The History Of Podcasting And What It Means For You

There isn't much literature on the history of podcasting but you should know that this new technology hasn't been around for a long time. Podcasting is a relatively new concept and this form of marketing is still relatively new to marketers. I first got my introduction to podcasts when I was making a blog for my website.

When I made my blog, I had no idea about podcasts. I didn't even bother trying to figure out the history of podcasting because I was convinced that it was a passing internet marketing fad that would soon dissipate away - but I was wrong. Podcasting is still strong and is still an excellent way to get your message across to people.

In fact, podcasting is so huge, that even financial expert Suze Orman uses it to promote her business. For every episode that she has, she extracts the audio and places it on iTunes for people to download for free. This is what I love about podcasts. I can load them into my MP3 player and get awesome content for free.

There are all kinds of podcasts out there on the market today, but most of them share the same premise. Podcasts are all about giving out good information to people in a niche, and having them subscribe to your podcast's RSS feed to receive updates when new podcasts are created.

You can get a podcast RSS feed from a free service such as Feedburner.com. When you first sign up to Feedburner, it will ask you if you're using your feed as part of a podcast. You will want to check the box for this field to indicate that you are. This is the easiest way to get started with a podcast RSS feed. After you got your feed, it's time to start promoting it to the world.

One thing that you will want to do is to submit your feed and content to iTunes. iTunes is the largest podcast directory on the net today. This is how I know about Suze Orman's podcast - it's listed in iTunes and it's listed there for free. I highly recommend that you start listing your podcast here for free now.

Another way to promote your podcasts is to include a short blurb about it on every page of your website. This will be a new technique to do since not a lot of people know about the history of podcasting, but for those that do, they will have instant access to your materials all for free.

Another way to get the word out about your podcast is via referrals. Start within your own email list and let them know that they can download your content for free from iTunes. Offer them a gift or incentive of some kind for referring others to your podcast. The free gift could be a complimentary MP3 that isn't available on iTunes.

I can remember when I first got started out online, I offered ebooks for sale and my bonus product was 36 more ebooks. This isn't exactly an awesome bonus, but it worked effectively for getting me sales.

The history of podcasting is a history that doesn't have much past, but you should know that you can take advantage of this growing trend. A lot of people listen to podcasts on a daily basis, and you can capitalize on this growing opportunity by offering podcasts of your own.

Be sure to start incorporating podcasting into your daily marketing routine today.

Good luck with using podcasts to market your internet business.

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The Best Advice For Podcasting

Podcasting is an extremely powerful tool that should be in every information marketer's toolkit. It can help build your reputation while it attracts traffic to your site. It can provide information to your customers while it helps to position your products.

But it can be frightening. And every once in a while I'll get questions from people who want to run a podcast but are afraid.

One of the most common questions is "What's the best advice for podcasting?" And I must admit to being hard pressed to pick a single piece of advice as the best. There is so much advice possible and so much of it is good and important. However, here are the top five in my opinion from bottom to top.

5. Fix it in the edit room. All too often new podcasters think they have to be perfect. But it just isn't so. In fact, the audience will relate to you better if you make the occasional flub. In fact, the hardest job for the editor isn't fixing your mistakes. It's deciding what mistakes to leave in. As for the rest of your mistakes, remember that your podcast isn't live. It's recorded. That means the audio editor (remember him?) can correct your mistakes. The result could be (but shouldn't be) a perfect podcast. No matter how many mistakes you made!

4. Record podcasts in a batch. Podcasts are a repeating product. You are going to need many of them. It's far more efficient to record them in a batch than it is to record them one at a time. For example if you are producing a podcast once per week, recording one podcast per week is inefficient. You would be better off recording a month's worth of podcasts on one day.

3. Stand up and walk around when you are recording. It sounds odd but there is a good reason for it. Standing up changes your lungs. Simply put you get more air and therefore you can speak better. Walking helps you to put more energy into your speaking. And that passion and energy will be heard by your audience.

