Business In a Pod

I’m always looking for new or different ways to promote home business. I use the obvious things like mail shots through the conventional mailing system, advertising in magazines and, of course, email. But there are things like desktop broadcasting and Internet radio/video that I’ve also gotten involved in.

The latest method is a thing called ‘PodCasting’ whereby you inform people about your product or service via a file that can be delivered and played on a computer and an MP3 player.

You can’t have avoided hearing or reading about the company called Apple and their revolutionary ‘I-Pod’ which is a small unit capable of playing music or audio files using the MP3 technology.

The new method of delivering these sound files to your computer or audio player has been named after the famous I-Pod MP3 player but can, in fact, be played on ANY player capable of reading MP3 files from any manufacturer.

There are directories on the Internet that list all the places where you can download these files on all kinds of subjects. Looking through the listings there are mostly demos of un-signed pop bands, peoples poetry and friends simply messing around with the capabilities of this new technology.

But there are some useful ‘how to’s’ and books to download as well.

The list is growing daily with, literally, tens of thousands of choices. If you like one particular broadcaster you can choose to have their Podcasts delivered directly to your computer or even downloaded directly onto your MP3 player for listening whenever you choose to. Unlike radio broadcasts, you can simply save the file and listen at your convenience, whenever you’re ready.

This gave me the idea of, maybe, making a recording all about a subject that could be useful to the listener … ie, your home business, and then go on to give your contact details, web site etc..

Making a regular series of recordings would soon get your name out there and you could create a following of interested parties.

If you’re running a networking program, you could keep in touch with your downline by sending regular Pods to them updating them with the latest news, facts and figures of the business.

So how do you go about making one of these Pods and then broadcasting it?

Surprisingly, it’s very easy indeed.

Visit: http://ipodder.sourceforge.net and download the free software to your computer.

Install the program and open it.

You’ll see a folder containing a directory of available Podcasts. This is quite a small list but you can soon find thousand more on the Internet.

Select some that you feel you might be interested in, their titles and descriptions will give you clue as to their content.

Subscribe to those you like. It is free to do so.

Once you have ticked the selection you require, the ipodder software will download them for you. You can then listen to them with the player installed on your computer. Transfer any you want to take with you on your travels onto your portable MP3 player.

Visit: www.ipodder.org for a huge list of other Podcast files. The list is practically endless.

You can listen to as many as you please as often as you wish.

As well as amateur podcasts there are professional ones from organisations such as the BBC who regularly put programs, guides and music on them.

Simply subscribe to keep up to date with any one publisher who regularly sends out podcasts or, of course, any number of publishers you please.

If you’d like to preview a podcast before downloading it, to save time, you can visit: www.podcast.net which will let you do just that as well as search for an item you may be interested in.

You can record your own podcast and place it on your web site for people to listen to or download. You can set up a link and join a directory on the Internet so that millions of potential customers can find you.

Set up an RSS feed to keep fresh content streaming out to the masses. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) can help you get your podcast to more people automatically than you’d be able to send it yourself. Visit: www.tdscripts.com/webmaster_utilities/podcast-generator.php to find the tools to do this.

To actually make a recording, just plug a microphone into your computer’s ‘mic’ socket and use any recording software (Windows sound recorder, free with your PC, will do the job) and start speaking.

Better still, download ‘audacity’ from the internet and it will put your recording straight to an MP3 file ready for uploading to your free web space that your Internet service provider gives you. That is all you’ll need to get podcasting.

Podcasting is a great way of getting your message out there … to millions upon millions of listeners. Go and have a listen to what is available (you’ll be surprised) and then have a go at doing it yourself.

Podcasting has just taken off big time as it is so easy to do. Don’t let your business get left behind, give it a bash. You’ll never know, it could just be the break that your business needs to get you earning a decent second income.

Article © Martyn Brown