Over the past few weeks, I have been listening to the podcast of a woman who bills herself as a business coach and internet marketing pro. I kept listening to her show, hoping that it wouldn’t be the same train wreck week after week. Hoping that someone who calls herself an internet marketing expert would consult with someone for an hour or two on how to deliver a top-notch podcast. Good thing I didn’t hold my breath.
She violated the following five cardinal rules of podcasting…
1) Don’t be chatty Cathy (or Carl). If you have this tendency…curb it. The ideal length for a podcast is 12 to 15 minutes. If you are using the podcast format for an internet radio show, you can go as long as 50 minutes. But whatever you do, don’t call it a podcast and offer 50 minutes of content. That’s a tell-tale sign of an amateur!
2) Be relevant. This is BUSINESS! It’s OK to interject with a personal note or two, if that’s your style, but resist the temptation to share your personal business with your audience…unless, of course, that’s the theme of your show. In short: Keep it professional.
3) Bookend the podcast audio with a male (or female) voice. There’s a reason that the nightly news is one male and one female anchor (usually). I cannot tell you how absolutely boring it is to listen to one person’s voice for 15 to 50 minutes straight. Have a male/female introduce your podcast (the intro), its “segments” and the closing (the outro). And, for goodness sakes, pay the $40/hour and get voice-over talent.
4) Let guests be guests. Don’t have the guest segment take up the entire podcast. Don’t have a guest on more than once per month. That’s not a guest, that’s a co-host! People tune in to hear YOU: YOUR opinions and YOUR recommendations. If they wanted to hear someone else, they’d tune in to a different show. Now, if the format of your show is guest interviews, that’s great, but if you started the podcast to build your platform or to showcase your expertise, you’re certainly not achieving those goals by having guests on every week! Ya think?
5) Drop the expense excuse. A good podcast doesn’t have to be professionally mixed and remastered. This is not Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”–just make it professional. As my Aunt Lucy used to say, “You might not have a lot of dresses, but if the ones you have are cleaned and pressed, no one will notice.”
And, don’t worry…I’ve already contacted Ms. Biz Coach to give her some feedback.
This entry was posted on Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 11:42 pm and is filed under Podcasting, Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.7 Responses to “The Five Cardinal Rules of Podcasting”
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March 4th, 2008 at 11:56 am
A great list of things to keep in mind on podcasts for sure. As we all discover more and more content it is critical to stand out from the masses and your list is a great starting point.
March 4th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
@C.C.:
Thanks for reading and writing!
I’m glad the list is helpful.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Lena, I think you have some great ideas.
The suggestions I share with my podcasting clients are:
1) Don’t read a script. Write an outline about your subject and then talk about it naturally, as if you were talking to a client. Be yourself and let your personality shine through.
2) Talk about your subject without digressing, making sure you are giving at least one practical piece of instruction or information that people can put to use. Then, when you have finished your information, sit down and shut up.
3) Edit your content. Take out the ums, uhs, ahs, unfinished sentences, stuttering, etc. Take out anything that is distracting.
4) Mix some music into the beginning and ending to make it sound more professional. If you need someone to do it for you to get it right, it’s worth it.
5) Make sure you put your name and a link back to your business and podcast in every post. When you syndicate your content onto multiple podcast directories, this gives you multiple inbound links.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Since I am an audience member of podcasts, the title about “cardinal rules of podcasting” caught my attention.
Being relevant is very important. If the conversation strays or is not on topic I feel mislead.
I think your other four “cardinal rules” are more of your preference. They are not as noticeable to me. However, I appreciate your expertise.
I sent the link to this post to Penny Haynes of http://www.pennyhaynes.com/ and Melanie O’Kane of http://www.melanieokane.com/ NOT because they do not adhere to the “cardinal rules of podcasting” but because they are experts in their field. I also thought they might like to have you as a guest!
March 4th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
@TheDataDigger:
Thanks for reading and commenting.
You’re might be right about the other 4 rules, but that’s the whole point of a blog, yes, it is just one person’s opinion/preference – albeit an expert one
Thank you for sharing the post link with Melanie and Penny. I appreciate that!
March 4th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
@Penny:
I absolutely agree with all your points – especially #2.
I find that editing the content could be good or bad depending on the podcast, but if someone isn’t a good speaker and they tend to sound like Ted Turner (have you *ever* heard him speak??), then editing is totally worth the extra expense.
Thanks for reading and writing!
March 14th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Good work on this. All your points are correct. Sometimes we take too much time upfront on blabber…but our listeners always let us know a little of that is OK, but not much.
Tell stories….that’s another coaching point. That’s how people relate to you…thru stories…not through reporting.