2. Smile. If stand up and walk sounded odd, this advice will sound downright silly. But it's true. Your audience can hear you smile. And a smile changes your attitude as well. So always smile when recording your podcast.

And the best advice of all is... (drum roll please!)

1. Be prepared. If you were ever a Scout you heard this phrase time and time again. But it applies to podcasters every bit as much as it does to campers in bear country. But rather than bringing coffee cups and can openers (ever tried to open a can with a sharp stick?) instead you need to plan. You need to plan the audience you want to attract. You need to plan your format to meet their needs. You need to design (aka script) your podcast's columns.

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Podcasting How To - How to Edit Your Podcast

So you have the ideas, you have the software, now all you need is to make your podcast into a bite size package ready for delivery to the adoring masses.

How long should a podcast be? A good question to ask when you want to create your own podcast.

That's a common question and a good one too- too long and people will lose interest, and too short and there is not enough content... I would say from experience that about 20 minutes is the average length you want to be shooting for. Once you have recorded it, (which you can do with just a simple computer headset), then you will be wanting to make it bite size and easily deliverable- in other words, you need to edit it.

Now, don't worry, it is nowhere as bad or as difficult as you think, I promise!

Here are some tips and tricks on editing it.

OK, well lets assume you have the ideas, that has been covered in other articles by me on how to create a podcast.

Now you need some editing software. As a radio man, I personally like to use Cool Edit, or Adobe Audition- and that might be a long term investment and worthwhile one, but I am guessing you are wanting free right now?

Well, the good news is, there is good free editing software, called Audacity, and it is rather easy to master.

First, you need to grab it. If you go to Google and type in "Audacity", you will see as the first search result- "Audacity Free Download"- just hop over there and download it, and install it on your computer.

With a little configuring, you can record audio into your computer, edit it, and mix music into it. Then with another small bit of configuration, you can export that track and, hey presto, you can have your podcast ready! Hurray!

There are lots of tricks you can use once you understand Audacity, like making audio louder or softer, and moving it around in the places you want it.

It is a relatively short learning curve, but it is worth learning I have to say, a Brian Tracy, the well known author is known for saying- "All skills are learnable".

Now I guess you would like some training, so if you go to Google and type in "the podcasters bible", you can grab a load of free training videos, which I made for you. Enjoy!

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Producing a Podcast

So you've decided to create a podcast. You're all set to star in your own show. There's only one problem. You've heard about regular broadcasts and you're wondering what is involved in producing a podcast. After all, regular broadcasts have producers so shouldn't podcasts?

Don't worry. Producing a podcast isn't as difficult as it seems at first glance.

First off let's answer the question of what is producing. And then we'll get into the tasks involved.

So what is producing a podcast? Simply put anything that isn't on air is considered producing. All the technical and management functions are part of the production aspects. Even the selection of talent would be considered production. Although with a podcast of course the talent is sort of a given!

So what are the tasks involved?

There are six basic tasks involved in producing a podcast.

1. You need to start with a target audience in mind. Everything you do has to be done to attract and retain your target audience. In order to do that you need to develop a profile of the audience you want to attract.

2. You need to determine the format of the podcast. There are several possible formats of podcast from interview to columns to a single class. Each of the formats has its advantages and its disadvantages. You need to pick the one that suits your customer best and requires the least amount of effort on your part.

3. You need to write the podcast script. Depending on the format this may in fact involve many different scripts. However, on the other hand it may also involve a level of scripting that is essentially the same as the script design.

4. You need to record the audio. There's two parts to this. The physical recording of the audio is definitely a production task. The actual audio being recorded is typically considered part of the performance rather than the production. The separation is arbitrary really. Both pieces need to come together to produce a podcast.

5. You need to edit and package the audio. This is really two different tasks that are performed at the same time. Editing the audio involves removing errors and dead air in order to give a polished podcast. During that process music and bridge audio is typically added to give the podcast a professional sound.

6. You need to distribute and market the podcast. The final task in the production of a podcast is getting it into the hands of your audience. This consists of two different but related tasks. The second is marketing which is simply making the audience aware of the podcast. The first is distribution which can take many forms. Some of which are indistinguishable from marketing efforts.

