Use Podcasts to Promote Your Business

My last post was on why you might listen to podcasts and audiobooks. Have you ever thought about using podcasts to promote you, your products and/or your business? Why not?

Here's a list of the basics of what you need to do to create your very own podcast:

1. Choose your content, decide how long your podcast will be and write a script.

2. Make sure you have the right equipment: a Mac or PC and an inexpensive microphone will do (like the one that came with your computer). Serious podcasters might consider more expensive microphones, a preamp, a digital recorder, headphones and sound-editing software.

3. Open your sound recording software (e.g. Audacity which can be downloaded free) and create a new project.

4. Record, save and edit your podcast.

5. Export your podcast to MP3 format and edit the ID3 tags (for identifying information).

6. Create an RSS feed (using something like Feedburner) to distribute your podcasts to listeners. Upload your RSS feed to a (your?) website and get it listed on a podcast directory (do this for great exposure to lots of potential customers).

Here are some links with excellent podcasting "how-tos" and tips:

IPodder.org: http://www.ipodder.org/
Podcast Central: http://www.podcastcentral.com/
Podcast.net: http://www.podcast.net/
Podcast Alley: http://www.podcastalley.com/
Podcasting Tools: http://www.podcasting-tools.com/
Podscope: http://www.podscope.com/
Podcast about the Podcast: http://reelreviewsradio.com/archives/2004/12/27/podcast-about-the-podcast/

By the way, as a followup to the last post, here's a link to a directory of some more business podcasts:
http://www.podcastingnews.com/forum/link_10.htm

Should you wish to read some books about podcasting, try your local public library. Many of these books have great appendices which list podcasting-related websites. At the bottom of this post is a link to the results of a title search that I did at the Oakville Public Library. Some of the interesting and informative book titles included:

1. Secrets of Podcasting: Audio Blogging for the Masses by Bart Farkas, 2006
2. Absolute Beginner's Guide to Podcasting by George Colombo and Curtis Franklin Jr., 2006
3. How to Do Everything with Podcasting by Shel Holtz with Neville Hobson, 2007
and, of course, a Dummies book:
Podcasting for Dummies by Tee Morris and Eva Terra, 2006

Here's the link to the book search: http://cat.opl.on.ca/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=B1X63658524O2.137007&menu=search&aspect=subtab13&npp=50&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=ma&ri=3&source=%7E%21oakville&index=.TW&term=podcasting&aspect=subtab13&x=7&y=8#focus

Give it a try!

Audiobooks and Podcasts: Listen to the Latest Business Topics

Between going to the bank for financing, commuting, checking into suppliers and driving around town looking for a great franchise location, you are spending a lot of time in your car and you're tired of listening to the top 40. Or maybe you just want to sit back, relax and listen to something relevant to your business startup. Consider listening to business audiobooks or podcasts.

AUDIOBOOKS

We've all heard about audiobooks: books on CD or in digital files (e.g. for use with an MP3, iPod or Windows Media Audio). You may have purchased them at your local Chapters store or downloaded them from audible.com. Did you know that you might also be able to access them for free from your local public library? What a great way to keep your business and personal costs down! Generally, all you need is a library card from a library that offers this service. For example, click on this link and then go to "Business & Careers" to download business audiobooks for free from a group of libraries in Ontario:

http://librariesonthego.library.on.ca/4A240BF2-5E33-48D3-8BB1-504668F0E2B3/10/310/en/Default.htm

PODCASTS

What's a podcast and why would anyone use one? A podcast is a digital media file which is distributed over the Internet and played on a personal computer or a portable media player. Podcasts generally range in length from 5 minutes for quick daily or weekly updates to a half or full hour "show". Here's a list of some great business podcasts:

Canadian Business Online:
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/entrepreneur/ and go to the Podcast section. Also check this site's Technology section for podcasts about social media, etc.

Financial Post's Daily Podcast:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/podcast/index.html

Entrepreneur:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/podcast/index.html

New York Public Library's Small Biz How-To Business Seminars and Podcasts:
http://www.nypl.org/research/sibl/smallbiz/video.html

BusinessWeek:
http://www.businessweek.com/search/podcasting.htm

Wall Street Journal Online:
http://online.wsj.com/public/page/8_0018.html?mod=topnav_0_0012

Time:
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1184688,00.html

Kiplinger's Personal Finance:
http://www.kiplinger.com/podcasts/

Harvard Business Review's IdeaCast:
http://www.harvardbusinessonline.com/

Free Access to The Wall Street Journal Online is Coming!

The word is out that online access to The Wall Street Journal may soon be free; here's the link to the PC World blog that discusses this:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/005920.html

You may already know that the New York Times ceased charging for its TimesSelect online service in September 2007.

Looking for Free Software and Web Design Templates for your Small Business?

Like most small businesses, you are likely running your company on a tight budget. You might want to check out Downloadpedia: The Software Encyclopedia. It is a web-based, free content software encyclopedia project a la Wikipedia. It has links to tons of free stuff: office software (e.g. OpenOffice, PDFCreator, Zilla CD-DVD Rip'n'Burn), system utilities, image and video editing, animation and 3D modeling/CAD, photo editing, anti-virus software and much more. Here's the link:
http://downloadpedia.org/Main_Page

How will a strong Canadian dollar affect small business?

Here are a few good links about the effects of a strong Canadian dollar on small business:

This Toronto Star article from Oct.11/07 written by Thulasi Srikanthan discusses the competitive pressures brought on by the rising loonie:
http://www.thestar.com/Business/SmallBusiness/article/265052

Below is a TD Economics report, also from Oct.11/07, that reviews the outlook for five key external factors impacting the health of Canadian small business: the prospects for sales, competition, labour markets, non-labour costs and the climate for investment. The report, authored by Craig Alexander, is called Small Businesses to Benefit from Solid Domestic Demand, but Challenges Call for Innovative Thinking. Here's the executive summary and press release: http://www.td.com/economics/special/ca1007_sb_pr.pdf

Here's the full report: http://www.td.com/economics/special/ca1007_sb.pdf

Harvard's Extension School: Understanding Computers and the Internet

Need to brush up on your understanding of your computer (hardware, software, security), the internet, multimedia and website development? David J. Malan, an instructor at Harvard College (the arts and sciences school at Harvard University), has posted lecture notes, videos, slides, MP3 files and podcasts here:
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~cscie1/

Are you LinkedIn yet?

This MSN "Your Biz" writer, Eve Tahmincioglu, discusses the benefits to small businesses in using social networking tools, like LinkedIn.
http://yourbiz.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/26/427228.aspx

Here's the link to LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/

Consider using Facebook or MySpace too. Reach out to valuable contacts and customers. Did you know that the Toronto network has 925,804 members as of today (Nov.1, 2007)?