Friday, 29 July 2011

Podcasting as a Hobby




Podcasting is a fast growing medium on the Internet. You may share messages by transmitting audio content files through the Internet. All you need is an Internet access, personal computer, microphone, and a voice prompt. In this way, you can easily listen and hear transmitted audio content at your preferred time and place.





Podcasting may be considered a hobby. You may deliver messages or music downloads to your friends. As you develop your skills in making quality audio contents, you can be recognized as a credible podcaster that may specialize in a particular field of podcasting.





In podcasting, you may develop a sense of credibility by making your listeners believe in the messages you transmit. You may gain passionate listeners from your podcast and generate income. It's no surprise that in the near future you will be able to create your own fan based niche market that constantly listens to your podcast.





Start podcasting as a hobby, you can enhance your communication skills and develop self-confidence as well. As you easily grasp the techniques and strategies on how to become an expert podcaster, you will also realize that podcasting is a great tool to promote a product or service. Here are some good reasons why you should start podcasting whether it is for your Internet marketing business or as your hobby.





1. You should try to practice podcasting to a wider audience. You may do this by promoting a web site to more popular web sites where they can advertise your podcasting web site.





2. Find a niche market where you can start delivering information to a targeted customer. In this way, you can build your own reputation as a recognized podcaster in your chosen market.





3. Podcasting is inexpensive and you can start delivering audio contents anytime you want. All you need to start a podcast is Internet access, personal computer, microphone and a voice prompt.





4. Podcasting is an easy and instant way to reach your targeted listeners. Podcasting is so in demand to Internet marketers is because of its automatic access to listeners. Listeners can subscribe to your sound files for free.





Try starting podcasting as your hobby. You may end up one of the most sought out podcasters on the Internet. Unlike the radio, you may need to pay a network to broadcast any kind of audio content. In podcasting, you can deliver messages for free and make an income from what you enjoy doing.


Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Career and Business Options through Podcasting




Are you the owner of a company looking for better ways to advertise about your product or service? Are you an individual interested in finding a better and more enjoyable career? Or are you looking for a way to simply earn money? Whichever the case, you’re about to realize how podcasting will change your life, career, or business for the better.





New Career Options in the Podcasting Industry



Voiceover – Voices for hire used to find employment only through the radio and TV industry, but now, they can also expect to find job opportunities in the podcasting network. If you’ve got a great CNN or BBC voice, you’re going to be in high demand by podcast providers.





Content Provider – If you have exemplary writing skills, then you’re equipped to make your way in the world. Lots of companies are willing to hire freelancers to work on producing top quality content about their products. Content for podcasts should last from several minutes to an hour or so, and must be cohesive and coherent. Content for podcast ads on the other hand must be delivered short but sweet.





How to Make a Podcast about Your Business



You can improve your career as a sales manager or increase profits of your company simply by creating a podcast about your business. You can also set up a company that provides podcasts for free while generating revenues by sponsoring advertisements.





Choose a Name – While it’s certainly not advisable to judge a book by its cover, or a podcast by its title, the name of your podcast is the first thing they’ll see or hear. If people don’t like how the name sounds, they’re not going to bother downloading it.





Topics and Themes – Your focus shouldn’t focus solely on the product you’re selling. Instead, find topics that are directly related to the product then just mention it in passing. If you’re selling pet feeding bowls, your podcast could be something like “How to Give Your Pet the Luxuries that Paris Hilton’s Tinkerbell Are Used to” then talk a little at the end (as an example of luxury) about the benefits of buying your company or advertiser’s pet feeding bowls.





Podcast Format – All your podcasts must have one common factor, and this factor must be what makes them distinguishable from the rest. It could be simply by always giving an abstract of the podcast prior to the discussion, or providing funny anecdotes at the end of the feed.





Not only are podcasts easy to create and distribute, they’re also cost-efficient compared to other advertising methods. You’re making the right choice by being one of the first in your community to advertise generate income through podcasting!


Sunday, 24 July 2011

A Rough Guide to Podcasting Pros and Cons




Podcasting has become a way of life for many people especially in today's highly information-centric world. It gives people the power to download online multimedia content and enjoy them at their leisure. While most people are excited to jump on the podcasting bandwagon, there are also those who are anxious about this newly emerging technology.





This begs the question, what are the merits and disadvantages all podcasting as a technology?





Pros



- Podcasting is convenient especially for those who are very busy. People that are very busy usually miss their favorite shows on television, or on the radio, because their schedules don't permit them to tune in to them as they would wish. Podcasting, on the other hand, allows people to download all their favorite shows and enjoy them at a later, more convenient timeslot.





-Podcasts are easily distributable and are easily playable on pretty much any mobile audio or video technology. This means of distribution contributes greatly to the popularity of podcasts. In today's day and age, finding anyone without a digital mobile audio device is the exception. More and more people are moving to digital audio for their entertainment and information needs.





-The advantage of the human voice. People enjoy getting their information from a human voice. There are many things that can be conveyed to audio or video formats that wouldn't be easily transmissible via text format. The ability to transmit video and audio makes podcasts more enjoyable than text based syndications.





Cons



- Podcasts aren't easily searchable. Although there are many search engines that provide information regarding podcasts, it is most impossible to find anyone that would allow searching within the audio file itself. This could turn off many people especially when there are those that prefer gleaning their information by scanning through text quickly.





-While many people do indeed have mobile devices, not everyone does. Podcasting may alienate this segment of the market, leading to them looking elsewhere for their entertainment and information needs. There also those who would act negatively to having to download such from the Internet and play them on their digital recorders. They would rather read that have to wait for recommended audio file to finish playing.





They believe that they can absorb more information by reading-being speed readers themselves. They also their belief that podcasting should be relegated to entertainment instead of being the format of future information.





Conclusion



In the end, only time and technology will tell whether these advantages and disadvantages will still hold true. As technology and trends shift to the next generation, the pros and cons of podcasting could either multiply or lessen.