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Blitz Ezine #264 August 8 , 2006
Setting up a podcast, How to promote a podcast


The Blitz-Promotions News Letter
Issue no. 264, August 8, 2006

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Blitz Comments
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Podcasting is starting to become much more mainstream - especially with the iPod crowd. This month we've including a couple of articles on getting started and promoting a pod cast.

We offer daily promotion items in our blog, which you can find at the following link -

http://smallbizpromo.blogspot.com

Our next issue will be on August 8.

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In this Issue
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- Setting up a podcast
- Promoting a podcast

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Food for thought
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If they like you, and they believe in you, and they trust you, and they have confidence in you.... then they MAY buy from you.
Jeffrey Gitomer

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Set Your Podcast Up for Success With These Podcasting Tips
by Sharon Housley
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As podcasts increase in popularity, listeners have more
choices. So while you might be ahead of the competition, you
should still be thinking about ways that you can make your
podcast unique and stand out from similarly themed podcasts.

1. Plan Accordingly.
When making the decision and commitment to podcast, it is
important to think beyond the moment. Before starting, think
about the time the podcast production will take. How will
podcasting fit into a current schedule? How frequently will
you podcast? How will hosting of podcasting files be
handled? If the podcast is excessively popular, how will
fees be generated to pay for hosting? What is the common
theme that threads all podcasts in a series together? Think
not only of a broad theme, but also various episodic themes
that fit into a broader theme. What will make you distinct
or different from others podcasting about similar content?
By approaching podcasting with a little forethought, you
will set yourself up for success.

2. Original Content.
Just like any media company, in order to attract and
maintain an audience, you will need to provide original
content, or at the very least, present the content in an
original way. Think about a long term strategy that will
help your show distinguish itself from others.

3. Get to The Point.
Jibber Jabber is fun, but not to the point of excluding
quality content. Listeners in today's society don't have
time for incessant rambling. If you have a point to make,
make it in a reasonable amount of time. Minimize the fluff
and focus on quality content.


4. Do Your Homework.
Not only is faulty information a liability, but incorrect
information will hurt a broadcasters long term
reputation--just like a journalist's credibility is
paramount to their success. It is important that the
information that you provide is accurate. While being a
shock jock might have short-term appeal to listeners, most
will remain loyal to a source that has properly vetted all
of their information.

5. Consistency.
The best content is consistent content. Podcasts should
contain compelling content with episodic titles, that are
united in common broad theme. The format of the podcast
should be consistent, persistent and stable. Each show
should be about the same length and contain a common format.

6. Timeless Content.
Content that is timeless has a long shelf life. Broadcasters
will benefit more from content that is timeless and can be
effectively archived. "How to" content that solves problems
will often have long term appeal and listening life. When
choosing topics, consider the long term effects of a
specific piece and determine whether it will fit with the
broad theme of the show.


7. Articulate Words.
The quality of the audio content does matter. Think of the
last time you heard a good song, on a poorly tuned radio
station; regardless of how much you like the song, most of
us would move the dial along. Listeners will not want to
strain to hear a podcast; pay particular attention to
articulation. Another important item worth noting is that
Podcasts have global reach and often global appeal.
Minimizing an accent will often extend the podcast's
listening audience.

8. Optimize Podcasts.
Podcast titles should be optimized to incorporate data that
relates to the contents of the podcast. Think about the
themes when selecting a podcast channel title and
description. Use critical and related keywords and phrases
that relate to a common theme. The text in the feed is
important for both feed optimization and for attracting
listeners. Many of the podcast directories index the
contents of podcasts using the information contained in the
channel and item's, titles and descriptions. Use these text
fields to effectively capture the interest of listeners.


9. Listener Expectations.
Invariably listeners will come to expect certain things from
broadcasters. In order to maintain a listening audience, it
is important that broadcasts are consistent and satisfy the
expectations of listeners. While it is okay to experiment,
straying to far from what a listener expects will often
disappoint.

