What The Heck Is Podcasting?

What The Heck Is Podcasting? And How Can It Help My Business?
by: Ted Cantu

from the desk of Ted Cantu, Ex- Advertising Exec turned Defector

Just in case you’ve been living in a cave the last 18 months I’ll fill you in on Podcasting. In short it is an online radio show. You can come on week after week and get your marketing messages out to the millions at any time you like. That is TOTAL FREEDOM.

But what many people do not realize is that podcasting can be used to get incredible search engine rankings. This is a very powerful thing to keep in mind. That is what this mini course is about to show you.

Currently as I write this I have the number 10th popular show on Podomatic in the business section. Its been like that for quite a while. I didn’t have to buy my way to the top. I just plugged in a microphone and went for it. I blurted out tips and secrets and kept the format into a neat 40 minute segment.

More to the point I never asked for permission to do any of this. I just took action.

The truth was I actually hated my voice when I first started. But because I have done this so many times and have listened to myself over and over again I adjusted. Now I am not self conscious about any of this and I have grown accustomed to the way I sound.

GETTING STARTED:

If you're considering podcasting, you're probably wondering both, a) what it is, and b) why you'd want to get involved. Suffice to say (as you begin your journey) that podcasting is an amazing way to get audio material heard by an audience where and when they want. In terms of why you should podcast, however, the reasons are as varied, unique, lovely, controversial and fascinating as there are voices to be heard in the world. Just turn on a microphone and join the conversation.

It's really fun. Yup, let's start with the basics. If I were to say, "podcasting allows you to convert audio material via an RSS feed through an uploaded host..." the sound of your yawning would drown out the click of your mouse as you ventured to a different website.

Podcasting is about creation. It's about taking your ideas, dreams, ambitions, business goals, or any other reason that you'd use your voice for to create a lasting record of said content and making it available to others. And one of the reasons it's so fun is because it's easy. Get a microphone, press a couple of buttons, and start talking.

And if you're thinking, "but what would I say? I'm not funny or interesting and nobody would care about my show." In short, I disagree.

You may not get an audience of 10,000 listeners, but the audience you do get will be utterly interested in what you have to say.

That's why they call podcasting the ultimate niche marketing medium. If you're not in marketing all that means is, you can speak directly and specifically to the people who are listening versus trying to speak in general terms to broadcast to a larger audience.

Think of it like when you were a kid and strung two cans together with string or used walkie-talkies; what did you say to your buddy when you pushed the button to speak? In some ways, did it matter? The joy was in communicating the joy of talking to one another using a fun medium. Podcasting is just like that.

RADIO DAYS – MY LIFE AS A STRUGGLING RADIO HOST

Long before my days as a Rebel Marketer, ( a soon to be popular online show! Fall 07) I had a radio show in the Metro Detroit Market. To say that Detroit is struggling is a minor statement. This market has seen its many sides of downfalls. I somehow managed to get a radio show on a small AM station in the winter months of 2003.

Our wattage didn’t get past the city limits. The ride to the station was cold, dark and dangerous. It was in the worst neighborhood you can imagine and I had to pay for this experience out of pocket.

The amount of people I would reach every week numbered in the tens. Not tens of thousands but TENS. In fact, I would get the same ten people calling me every week and none of them would ever buy any of my health products that I was selling at the time. Most guests would call into the show because they were lonely people and wanted someone to talk to.

This was pretty depressing as you can imagine.

The only one who had any money in this “ACT” was yours truly. I had to literally deal with this type of nonsense week after week. The bleeding only stopped when I quit the show a few short months later. We could never get sponsors to put this show on the air. Detroit is a political place despite all the cheery hype. Pulling the plug on the entire thing was the smartest thing I’d ever done.

Needless to say I don’t miss those days too much.

A CRACK IN THE CLOUDS

I first heard of podcasting and I raced to it. I had a show put together in a matter of hours. I didn’t like the first ones I put together but I kept at it every week. Today I got about 20 episodes and I continue to appear with a new show once a week. You can find them here…..
http://911copywriter.podomatic.com/

Here is a bio of the show….

”I am an ex-art director, I spent my time in five major metropolitan markets including New York City and Chicago. I worked my way through five generations of interactive online marketing. I get my paycheck by cutting through the fluff and delivering cash pumping results into businesses. I am not one of those guys who will write online love letters to Macromedia Flash or hide behind the CEO's back pocket. I create mountains of online customers.

I put you in front of your audience and create a 2.220 percent increase of OPT IN customers. That may be a little much for most of you. But believe me when I say it that what I do is totally possible. I create foundations through niche markets and create the bridge to huge online profits.

I’ve studied with Dan Kennedy, Orange Beetle, Brett McFall, Seth Godin, and most recently Derek Gehl just to name a few. What we do on this show is very simple. We stay on top of the curve and share with you our perspectives on Online Marketing “ Direct Marketing and show you how to get your fair share of traffic online for your business.”

I pay literally pennies to put my shows on every week. I got a steady listening base too thanks to Itunes and I don’t have to worry about spending a ton of money out of my pocket for sponsors. I just talk and send it to the masses. My listening audience is around 6,000 people on a good week and it is growing all the time.

I have taken a complete 360 degrees with this experience. You should do it for your business too. All you need is a microphone, some imagination and some free software called Audacity. You can download it on the web just type the name into Google.

This is a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Happy Podcasting!


About The Author
Ted Cantu runs iMobile Media, (http://www.1seomichigan.com )and works out of NYC, Chicago, and Detroit, Michigan. He has the number 12 podcast show on http://www.podomatic.com you can listen to it here… http://911copywriter.podomatic.com