When the pandemic hit us, nobody anticipated the extent to which it would alter our lives. Just over a year ago, the coronavirus was spreading only in the unfamiliar region of China’s Hubei province. Today, every major country is reeling under its effects, with people trying to balance work, home and social wellbeing. While our routines remained restricted due to imposed limitations on movement, it has provided us additional time to spend at home.

Moreover, the work-from-home phenomenon has given employees the flexibility to accommodate the various facets of everyday life. People now have a myriad of options to pick and keep them entertained and connected to the world. Over the months since the initial lockdowns, there is a significant buzz, with reports suggesting a spike in mobile phone usage, online shopping, OTT video content and podcasting.

Podcasting is marketing. And companies have been using branded podcasts for a long time. But while many companies, big and small, have attempted using branded podcasts, not all of them have been equally successful.

Begin with a strategy
No matter what the nature of your business is, creating a branded podcast starts with a sound strategy. What are the objectives of your branded podcast? Who is it for, and what is the purpose behind creating it? These are the first questions we ask any brand before starting an engagement. Well-executed branded podcasts are not about just the podcast, but about everything from strategy to research to storytelling to distribution.

Amazon has long owned Audible, the audiobook titan that dabbles in podcasting, but only very recently began to work its way into the podcast arena. Just this September, Amazon Music launched podcasts, in an effort to boost one of the truly struggling arms of the company. For whatever reason, Amazon Music streaming has not been able to maintain a foothold as a competitor to Spotify for Apple Music, in the same way that Prime Video contends with other top video-streaming services.

As the COVID-19 pandemic complicates that exchange, several artists have found another way to connect. Launching podcasts that sweep the corners of their musical experience, they sound out their voices in fulfilling fashion.

Robin Anderson and Audra Sergel launched their Musicians Dish podcast in September. The show represents both a natural expression of their friendship and an extension of their concerns as freelance artists.

Whether recording on their own or collaborating, Anderson and Sergel nimbly blend elements of pop, jazz and musical theater. Each songwriter's work unites bold humor and deep sentiment — as does their podcast, which is irreverent and informed.

After months of working from home, and with many more months to go for most companies, keeping employees, customers and partners connected is more important now than ever before. One way brands are looking to stay engaged is through podcasting.

Podcasts are an intimate medium that allow listeners to feel more connected to the host and engaged with the topic. Here are four best practices for how to make company podcasts effective and engaging for the long run:

1. Empower your team.
2. Provide consistent, accessible and digestible content.
3. Pay attention to feedback.
4. Put in the work.

Spotifys $100 million-plus Anchor acquisition is seemingly paying off. In data released today as part of its annual Wrapped look-back on the year, the company says Anchor, which makes podcast creation software, powered 80 percent of new podcasts on Spotify this year, meaning the software contributed more than 1 million shows to Spotifys catalog in 2020 alone. Overall, Anchor powers 70 percent of Spotifys total podcast catalog, or around 1.3 million out of over 1.9 million shows.

Anchor-hosted shows account for more consumption of third-party podcast content on Spotify than any other podcast hosting or distribution provider
Spotify says Anchor’s top five markets in 2020, by total number of shows, were the US, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and Great Britain. In Indonesia, Spotify signed nine shows to become exclusives. Meanwhile, the fastest-growing markets, looking at the average monthly increase in new shows, are India, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Indonesia. India accounts for nearly 40,000 Anchor-made shows and has been growing at an average of 22 percent month-over-month increase in 2020.

While most radio companies, outside the biggest in the industry, struggle to find a revenue generating podcast strategy, the number of consumers listening to podcasts continues to grow.

Monthly listening is up, weekly listening is up and the average podcast listener tunes into about 5 shows per week. The latest Infinite Dial stats show that about eighty million Americans – 28% of the U.S. 12+ population – are now weekly podcast listeners, a 17% increase over 2020. And, 57% of the country have now listened to some kind of podcast.

