Podcast Marketing to Grow your Blog

If you own a blog, your no. 1 concern should be how to drive traffic to your blog. Sure, the quality of the content on your blog and the reader experience of your blog also matter a lot. Because you never take your business to the next level if you only drive traffic to your site but don’t keep your readers because your content is not good enough. Traffic though is the life blood of any online business. If you don’t have traffic, you are not going to make money off your business. And if you have traffic but it doesn’t convert because of a bad user experience you can drive as much traffic as you want, things won’t improve. Because different people like different things it is always a good idea to use different media to deliver your content. You can create videos, blogposts, slideshows, and, yes, podcasting. You won’t get any closer to your customer. After all, if someone listens to your podcast you are in his ear for the whole time the podcast lasts. While a tweet takes 5 seconds to read and a blogpost maybe 5 minutes a podcast is much closer to the customer. Therefore, podcasts are one of the most effective ways of marketing your blog.

It took me quiet a bit to figure out podcasting. I love listening to them but to set it up on my blog with a RSS feed and software, recording, etc. it took a lot of time. I don’t think I could have ever done it without Pat’s Podcasting Tutorial which is a tremendous help. But I think it is well worth because of the effect you’ll have on your customers. They hear you, they listen to you, they give you their total attention. No other form of marketing does that and therefore – consider podcasting. If you want to check out the Living For Mondays Podcasts go here.

Podcasts are basically MP3 files that you upload to different websites (such as iTunes) which promote your blog. It really is that simple. People download and listen to podcasts because they are trying to get value from it or just want to get entertained. With the help of podcasts you can make people trust you. When they trust you, they are more than willing to follow you. When they follow you, they go to your blog, and you get a loyal blog reader. The more loyal your blog readers are, the higher the chance that they will continue to come back, click on ads and buy stuff. It all begins with quality content and in this case quality content people listen to. The truth of the matter is that quality content breeds traffic. It is not the other way around. Sure the no. 1 concern for your podcast campaign should be generating traffic but it is all built on a solid foundation of quality content.

Use these tips when crafting an effective podcast marketing campaign:

1.Quality content first.

You have to prioritize the quality of your content first. This is the bread and butter of your podcast marketing campaign. If you mess this up, it is not going to work. Basically, you need to pay careful attention to the quality of the audio materials that you are distributing on your sites and other websites. This is crucial. You have to address the need of the listener. Nobody will download your podcasts again when the sound is so bad that they can hardly listen to your material. Investing in a microphone is a small investment but absolutely necessary. I use the AKG Perception Microphone with USB. It is much easier to use than the Heil PR-40 Pat suggests because that one needs a mixer which increased the amount of money you need to spend a lot. I don’t say it’s not worth but it will be out of budget for most of us. Therefore, I decided to go with the AKG Perception, which also offers a great sound quality.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know that not all microphones are created equal and so I ordered the Heil Microphone Arm as well as their Shockmount to I had to add a rubber band to make use of it. Make sure you order compatible items, although I’m very happy with my equipment now.

2.Distribute widely.

You have to remember that your blog is not the only distribution platform for your podcast. There are many other blogs and websites that are interested in the content that you offer. Make sure that you find, list and prioritize them. How do you prioritize? First of all, you have to look at the traffic levels of these potential distribution sites. You have to check their Alexa ranking and pick out the ones that get the most traffic and start there. The more directories you add your RSS Feed to the more potential users can find you.

3.Build relationships.

Podcast, just like blog posts, can be a currency for trading in relationships with other blogs and websites. When you have established a reputation for producing high-quality podcasts, you can use these materials to get certain benefits from other websites that are interested in your audio content. The key is high quality and also building the right relationships. This means that you get along with people and that you reach out.

4. Link back

Make sure your podcasts are on a prominent place on your blog. Put them in a separate category and make sure to add the category to your menu. Also, when you write about a specific topic you already covered in a post – link back.

5. Optimize

Create from each of your podcasts a blog post where you summarize what your podcast is about. Make sure your post is keyword optimized and also make sure that you add related keywords when you send your podcast to iTunes and other directories.

Don’t forget, once you have got the equipment you need you won’t need much else for your podcasting efforts. You can also use this equipment for screencasting (recording how-to videos).

Filed in: Blog • Traffic Generation
Tagged with: podcast • podcast marketing • podcasting