Mastering New Media :: Jason Van Orden

Have you considered having your podcast episodes transcribed? I’ll be getting transcriptions for at least one of my podcasts soon. There are a few reasons to consider doing this:

1. Posting the transcriptions to your web site provides rich text content for search engines to index. Most engines do not index your audio. You need regular, quality text content if you want to get search traffic.
2. Some of your listeners will enjoy having a text version to skim, mark up, or keep for reference
3. Some people just prefer to read

I know. This goes against the whole foundation of podcasting as an audio medium, but this is the age of giving the consumer the convenience that they want before they go somewhere else. Is your goal to be an audio purist or to get your content out to as many people as possible?

How about this idea:

Create a premium version of your podcast episodes on CD and sell them along with the transcriptions

Here’s a new transcripton service for podcasters that looks very interesting. I have not tried it yet, but I have heard good things and it looks worthwhile. The rates are competetive. Here’s a review and run through of how the service works.

I recently bought my first Mac. I’ve defected…well, not 100%. I still use my PC quite a bit as well. I got a 17" Dual Processor Intel iMac. I have to say…I love it! Apple provides an "experience" when you use their computers. MacOS is incredible. The people at Apple pay attention to details and aesthetics that you just don’t get on a PC.

The reason for the Mac purchase was to be more familiar with podcasting on both platforms. Many podcasters use Macs. I’ll be talking about podcasting for PC and Mac in my second book (my first book, on promotion, works independent of what computer you use).

I’ll be creating more Mac-centric content in the near future. I haven’t used the iMac to podcast yet, but I plan to soon. I’ve heard great things about podcasting with Garageband 3 and other the other iLife apps. We’ll see if they hold up to the reputation.

One of my podcasts, Internet Business Mastery, has started to surpass it’s daily bandwidth limit. Of course, in the end, this is a good thing. It means our audience is growing. We’ve had a couple months where the subscriber numbers have doubled. But it also means our host keeps shutting down the site.

After being shut down twice for having too much traffic, we decided it was time to change something. We signed up for a Libsyn account.

Libsyn is a web host specifically designed for podcasts. They offer unmetered bandwidth (no limit to how much people can download). The best part is that Libsyn is very inexpensive. We’re only spending $5/month. I’m not sure how they do it, but they’ve been around for a long while now and I don’t think they are going anywhere. Instead of paying for the amount of bandwidth that you need, you pay for the amount of data you upload to your account each month.

We’ll still use our other web host for the site/blog, allowing us to use WordPress. Just the audio files will be hosted on the Libsyn account. No more worrying about crashing the site every time we release an episode.

If you are in the market for inexpensive hosting with podcast-level bandwidth Libsyn is a good choice.

Ad spending is on the rise in the podcasting space. Companies and ad agencies are trying to figure out the best model for leveraging this booming media. How do you choose the right podcast(s) to place your ads in?

Pete Lerma of Clickz Experts shares the method he used for creating a partnership between Travelocity and Rick Steves’ travel podcast. Even though there are several ad networks out there for podcasters, he ended up going with a podcast that he researched on his own. 

Here’s the process he outlines in his article:

1. Search iTunes to find the top ranked shows in your niche
2. Listen to the shows to ensure the message and quality are something you want to associate your brand with
3. Contact and negotiate with the podcaster

Because of podcasting’s ease and low cost of entry, there will be a lot of bad content mixed in with the good. To help you cut to the good stuff, you can start by looking at the iTunes’ list of top ranked podcasts in your category. These are the ones that are being listened to the most based on subscriptions in iTunes. You can also sort a list of podcasts by popularity. This should help you find the cream.

Keep in mind, however, that this is just a good place to start. There are plenty of great shows that don’t get ranked.

Podcasts are great for reaching niche groups. The audience may not be as numerous as American Idol viewers, but they will be focused prospects.

Pete also offers insights for when you contact a podcaster:

Many of the
podcasters we contacted had never been approached about a sponsorship
nor had they given any thought as to how it might work.

Podcasters won’t be used to all the industry jargon. Some will be flat out opposed to running ads (this is the "people’s" medium after all). Others will be excited about making money with their podcast.

Podcasters really know their audiences and what they might or might not be receptive to. Don’t try to push something if the podcaster expresses concern about how the audience might respond.

Because podcasting is a direct communication from creator to consumer, and thanks to the interactive nature of podcasting, podcasters have a good feel for their audience. Listen to what they have to say and use this to your advantage.

Podtrac, a provider of podcast advertising solutions, released new figures today about podcast demographics. The information comes from online surveys conducted with over 22 million podcast listeners and viewers. Podtrac states that they have the largest database of such information available.

Here’s a summary of the information provided:

• 56% of podcast viewers and listeners are consuming the content on their computer, the rest use portable devices
• 88% of podcast consumers listen to or view the entire program (very encouraging for both podcasters and advertisers)
• Podcast listeners tend to have high income and education
• 76% of podcast listeners have shopped online in the last 30 days
• 41% of adults in the U.S. that are online were aware of term “podcasting” at the end of Q1 2006 (compared to 32% at the end of Q4 2005)

UPDATE: Paul Colligan makes a valid point when he reminds us to “remember the source of these numbers.”

He points out:

These are the big fans. These are the people willing to fill out surveys for you.

…it is, in short, a survey of active Podcast consumers, not the passive ones.