The overall monthly podcast listening audience is now more diverse than ever: 57% of monthly podcast listeners are white, 16% Latino, 13% African American, 4% Asian, and 10% of some other background.

With podcasting on the rise the big question that remains for most radio stations around the country is how to make money at it. Unless you have a large enough network of shows, like the bigger radio companies, to be able to sell millions of downloads to advertisers and ad agencies, it takes a minimum of 25,000 downloads per show for an advertiser to even look at a show.

In an age wherein a variety of marketing tools are available for experts, one tool is often underutilized—podcast. Podcasts are effective tools for marketing because they help brands to reach a niche targeted audience. According to research, podcasts help to hypertarget audiences and give a good return on investment. Podcasts also create value for listeners because they are often informative and educational.

According to Forbes, iTunes is a rank one website. Hence, any founder who is featured on a podcast with a description contributes to SEO ratings of the brand. Hence, podcasts can be an effective tool in boosting up page rankings. Listeners are increasing for podcast channels and 115 million people are expected to listen to podcasts per week.

1. Thou shall not do it for the money
2. Thou shall be a consumer
3. Thou shall reflect well on your brand
4. Thou shall be useful
5. Thou shall not be a salesperson
6. Thou shall get personal
7. Thou shall create a consistent format
8. Thou shall release episodes regularly
9. Thou shall be professional
10. Thou shall be sociable

The role of podcasts in the information ecosystem has gone largely unexamined. While alt-right figures have been increasingly chased off Facebook and Twitter, podcasting is shaping up as the next arena where the fight over questionable or dangerous content will play out. However, the problem of how to moderate audio content is proving thorny.

As podcasting grows in stature and revenue, its disinformation problem can’t be ignored.

Podcasting is a great way to reach and engage with your audience. Here's the lowdown on podcasting and the shows digital marketers should pay attention to.

Podcasting is the new normal in digital marketing.

Experts are calling podcasting modern-day blogging.

Doubling in attendance from the previous year, Podfest March 2020 marked the 6th edition of the annual international event produced by Chris Krimitsos.

It also skated by the pre-pandemic shutdown as one of the last live events of 2020.

As you might recall, 2020 closed out with yet another flashy podcast acquisition. Right before the New Year, Amazon announced that it was buying Wondery for its Amazon Music service, where it will presumably be made to pump out original content rendered exclusively at some point to lure new users to the platform.

Illustrating how podcasting have captured the interest of people all over the globe in recent years, research company Grand View Research suggested that the global podcasting market size valued at USD 9.28 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.5% from 2020 to 2027. During the pandemic, listeners worldwide are observed to be spending more time at home due to work-from-home and social distancing policies – changing the entire dynamics of the market for podcasts, which used to have a pre-pandemic target audience of people listening to broadcasts during their commute. The industry is now expected to grow with engaged listeners who are stuck indoors while working from home.

Podcasting Will Boost Your Network Like You Never Thought Possible

As you grow your audience, you’ll find that podcasting can become an incredible resource for expanding your network. I have had the opportunity to invite guests onto my own show, as well as appear as a guest speaker on several business-oriented podcasts.

These have given me the opportunity to meet and interact with several incredible entrepreneurs working in a wide range of business categories.

Having a podcast gives me a valid reason to reach out to other entrepreneurs who I admire. These are people I might not have been able to meet otherwise, and they have given me valuable insights that I have been able to apply to my own business endeavors.

TV meant to be responsive to the moment seemed distant. But podcasts, with the intimate production values, felt more immediate and relevant than ever before.

In a year otherwise defined by loss, one area of our lives has remained untouched; abundant, even. Movie theaters closed and blockbusters were delayed. Music and theater venues shuttered. But TV marched on. The number of original scripted shows dipped slightly, but international series and older shows arriving on the streaming platforms more than filled the void of shows canceled or delayed.

