Podcasting is one of those tools, like article marketing, that is very powerful, easily done and very effective. In fact, it’s one of those techniques that almost any learning content marketer should be doing as a matter of course. So, why aren’t more people creating podcasts?
Could it be because they believe that creating a podcast is difficult, expensive or time consuming? Many people believe that you need an audio studio in order to create a podcast. And that it is hard to create one. You don’t and it isn’t. Podcasting is easy to do and requires only the minimum of tools. So what’s needed for a podcast? There are, according to Glen Ford, only six things that are required to produce a podcast…
1. A computer.
In an audio studio, you have electronic devices called mixing boards. That’s one of the reasons it is so expensive to rent an audio studio. Fortunately, you don’t need mixing boards any longer. A computer and the appropriate software is all that is required. A complex, up-to-date, high priced computer? Nope. In fact, if your computer can run any of the latest three generations of operating system, it’s big enough to do the job. And if truth be known, the only reason older computers can’t do the job is because they can’t run the operating system!
2. A headset microphone.
The biggest determinant of your podcast’s recording quality is the microphone. No, you don’t need a professional quality microphone. Just the right type. Desktop and built-in microphones just won’t do the job no matter how much you spend on them. A ten dollar headset microphone on the other hand will create a recording you can be proud of.
3. Audio editing software
This is the reason you need a computer to record a podcast. And why you don’t need a mixing board and multiple recording devices. Audio editing software now provides a level of flexibility that only the biggest and best recording studios were able to provide. Most frightening of all is that several of the software tools are free. Audacity is one free tool that is frequently recommended.
4. Royalty free music
Creating a professional sounding podcast requires four things: A reasonable quality recording of the announcer, introductory credits, transitions, and closing credits. The last three are characterized by the use of background music. In fact, that’s all a transition is. It’s a short musical phrase that’s used to separate segments of the podcast. You could have a custom piece recorded for you. However, there are a number of free or low cost solutions available over the internet. Just be sure that the music you use is provided royalty free — meaning you can use it without having to pay a royalty each time you play it.
5. Time
Okay, creating podcasts is easy. It doesn’t take a lot of money. It doesn’t take a lot of knowledge. It doesn’t take a lot of equipment. It does, however, take some time. Not a lot, but some. It takes time to write record and edit the podcast. If you schedule one day a month and do all your podcasts at once, you can easily create a month’s worth of podcasts in a single day.
6. Ideas
I’m convinced that this is one of the major reasons people who know how to create podcasts don’t do it. Having a repeating product like a podcast does require you to find ideas for the podcast. A three segment podcast for example would require you to identify twelve to fifteen article ideas per month. This may seem like a lot of different ideas to come up with. But if you try it, you’ll find that it really isn’t that difficult.
By Glen Ford
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