Create a podcast radio show in hours, without FCC rules or regulations
Are you interested in a new cutting edge tool that can reach millions of potential customers? So you are looking for PODCASTING!
And unlike radio shows, which are broadcast over the air on radio waves, and are regulated and controlled by the FCC, there are no regulations or rules for streaming podcasts, as long as you don’t use copy-protected property.
A podcast is an audio file stored on the Internet that customers can download to their computers or MP3 players and listen to whenever they want.
Now, you may be thinking, “So what? MP3 files have been available to download from the Internet for years!” Well, what makes podcasting different and really useful as a business tool is that customers can subscribe to shows that interest them. This means that free and easy-to-use podcasting software automatically downloads new podcasts to your customers’ computers as soon as they become available.
How big is the potential reach of podcasting? Consider these numbers from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. According to his research:
[o] More than 22 million American adults own an iPod or other MP3 player: 13% of men and 9% of women
[o] 20% of the lucrative 18-28 year old market owns an iPod or other MP3 player.
[o] 29% of people who own an iPod or MP3 player have downloaded a podcast.
This translates to 6 million adults in the US who have downloaded podcasts, a truly impressive number when you consider that podcasts are still a relatively new technology.
The keys to early podcasting success is that it offers great variety and convenience, plus ANYONE can do it with the right tools.
o Offer options to your customers
Podcasts can be on any topic you can think of. They can be music, a talk show, a conference, a recorded teleseminar, a sermon, etc. Possible applications for podcasting include:
– Interview authors and leaders in your industry, then offer the interviews via a podcast on your website.
– Offering up-to-the-minute industry news.
– Offer in-depth information to niche clients.
– Medical organizations can offer podcasts on topics like bariatric (weight loss) surgery, diabetes management, glaucoma, alternative medicine, and more.
– Religious organizations can use podcasts to distribute weekly sermons, mission updates, extol their beliefs and offerings, and share their message globally, as long as listeners have an Internet connection.
– Preschools and day care centers can offer advice for parents.
– Colleges can offer audio lectures, student orientation and calendars, and campus tours.
– Travel agents can offer audio tours of popular cities.
– Chambers of Commerce can introduce potential tourists, conventions and businesses to their cities.
– Museums and historical sites may offer private guided tours of their facilities.
– Conference presenters can offer podcasts of their sessions for people who couldn’t make it to live events and save on shipping and fulfillment costs.
– Companies and non-profit organizations can offer training to their employees and volunteers.
o Offer convenience to your customers
If you publish or plan to publish any type of audio file for your clients, be it audio newsletters, teleconference calls, interviews, conferences, etc. – podcasting simplifies everything for both you and your clients.
Once customers subscribe to your podcast, you don’t have to worry about emailing them to download a new MP3.
Instead, your message will land directly on your customers’ desktops every time you create a new podcast.
The convenience continues even after downloading. Once the podcasts are downloaded to your customers’ computers, they can sync them to their MP3 player, burn them to CD, or simply listen to them through their computer speakers. In other words, customers can subscribe to your podcast, download it, and take it with them when they go for a run or go to the office.
Best of all, not only are podcasts generally free, but so is most of the podcasting software your customers will need to listen to podcasts.
Both podcasts and podcasting software are easy to find on the Internet and are easy to use.