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Published Thursday November 8, 2007 at 1:04 pm
By Thord Daniel Hedengren
Ask the Readers: How to Benefit from a Podcast?
I’m very interested to hear from you, the Dear Reader, on this one. How can a site, be it blog, forum or whatever, benefit from publishing a podcast?
Let’s start with traditional podcast, the ones that consists of a mp3 file, or similar sound file. They are really hard to monetize, there are no Google Adsense for podcasts (yet), and although you could sell commercial spots on your own I doubt it is very easy. I mean, you’ll have to have your advertiser record their spot, or offer that service. Possible, but hard.
So ruling out making actual ad money on your podcast, what benefits are there?
- It’s an extra feature that could attract more readers.
- A downloadable podcast can reach an audience outside of the computer, on an iPod for instance.
- Offering content in other forms than just text adds another dimension to the site.
- Adding a strong jingle will further strengthen your brand by giving it its own soundtrack.
- You can reach new audiences via iTunes and podcast services, people that you might not have reached otherwise.
- Maybe you could land a radio show? Who knows…
Video podcasts add even more possibilities, besides the one above:
- You can put a living moving face on your site, which further strengthens it.
- There are advertising programs (Adsense and YouTube are friends) and services (like Metacafé or Revver) for online video, although they are pretty limited still.
- You can get your site on YouTube (and similar) and gain new audiences.
- Maybe you can land a TV contract, or get bought by a network, like Wallstrip was?
Are there any more benefits in having a podcast? What are your thoughts?
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Its never bad to learn a new skill. Look at the near television quality of some of the revision3 videos and the better than radio quality on the production of the TWIiT podcasts… These take some reasonable editing abilities.
Of course there is also the enjoyment of the medium. Some people find it easier than writing.
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The problem with podcasts is that it is really hard to share the code that we so desperately crave..
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I think the number one benefit of a Podcast is to foster brand loyalty. If you put the time into making a good Podcast (emphasis on good there, this won’t work if its half-assed) then people will appreciate it and feel a stronger tie to your brand. Shows like Lost have proven that offering a serialized story (that rewards long term listeners with references to older episodes) is a great way to create loyal fans. Giver your users a feeling of comfort and familiarity with you and your brand and they’re more likely to stay loyal to that brand.