|
Secrets to Success
Deborah Cole Micek
and John-Paul Micek
|
Now you can auto-cast your posts
Like the Parthenon, your new-media marketing strategy has major and minor pillars (or it should). The four main pillars are: blogs, podcasts, social networks, and online video. Each of these has numerous supporting pillars as well.
The point is, if you fell for the hype that you can throw up a blog for your business and you're going to gather a tribe of raving fans -- you probably already realize that you're in for major disappointment. However, when you create a new-media marketing strategy using multiple pillars, you've got stability; and enough multiple channels to gather a tribe on your front lawn.
Audio Podcasting -- essentially creating your own online radio station -- is a main pillar for two reasons:
» The practical: People don't want to sit in front of their computers all day.
» The psychological: People prefer listening instead of reading or watching. Fail to provide them the channel they prefer and you'll fail to keep them around.
If you want to succeed in maximizing the reach of your message without creating a persona and shtick for your podcast -- you can auto-podcast. It's simple and completely painless. All you need is the RSS feed from your business blog and one of the growing number of auto-podcast services available on the Web. Text-to-speech technology instantly turns your blog into an audio podcast.
Here are the top three auto-podcasting sites in order of my preference, practical use, and page rank (popularity). All three have ample options without making things overwhelming and have surprisingly good computer-generated voices.
» www.ReadSpeaker.com
» www.talkr.com
» www.odiogo.com
Making your auto-podcasts as user-friendly as possible does require a few simple tactics. Here are some pointers:
» Set your RSS feed to display full text. The auto-podcast services will only convert the content that is in your RSS feed. If you only publish summaries in your feed, that's all that will be converted for your listeners.
» Make sure all your images have alternate text. If not, the text-to-speech voice will just say "image" instead of "Susie after the surgery," which, if your blog is about cosmetic surgery, has a much better chance of drawing the listener back to your site.
» Include that all important Author's Tag. It should include who you are, what you can do for the listener, and how they can get a special gift from you (this last point is for list-building).
Podcasts created with live interaction -- the ones built on persona and shtick -- will always be more persuasive. But when that's not practical, auto-podcasting is the next best thing. It at least gives you another pillar for a new-media success story.
John-Paul Micek is the lead business coach at RPM Success Group Inc. Reach him at
JPM@RPMsuccess.com or toll-free at (888) 334-8151.
Deborah Cole Micek, chief executive officer of RPM Success Group, is a business success coach and life strategist. Reach her at
DCM@RPMsuccess.com or toll-free at (888) 334-8151.