The following is an excerpt from an article from Scotsman.com that shows the power of podcasting to create a unique connection between podcaster and listener.

Note the same ingredient in their successful podcast as reality shows - behind the scenes looks at famous (or semi-famous) people. If people do business with people they trust and like, what better way to open up to them than podcasting (either video or audio)?

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"Amplifico's experiments in podcasting (downloadable radio shows) have got their punchy, memorable songs played, Maciocia estimates, on around 100 radio stations worldwide. Like the Arctic Monkeys they are not shy about giving MP3s away free, but have sold plenty too - undoubtedly helped by the fact that their website www.amplifico.net is both painstakingly assembled and very appealing. Maciocia is a voracious blogger (every passing hour of her week with Tunstall is documented); elsewhere is everything from tour diaries to video footage of Amplifico in the studio, playing a gig in Asda of all places, and guitarist Ross Kilgour dancing in a car park.

This aspect of the band - schoolfriends Maciocia, Kilgour, bassist Brett Allan and drummer Dave Brunton - has proved particularly popular. "I know that when we put a podcast up there's going to be at least 300 people listening that day," says Maciocia. "It's amazing how people seem so interested in having an insight into the band. I was in a sandwich shop the other day and the girl there said, 'I'm loving your blog just now.' We had this one comment; I don't know whether this is good or bad, but it said, 'I love listening to your podcast, but I don't know if I like your music yet.' I thought that was fascinating. It's shortening the gap between audience and band. They seem to be loving it, and it's just us sitting around talking about the price of cheese in Tesco. I guess they can relate to it."

http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=140312006.

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Penny Haynes, 1st Podcast Publishing

Excerpt from: "5 Reasons Podcasting Matters to Ebusinesses

1) Podcasts lower the threshold for publishing audio content.

Anybody with a computer, a mic and an Internet connection can now publish an audio show, creating competition for traditional radio. This also puts audio content publishing within the reach of any company. This is likely to result in an explosion of web-based audio content. It will make it possible to publish audio programming that would have been previously been cost-prohibitive.

2) Podcasts encourage two-way communication with listeners.

Because podcasts are built on RSS 2.0, the lingua franca of the blog world, podcast content is easy to subscribe to and blog about. This encourages other publishers to add their meta-comments about a podcast.

Because podcast feeds are often built with blog-tools, they frequently support comments and track back, which encourage a two-way dialog about the content. This two-way conversation is important, because it creates 3rd party content about your podcast, and encourages links to your content.

3) Podcasts extend the reach of Internet sites.

Web sites have limited opportunities to interact with their users. Users access web content within a limited time window, so your content will typically only get a slice of that time.

Podcasts can be listened to at any time, while a user is connected to the Internet, or via a portable media player. This effectively extends the range of web sites into times and places where users would not otherwise be giving their attention to web-based content.

4) Podcasting can be used to increase the frequency of contact with customers.

One approach to understanding the value of customers to a business is recency-frequency-monetary (RFM) analysis. It looks at customer interactions in terms of how recently they've visited a site or made a purchase, how frequently they visit or purchase, and how much they spend. An increase of any of these parameters increases the long-term value of the customer relationship.

Podcasts are being used to improve the "stickiness" of web sites. An effective podcast encourages listeners to subscribe to the podcast news feed. This lets users automatically download the most recent shows, increasing the likelihood of regular contact with customers.

5) Podcasts make audio files easy to find on the Internet.

News feeds provide meta information about MP3 audio files, making it easier to find relevant audio content on the Web. Podcasts are often created using blogging tools, which makes podcast feeds easy to frequently update. Frequent updates tends to provide a boost in search engine rankings, giving podcast audio content an advantage over other audio content on the Internet."

ITworld.com - Podcasting emerges as an ebusiness tool

Below is an article by Jim Meskauskas, forwarded to me by Kim Bloomer. I want to share my response...then the article.

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I use podcasting for marketing, but my business fits like a hand-in-a-glove with podcasting. I produce and offer downloadable digital audio books (www.EncouragingAudiobooks.com), as well as help people affordably produce podcasts (www.1stPodcastPublishing.com).

I loaded my Comedy Clip of the Week Podcast (excerpts from some of our clean comedy books and recordings) up to iPodder.org and went from double digit hits to 4 digit hits, in 2 weeks. I'm headed for about 5000 hits at this rate this month. Downloads have increased (I offer a lot of free audio books and ebooks as well) from all over the world. I'm getting new prospects contacting me every day inquiring about assistance with podcasting.

I am encouraging entrepreneurs, coaches, speakers, teachers, etc. to share their knowledge via podcasting as a means of self-promotion - basically replacing (or augmenting) the ezine/newsletter model that has been so prevalent. Not to mention, with the RSS communication tool I use, Quikonnex, you can have as many channels (both public and private - password protected), so you can podcast seminars, recorded teleconferences (hopefully edited and made more professional, though!), and give paying customers access.

Podcasting is an excellent and inexpensive way to continual market yourself in a professional and entertaining way. The sky is the limit with what you can do when you create a podcast!

