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Podcasting Blog
8 step guide to podcast marketing
6/28/2008
Podcasting leader Christopher Penn has published a short PDF guide, 8 step guide to podcast marketing, that seeks to help you jump start how you’re marketing your own podcast. This is a very short PDF and covers topics that include whether your podcast is worthy of buzz, is easily found and how you’re measuring your success. The … Continue reading »
Publishing a Podcast with ExpressionEngine
6/24/2008
If you’re a user of the wonderful ExpressionEngine CMS (this site has been running on it for more than 2 years) and want to easily and efficiently publish a podcast with it, I just released a new screencast you might be interested in.
The latest episode of the ExpressionEngine Screencasts covers … Continue reading »
Voice Over Training
5/10/2008
One of the obvious aspects of podcasting is using your voice. And using it properly. If you’re looking for some more information about how to improve your voice technique in your podcast, I’d suggest checking out the Voice Over Experts Podcast from Voices.com.
Hardware Recommendations
- Kustom KM4 Mic with Cable
- Behringer XM8500 Microphone
- Shure SM58 Mic
- MXL MXL V63MBP Computer Desktop Recording Kit
Masthead
Contact
Ryan Irelan, Editor - listen@podcastfreeamerica.com
M - ABC of Podcasting
M is for MONETIZE
So, you have a podcast and a steady listenership and now you’re interested in seeing if you can monetize your podcast - if only to pay for the costs of producing it. There a few ways you can currently go about this - some easier than others, but all of them are viable if you’re willing to work at it.
Traditional sponsorships - these are basically the same kind of ads you would hear on the radio, whether they be pre-recorded or “endorsement” type ads where you read some ad copy. There are many podcasters who have successfully secured traditional sponsorships but they’re not easy to come by and require a proven large listenership. That being said, just because these advertisers are buying spots on podcasts today doesn’t mean they will be in a few months. Many are simply testing the waters and investing a small amount of ad dollars in podcasting. If it doesn’t pan out, expect them to pull back on what they’re spending. But that’s okay, this isn’t the only option.
Subscription Fee - There is not, to my knowledge, a commercial service in place that supports subscription fees for podcasts. The thought has always been that the iTunes Music Store, which is set to do so, will soon begin offering podcasts for sale. This has not yet happened and even if it does, there is no indication that Apple will allow just anyone to monetize a podcast through the store.
Donations - It works for National Public Radio, and if you have a podcast that people find relevant, informative or helpful, they just might be willing to donate some cash to keep you going. The simplest and quickest way to do this is to set up a PayPal account and use their Donations feature to add a button to your website. If you do this be sure to inform your listeners that there is a way for them to donate by announcing it on your podcast.
Fruitcast - At large cocktail parties and social gatherings I like to brag that I was the first official advertiser on FruitCast. OK, not really. But I was the first official advertiser, back when the service first started and the rates to get onto podcasts were very very low. I also signed up to accept ads on my podcasts through Fruitcast and earned enough to offset all of the money I spent advertising.
Fruitcast is a podcast advertising service that inserts advertising into your podcast “on the fly”, meaning you just go about your normal creating and posting of podcasts, while Fruitcast handles getting the ads in there. You can read all about how this process works on their About section for podcasters.
One of my favorite parts of Fruitcast (other than the delicious site design) are their advertising rules:
About 10-15 seconds in length
Long enough to get the message across, short enough to prevent rambling.No music or sound effects
You’ve already got a captive audience—no need to beat them over the head to get their attention.No “Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!” voices or silly accents
Keep it simple, and respect of the podcaster’s tone and content.Sponsorship structure
Ads should follow the general structure of This podcast is brought to you by Similant, Inc.  “Really. Really. Different”  Visit us online at similant.com.
Kiptronic - Working on a similar model as Fruitcast, Kiptronic inserts ads into your podcast “on the fly.” This service is simple to set up if you use Libsyn as your podcasting host. Otherwise, you’ll need to install a webserver module that will allow them to connect to your server and grab the podcasts. This requires some knowledge of server administration and may not work for everyone.
One thing to remember about the last two methods of monetizing your podcast is that they do alter your mp3 file by inserting ads into it.
Additional Reading:
Money For Content and Your Clicks For Free : Turning Web Sites, Blogs, and Podcasts Into Cash
This is part of the series ABC of Podcasting from Podcast Free America.
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