And yet, as the pandemic months piled up, TVs seeming imperviousness to the halt of all other cultural activities started seeming less like a virtue and more like a vice, like denial, like a dispatch from a faker world.

Podcasts exploded in 2020. People created nearly 900,000 new podcasts last year, according to Chartable, and hungry listeners couldn't get enough. Listenership in the U.S. grew 90%, and it grew even faster in other countries tracked by the podcast measurement company.

One thing that stood out in Chartables data is how dominant Spotify has become, thanks to its strategic podcasting acquisitions. And despite the ongoing consolidation in the industry, it may have built an insurmountable lead in most areas of podcasting from the creative, advertising, and listening sides of the equation.

Every year at this time, Edison Research and Triton Digital publish the results of a study called The Infinite Dial that tracks the use of digital audio and related media in the United States. It’s a study that dates back over 20 years—it got its name from the digital radio that was introduced at that time—and is well-respected for the rigor and consistency of its methodology. This year’s study shows how the pandemic has changed digital audio consumption habits. It also shows a few surprises in the streaming music sweepstakes.

The 2021 Infinite Dial results show that the use of online audio—including digital radio, AM/FM internet streams, podcasts, and music services—has plateaued at 68% of Americans ages 12 and up. But there are clear winners and losers, and they don’t merely reflect pandemic-related factors such as people staying at home.

One big winner is podcasting. Growth in podcast listenership shows no signs of tapering off, as monthly listenership continues its linear growth path to 41% penetration, up from 37% in 2020. Growth is particularly high in the 12-34 age bracket, more than half of whom now listen to podcasts regularly (while the 35-54 bracket levels off around 40%). Podcast listenership is also getting more racially diverse, with nonwhite listeners now at 43%, up from 37% last year.

Apple to switch its 'Subscribe' button to 'Follow' on Podcasts

Cuban shared his unique insights about the current and future state of  not just podcasting, but the entire media industry. We discussed both legacy media companies and independent creators.

Here are the main takeaways and my thoughts from our conversation:

1. Streaming is the future, and legacy companies need to get on  board in order to survive
2. These days, audio is just as competitive as video because the  barrier to entry is lower and there's no pressure to look nice
3. As new technology emerges, media will continue to evolve — and creators must keep up

Any summation of the past year begins and ends with COVID, even if we’re just talking about podcasts. Given everything that’s happened, how can it not?

We had just a little over two months of expected life in 2020 before counties across the United States started implementing initial lockdown measures, drastically altering the shape of everyday activity. Movement was scaled down, businesses were shuttered, and a great cloud of uncertainty descended upon the populace as this massive and utterly terrifying thing unfolded all around us.

These five questions can help you decide whether a show of your own is the way to go.

1. Where does this fit in my strategy?
2. Can I add value with a show?
3. Do I have a content marketing strategy to plan this show?
4. Do I have the resources to devote to this show?
5. Can I bring in quality guests?

Podcast coverage has a peculiar history. Whether fueled by wishful thinking or impatience, the media’s takes on the format often come in fits and starts. Many outlets have declared podcasts the next big thing over the years, and there’s been a lot of discourse surrounding podcastings perceived booms, busts, and even blips. Commonly pegged to the seemingly never-ending stream of new shows, discussions of the golden age” or peak of podcasts are regularly had. Articles compare the podcast boom to the Wild West and the American gold rush. It is all very amusing. And, when compiled, all of this breathless coverage reveals just how difficult it is to capture something with a community ethos through an industry lens. Here we celebrate podcasting’s sweet 16 with a look back at some of the more excited articles — including our own — from the early days.

search back in time for your ancestors and help with geneology research into your family tree

Podcasting is quickly becoming a buzz word among the techie crowd. So what is podcasting, anyway? Podcasting is online audio content that is delivered via an RSS feed. Many people liken podcasting to radio on demand. However, in reality, podcasting gives far more options in terms of content and programming than radio does. In addition, with Podcasting, listeners can determine the time and the place, meaning they decide what programming they want to receive and when they want to listen to it.
Complete Article - What is Podcasting

