Are you interested in creating an audio blog or podcast? Do you want to get more visibility for your content? Then Kate Erikson’s Social Media Marketing World 2017 presentation was the presentation to sit in on. In this presentation, Kate explained how you can go from a blogger to podcaster by repurposing your content.

I have been listening to Kate Erickson for some time. Kate’s Take is a podcast about productivity and systems.

Audio Blog

Erickson began her presentation by talking about why you would consider an audio blog or podcast. Her reasons were:

• Repurpose existing content
• Connect with the audience
• Share your Authority and credibility
• Personal and professional growth

She also addressed common reasons why people did not start audio blog or podcast. Those reasons include some people don’t like to hear their own voice, their fear of failure, and lack of confidence.

Here is some equipment that she recommended?for podcasting:

• A computer
• Internet connection
• Microphone and earbuds
• Audio editing software such as Audacity
• An audio media host such as Libsyn

Steps for getting started include:

• Determine what your focus is going to be
• Identify the format of your podcast
• Identify the frequency
• Determine how you’re going to break down your podcast
• Record your podcast

Focus

When determining your focus for your podcast series, you need to think about the number one thing that you want listeners to walk away with. What is the main purpose of your podcast? Your episodes should be centered around this focus.

Format

When deciding on the format of your audio blog, you’re really deciding whether you are going to read your podcast word for word, if you’re going to be more impromptu, or if you’re going to work from an outline. You can use a combination of all three of these.

By having a script or an outline, you can batch content and record more than one session at a time. Kate, for example, batches a whole season of content to be released one episode at a time.

Erickson also recommends writing out your intro, this helps let listeners know what to expect.

Frequency

Consistency is the key. When deciding on frequency, you’re deciding upon the number of episodes that you’re going to release each week and which days of the week that you’re going to release it on. Listeners like to have a consistent release of a podcast; something that they can plan on.

Breakdown

To transition from a blog to a podcast, Erickson recommended catalog your content so you know what you have. Once you have cataloged your content, you can organize it by categories. With these categories, you can record podcast series or group a set of podcasts together.

Erickson recommended developing a content calendar so you can determine what your recording days are going to be. This will help with consistency.

Increasing Listenership

Erickson offered a number of suggestions for increasing listenership. Some of these recommendations include leveraging all your social media platforms, including calls to action, and delivering quality content. You want to use your blog, and social media tools like Facebook and Twitter to get the word out about your audio blog.

In your podcast, she recommended including a strong call the action both in the intro and outro. You want to encourage people to subscribe to your podcast.

Another way to increase listenership is by consistently delivering value. Really, that is the bottom line. If you’re not delivering something that others can benefit from, then they won’t follow you.

She also stressed that when you start out you’re not going to be great. You will just have to keep getting feedback and keep challenging yourself for improvement. This all takes time.

Are you interested in another way to distribute your content? Podcasting may just be a great way to do it for your business. If you are interested in exploring this idea, please contact me.