Podonomics

Anyone who knows me understands that I’m a bit obsessed with science fiction. For the longest time, no sci fi show could hold a candle to the Star Trek series. My ultimate favourite is The Next Generation, followed by Enterprise (there’s something about that Scott Bakula; he can quantum leap me any day). Voyager and Deep Space 9 fall far down on my list, in that order. And I watch The Original Series only when I need a good laugh and a good dose of cheese.

So, imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon Battlestar Galactica (circa 2005) and fell in love. I mean, obsessively in love.

When I discovered that there will be webisodes of Battlestar Galactica that will begin airing on The Sci Fi Channel later this summer, I almost screamed.

And what a terribly good idea. Any TV show that wants to keep their fans engaged and interested during the off season should follow BG’s lead. Actually, this is a wonderful idea for anyone who wants to find an inexpensive way to communicate with your target market using the power of video podcasting.

Do you think Fox will use this approach and bring back Arrested Development?

Technorati Tags: star trek, sci-fi, Science Fiction, TV, video podcasting, battlestar galactica, arrested development, TV Shows, podcasting

I’m hearing quite a number of podcasting horror stories. Companies, entrepreneurs and individuals who have created their own podcasts and are now abandoning it due to poor quality, unmet expectations and generally just a bad experience.

The problem that I see is that these companies did not bring in a podcasting expert, consultant, strategist to advise them on how to develop a strong podcasting strategy. Instead, through unbridled enthusiasm, these companies and individuals think that all you need to do is record your voice, slap in some music and voila! A podcast.

I’ll keep the names of the unfortunate a secret, but here’s what I’m hearing:

• A conference who had another “podcasting” company record all their panels and sessions, only to get such poor quality with their podcasts that they’re practically un-usable.
• An entrepreneur who thought that having a voice talent read articles in their podcasts only to have no one subscribe after 3-months (that’s unheard of).
• A big name company who had such negative feedback from their customers about the poor quality of their podcasts that the company is now scrambling trying to protect its brand.
• A coaching podcast that have seen their subscribers decrease steadily over the past few weeks due to poor sound because they’re using a phone recording service to record their podcasts.

If you’re thinking about podcasting, please, please, please, contact me first. I’ve been engrossed in this podcasting thing for close to 2-years now and I get it. I study, breathe, research and network in the podcasting space and I know what you don’t.

I’ll give you a 20-point assessment to determine if podcasting is right for you. Then, we’ll go through a 10-page document to help you determine how to craft a podcast that will tie in with your marketing strategy. Lastly, I’ll give you the tools to start recording your podcast. Then, you let my company do the rest.

I beg you, don’t do this alone. I can help you out with a no-fee session and I can shave so much time off your podcasting schedule. I’d rather you consult with me first than for you to embark on this podcasting journey all by your lonesome, then totally abandon the tool because of a bad experience.

Let me be your first. Email me at leesa [dot] barnes [at] gmail [dot] com.

Technorati Tags: podcasting

In July, Sprint is celebrating National Cell Phone Courtesy Month with the release of podcast. This podcast will help cell phone users brush up on their wireless phone manners, things like talking way too loud on a crowded bus, letting your ring tone play out like a song on the radio and (don’t you hate this one) remembering to turn your cellphone to vibrate while at the theatres or in a meeting.

So, here’s yet another corporation using a podcast to convey useful information to their customers instead of using it as an infomercial for their products and services. What a clever idea.

Listen to the podcast by clicking here.

I like when people at conferences include pictures and commentary in their blog while the event is happening.

BloggerCon 2006 is no different. ZDNet is blogging from the event and it’s interesting to see what type of conversations are taking place and what kinds of people are attending.

I also like that BloggerCon is podcasting from the event right away. Most conferences who podcast release them weeks, even months after the event is over. And when they do release them, it’s about 10 of them all at once. So, I like the fact that BloggerCon is doing them as soon as each session is over.

However, podcasting the entire session and giving it away for free is the wrong approach. Many conferences do this and unfortunately, BloggerCon is no exception.

Giving away unique content in a podcast in its entirety will dilute the importance of your conference. Attendance numbers will suffer because attendees will soon figure out that they can save alot of money just waiting for the podcasts at home. Why pay $350 for a 2-day pass, $700 for a plane ticket and $200 a night in a hotel when they can experience the conference in real-time from the comforts of home?

Instead, treat the podcasts as a lead-generating tool that guide people to purchase the full sessions on CD for a fee. Yes folks, I mean make money. That’s how you monetize a podcast. You repurpose existing content by offering a small snippet in the podcast. Tease the listeners. Then, guide them to your website where the recording is available for sale.

Attendance numbers don’t suffer (actually they should increase for the following year), you add another income stream to your bottom line and you still get to use a cool piece of technology to market your conference throughout the year.

Technorati Tags: bloggercon, podcast monetization

I’m happy to announce that I was instrumental in the birth of yet another podcast. The company is Last Minute Training and they offer the Greater Toronto Area’s premier training suppliers with an opportunity to sell their excess participant capacity on a last minute, discount basis to our members.

Last Minute Training is still building its inventory of training products and wants to use a more innovative approach of getting the word out about its new business.

The president, Louis Trahan, was open to using a podcast and blog as an inexpensive way to build awareness of his brand, but had spent a few frustrating weeks trying to put a strategy together.

I was introduced to him through a colleague of mine and since he picks up things quickly, he was able to put his podcasting strategy together based on my quick tutorial. I’m happy to say that it took only a few days and he finally launched his first podcast yesterday.

Here’s what Louis had to say:

“Leesa, thanks so much for your help! One meeting with you and I was farther ahead than I was after 2 months of researching. I am happy to say that less than two weeks after our meeting I have launched my first podcast and it’s getting great reviews! I look forward to working more with you in the future.”

They had a professional voice-over artist at Audio’connell record a snappy intro, then read an article that provides tips to employers. The podcast is no longer than 5-minutes and provides a call to action at the end.

I’ll report on the results of this approach in about 3-months. I’m not sure how this will be received by listeners as I’ve always pushed an interview format with podcasting, however, I’m anxious to see how this will all play out for Last Minute Training.

Way to go, Louis. And if you have listened to the Last Minute Training podcast, do provide your comments below.