Contrary to what you may think, you don’t need to be a podcaster to use audio in your digital marketing.

While podcasting is an awesome way to build and connect with an audience, it takes a lot of commitment creating a show. From concept to equipment, to promotion and managing guests, you’ve got to be all in if you want to make a dent on the iTunes charts and attract a loyal audience.

There are real benefits to publishing a podcast:

• Intimate, person to person connection (nothing like someone talking directly to you, in your ear)
• Increased website traffic
• Develop long-lasting relationships with influencers in your niche
• Speaking invitations
• Improve your communications skills
• Easy to use, on demand technology
• Portable

Many podcasting “rock stars” have hit it big with their weekly or daily shows. But, if that’s not your thing, you can still leverage audio to connect with your audience and reap the same benefits.

Create Audio Micro-Content

For many years, I’ve been touting the benefits of creating micro-content as a way to repurpose blog content and get more visibility and traffic to your site. 

In the free 7-Day Visibility Challenge, you learn how to repurpose your evergreen blog posts with Soundcloud. Then in the recent 30-Day Online Visibility Challenge, I challenged participants to tell micro-stories with audio to drive traffic to their lead gen offers.

There are hundreds of audio apps you can use with your smartphone so I’m going to make it easy for you and share four apps that I use and am currently experimenting with for creating an audio journal for my adventure in Peru.

Recommended Reading: Living the Laptop Lifestyle – Managing Work and Adventure

Each of the apps below is available for iOS and Android (Anchor is in beta). Each one is free or has a free option. 

Audio Apps

Soundcloud – I’ve been using Soundcloud for several years. Not only is it an audio hosting platform, they make it easy to follow broadcasters you love, upload and record from the web and the app, share, and comment on the shows and playlists you follow. 

You can apply to create a podcast from a playlist of your sounds. This is what I do with the Adventures in Visibility show. The video replays are repurposed by stripping the mp3 file out, then uploaded to the Soundcloud playlist which in turn auto-posts to my iTunes channel. I also embed the audio tracks on my blog and share to my social networks. For those who prefer to listen to content vs. watch a video or read a post, this is the perfect option.

For the Summer Stories Challenge, participants were encouraged to create short audio stories with a call to action leading to a blog post, a free gift, or webinar. Lisa Douthit of Wellness Warrior posts short meditations.

AudioBoom – AudioBoom touts itself as “the leading mobile, web and connected device platform for the very best spoken-word content in news, current affairs, business, entertainment and sports.” 

Once you download the app and set up your account, you’ll be able to follow, download and create playlists. On the top navigation bar, you’ll find the record button. Tap it and you can immediately begin your recording, up to 10 minutes. You also have an option to apply as a podcaster and to create an iTunes feed for your broadcasts.

Patricia Gozlan of The Prosperity Zone broadcasts tips in both English and Italian.

Anchor – A relative newcomer to the audio scene, Anchor serves a slightly different purpose. In a way, it’s even more intimate in that it’s designed to spark conversation. As a broadcaster you record short audio clips, include a short description and relevant hashtags. Your listeners can respond easily via audio which gets a conversation going between you and among your followers.

Recording is as easy as talking on the phone. Literally. To record, tap the record button, then hold your phone up to your ear, like talking on the phone, and, well, talk. Recordings are limited to two minutes. You can review your “wave” before you publish.

A popular format is to record a question of the day. As I mentioned above, I’m toying with the idea of creating an audio journal during my adventure in Peru. 

You can see below, that you can easily embed your waves and share on social media.

Note: at the time of publication, the Android app is in beta and available by invitation only. I have a few invites available, first come, first serve. If you want one, let me know in the comments below.

Rev Voice Recorder – Rev is not a social media app. It’s a straight-forward recording app. The cool thing is that the folks behind Rev also offer a transcription service for $1 per minute.

This is why I like it: Record. Review. Share via email, Dropbox or Evernote. Transcribe.

OK, it’s not exactly an audience engagement app, but if you’re a blogger I know you get great ideas when you’re not in front of your computer. Grab your phone and record on Rev, then send it immediately to get it transcribed. A two or three-minute recording is often turned around in less than 24 hours. Copy into a new blog post and save as a draft. Now you have the outline or primary ideas for your blog post, in writing. 

Choose the Right App for the Job

As with any content you create for your business, keep your goals in mind:

• What message do you want to send?
• Who is the message for?
• What do you want the listener to do?
• Do you want to tell a specific story?
• What’s your call to action?

