The style, voice and design of your blog totally depends on the type of blog you have. If you are blogging for money, driving traffic is uppermost on your mind. Whereas for business blogging you may want to build up quality and relevant traffic for your client base and business development. Ultimately, your goal is to reach out your message across a wide audience. This is best achieved through podcasting. Besides, if you want to breathe new life into your blog to sustain the interest of your blog following, then podcasts is just the thing for you.
Podcasting is one such tool that uses the power of the audio-visual medium to drive directed traffic while improving your blog content. It is a communication vehicle that is increasingly becoming popular for conveying your message. So bloggers can now use audio or video podcasts embedded within their blogs to reach out to people. Podcasts add weight to your usual blogs with additional aspects like interviews and music. As the interviewees link to your podcast and promote them on their networks, you not only gain new reader profile but get noticed.
So if you want to incorporate something new to your blogs, that will give you that edge over your competitors, then podcasting is what you will want to include. You can convey your message through an audio recording, include interviews for fresh angles, share advice and keep adding new flavour to retain interest of your readers.
Here are some tips how bloggers can use podcasts:
# The first step would be to decide upon your podcasts. Whether you would record the same and self-host it on your own server, or make use of a third-party service. If you want to have control over your podcasts, the former is the better option, though this will involve some nominal costs. This is most suitable for business blogs. However, if you are blogging for money only, then you may cut out the additional costs and go for the third-party hosting. Later you can later always make use of the various editing tools available, like RecordForAll, that allows you to edit out any undesired segments from the audio files.
# Once you have decided, you can then create your own podcast. Though various formats are supported, it is best to stick to the MP3 format. You can directly record at a site using a portable directional microphone or that which suits best your needs.
# With various royalty free portals allowing you to use background sound effects and incorporate Pod-safe music into your blogs, it is easy to include podcasts in your blogs.
# How would you embed the podcast within your blog? If you are using Blogger, the best platform to begin with, go to 'New Post' icon from the 'Dashboard' page. Add your MP3 file entry, create a text link, select it with the link tool and add the URL to your MP3 file. With 'Publish Post' you are now done!
# Use 'Settings' to describe the podcast. Explain your podcast in a manner as to attract people, use keywords to feature your podcasts in searches, and create a podcast feed. Although RSS 2.0 is the standard for podcasting, you may want to turn the Blogger Atom feed into the RSS 2.0 using Feed Burner. Test your feed with a Feed Validator and a podcasting client as a final move.
# Tell the world about your podcasts.
You do not have to be an expert recorder or broadcaster to use podcasts in your blogs. Albeit, you do become proficient as you move along. As you find your readership increasing, your podcasts and blogs being talked about and your visitors converting into revenue, you will make podcasts an integral part of your blogs.