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Podcasts - Different Types of Formats

So you've decided to produce a podcast. Good for you! They're a great way to build traffic. And an excellent way to build your reputation as an industry expert.

So have you decided what format you're going to use?

Now let's get something straight right off the bat. I'm not talking about the format of your audio files. That's a matter of choosing between MP3, WAV and WMA (hint, go with MP3). What I'm talking about is the format of the presentation. Think of it as the format of the content delivery.

In this article I'm going to discuss four different formats which you can use for your podcasts. Now while you are going to want to pick a primary format there is nothing saying you can't change the format either occasionally for specials or after a period of time in order to keep the show fresh.

So what are the four most common formats?

The first is the short course. Think of it as a regularly occurring teleseminar. You present the teleseminar. Record it and post it as a podcast. The primary difference between the two forms of learning content is that a teleseminar is usually one to one and half hours in length. Sometimes they'll go longer but they aren't normally any shorter. Podcasts, on the other hand, tend to top out around the one hour range. But other than the length both teleseminars and podcasts are the same. The same techniques and rules apply to both media.

The second format I'm going to talk about is the interview. This consists of having an industry expert (or maybe just someone with an interesting viewpoint) appear on the podcast with the host. The host proceeds to ask the guest questions to explore the guest's opinions and views. The host engages the guest in a discussion about the topic which hopefully will interest the listeners.

The third format is the audio blog. This is probably the shortest format and the most flexible. It also has the least relationship to radio broadcast of any of the formats. Basically it consists of an audio version of a blog entry. Short, hopefully pithy and hopefully interesting to the audience. One day it might contain an article teaching a tool. The next could be an opinion piece (aka a bitch session) on a news item. The next could be a book review. And the next? Well whatever you feel like writing in your blog.

The fourth and final format I'm going to discuss is the column format. Have you seen the interview shows on the television? You know the one where there's a male host and a female host with a stream of guests -- roughly one every seven to fifteen minutes? Or the self-help shows where there's a series of segments - say a review spot followed by a how to use spot, followed by an "in the news" segment? Those are video versions of the column. This is simply the audio version. The podcast is separated into a number of segments with a different topic in each segment. Of course, there should be an overriding theme or topic but each column stands alone.

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How to Put Podcasts on Your Website With HTML

It's fun to plan podcasts. It's a learning experience to design them. It's great to record podcasts. It's joyful to edit them and watch them change from a raw recording to a professional product.

But at some point the rubber has to hit the road. That podcast you spent so much time creating needs to be put up on your website.

Now there are many ways to get a podcast on to a website. The easiest of course is to use a podcast publisher. These websites perform the same function as YouTube does for videos. They bring together the creators and producers of podcasts with the consumers of podcasts. Each of these publishers has their own process for submitting and then embedding podcasts. So I'm not going to deal with them.

Equally, many people use WordPress or other content managers to maintain their websites. Putting podcasts on WordPress websites is worthy of an article all by itself.

Instead I'm going to focus in this article on how to put podcasts on your website when it is a basic html site. I'm also going to presume that you aren't going to just turn the file over to a webmaster to install. You are either going to do it yourself or you need to know how it is going to be done.

First off you need to realize that a podcast is just an MP3 file. Theoretically it can be any type of audio file but the MP3 format is currently the best and most flexible for the purpose. And like any other file it needs to be uploaded to the website in order to use the web to distribute it. You can use an FTP client for this purpose. Or you can use one of many FTP in hiding techniques. These are generally part of your web editing tool and go by the name of upload or post or publish.

Once you have the MP3 file uploaded you are ready to use it.

If you were to simply put the http: location on the website as an "a" type basic link, the process would work. However, it wouldn't be a podcast. In that case, what would happen is the file would be downloaded to the audience member's computer and a media player such as Windows Media Play or QuickTime or Real Player would launch outside of the browser.

In fact you may want to provide that capability to allow your audience to upload the podcast to their MP3 players.

