Yesterday, Promotional Consultant Today took a look at the resurgence of the podcast-audio recorded content that can be downloaded by users and listened to at their convenience-and why smart marketers should consider adding a podcast to their content marketing mix. For those who have never recorded one, the first question is: How can I create a good-quality podcast?
Social media expert Jay Baer offers his readers 12 steps to creating the killer podcast. See the first six below and the next six in tomorrow’s edition.
Schedule a time window. Rather than recording one show at a time, Baer suggests scheduling a two-to-three-hour window every couple of weeks and knocking out as many podcasts as possible in that time. He finds efficiencies in doing several back-to-back, and getting into the “flow” improves results.
Book the guests. Having guests who are subject matter experts on your topic is a great way to provide valuable content and grow your audience. Once a guest agrees to appear on your podcast, you will need to schedule the time. Personal email exchanges and phone calls are the most personal ways to connect on the time and date.
Explain the show to the guests. In order to make sure the guests and you are on the same page in terms of technical requirements, show process and content for the show, create a guest guidelines web page or PDF and send it to the guests well in advance of the show.
Send a gift. When you first connect with your guests, get their physical mailing address so you can send a thank-you gift afterwards. Although this step will cost your company some money, Baer insists on doing it for his guests because it shows his guests that they are special.
Send a pre-show questionnaire. Even though you researched the guest when making the selection in the first place, don’t assume you know everything you need to about the guest to make the show interesting and entertaining. Create a questionnaire to send to the guest (an online form or PDF that can be emailed back) to gather more information on the guest.
Record the Show. Baer uses GoToMeeting to record his shows. Other shows use a variety of other online communication tools (such as Skype, WebEx or Join.me). If you and your guest are prepared, then the conversation should flow nicely. Remember, it doesn’t need to be perfect because the next step is editing—which is where PCT will pick up the list tomorrow.
Source: Jay Baer, president of Convince & Convert, is a keynote speaker, podcaster and author of five books including Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers.