Although podcasting is new, it is well on its way to becoming a mainstream communication medium. Podcasting, simply put, is audio files that are delivered via RSS. Many people believe that podcasting is solely for the distribution of music files, but really, nothing could be further from the truth. This emerging method of audio file distribution has opened an array of marketing and communication opportunities to businesses. Currently, most who are familiar with podcasting are technically savvy, but it is clear that podcasting will be more than a passing fad as many businesses are adopting podcasting and employing it in unusual yet powerful ways. Podcasting can be used for talk shows, tutorials, music demos, educational training, stories, comedy clips, debates or even foreign language tutorials.


While RSS has had the capacity to include audio files for a few years, only recently have entrepreneurs made the conceptual leap, taking advantage of the new power held within this communication medium. In reality, podcasters cover the gamut; some are professional broadcasters, while others are obvious amateurs.

It has been said that in October of 2004 a Google search returned less than 6,000 results for the term "podcasting". Today, a similar search yields more than 857,000 results. Like the blogging phenomenon, podcasting has come out of nowhere and attracted an enthusiastic following.

Complete Article

Podcasting is increasing in popularity and, realizing that many are interested in providing audio content in a podcast, we have assembled a collection of tools that make creation, promotion and listening to podcasts a little easier.


1.) Podcasting Tools - RSS feeds automatically bring updated information straight to your desktop. You can monitor or promote news, job listings, personals, and classifieds using RSS. The following tools assist webmasters in using RSS to maximize their time:

Tools for Listening to Podcasts
Listen to Podcasts -Listen to Podcasts - Many RSS readers now include podcast support. The reader allows the user to view the contents of the cast before making a decision about listening. Podcasts that are deemed important can be flagged or set to auto-download. The following are some tools for listening to podcasts:

Complete Article Tools for Podcasting

We are taught to recycle paper, cans, bottles and plastic but rarely to marketers discuss the value of repackaging and repurposing content. Publishers and marketers alike have embraced content syndication and RSS but few have considered the value beyond the actual syndication. Consider an alternative communication channel that reaches a new or different audience.
Repurposing and repackaging content or information so that it can be consumed through a variety of mediums is not a new concept.
Complete Article - Text to Podcast

It is important to remember that podcasting is a relatively new technology and not everyone understands or knows what podcasting is. It is particularly important to educate users if your audience is not technical. Not only is it important to explain what a podcast is, but it is equally important to explain how your podcast will help listeners.

Tips for Promoting Podcasts

The Internet has opened the doors to a diverse congregation that exists beyond the traditional borders that communities have become accustom to. Using technology as a communication medium has not been lost on spiritual leaders and many have embraced the Internet as a medium to spread their faith. It is rare to find a house of worship that does not have a website or Internet presense. Expanding upon this theme, parishes looked to podcasting to further expanded the reach of their spiritual counselors and ministers. Many preachers record homilies, hymns, services, sermons or gospel teachings, for parishioners and interested listeners.

Podcasting Sermons

As podcasts increase in popularity, listeners have more choices. So while you might be ahead of the competition, you should still be thinking about ways that you can make your podcast unique and stand out from similarly themed podcasts.


1. Plan Accordingly.
When making the decision and commitment to podcast, it is important to think beyond the moment. Before starting, think about the time the podcast production will take. How will podcasting fit into a current schedule? How frequently will you podcast? How will hosting of podcasting files be handled? If the podcast is excessively popular, how will fees be generated to pay for hosting? What is the common theme that threads all podcasts in a series together? Think not only of a broad theme, but also various episodic themes that fit into a broader theme. What will make you distinct or different from others podcasting about similar content? By approaching podcasting with a little forethought, you will set yourself up for success.