Instead you should use the embed command with the src or source file being the location of the file. This will cause the audience member's MP3 software to launch within the browser. You also have the ability to modify the size of the player so that only a control will show.

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Business Owners Can Use the Power of a Podcast

There are so many opportunities for business owners to meet people today. Whether you want to reach out to prospective customers, current customers, business associates or any other person for whatever reason, there is an avenue that fits your need.

Many of these are virtual avenues. Just a few minutes on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and all the other social media sites will show you exactly what I mean. Business owners often use these sites to promote their business and also to interact with friends, other business owners, customers and even prospective customers.

You can also offer information about your company on the various business pages and introduce yourself through your website's About page. Then there are also email campaigns, newsletters, blogs, etc. But all of these options are only the written word. What is missing is the tone of your voice. Your inflection. Your speech pattern. Your personality. Sure, you can add a smiley face or LOL on your written posts. But sometimes it's nice to hear what people are saying.

My husband and I were invited to participate with Shani Leccima of Married Millions for a Power Couple's Podcast. These segments are discussions with married couples who are in business together. What a great marketing piece! The various podcasts allow the listeners to get to know the business owners, learn how and why the business was started and how it has affected the marriage. The personalities really come out in these conversations.

But interviews are just one way to utilize the power of a podcast. The opportunities are endless. They can be extremely casual as these Power Couple's Podcasts are. But you can create them to be whatever you want them to be. Educational presentations, lectures, how-to opportunities and, of course, interviews.

There is a high level of flexibility, which serves marketing yourself and your company well. You can set the tone through the format, your voice, soft music in the background and the degree of interaction you create with your guests (if you have guests).

Delivery of the podcast itself is also flexible. Your listeners will have a choice of listening to it on their desktop or laptop, downloading it to a CD or mp3. With today's technology, there is no limit to the methods of marketing yourself and your company. Podcasts are just one additional option to get up close and personal so those you are reaching out to have the opportunity to know you just a little better.

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How to Record a Phone Interview For a Podcast

One of the easiest podcast formats to produce is the phone interview. After all, all you need to do is co-ordinate the call, co-ordinate the questions you want to ask, do the call and record it. The person you are interviewing does most of the writing of the content. In many cases you don't even need to come up with the questions -- just your own slant on them.

But there's one problem that seems to stump most new podcasters.

How do you record a phone interview for a podcast?

It seems like it should be difficult because there are two people being recorded. But it really isn't. In this article I'm going to show you how to record a phone interview under four different methods.

One of the easiest methods is to steal a page from teleseminars. Rather than simply call the other person directly, use a teleconferencing system to make the call. In this case both of you will call the bridge line. Once there you, as the host, start the recording facility which most teleconference service (even the free ones) have. After that all you need to do is carry out the interview. At the end you end the call in the normal way and download the recording.

Another method is just as easy. Use Skype and call recording software like MP3 Skype Recorder. This is a particular tool can be downloaded for free. All you need to do is start the recorder then make a Skype phone call either to your interviewee's Skype account or to their land line. Once you hang up on Skype the call recorder will save the recording to your hard disk. Find the recording, edit it and you're all set to go.

However, sometimes life isn't so easy.

Every once in a while, you'll find that you need to use a regular telephone line to make the call. But don't worry you can still record the podcast.

The easiest way works only if you are able to call using your computer. Many of us have modems built into our computers. We've forgotten them because the internet now does many of those functions that a modem was used for. However, if you have a modem you can use them for a function you might not have thought of -- you can make a phone call with them. It might take a bit of work but you can still find software that allows you to make phone calls directly from your computer. Simply use that software and add a free tool such as Wavepad sound editor. Although these tools are intended for audio editing most of them are also able to record.

Of course, sometimes there's no choice but to use a real telephone to make a direct call. The easiest solution in that case, is to buy a suction cup telephone pickup microphone. These are inexpensive microphones which stick to your telephone. Plug the microphone jack either into a memo recorder -- an MP3 player with a microphone jack will do -- or attach it to the headphone microphone jack for your computer. If you are using your computer as a recorder use a free tool such as Wavepad to do the actual recording.

