Why I Launched a Podcast and Maybe You Should Too
I launched my first podcast, Marketing Martini, recently, and the number one question I have been getting from people (after "What's a podcast?") is "Why'd you do it?"
Here are some of the answers I have been giving. Perhaps a few of them might resonate with you.
- It's a great opportunity to learn about a new medium and get hands-on experience. Quite frankly, our clients were starting to ask about podcasting. I need to be able to answer them with confidence.
- Millions of people commute to and from work every day and like to pass the time listening to audio books and other spoken-word content. You can't (or at least, you shouldn't) read and drive at the same time, but you can certainly listen and drive.
- Because the podcasting landscape is currently an uncluttered space, it is far easier to get noticed. There are less than 100,000 audio and video podcasts - total - in existence today. Compare that to the millions of blogs and billions of Web pages. It's the old big fish in a small pond analogy.
- In today's knowledge economy, many people are hungry for learning that will help them advance their careers and improve their personal lives. And guess where most of them turn to first to seek out this material? The Internet.
- By communicating to my 'audience' through the spoken word, I am better - or at least more easily - able to convey my enthusiasm and personality than through the written word.
- Not everyone likes to read informational content; some people prefer to hear that content instead. If my Internet marketing blog isn't your cup of tea, maybe my Internet marketing podcast will be.
- Although you don't need an MP3 player, let alone an iPod, to listen to a podcast, Apple sold 21 Million iPods last quarter. Each of them supports 'one click' subscribing to a podcast. Enough said.
Now do you know why I launched my podcast?
P.S. Want to find out more about podcasting? Join me and hundreds of other podcasting enthusiasts at PodCamp Toronto, a 2-day 'unconference' that will be held at Ryerson University on February 24-25, 2007. Attendance is free.
