Podcasting - How to Podcast for Greater Subscriber Responsiveness I
Although many people seem to be unaware of what podcasting is, just think on the word itself.
It is a combination of iPod and broadcasting, and is basically a means of broadcasting to any digital media receiver.
It does not have to be an iPod.
You can listen to a podcast using Windows Media Player or Realplayer, or you can download it to an iPod or other digital media player and play it there.
It is used extensively on the internet as a means of advertising, and to bring new products to subscribers' attention.
To create a podcast you record a message then put it on the internet and/or send it to your email or podcast list.
Although you can produce a podcast for a one time download, or put it on your website to be streamed to a recipient clicking to hear it, they are best distributed by RSS so they are syndicated to anybody on the internet interested in the subject.
This is when you get the optimum subscriber responsiveness.
The message itself should be something that people want to hear.
It should present new information or a new slant on an old topic.
If your topic is healthy foods, a podcast regurgitating all the good and bad things you can eat won't get many subscribers excited.
However, if you can provide an interview with somebody who has evidence that watercress is not as healthy as we all thought, or has found that the vitamin A present in a well known brand of multivitamins is presented in a form that the body cannot assimilate, you will be podcasting useful information that will interest a large number of people who eat lots of watercress in their salads, or believe that they are properly supplementing their inadequate vitamin A intake.