Thursday, April 7, 2005
Like Two Peas in a Podcast
By Jim Meskauskas

Eighteen months ago, if I'd asked you what an iPod is, like most people, you'd fumble around with a few guesses, perhaps cleverly thinking that the 'i' indicated something to do with the Internet, remembering that the 'i' prefix was once the ubiquitous indicator for all things Web.

Finally, though, you'd be forced to concede that you didn't know, maybe mumbling to yourself, but loud enough for me to hear, something about how you think you've heard of it but just can't remember.

Today, the iPod has entered the public consciousness to such a degree that it has become a proprietary eponym, like Xerox or Kleenex... or TiVo.

According to Apple Inc., there were 4.4 million iPods sold in 2004. Today, there are between 9 million and 10 million iPods on the streets. [Read More!]

Great news!!!

Just wanted to let you know that ever since my Comedy Clip of the Week podcast was listed on iPodder.org, my site hits and downloads have increased something close to 500%! And I'm #5 when you search for "Comedy Clip" in Google!

Unbelievable! Upon my 2nd try to submit Brain Storm!, my business news, technology and strategy podcast, I was immediately (and very graciously) received and accepted by the business page administrator.

I've decided to totally revamp my marketing system, and focus solely on blogging and podcasting for marketing. I'm perfectly set up for it, since I have so many excerpts from Encouraging Audiobooks audio books.

If you are not up and podcasting yet, don't waste any more time...if you need help, ask for it. If you want to do it all yourself, go for it. If you want to outsource it and spend your time doing what you do best, then outsource it.

But don't wait any longer...think 500% increase in traffic and orders!!! (smile)

Penny

In a March 22, 2005 article by Stephan Spencer entitled "Move Over Blogs: Here Come Podcasts", he makes some excellent observations.

Podcasting is not for everyone?

Not everyone likes to listen, and not everyone likes to talk. And for those that do like to talk and listen, not everyone has the technological know-how to create a podcast.

Spencer quotes Laura Ries, author and expert on marketing and branding, as saying:

"Blogging is a written medium, and podcasting is an audio medium," says Ries. "It takes a unique skill to deliver content verbally. Some bloggers could make the switch, but many I am guessing could not. Also, one of a blog's unique features is the ability to link to other content on the Web—something that podcasting would have difficultly doing."

Now, I must say that I agree and disagree with Laura's comment.

I agree that bloggers will not all be able to make the podcasting transition. Not all writers are good speakers, and not all bloggers have the technical skill it takes to create a podcast.

I disagree about the disadvantage of not being able to link to other content on the Web. Quikonnex has solved that problem and made it possible to enjoy the best of both worlds. You can have your podcast, and your links, too!

Remember that a podcast is an RSS feed with MP3 "enclosures", and you still have that business blogging advantage when you podcast on Quikonnex. You keep your links and your key-words. You ping weblog search engines. You just also double your potential audience by offering your thoughts in audio as well.

Doug Kaye of ITConversations.com doubled his site traffic by podcasting.

Now that has to tell you something. But he also makes another very good point:

"As the number of podcasts grow, amateur podcasters will find it increasingly difficult to compete with the more formal, information-packed, professionally produced podcasts," Kaye says.

Not everyone has the skills or abilities to record and edit audio.

Some may have both skills and abilities, but no time or patience to get it done. They are busy taking care of their own business. The problem is that they are missing out on an incredible opportunity for exposure by sitting on the sidelines.

That's why 1st Podcast Publishing (or 1stPod.com) offers everything you need to create a podcast,

including your own dedicated RSS feed and podcast channel (public or private) or a shared podcast channel, storage and bandwidth options, recording options and resources, editing, music mixing, and even narration for those who don't like public speaking, or just don't have the knack for it.

So if you are interested in creating a podcast, but don't want to have to learn it from scratch, 1st Podcast Publishing will get you up and running within a week. You can share a podcast with others, or enjoy a dedicated podcast for your business alone. If this is what you've been looking for, contact Penny Haynes at penny at 1stpod . com, or use the QMTP (Quikonnex messaging system) on this page. We'll get you up and running within 1 week - that's my promise to you!

So what are you waiting for? Get podcasting!

Why do consummate professionals, who strive for excellence in everything they do, offer their clients raw, unedited audio products?

Picture the scene. They prepare for the teleconference seminar, they get their information and outline together, they may get co-hosts to work with them, they spend hours advertising or networking to get the word out about the seminar. Then comes the event and they record the seminar, knowing that the end goal is a series of audio CDs for later sale.

Yet these consummate professionals, who realize that every email, every letter, every web page, every conversation, is a reflection of their level of professionalism, will then send out a RAW audio recording of their teleconference, including the long pauses, the joking and personal references, the obvious difference in sound levels (where some people are loud and others barely audible).

How about the discussion between the co-hosts about what they should discuss next, not to mention the "uhs" and "you knows" and half-finished sentences that suddenly change mid-phrase to another sentence when the speaker thinks twice about what they were about to say? Is this something that you would expect from a professional you had just paid $197.85 to access this recorded telecourse? I don't think so. Just listen to this comparison of raw and edited audio...

So, my question to you is, why would you release raw audio to your audience? [Read More!]