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Different Podcast File Formats

So you've written your podcast. You've recorded it. You've edited it and added music. You're all set. Everything has come together well.

And then along comes a problem. It's time to save the audio file. So you hit the save button and you get a long, long list of file formats.

What file format should you choose?

The choice can be overwhelming at first glance. After all audacity provides more than twelve different file formats. It seems like everyone who is producing a sound program produces their own format. And instead of becoming obsolete each of the formats seems to hold on for ever after.

Of course, in an article of this size discussing all the formats possible isn't possible. So in this article I'm going to discuss nine different podcast file formats available to you.

1. Moving Pictures Expert Group - Standard 1 or 2 Audio Layer III (MPG or MP3). This is the de-facto standard for audio files -- podcast or otherwise. Usable on most players it has only one problem. It is a lossy format meaning that it reduces file size by discarding frequencies outside of the given range. As a result, the quality of the recording can vary from tinny telephone up to near-CD quality.

2. Microsoft Waveform Audio File Format (WAV). This format is raw and uncompressed -- meaning it takes up a lot of space but gives a high quality, lossless sound. Occasionally, these are used for podcasting but frankly they are ill-suited to a talk show format where lost frequencies will improve the overall sound rather than reduce the quality.

3. Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF). This is Apple's version of the WAV file. While it is used for professional sound recording it is both specialized and massive meaning that it, like the WAV is ill-suited for podcasts.

4. Windows Media Audio (WMA). This is a proprietary format which can be either lossless or lossy. It was developed to overcome deficiencies in the MP3 format. However, because it is proprietary it varies in acceptance. Use of this format for your podcast may mean some potential customers cannot play your audio files.

5. Ogg Vobis. This is actually an Open Source media container. While the fact that it is open source encourages its adoption, it has not in fact caught on. The majority of your audience probably doesn't know what it is or how to use it.

6. Compact Disk Audio (CDA or PCM). This is the format used by Compact Discs. CDA format is actually a pointer to a Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM) file. These files are often used as the basis for WAV and other files. However, they aren't used very often for podcasts due to their size.

7. Advanced Audio Coding (AAC). This was originally designed to be the replacement for the MP3 format. Although it is loss (like the MP3) it is generally achieves lower files sizes than MP3 for the same quality. It is the default format for Sony, Apple and several smartphone manufacturers. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the same adoption rate as MP3.

8. Real Audio (RA or RAM). This was originally a streaming media format. While it is used in the PC world, it is frequently not supported in other industries.

9. Audio (AU). Developed by Sun Microsystems for the NexT computer, it is a lossy file format. In practice it is not used a great deal as most podcast players consider it as a proprietary format.

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Internet Marketing - How To Make And Use Podcasts

When recording a podcast, you should know that it can be challenging. You need a good and clear microphone, a good subject to talk about for 30 to 60 minutes, and a way to distribute your podcast all over the internet. If you're brand new to using podcasts, then I think today's lesson will be of some use for you.

The first thing that you should know is that podcasting is very easy to do. You can create a podcast, and use it to bring tons of new traffic back to your website on a daily basis. You should know that the best way to conduct your podcasts is to record them yourself. Don't use one of those cheap "text to speech" software out there. I assure you that this will do no good for your business.

Take some time out for your business so that you can record the podcast yourself. It won't take long, and it will improve the chances of having someone come back to listen to your podcasts again. The more good information you deliver, the more people will return for more, and the more your popularity will grow with your podcast fan base.

After you have recorded your podcast, you will want to do some marketing for it. The first place you should submit your podcast to is iTunes. iTunes is the number 1 podcast directory on the internet, and it gets a lot of visitors to their site each and everyday. People come to this site everyday to download new podcasts that they can use to improve their lives, or just to hear some information and music that is enjoyable.

Make sure you get a good microphone to record your podcast with. It's something that you will want to do if you want to have the utmost success with your podcast today. You don't want to record over a low quality webcam that has a lot of noise and static in the background. This is just bad for business.

