3 Ways To Generate New Podcast Content

- A Successful Podcaster Is A Content Consumer

One of the best ways to generate ideas for new podcast content is to be a content consumer. The more information you consume regarding your podcast topic the better prepared you will be to create new and exciting material for your podcast. I am going to give you 3 Ways guaranteed to help you generate new podcast content on a consistent basis.

Let's assume that you have started a podcast about video games. Each week you talk about the latest developments in new games coming out for PCs and other gaming consoles. It may be easy to create 10 podcast episodes based on what you already know about new games coming out but at some point you will begin to exhaust your knowledge of the subject.

What do you do now?

1. Read Other Blogs

Find your niche's community and dive in. There are other people out there who are interested in the same topics as you, find them. Many of them will have a blog or website dedicated to the topic that you are podcasting about. Make it a point to visit their site frequently and read on what others in the community are talking about. Don't just stop with the blog posts themselves but read through the comments as well. Reading through the comments of a blog post is a great way to identify questions that the readers have about the topic that you can address in your podcast.

The important thing to remember when collecting podcast topics by reading other blog posts is that you never want to simply repeat what the blog author has already written. They put the time and effort into creating the content for their audience. You don't want to plagiarize what they have done but use it as inspiration. Remember, you are now an expert in your field and you have a lot to add to this topic. Take their information and add to it, give your opinion or spin on it and do some research on your own to add to it. If there were questions unanswered in the comments for the post then answer those questions in your podcast. If you thought the article was really well written then mention the site in your podcast and link to it in your show notes. The blog author will greatly appreciate it.

I subscribe to over 100 blogs that I scan every day for new content ideas for my podcasts and for this site. Having over 100 bookmarks stacked up in my web-browser that I have to click on individually to visit all of those sites is completely un-manageable. One tool that makes this process much easier for all of you is using an RSS Reader. By subscribing to the RSS Feeds for the sites that relate to your podcast topic you can open your reader everyday and scan the headlines looking for something that peaks your interest and then develop your new content from there.

2. Listen To Other Podcasts

Listening to other podcasts offers to huge benefits. The first benefit falls right in line with reading other blogs. Listening to other podcasts is a great source for topic ideas but remember you always want to use another podcast as an inspiration for your own work, not simply to repeat what another podcast has already said.

The second benefit of listening to other podcasts is finding new segments for your own podcast. Each podcast host has different ideas on the structure and content elements of their podcast. You might pick up some great ideas for new podcast segments related to news, listener feedback, events, etc. Many of these might prove to be a great addition to the structure of your podcast episodes.

You don't have to subscribe to all of these podcasts, just check in from time to time and catch an episode or two to see what you can gleam from them. After listening to a few episodes of the podcast, ask yourself, do I want to subscribe to this podcast? If you do, think about why. What was it about the podcast that appealed to you? What did you find unique or more interesting than the others. Was it the host? What was it about him/her that connected with you and how can you incorporate that into your podcast. Was it the structure? Use that too.

If you didn't like the podcast, that can be equally as helpful. Think about what you didn't like about the podcast and try to make sure that you don't have those same problems with your content.

One last thing about listening to other podcasts, if you find a podcast in your niche that you really enjoyed, invite the host to come be a guest co-host on your podcast. Give them an opportunity to talk a little bit about their podcast and then the two of you can have a great discussion about whatever topic you choose. This will do a number of things.

· It will get you involved in the podcast community for your niche.

· The co-host will undoubtedly mention in their own podcast that they are going to be co-hosting with you for an episode and this gives you exposure to all of their audience; people who are already your target market.

· You might get an invitation to co-host on their podcast for an episode.

Once you have explored all of the podcasts that are in your niche, start listening to podcasts outside of your category and see what you can use to generate new content for yourself.

3. Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a great tool to get daily updates on the news about your particular topic. Spend some time identifying the keywords related to your podcast topic and then create Google Alerts that will notify you of news and sites posting content related to those keywords. You can setup the notifications to come at whatever frequency you decide straight to your email inbox.

If there is a new video game in development then create a Google Alert for the name of that game and the company doing the development. Anytime something gets flagged with those keywords it will show up in your email inbox.

This is a great way to keep up to date on the latest news and trends in your topic and also find resources, either sites or blogs, that you might not have even known existed.

Utilizing the three methods I have outlined here you will find yourself with a constant stream of new information to consume and use to generate new content for your podcast as long as you are willing to invest the time and allow inspiration to find you.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/audio-articles/3-ways-to-generate-new-podcast-content-2311579.html

Bryan Curry is a writer for PodcastingTips.com. PodcastingTips.com is a 'How To' site for podcasting. Creating a podcast, designing a website, making money podcasting, everything you need to know completely free. PodcastingTips.com is a collection of free information on how to podcast.

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Business And Podcasting: Finding The Benefits

In recent years, podcasting has become quite a phenomenon. Who hasn't heard of iPods or Apple iPods - small portable and trendy media players? Originally intended for users to listen to music even while on the go, podcasting is now used by companies as a marketing tool to communicate with their target audience and grow their businesses. Media, fashion, technology and the consumer markets have especially benefited from podcasting as present day consumers become more tech-savvy.