These questions don’t necessarily apply to using Rev Voice Recorder unless you’re using it to conduct interviews. The questions do apply if you’re using any of the other three apps. 

Anchor is ideal for engagement, getting feedback, quick promotions for your long-form podcast, webinars or blog posts.

AudioBoom, with it’s longer recording time, can work for a micro-podcast, daily tips and tutorials, how-to’s, audio blogs and short stories.

Soundcloud is similar to AudioBoom. For me, it’s great for repurposing videos and recording blog posts.

I always recommend experimenting with new tools and apps to find the ones that work best for you and the type of content you create. You’ll quickly figure out which ones you like the best.

Now it’s your turn. What’s your favorite audio recording app? In what ways do you use audio in your digital marketing?

The post 4 Easy Audio Apps Help You Engage with Your Audience appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

In this show, Jason and I discuss how to successfully launch a podcast, what he did, how it worked and what he learned. 

• Why host a podcast Party (or any contest)
• Understand your goals
• Why you need to set a clear budget
• The Process map for a successful launch
• Pitfalls and things Jason would do differently next time
• Immediate results and long term results of the podcast launch

Check out the event page for comments, questions and photos.
(The video is timestamped on the YouTube page.)

Key Moments Not to Miss

2:12 Why did Jason decide to repurpose his HOA as a podcast

5:24 What is New and Noteworthy, why is it important?

8:29 What are the calls to action?

17:31 How to decide on budget and what to give away?

20:18 Review of Jason’s landing page for the contest

27:07 Question from Tom Collins about how to repurpose HOA to podcast

34:03 What worked, what did not work and what was hype?

38:10 Did the launch party meet Jason’s objectives?

44:07 Jason’s most memorable Adventure

45:49 Jason’s pitch for new Social Warfare plugin (It rocks! I have installed it on this site.)

After the show Shawn Manaher answered one of the questions that came up: when does the New & Noteworthy clock start ticking?

 The most important piece of advice that Jason shared…

 Jason Wiser is the host of the weekly podcast, “Get on Track, Stay on Track” helping your small business one expert at a time where he interviews industry leaders like Chris Brogan, Jay Baer, Pam Moore, James Wedmore and many more. He’s the founder of Wiser Sites, LLC – a general contracting agency for online marketing and business strategy.
 
Connect with Jason

Wiser Sites – http://wisersites.com
On Track Tips – http://OnTrackTips.com
G+ – https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JasonTWiser/about

For your convenience, the mp3 is posted below, from the live Hangout with Jason.

Visit Jason Wiser for more information, and subscribe to his podcast!

•  Watch previous Adventures
• Subscribe on YouTube 
• Subscribe and Review on iTunes (if you enjoyed this interview, please rate and review it!)

To get reminders about when Adventures are scheduled and when replays are posted, you can get on the list and follow me on Google+. Be sure to let me know you want to be added to my Adventures in Visibility Notification Circle so you get the invitation directly through Google+.

Do you have a question about how to create a more visible presence on the Web? Click here to record your question  and I’ll include it along with my answer in an upcoming show!

The post How to Successfully Launch a Podcast | Adventures in Visibility with Jason T. Wiser appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

By now, you’ve probably heard the news…

podcasting is taking off like a rocket ship!

As an online entrepreneur, you have a tremendous opportunity to leverage this platform to get your content, your brand and your marketing message out to a wider audience.

 There are four primary reasons podcasting is making such a huge resurgence, but before I get to those, let’s take a quick look at how podcasting stands up to a couple of the largest tried and true platforms.

First let’s examine blogging. By some estimates, there are 450 million English language blogs, with a new one being started somewhere in the world every half second…so no matter what your niche is in the blogging space, it’s already saturated with hundreds and maybe even thousands of other bloggers writing about the same topic.

Maybe you have thought about putting videos on YouTube to attract leads. But consider this: a whopping 4 million hours of new video content a month is going on YouTube!

 In contrast, there are only around 225,000 active podcasts…and, many of them have not been updated in months, many have poor quality content and for many of them, the audio is subpar. So in reality there is even less competition.

 But, there is also a mistaken impression floating around out there that you can launch a podcast, get tens of thousands of downloads nearly overnight and make gobs of money from sponsors and selling your products. That is patently false.

 Like anything else, making a quality product or service takes time and effort; producing, hosting and promoting a podcast is no different.