Instead, purchase a high quality microphone, and use a good program that's out there that will allow you to record your lengthy podcasts simply and easily. But of course, if you don't want to do the podcast yourself... you can always outsource it to someone else. The drawback is that you will have to pay someone to do it for you, but if you're a busy business owner who wants to get more exposure for your website, this can be a good option for you - especially if you're getting it done for a low price.

Podcasts are a great way to market your website or blog online. You should consider taking them and using them to earn more money in your business today. Make sure you convert your podcasts into MP3 format, so that they can be a small file, but still have a lot of quality in it that makes it easy to listen to.

If you wanted to make recordings and earn the money in your business that you have been looking for, you will want to incorporate podcasting into your business right away so that you can have the best chances of success as possible when it comes to promoting your website online.

Take these tips and use them to earn more money in your business today.

Good luck with creating podcasts in your business simply and easily.

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Is Podcasting an Option to Boost Marketing Efforts?

How would you like a marketing tool that improves your reputation? How would you like a marketing tool that improves your traffic? How would you like a marketing tool that is easy and inexpensive time wise?

How would you like a marketing tool that is all three?

In this article I'm going to give you seven ways to decide if podcasting is an option to boost marketing efforts for you.

1. Do you need targeted, pre-qualified traffic? Podcasting is like article marketing in that people will visit your site as a direct result of seeing (or more correctly hearing) your work. If you haven't interested them then you won't have to waste your bandwidth on people who won't buy from you. If they visit your site then they are automatically a good prospect.

2. Do you need to increase your reputation? Because podcasting is a repeating media for your content, it will demonstrate to your potential customers -- over and over -- that you know what you are talking about. And as a direct result your reputation as knowledgeable in your field -- an expert -- will increase.

3. Do you need to improve your position on Google and the other search engines? Like a blog, podcasts are constantly changing and yet the information remains available. With a very slight amount of SEO you can quickly build your reputation with Google.

4. Do you have available bandwidth? Of course, not everything is a positive with podcasts. With effort the bandwidth can be kept low. And if you have to you can always offload them to a provider. However, they can be bandwidth hogs. And in order to guarantee that people stick around your site you need to store a history of them. That means lots of downloads and lots of bandwidth when compared to textual data.

5. Do you have available storage? This is the other half of the bandwidth issue. Yes, you can buy extra storage on the web. But however you do it, podcasts do take up a fair amount of storage which must be paid for.

6. Are your customers busy and time strapped? Are they looking for bite-sized information that's easy to ingest? Busy executives perceive podcasts as a great way to learn things. That's because executives tend to have very little time that isn't tied up already. Podcasts can be downloaded and listen to while doing other things. They also tend to be short.

7. Do you have the time? This is the biggest problem with podcasts. Because they are repeating you need to be regularly producing them. And each one will take time to design, write, record and edit.

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How To Record Your Voice So It Sounds Professional

It is incredibly easy to record your voice in 2012. All you need is a microphone, which you can pick up from almost any corner store these days (I've even seen them at drug stores!), and a computer. Windows has a simple little program built right in called Sound Recorder. It's small and dead simple. There is one button that either says "Start Recording," "Stop Recording" or "Resume Recording." So really it is easier to record in Windows than it is to, say, use e-mail.

Most folks can figure out how to hook up a simple mic, like the little headphone/mic combos you can get at one of those corner stores I mentioned. Assuming your computer has a soundcard (and a vast majority of them do - they come that way from the manufacturer), all you have to do is put the little 3.5mm plug into the pink socket on the card. If it is a headset type of mic, you put its plug into the green socket.

Now you are all set to chat on Skype, record a podcast, etc. If all you want to do is have fun talking to friends and family or putting your voice onto a quick video for personal reasons, then you're good to go with the above recording set-up. However, if you are using your recordings for your business, an internet business with podcasts and videos for example, your audio will not sound professional enough.

