Datasheet

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Chapter 1: Get ting the Scoop on Podcasting
You can easily glance at a blog and get the gist of a conversation, but an audio
file requires active listening to understand, and it’s quite difficult to skim. In
effect, you’re asking people to make an investment of their time in listening to
you talk, read a story, or play music. You need some compelling text on a Web
page to hook them.
Descriptions of podcast episodes are called show notes, and they’re designed
to quickly showcase or highlight the relevant and pertinent contents of the
audio file itself. A verbatim transcript of your show isn’t a good idea, but we
do recommend more than simply saying “a show about my day.” Chapter 11
discusses ways to create your show notes and offers tips and tricks to give
them some punch. (Refer to Figure 1-4 for an example of what show notes
look like on a Web browser.)
Getting listed in directories
When you have a ready media file and a solid set of show notes, you’re ready
to take your podcast message to the masses. You can get listed on some
directories and podcast-listing sites, such as iTunes, Podcast Alley, Podcast
Pickle, Zune Marketplace, and Digg.com (explained later in this chapter).
Potential listeners visit literally dozens of Web sites as they seek out new
content, and getting yourself listed on as many as possible can help bring in
more new listeners to your program.
A huge listener base is a double-edged sword: More demand for your product
means more of a demand on you and the resources necessary to keep your
podcast up and running. We recommend working on your craft and your skills,
as well as getting a good handle on the personal and technological require-
ments of podcasting, before you embark on a huge marketing campaign. When
you’re ready, Part IV has more details about marketing.
Part IV spends a lot of time talking about the various ways you can attract
more listeners to your show and ways to respond to the ideas and feedback
that your listeners inevitably provide. Many podcasters are surprised at the
sheer volume of comments they receive from their listeners — but when you
consider how personal podcasting is (compared to traditional forms of media
distribution), that’s really not surprising at all.
Catching a Cast with Your
Podcatching Client
So you have the MP3 file, some XML, and accompanying show notes. You’re
all set, but ask yourself, “How do podcasts get from the Web to my computer?”
To access all this great, new content, you need a podcatcher, an application
that looks at various RSS feeds, finds the new stuff, and transfers it from the
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