Top 10 Tips to Podcasting Success

How much do you know about podcasting? Take the podcast quiz and test your knowledge.

Question: Are there any size limitations to podcasts?
Answer: There are no maximums or minimums when it comes to podcast size. Obviously, the larger files might intimidate listeners with a slow connection. Podcasts can be successful at any size, generally wise podcasters balance the file size and the quality of their show.

Question: What are ID3 Tags?

How Much Do You Know About Podcasting?

Have Fun
Use voice inflections to add emotion and passion to your comments and questions. Use music between segments not only does theme music create a brand and audio identity, it also helps transition one segment to another. Intro and outros can soften a podcast and give it a little extra polish. Introduce your podcast at the beginning and end of the show. Remind listeners who and what they are listening too. This is your opportunity to establish your audio brand. And finally have fun, listeners will be able to tell if your podcast is a labor of love or a painful rendition, keep your spirits up and your mood light!

Podcast Audio Recording Tips

Consider following these simple podcasting tips to get the most from your podcast and make it stand out from other podcasts in the crowd.

DO
1. Make it Professional
Regardless of whether you are podcasting from your garage or a corporate boardroom there is no reason that your podcast cannot have a professional sound and feel. Use software to edit the audio file and filter background noise. Listeners will not tolerate poor audio quality. With the wide range of relatively inexpensive software and hardware available there is no reason you can not provide good quality audio podcast.

Podcasting Do's and Don'ts

Podcasting once defined as a geek hobby, has now spawned an industry. Entrepreneurs have adopted traditional advertising mediums to the podcasting technology as a way to make some extra money.

Monetizing Podcasts

Podcasts are relatively inexpensive to create, as a result, and the quality in published podcasts is extremely diverse. Corporate podcasts can be very polished audio productions while hobbyist experimenting with podcasts may have dogs barking and children's screaming in the background.

After all it is the content that matters right? Well no, not exactly remember when black and white televisions could "kind of" tune into stations it was just a hazy effect. How many continued to watch the grainy or flipping screen. Rarely was the show so riveting did it hold the interest of the viewer. Unless of course the content was forbidden to young eyes (as in the playboy channel).

Make Your Podcast Standout

Conducting a successful podcast interview can be a tricky proposition for a podcaster starting out. Once you have determined individuals that will appeal to your target audience contact potential interviewees and arrange a time to conduct the interview. Following this guide will insure that the interview goes off without a hitch.

How to Conduct a Podcast Interview

Schools all over the country have flocked to podcasting as a new medium to assist the teaching profession. Professors are using podcasts to instruct students and get their messages out. Podcasting is not restricted to one educational sector, professors at prestigest colleges from Bentley to Purdue have flocked to this medium.

A growing number of professors are recording their lectures, the term coursecasting has been adopted in academia. Podcast lectures are used as study tools, and are available for students who might have missed class. Some podcasts are password restricted to students who are enrolled in that specific class. While other institution's publicly post their podcasts and offer non-enrolled students insight into the class material.

Podcasting Just Might be the Tool to Revolutionize Education

Reminder - RecordForAll Audio Recording for Podcasters
If you have not yet checked it out RecordForAll is getting rave reviews from the experts. RecordForAll is an easy to use desktop program for audio recording and editing. RecordForAll recently won the best audio software for 2007! RecordForAll was designed specifically for podcasters and can be used in conjunction with FeedForAll to create podcasts. An evaluation version of RecordForAll can be downloaded at:
http://www.recordforall.com

New Webmaster Websites
Webmaster Templates
Great collection of web templates, includes HTML layouts and CSS files. All files in the webmaster templates library can easily be edited with the HTML editor of your choice. http://www.webmaster-templates.net

Looking for Innovative RSS Ideas?
Learn how these companies are using RSS as part of their marketing strategies. We have compiled a number of white papers that detail how RSS is being used http://www.feedforall.com/whitepaper-directory.htm

