If there is one thing that social media has taught us is building relationships creates a long lasting customer base. These relationships are built on interaction and podcasts give you the opportunity to say what you want directly to your customers. Creating podcasts is a very easy process but creating content that is engaging is another matter entirely. You don’t want the content you create to be used as white noise for falling asleep. It takes a lot of practice and experience to say what you want to say and get it across to your audience.
The Content
When you create a podcast the most important aspect is having high quality content regarding the subject you’re trying to address. Even if you are an expert delivering the content in a way that everyone can understand is not easy. If you are a startup and all your employees have Masters Degree in computer science you have to come to the quick realization that not everyone else does. Before you start geek speak on your podcast translate it into English so ordinary mortals can understand what you are saying.
Charging
One thing that cannot be disputed is information is valuable but you also have to ask yourself how you can charge for something that you have given away for free. You can find the answer by going to a big-box retailer and looking at people buying DVD collections of television series that were offered for free. Granted you’re not providing the same quality or type of entertainment but it is possible to sell something that was once free.
Donation
The vast majority of people have common sense and they understand that creating anything takes time and effort and they don’t mind paying for this effort if the product adds value to their life. Asking donations for your podcasts is one-way to get revenues from the previous recordings. PBS is a great example of how people will seek out and pay for information that is available to them for free. The key of course is quality above anything else.
Mailing List
If you have a mailing list of your podcast listeners you can always contact them to send out feelers to find out their thought about being charged for the podcasts. This is a base of customers that will provide the necessary answers if you decide to proceed with charging for your podcasts.
Send out a questionnaire with price ranges for individual podcasts, package deals and subscriptions. Use the information so you won’t price yourself out of the market.
Packaging The Podcasts
At a certain point in time your podcasts will reach their limit and you have to find a new way of acquiring new customers. Packaging your podcasts as CDs and DVDs will give you a new set of customers previously unavailable. Companies like Disc Makers and CDMasterCopy can provide professional packaging and duplication of your content. Don’t get over zealous and print a million copies. Start with trial runs and increase the amount as the orders come in.
A great way of creating a podcast library is by using all the experts in your company and asking them to create at least one podcast s week on a different subject relating to the core business owner company. Whether you choose to charge for them or is an option you can exercise once you build a large enough audience.
Photo Credits
Luigi Diamanti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
CoolDesign / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
