say the web address and the name, if it’s different]. [Briefly describe the website and rate it on how helpful or informative it was as well as how easy it was designed to navigate around].
Finally, we’ve got to mention the [upcoming event]. [Mention who, what, where, when, cost, what to bring, what to expect].We’ve had a great time on the show today and look forward to having you tune in next time!”
That was easy, wasn’t it? Sure! There’s nothing to it. You probably don’t even need the script, but in cast you do, you have one available. It’s a good idea to work from a script, even if you don’t read it directly, to help you stay focused.
Now you have heard other podcasts and you’ve created your own script. Are you ready? Let’s podcast!How to become a podcaster
Becoming a podcaster is so easy! Why not try it out right now for free, and see if it’s something you’re interested in doing on a regular basis.
There are two excellent methods available for podcasters and we recommend you use them both.
The first is a free way that you can use to try out podcasting and see if it’s for you. It lets you create simple 5 minute podcasts for free! All you need to do is sign-up at their site. First you’ll be creating a blog, which is like a personal web page but designed to let you voice your opinion. Remember, they were the forerunners of podcasts.
A blog is like your very own personal journal or diary, but one that you leave open for others to read. It can be about personal things, about your job, about your favorite hobbies, about a pet. Anything of interest to you that you might write in a diary can go in a blog.
You don’t have to have a blog in order to podcast, you just have to have a web page. However, if you want to podcast for free, creating a blog (as we will shortly) is a quick and painless way to get a place to put your podcast.
Please note, this is just for beginning podcasters. The other program (described later) is more appropriate for the serious podcaster who wants to either supplement their current income or even earn a living from podcasting. This following instruction is mainly for the hobby podcaster with opinions to share with the world, and for people who want to see what it’s like before they invest in more serious podcasting.
The first program can be found at http://www.audioblogger.com/ and essentially all you do is call their telephone number and deliver a podcast up to 5 minutes in length.Before you do that, you need to sign up. Here’s how:
Project #3 – Become a podcaster
1. Go to http://www.blogger.com/start to create a blog. If you’re not sure what you want to make your blog about, just start with a blog about yourself or an interest or hobby.
2. Follow their set up process to create an account, name your blog, and select a template. You’ll be surprised: It’s very easy and a lot of fun! Even if you decide not to podcast, you now have a blog!
3. Once you have set up your blog, go to4. Follow their set up process to create an account by inputting your blog ID, your home phone number and a pin number.
5. Figure out what you want to say. (Maybe write something down so you sound coherent).
6. Call 1-415-856-0205.
7. Follow their instructions to input your home phone number and pin (this allows you to call from anywhere), and deliver your podcast!
8. If you enjoyed yourself and want to get an audience, submit your podcast to podcast hosting sites. You’ll find their websites below and they usually have a “submit” link on their front page.
That was easy!If you’ve caught the podcasting bug, you might be ready to go pro. In this case, you’ll probably want to expand beyond the limitation of a 5 minute podcast on a free site.
Going Pro
If you want to make the leap from hobbyist to professional, to either boost current business or start a new business, you can. You’ll need a couple extra programs to create a quality sound. Here are some recommendations to get you started.
While technically, you can get started with the microphone that probably came with your computer, you’ll want to likely invest in a slightly better microphone or if you have more than one person speaking in your podcast, you’ll need to get more than one microphone. A good place to start without having to rob a bank is to buy a USB microphone at an office supply store. They are affordably priced and unless you’re planning studio-quality production, they will do an excellent job for you.
>>>TECHNICAL TERM: USBIt is quite easy to podcast; I'm sure you're surprised at how easy it is. It's quite another thing though, to maintain a podcast on an ongoing basis. A lot has been discussed about the regularity of podcasts and exactly how frequent a podcast needs to be. While it is true that the frequency of a podcast does depend largely on the material that is covered, it is also true that subscribers may not be able to listen as frequently as you want to podcast.
If you have a lot of material and are looking to make a daily podcast you might want to consider a very short podcast of two to five minutes. Like e-mail that gets stacked up in your inbox, podcasts that don't get listen to compile a very quickly if a subscriber doesn't get a chance to hear a few of them in a row. Often what happens after that is a delete the whole batch, figure they've missed too much vital information, and unsubscribe.
On the other hand, too infrequent of a podcast will mean that people do not feel the same "ownership" in listening as they would from something a little more regular.When it's all said and done, you need to know what material you need to cover and how much time you have to spend on podcasts in order to determine how frequently you are going to podcast. This is the length-to-width ratio: the length of your podcast in relation to the width of the material.