Other Resources
Articles

RSS Feed Use in the Legal Feed
Lawyers have never been known as a technical bunch, but more and more often you see a lawyer with a palm pilot making appointments and a blackberry for those urgent messages. Electronic gadgets are now common in the courthouses across the US. Lawyers have increased productivity by utilizing technology so it should come as no surprise that lawyers are using RSS feeds as a means to grow and manage their practices.
http://www.feedforall.com/lawyers-use-rss-feeds.htm

Finance Companies and RSS
Financial institutions are reaching out to clients using RSS feeds. While banks and financial institutions are usually slow to adopt new technology, that is not the case with RSS adoption. More and more professionals are using RSS in innovative ways, to stay ahead of their competition.
http://www.feedforall.com/finance-companies-use-rss.htm

Academia and RSS Feeds
Academia has embraced RSS as a means to educate, but scrutinizing how educational institutions are using RSS feeds in their daily routines show RSS is utilized can vary across different industries.
http://www.feedforall.com/academia-and-rss.htm

Blog Tips for SEO
Blogs are the current rage, and many webmasters have blogs but fail to use their blog to it's full potential. Blogs provide a steady stream of fresh content, and if this content is written and managed properly, blogs have the ability to increase a website's ranking in the search engines.
http://www.feedforall.com/blog-tips-for-seo.htm

How to Conduct a Podcast Interview
Conducting a successful podcast interview can be a tricky proposition for a podcaster starting out. Once you have determined individuals that will appeal to your target audience contact potential interviewees and arrange a time to conduct the interview. Following this guide will insure that the interview goes off without a hitch.
http://www.feedforall.com/how-to-conduct-podcast-interview.htm

13 Tips for Maintaining Subscribers
You have an RSS feed and you have worked hard to get the word out. According to your logs you have subscribers! Now the hard part: how to retain the subscribers to your RSS feed. Follow these simple steps to insure that your subscriber base will grow.
http://www.feedforall.com/tips-for-maintaining-subscribers.htm

The use of technology can define the success or failure of a business. This is no more evident than in the real estate industry. Realtors who flocked to the latest technologies, adopted them, and applied them in order to enhance and sell property, are still prospering.

Tips For Real Estate Video Podcast

Getting started with podcasting is a relatively inexpensive venture. The equipment and software required for podcasting is inexpensive for a business contemplating podcasting as a new marketing and communication adventure.

Podcast Rewards

Many people assume that podcasting is all about audio and fail to acknowledge the writing behind the show. Skilled communicators understand the type of planning required in order to pull off a clean final product. The most memorable and effective podcasts are always well planned. Some of the best podcast shows use a script and follow a structured format. The preparation that occurs behind the scenes is similar to what would take place for a radio show.

Effective Podcasting Tips

Potential podcasting content covers the gamut. With more than millions of podcasts now available, there are few topics that are not covered by this popular communication channel.

Podcasting Content

You should not have to look far to find content or new ideas for your podcast show. Look to your daily sources to find fodder and ideas for new podcasting segments.

Where do you find content for your podcast?

The term podcast was initially used to reference an RSS feed that contained audio files in the items enclosure field. The meaning of podcasting has since expanded, and now refers to RSS feeds that contain all types of media, including audio and video, in the items enclosure field. For the non-technical folks, podcasting is simply a means of syndicating and distributing rich-media files via the Internet. The content contained in a podcast can vary significantly, from a song, to a educational lecture, to a political debate, to just about anything else. One great thing about podcasting is the wide variety of content formats it can contain. And unlike radio or television broadcasts, the recipient can listen or view at their leisure, choosing for themselves when and where they wish to listen or view a podcast.

What Exactly is Podcasting?

Potential podcasting content covers the gamut. With more than millions of podcasts now available, there are few topics that are not covered by this popular communication channel.

Creative Podcasting for Businesses