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So you are thinking about launching a podcast to connect to prospects and attract more clients. But how do you make sure that you deliver content that will be relevant and seen as of value?

Here are 7 rules of podcasting to generate more leads, more clients and more profits:

1. RESEARCH YOUR MARKET

Review other podcasts in your niche and providing content for your target market. What appeals to you about the structure of the podcast and the content that you know your listeners would find compelling? What ideas does that give you for your podcast so that you will be differentiated from your competition?

2. DETERMINE YOUR REVENUE MODEL

Are you going to offer all of your podcast available at no cost; or perhaps you plan to provide a shorter version for no cost and make the extended version available as an information product that you sell as individual recordings or bundle together in a membership community? Determining your revenue model is an important early step when determining a profitable podcast strategy.

3. KEEP YOUR CALL TO ACTION SIMPLE

If you decide to promote your programmes, products and services in your podcast make sure that you provide compelling and valuable content in your podcast which then will entice your listeners to purchase your information product.

Making the content too much of a sales pitch will make sure that your podcast community will not grow.

4. MAKE YOUR PODCAST EASY TO ACCESS

With the majority of people accessing podcasts through websites and blogs rather than iTunes, make it easy for people to either stream the podcast and listen to it with at their PC or download it to their computer.

5. ENCOURAGE FEEDBACK

Make it easy for your listeners to get engaged with your podcast. This may be by leaving messages on an audio line, posting their feedback at your podcast site, joining your podcast Facebook group or even dropping you an email.

Take time in each show to refer to your listeners messages, answer their questions and thank them for being part of your community.

6. FIND A GREAT TECHNOLOGY PARTNER

If you want to learn the ins and outs of podcasting, then seek out a great programme which will help you get off the ground faster than searching out all the resources yourself.

Alternatively, find a technology partner who will manage the recording, editing and publishing of your podcast so that you only have to focus on the recording schedule and content.

7. PROMOTE YOUR PODCAST

Make sure that you let people know you produce a podcast and what they can look forward to in the content. Use traditional and new media outlets along side word of mouth strategies online and offline to promote your podcast. Then track your subscribers through tools such as Feedburner and enjoy seeing your podcast community grow.

THIS WEEK’S ‘BIZ GROWTH’ ACTION STEPS

Podcasting is a great way to deliver valuable content to your ideal clients, employees and other stakeholders and business partners.

Consider how you can include podcasts in your marketing and communications plan then

Remember that just like article marketing where you can re-purpose your articles into other information products, your podcasts could help generate interest in your products and services, can be re-purposed into a live event, be transcribed to become chapters of your book or repacked into a CD home study programme if you leverage them appropriately.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

If you want to discover how to create your own information product empire from white papers to audio programmes, join me for the “PASSION FOR PRODUCTS” series of teleseminars starting on September 24, 2007.

And why not join me on Kilkenny on the 29 September 2007 at PodCamp Ireland if you want to learn more about podcasting, blogging and new media at Ireland first ever PodCamp?

© Krishna De, 2007. All rights reserved. This article is extracted from Krishna’s home study programme “Marketing On A Shoestring Budget”.