Look at other podcasts to see what kind of material may cover and the relationship that has to the frequency they produce these podcasts. CNN, for example, can produce a daily podcast that is very short because of the nature of its "headline-style" material. Their podcasts are very short. A podcast covering the world of baseball, might be better off podcasting every week since they will be able to talk about a couple of the games is well is some news. They're podcast can be 15 minutes to half an hour, which seems appropriate. Lastly, a financial specialty podcast might only come out once a quarter and can be an hour long as they discuss business news and economic developments in the past three months. The length of their podcasts, based on the weighty material they are covering, seems appropriate.
In each of the cases above, it is possible to imagine a subscriber spending the time listening to each podcast because their length is appropriate for the material.How much time should I put into my podcast?
Being aware of the length-to-width ratio of your podcast will help you determine how appropriate a frequency you need. But there's another factor to consider as well. It is the "howmuch-work-is-it-going-to-be-for-me?" factor. If you are running a business or are busy at your day job you will not have the time to put in the effort to create a quality podcast on a frequent basis.
It doesn't take much for CNN to create a five-minute podcast about news headlines because they are in the business anyway. And it doesn't take a lot for the financial analyst to create a one-hour podcast every three months because they spent the past three months gaining the material.
Your challenge as a podcaster is to create a regular podcast that does not take so much of your time that it loses its enjoyment. That's why we recommend podcasting on an area of interest or a hobby, if you are a personal podcaster, or podcasting on your business or industry if you are a business podcaster.
And if you are a business owner, you know how little time you have already, so you may not want to spend an hour or two a week to create a 15 minutes to half an hour podcast with such regularity.
There has been a lot of discussion about the ideal frequency of podcasts. It usually boils down to the length-to-width ratio that you need to consider whether you can maintain the momentum. Here is a step-by-step process to determine whether you'll be able to keep up with the demands of a regular podcast.
1. Across the top of a blank piece of paper write down five ideas you have that you might like to podcast about. (In another chapter will show you how to improve your content to gain subscribers, but for now this is a good place to start).
2. Record how frequently you want to do each podcast. (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, etc.)3. Under each idea list all the sub-topics you would like to cover in your podcast. (For example, if you want to cover major league baseball, you might write down such items as recent player trades, highlights of recent games, things to watch out for in upcoming games, an analysis of player stats, a review of an event in the history of baseball, and a review of a baseball movie or book).
4. In brackets, beside each sub-topic, write down the number of minutes it would take you to cover that in a podcast, and the number of minutes it would take you to prepare and research that information.
5. Add up all the minutes it would take for you to cover those topics in a podcast. This will be the length of your podcast.6. Write that total above your idea.
7. Now add the second number, the length of time really take you to prepare and research the information
8. Add that number to your podcast length.
9. Write that number above your idea as well.
With this new information you are able to determine how long you want your podcast to be, how frequent you want it to be, and how much time you'll have to put in to it in order to reach your goal. Often, people's initial goals in their podcast are too lofty and required to much time for them to do a good job on a consistent basis. In upcoming chapters will show you how you can improve that by narrowing down the focus of your audience.
At this point though, you simply need to look at the chart you created to determine if you are able to spend that amount of time doing the job and a regular basis. Because that's what it is: ad job. You may not get paid for it (yet), but your subscribers are expecting you to produce on a consistent basis.
Maintaining MomentumDoing a good job on a regular basis requires some discipline and legwork on your part. In this sub-section we will look at some ideas to help you maintain the momentum once you have started podcasting.
Here are some ideas that you might want to include in one or all of your podcasts:• Commentary on the industry by you.
• Commentary on the industry by industry analysts.
• Book, movie, or television show reviews related to your area of interest.
• Listeners phone in for help.
• Interviews with movers and shakers of the industry.
• Review and analysis of past events, games, conferences, changes.
• Preview of upcoming events, games, conferences, changes.
• Answer subscriber e-mails.
• Review significant historical events or records that were set in your industry or area of interest, or general historical events that ha had an impact on your industry or area of interest.
• Analyze statistics, scores, financials and or other quantifiable facts about the air yet you are podcasting in. Like game scores if you're covering sports or quarterly reports if you're covering the stock market.
• Highlight a web site that is related to or contributes to the air yet you are podcasting on. These are just some of the many, many Haynes you can view any podcast to keep