[Tweet “Making a quality product takes time and effort; producing and hosting a #podcast is no different.”]

Lots of people rushing to get their podcasts launched and into iTunes will start off with a bang, but many of them will likely lose interest as they realize podcasting is going to take consistent effort, both in production and in getting and staying visible. 

That happens to be great news for online entrepreneurs who have persistence, staying power and the ability to produce a high-quality show.

So now let’s take a look at those four big reasons demand for podcasting is building and why you should start a podcast now:

1) Rise of the Smartphone

There are now over 1 billion smartphones in use and if you’re like me, you take this little device everywhere you go.

So as a podcaster, you can go with your audience…on a flight across the country, on a road trip, to the gym, while they are folding clothes or doing the laundry, while going out for a walk, and yes,  you can even get into the shower with your listeners via waterproof speakers!

2) For Their Ears Only

Podcasting, unlike video, is an ‘ears only’ medium, meaning of course that people do not have to be sitting in front of their computers to consume your content.

You will build a faster, stronger, firmer relationship with people more quickly, because they are listening to you…to your voice directly in their ears. It’s never been easier to develop your unique ‘voice’ and authentically inject your personality into your business.

And unlike a website or even your blog, where visitor ‘bounce rates’ are likely to be measured in seconds or at best under a couple of minutes, your audience will have no difficulty listening to you for half and hour or even an hour or more when you are engaging them on a topic they enjoy. 

Take Dan Carlin’s extremely popular Hardcore History podcast, released every couple of months, where episodes can last for two or even three hours or more! This is completely unheard of in the blogging world, where time on your blog is measured in a few minutes if you are lucky and a few seconds for most.

3) Access to Experts

You are also going to also find it easy to gain access to experts in your niche by inviting them to be a guest on your podcast.

This gets you exposure to their audience when they tell others about being on your show. You also get what I call the ‘Larry King’ effect otherwise known as becoming an expert by association, which I took advantage of in the dozen plus telesummits I produced and hosted over the last decade.

4) Content on Demand

Finally, your audience is going to have access to you 24 hours a day, when THEY want to listen, not when some commercial radio station says they have to.

The popular Stitcher app is going into many American car models this fall and into 2015 plus Apple is getting into the game as well by adding Car Play, allowing drivers voice access to all their apps. Soon, dialing up a podcast will be as easy as tuning your car radio to your favorite station!

So it’s no surprise that Denise and I are busy planning and producing a podcast for The Future of Ink and we are putting together a live, in-person intensive experience where you can learn podcasting in a beautiful environment guided by experienced leaders and surrounded by like minded colleagues…

The Future of Ink’s Podcasting Summer Camp at beautiful Serenbe Farms just south of Atlanta this August…

Denise was in the ‘first wave’ of podcasters back in 2006, and she’s been doing her Adventures in Visibility Hangouts for over a year…

plus, I’ve had a decade of experience producing and hosting over a dozen telesummits where I’ve interviewed hundreds of the most well-known names in marketing and self-development, including Dr. Joe Vitale, Mark Joyner, Lynne McTaggart, Andrea J. Lee, Dr. Jean Houston and many others, and…

 we are also excited to announce we’ve added veteran
 podcaster, audio engineer and WordPress Expert 
MaAnna Stephenson to our team! She will be at the retreat
 and stands willing and able to help each Camper get up and running with their podcast…

Plus, you’ll walk away with a custom podcasting strategic marketing and promotional plan specifically crafted for YOUR business…

 not to mention the opportunity to make lifelong friends…

 so if you are an online entrepreneur who is intrigued by podcasting and wants to learn in a beautiful, immersive environment… 

please consider joining us for this limited attendance retreat! Just click here to get all the details.

This post was originally published on The Future of Ink.

The post 4 Reasons Why You Should Start a Podcast Now appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

How to Set Up A Podcast On AudioAcrobat (click link if you can't see the video above)

I've also written about audio and video podcasting on Biz Tips Blog over the years so here are a couple of articles that may also help you:

Online Visibility Tip: Create a Video Podcast

Podcasting Down and Dirty Part 2

If you publish a podcast, share it with us here and post the URL to iTunes, or wherever it's hosted so we can subscribe and check it!

Want more visibility tips and tutorials like this? Join now to get FREE UPDATES and a bonus gift…click here >>>

The post How to Create a Podcast with AudioAcrobat (Video Tutorial) appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.