So even though most folks can easily figure out how to record their voices, actually achieving an audio product that sounds professional seems to be elusive. Even when people realize their audio could, and should, be better, they often don't take the steps they need to in order to get professional results. The irony is that it is quite easy, fast and inexpensive to get to that next level.

The thing that will have the biggest impact is changing microphones. The kind you plug into your sound card is not the kind you want. You want a USB microphone. As the name implies, these mics can be plugged directly into the USB port of any computer and they're ready to use. They're even easier to connect since you don't have to dig around the back of your computer looking for the little sound card holes.

But not all USB mics are alike. You want something called a large diaphragm condenser (LDC) type of USB mic. These are large mics that look different from the standard hand-held icecream-cone type of mics you see a lot. You usually speak into the side of an LDC, rather than the end as with standard stage mics. But these are not as expensive as you might think. My local Best Buy has one called the Samson C01U that is only about $75.

Don't just believe me. Try it for yourself. Record your voice with a standard PC mic plugged into your sound card. Then record again with the USB mic (LDC type) and compare the two audios. You'll be amazed, especially if you listen in headphones.

Make that one change and you can move from amateur audio to sounding like a pro.

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Internet Marketing - The Best Ways To Get Your Podcasts Made

Recording a podcast can be challenging. You need the right kind of equipment to really deliver high quality podcasts, and you can't settle for anything cheap. Making the podcast is the easy part, but selecting the right equipment to demo it on... that's the hard part - and that's what today's lesson will focus on.

As you already know, podcasting is a great way to market your business online. It's almost as famous as video marketing, but isn't quite there yet. When making your podcasts, you have 2 options. Option number 1 is to deliver the podcast yourself. Option number 2 is to use a "text to speech" program that can read your podcast text for you.

Now admittedly, using the text-to-speech software is something that I don't recommend. Most of the cheap software out there have horrible speakers, and they make the podcast sound ridiculous. So if you have 5 to 10 minutes to spare out of your day, create the podcast and record it using your voice.

You can find these "autobot" software all over the internet. I've tried the best of them, but none of them seems to be a clear winner for me. Now some people won't mind the software to speak for you - they just want the information. But for most people... the software is an annoyance.

I forgot to mention option number 3: hire someone to do it for you. If you don't have time to create the podcast yourself, outsource it and have someone else do it for you. The person you select should be someone who sounds natural and sounds like a professional on the podcast.

You could probably go on a website called "fiverr.com", and setup a listing that says something like, "I will pay you $5 to speak my podcast". You'll get a ton of hits when you run this ad on this website, and you should test a lot of them out so that you can get the right person to do all of your podcast work for you.

Now the material that you will need when creating your podcast is simply a microphone and a computer. After you create the podcast, it will more than likely come out in a WAV form. This is a huge file that is of high quality, but the file size of it is just too big. So to make it smaller, you will have to convert it to an MP3 file.

The easiest way to do this is with a software called "audacity". This is an incredible piece of software once you know how to use it. It can take your large file, and turn it to MP3 in about 3 minutes - and the quality of it is still pretty good. Checkout this fine piece of software while you're still on the internet. It's free too.

Podcasts are easy, and for some people, it works wonders because it's such a good way to make recordings and get your website recognized for free. It's something that you will want to use now, and later on in your internet marketing career. In fact if you can make one everyday, you'll be setting the foundation of a successful business for many years to come.

Good luck with recording podcasts so that your business can succeed today.

How to Begin Podcasting the Right Way   The Art of Podcasting   How To Pick A Great Name For Your Podcast   

Podcast Hosting

The Best Companies for Podcast Hosting

A podcast is ether an audio or video file available on the Internet that can be downloaded to personal devices like the iPods, personal computers, mp3 players, etc. Podcast hosting is the making of podcasts to be downloaded by subscribers of the podcast. This type of hosting on the Internet can either be free or not. Free hosting has restrictions in the limit of bandwidth that is allowed per host. Hosting services that require fees are more convenient because you are not limited to the bandwidth that you can use. Here are some hosting companies that you can employ for your hosting.