10. Archive.
Many new listeners will want to review previous broadcasts.
Consider ways to make older shows available through
archives. Archives allow broadcasters another channel to
benefit from the content. Maintaining archives of older
podcasts might bring in new listeners and satisfy listeners
who just can't get enough. Podcasts require effort, but by
following basic guidelines and thinking things through,
podcasts can be instrumental in increasing web traffic and
communications within a community.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll
http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing,
publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon
manages marketing for NotePage http://www.notepage.net a
wireless text messaging software company.

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Podcast Promotion Tips
By S. Housley
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Podcasting is a great new medium, but creating a podcast is
only half of the work. Promoting a podcast is equally
critical to it's success.


1. Educate the Public.
It is important to remember that podcasting is a relatively
new technology and not everyone understands or knows what
podcasting is. It is particularly important to educate users
if your audience is not technical. Not only is it important
to explain what a podcast is, but it is equally important to
explain how your podcast will help listeners. Instruction on
how users can listen to podcasts should also be included.


Understanding Podcasting -
http://www.podcasting-tools.com/podcasting-articles.htm


2. Graphic
Add a graphic to your website to let website visitors know
that a podcast is available for your content. Colorful
graphics have become the signature to alert listeners that
podcasts and RSS feeds are available. The podcast flags were
initially bright orange rectangles but as the popularity has
grown, webmasters have bent the rules a bit.

A free online RSS graphic tool is available that allows
users to quickly customize buttons by selecting the text and
the color scheme of the button enabling webmasters to
coordinate their podcast flag to match their website color
scheme. Graphics experience is not required. Simply select
alternative colors and insert text to personalize the feed
graphics.


Online Graphics Tool -
http://www.feedforall.com/public/rss-graphic-tool.htm or
choose ready made graphics fom:
http://www.feedforall.com/podcasting-graphics.htm .

3. Descriptive Content
Be sure the podcast RSS feed contains enough information
related to the contents of the podcasts to grab the interest
of listeners. The description should be keyword rich. A link
to the audio file should be included in the description
field. The audio file link is a great way for listeners to
sample a podcast.


4. Press Release
Send a press release about the podcast. In addition to
distributing the press release to editors, be sure to submit
the release to free online press release directories.

Submit Press Release -
http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/pressreleases.html
(scroll to submit release)


5. Podcast Directories
Submit podcasts to the podcast directories. Podcast
directories contain podcasts that cover a wide variety of
topics. Inclusion in the podcast search engines and
directories will tap a whole new audience.

Submit to Podcasting Directories -
http://www.podcasting-tools.com/submit-podcasts.htm


6. Consistent Theme / Interesting Content
The last thing you want to do is to turn off listeners who
have subscribed. Provide consistently formatted and
consistently themed audio files. Interesting content that is
consistently presented will gradually increase your
listening base.

7. Create a Community
Encourage feedback and dialogue with listeners. Listen to
the feedback of listeners and test their suggestions.
Remember the podcast is for them not you.


Podcast promotion should be approached with the same tactics
as website promotion. Identifying and informing your
audience will increase communication and dialogue.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll
http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing,
publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon
manages marketing for NotePage http://www.notepage.net a
wireless text messaging software company.

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Links you can use -
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Find cell phone towers -

http://www.cellreception.com/towers/

Find free wifi hotspots -
http://www.gwifi.net/

Some scripts that you may find useful for your site -

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Fun and Games
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Find reviews for fun and food -
www.toeat.com

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Useful links
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If you are looking for a new product to purchase for retail - or just doing some research on finding out some options for new products then you want to check out one of our clients new sites - wholesale product finder.

Also if you enjoy country music or know someone that does you may be interested in listening to a local band we've been helping out some.

http://www.shannonmorganmusic.com/

Ezine Archives links to all our past issues (well most of them) in one place.

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Next Issues
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Our next issue will be August 8, 2006

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Final Thoughts
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Tim and Lisa Hamblin
Tisa Enterprises
PO Box 221
Hazard KY 41702
http://www.blitzpromotions.com
http://www.crochetnmore.com
http://www.webpageplanner.com
http://www.ineedlinks.com

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