Do you ever feel like acim you by, no matter how hard you try to keep up? Like you’re peddling your bike as fast as you can down the middle of the business super highway, but still cars whiz by you so fast that the breeze just knocks you into the ditch?
Now I’m a pretty high-tech kind of guy. I pride myself on having all the latest and greatest techno gadgets for my personal and business life; including multiple laptop computers, the most modern cellular phone, and a Global Positioning System in my car to always tell me where I ain’t. I know, it’s supposed to tell me where I am, but my brain doesn’t work that way.
But only recently have I cemented my position among the true entrepreneurial technorati by adding a podcast to my business marketing repertoire. What’s that you say? You have no idea what a podcast is or how it can help add dollars to your bottomline? Then peddle faster, my friend, and I’ll explain it all while you catch up.
A podcast is a digital audio file that you record using your computer, recording software, and a microphone. You then upload that file to a podcasting web service so listeners can download the file or subscribe to the podcast feed and listen to it on their computer or audio player.
If that’s too techno-babblish for you, try this; a podcast is like an internet radio show that you produce and post to the web so people interested in what you have to say can listen to it on their computer or download it to an mp3 player.
Now the big question: why should you care to know what a podcast is? Because used wisely, a podcast can become a powerful weapon in your marketing arsenal. It can help establish you as an expert in your field, drive traffic to your website, bring new customers in the door, open up new opportunities, and create a new revenue stream that you might have otherwise missed.
Why am I so excited about podcasting? Trust me, it’s not because I love the sound of my own voice. As my Mama says, “Some people talk just to hear their head rattle.” I believe she was looking at me the first time she said it.
I’m jazzed about podcasting because podcasting is today where email was ten years ago. Many people ridiculed email as a geeky fad and refused to believe it when the experts predicted that one day we’d all be using email to communicate with everyone from our bosses to our grandmas. It was also hard for the average Joe to imagine how anyone could make money with email. Now, not too many years later, entrepreneurs who understood the potential of email marketing and got onboard early are generating millions of dollars a year selling to customers around the globe; all through the magic of email.