Podcasting Defined

Podcasting is shortened for iPod and broadcasting. Tech experts refer to it as personal on demand casting. In plain language, podcasting is simply a method of making radio-quality audio files from the Internet available for download through an RSS feed to a computer, iPod, MP3 player or other portable audio devices. An RSS feed is an XML file format that provides web content or summaries of web content together with links to the full versions of the content and other metadata. Listeners need to subscribe to a podcast only once. They can subscribe to podcast feeds with Yahoo, iTunes or any desktop podcast RSS feed reader software application. Fresh content is then delivered automatically to them as it becomes available without them having to do anything. Listeners can also download and listen to any programming of their choice whenever and wherever they want. With podcasting, listeners have full discretion over what they listen to and when they want to.

Podcasting is just like radio broadcasting with a difference. Broadcasting happens at a set time and place. If a listener wants to avail of the broadcast, he has to be in front of the computer at the exact time. Even if a radio broadcast can be recorded for listening later, it still requires manual work. On the other hand, it is possible to listen to podcasts from diverse sources at a listener's convenience. Podcasts are available online or from any mobile audio device. Podcasts eliminate time and content constraints. Listeners also have access to the audio archives of the programs they like.

Podcasting's popularity is simple enough to understand. At length, it is an inexpensive way to receive and discover information and communicate with others. It is, therefore, no surprise that podcasting is becoming a mainstream communication medium for businesses wanting to touch base with potential customers globally.

Business Benefits Gained

Business blogging is an effective marketing tool in creating online visibility, extending brand awareness and reaching out to a larger targeted audience. Adding podcasting to blogging and other marketing channels can bring beneficial impact on any business.

Podcasting is an innovative way to promote business. It is not just text or images on a blog page but listening to someone talking. It is a human voice speaking to listeners. This is definitely a more effective way to gain customers and potential clients' loyalty.

There are various ways to put podcasts to good use. For one, you can offer your listeners short audio messages just like an e-mail course. It has a much better effect than e-mail messages or newsletters in the box. If you have a podcast, listeners can stream the audio and let it play while doing other tasks. You can also record seminars live or interesting excerpts as sound files and upload to a blog where listeners who have subscription can listen to the podcast. You can also provide company news and updates thru podcast. You simply create an audio message and post it in your podcast. There are other different ways

Having a properly executed podcast that delivers honest, timely and relevant content can increase visibility. The whole concept behind blogs and podcasting is to give users information that is difficult to find. Podcast is about credible content that people will want to listen to. Delivering significant content to targeted audience yields high return on investment as compared to any direct marketing campaign. Coupled with this, search engines will index these podcast feeds. Blog and podcast directories will list them too and targeted audience will subscribe to the podcast feeds. A quality podcast can also be listed in the iTunes podcast directory which boasts of over 40 million listeners.

Businesses are also using podcast to promote their products and services. They publish podcast shows regularly to allow prospective customers to be exposed to their products. This, in turn, will create interest in their product or service and subsequently drive sales and increase brand perception.

Another benefit of podcasting is interviews with guests in your particular niche who the audience can learn from will establish your business as a leader or expert in your industry. Internal communication is another area where podcasting can be of good use. Instead of sending out periodic newsletters, conducting training, business podcasting is a cost-effective method of distributing and sharing information. Company staff can simply download updates to catch up on corporate developments and listen whenever and wherever they want to.

The possibilities for businesses to use podcasting for its benefits are immense. Businesses that create podcasts can have direct communication with a focused audience. Podcasting adds a human voice and a distinct personality that builds listener loyalty.

Podcasting Process Summarized

Realizing the limitless benefits of podcasting, the logical question that comes to mind is how to create and deliver podcast. First, create your audio content. This can be spoken commentary, interviews, presentations and updates. You can use a digital voice recorder with plug-in microphone or the microphone that comes with a computer to record your audio content. Save the audio content in the form of an audio file or MP3 file.

The MP3 file is uploaded or published to a blog from where listeners with subscriptions from that blog can download and listen to the podcast. The MP3 file is referred to as RSS feed. The RSS feed shows up on the blog as a list of descriptions of one or more episodes of the podcast available to the listener. The description contains the date of publication of the feed, title, brief description of the feed or of the series that the feed is part of, author or presenter. The listener enters the feed URL into a software application called podcatcher. The podcatcher downloads podcasts (free or paid) and regularly checks for new additional feeds and downloads the new feeds automatically for the listener. This can be downloaded to either a mobile audio device or personal computer depending on the application that the listener is using.

Listeners can then enjoy listening to their podcast of choice any time and any place they want to. As long as you listen to podcasts in your computer only, you can use the audio player like Windows Media Player, RealPlayer that comes bundled with the operating system of your computer. If you want to subscribe to a podcast feed, you have to install a podcatcher software, the most popular of which is iTunes, available as a free download.

Simply put, podcasting is inexpensive, easy to create and convenient. However, it is important to touch base with customers and prospects using various marketing channels. Podcasts should in no way replace newsletters, direct mail campaigns, teleseminars and the like. Podcasting is a complimentary marketing tool that can be added to the marketing mix to maximize business benefits online. So, start podcasting and leverage this new technology to give your business a marketing edge.

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