Women in Podcasting

Using podcasting as an ideas tool

Another great thing about podcasting... it enables you to have a worldwide brainstorming session.
I run Wiggly Wigglers - small company that is very keen to promote natural gardening - eco gardening if you prefer. To do this we take many great ideas found within the countryside and farm environment, and adapt them for the garden.
For example, yesterday I saw a presentation about "Catchment Sensitive Farming". This management method reduces field and silt run off (and polution) into watercourses and rivers. Not for gardeners maybe? Well, of course to us gardeners this can be applied to make use of the run off from our homes and garages. We call it Rain Gardening!
We've already sparked a rain gardening conversation in an earlier podcast but this farming presentation will inspire me to podcast about what farmers in Herefordshire are doing to improve their environment.  Now, as podcasting is a worldwide medium I am now anticipating the wealth of knowledge and experience that will bounce straight back to me from folk who are miles ahead in this area - probably folk in Australasia who will have pushed the boundaries further, and from whom we can learn without re-inventing the wheel.
Brainstorming via Podcasting
Rock On!

Podcasting for the Beginner

Both Heather and I openly admit that we are non geeks and one of the reason we started this blog was to build a community over time that will support other people who want to podcast, want to blog but are frightened of doing it.

To help I write a blog called Podcast Freq that has beginners tips and a guide to podcasting. It is for non geeks! It is just a hobby blog but if you are new to this area, you may well find some tips and tricks which will help you.

Podcasting and market research....

Anna and I are making a series of podcasts which follows our journey to  thinner, healthier and fitter bodies. This has been a great learning experience for me.

Podcasting is pretty inexpensive to try, probably in our case comparable with what we would have spent joining a dieting club, travelling to it each week and eating the "special food", whether that be the muesli bars or the crispbreads!

As they say the proof is in the eating, and so far on week three I have lost nearly 5 pounds and Anna has lost over a stone in weight!! The key to this success seems to be announcing the diet as public, and keeping communicating. Podcasting does both these!

If you have a topic that you are passionate about that might make a great podcast, my advice would be "just do it!" Try it out, see how it goes and learn as you go along. Market research is fine for an existing market, but podcasting and new technology is moving at such a rate that by the time you have completed your months of research you will probably be out of date...(and someone else will probably have done your podcast!!!)

Recording Skype Conversations

A large part of my podcast, The Engaging Brand is interviewing. Most of these are conducted over Skype and therefore I have looked for various packages. I posted about this on my other blog Podcast Freq which is a non geek look at the art of podcasting. I thought I would share with you what I posted as it is one of the most asked questions that I receive from people who ask for advice.

Today I came across another free piece of software (as long as you keep the conversation under 30 minutes) and that software is Pretty May. I am delighted with the audio quality, which records at 48khz and it also brings in each conversation in a separate audio track to help post editing.

My mainstay audio recording is Hot Recorder. I have to say this has worked really well and I have no issues other than the recording rate. This program records at 12khz which means that the audio quality is reduced. When I increased the quality, I had more issues with the program and therefore kept it at the medium quality.

Another program that comes highly recommended is Skylook. A couple of other podcsaters swear by this package and because it is built for Skype it is very stable and good quality. The downside for this package is the cost - which I believe is $100.

If you are trying to make podcasting your living then it may well be worth investing in Skylook or Pamela another similar package. Of course, recording each part of the conversation on the individual PC’s remains the strongest way, but not all interviewees can record the chat. If you just want a good package then I don’t believe you can go wrong with Hot Recorder or Pretty May.

If you want any support with this process then just e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com

Promoting your Podcast

Last night I listened into The Trafcom News Podcast and it was all about promoting your podcast. In actual fact Anna posed the question to Donna Pappacosta which inspired the show!
Its essential listening for anyone who is podcasting and wants to get more listeners for sure, but there are a couple of tips that I wish I'd have known before I started too!!

Speaking Events

Heather and I have been asked to do some various speaking engagements which is great as we are both passionate about getting the wonder of podcasting out there and encouraging other women to get involved. We are both non geeks and if we can do it, anyone can do it. We want to share our knowledge and bring more women on board to this great, simple technology and increase your learning curve. The technology is simple, but we have made many mistakes - and still do! We want to share our experiences so that the process is as simple as possible for you.

If you want some online help, or someone to come and talk to your business of how podcasting can help your bottom line then click on our contact boxes.

In the meantime we will be speaking at

Women in Podcasting - an online conference. Once I have the details I will give you them.

Corporate Podcasting Summit in London (March 19th/20th)

Holding a teleconference

Setting up a teleconference is getting easier all the time, and great value for money. When I attended the international business podcasting expo
there was a great presentation from Alicia Forest on how to hold a teleconference. She gave us an outline for the event

0-2 mins   Ask participants to introduce themselves
2-5 mins   Introduce yourself and give an outline of the event
5-30 mins Cover Points 1 and 2 of the topic
30 mins Mark the halfway point. Plant a seed for people to take action after the event…3-5 sentences of a teaser or promotion that they can take action upon

31-40      Ask for feedback and questions so far
40-50      Cover point 3
50-55      Give 3 takeaways
55          Thank them, tell them they will get notes….and as soon as the teleconference has finished e-mail them!

Again this is a great way of communicating with your podcast listeners, and creating an income stream for your podcast. It also allows you to build an email list for future events.

Some great tips here, and I believe that you can still get the slides.

How to start podcasting...

I often get asked for a "Step by Step" Guide to setting up a podcast for complete beginners. I usually recommend downloading a few of interest, start blogging, check out iTunes etc etc. However, is there a step by step videocast (or podcast) that will see you through the process I wonder? Please let me know so that I can pass it on.
In the meantime, if you are looking to set up a podcast for your business (large or small) you will many of the answers at the Corporate Podcasting Summit on the 19-20th March in London. Both Anna and I are contributing on panels, so we'll see you there.

Jan19-21st On line Conference

There is a great conference this weekend which is on line which means that you can dip in and out depending on the seminars. You can find the Business Podcasting conference here, and the entry fee is $50 which covers all 3 days so is excellent value. Included in that price is access to all the powerpoint and audio files after the show.

Some of the seminars are

Navigating New media

Powerful Networking

Business Podcasting

Increasing Search Engine Rankings with Podcasting

Why video podcasting

and many more.....

Leesa Barnes in London

Leesa Barnes who is a wonderful podcaster will be holding a seminar in London in March - here is what Leesa says

"I'll be holding a special 2-day workshop during that same week with a London-based blogging expert to teach coaches, speakers and consultants how to use blogs & podcasts to turbo charge their businesses.

Right now, we're asking people to fill out a form telling us their biggest challenges using blogs/podcasts.

More details here:
http://www.buzzmarketingworkshop.com/index.html