Libsyn. Liberated Syndication's monthly prices ranges from $5 to $30 depending on the size of storage you want. Libsyn also has unlimited bandwidth, meaning you can post as many podcasts as you want and still enable your subscribers to download them efficiently.

HipCast. Formerly known as audioblog.com, this service has tools that allow users to make podcasts from scratch. It offers a 7-day trial and if you are satisfied, you have to pay the monthly fees.

GoDaddy. This service does not have unlimited bandwidth, so this is perfect for those who post with small sizes.

Odeo Studio. This company allows users to post for free, but with limited bandwidth. You can only upload a file up to 50 mb. Hosting a podcast free of charge has its limitations, so if you are for promoting a business, it is advisable to use the services of a host that requires monthly fees for your podcasts to be downloaded continuously.

It is an easy and convenient way to share your audio and video files to everyone all over the world. You can also use hosting for your business. Make sure to choose the best hosting service provider for your hosting requirements so your subscribers are satisfied.

Three Types of Podcast Hosting

There are three types of hosting that you can choose from. Knowing what type of podcasts you want to post allows you to choose which host to employ.

Casual Hobbyist Level. This one is just for fun. If you put audio and video files in your website that do not have much subscribers, employing a free server is the best choice. Since the traffic on your website is slow, you do not need a high limit or unlimited bandwidth that will cost you every month.

Hobbyist or Small Business Level. Service like Libsyn gives you unlimited bandwidth, which means you can download and transfer data from your website as much as you want. This is perfect if you are promoting a business that requires you to post audio and video files on your site.

Serious Hobbyist or Business Level. Powweb and Globat are the best servers for this type of hosting. If you have a business that you want to promote extensively on the Internet, you need a podcast hosting server that gives you unlimited bandwidth, RSS feeds for your audience, etc.

Sharing audio and video files has never been easier. Your subscribers can even have your latest podcasts downloaded automatically through the RSS feed. They no longer have to check your site for new posts and download them manually as the feed shares your newest posts directly to them.

How to Begin Podcasting the Right Way   The Art of Podcasting   How To Pick A Great Name For Your Podcast   

Podcast Transcription: Converting the Spoken to the Written

What is a podcast?

Pod casts, sometimes known as web casts or net casts, are a popular form of communication. Podcast are audio or video digital media files released on a periodic basis as episodes. With an extremely large range of topics and content, be it science, religion or comedy, it's no wonder that everyone has a podcast or two that they just love. So not only do you love them but you have to keep coming back for more.

Transcribing podcast

However, podcast are more than just a form of entertainment they are a new frontier in business, marketing and even education. Podcast are now used as tools to pass on important messages and spread the word on behalf of educators, businesses, and individuals. It then follows that we would want the message to reach and be understood by as many people as possible. This is where podcast transcription comes in. Converting podcast audio/video to text can help reach individuals that would otherwise be overlooked by conventional podcast such as the hearing impaired.

Podcast Translation

Going a step further and not only transcribing but also translating the podcast opens up a whole world of possibilities almost literally. The world seems to be getting smaller by the day but what is definitely increasing is the amount of inter-cultural relations that often necessitate the bridging of language differences. So if you are using podcast as a tool for getting your message across to an international audience then podcast transcription and translation is definitely something you must consider as part of your strategy. After all, that extra bit of effort might be the difference between epic failure and phenomenal success.

How to transcribe or translate a podcast

Unfortunately, it takes time and effort to get podcast audio/video transformed into written text. Luckily, there are a bunch of transcription and translation services available, some better than others but all offering the opportunity to get your message across to a wider audience. With lots of competitive pricing and guarantees of up to 100% accuracy your professionally transcribed podcast will be high quality and not break the bank. Not to mention it will also save you the time of having to do it yourself. So now it's up to you to make the decision to take your podcast to the next level so they can reach the audience you want them to. Whatever you decide it cannot be denied that getting your podcast transcribed or translated can offer you more advantages than not.

How to Begin Podcasting the Right Way   The Art of Podcasting   How To Pick A Great Name For Your Podcast