Stephanie Ciccarelli is the Vice President of Marketing and co-founder of Voices.com , the voice over marketplace. A vocal major and graduate from the Don Wright Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario, Stephanie is able to translate years of classical music training, theory and performance into practical applications within the voice over industry. Specializing in public relation and copy writing, her presence and persona embody the Voices.com brand through partner sites like PodcastingVoiceTalent.com.
With anything, including a podcast, it truly benefits you to be prepared. Whether you are in podcasting for leisure or business you will need a plan.
Planning topics to discuss, possible guest interviews, and the duration of your show in advance will go a long way when producing a professional sounding podcast. Since you'll be recording your podcast in an almost live fashion, you will have the flexibility of going back and re-editing sections before committing your show as "podcast-ready".
Before you started, you'll need:
A web publishing tool (Try Blogger, TypePad, WordPress or MoveableType)
A file hosting service (Try LibSyn for free, AudioBlogger is also a good choice)
Recording software (Try Audacity for Window-based PCs or Garageband on Mac - both are free)
Microphone (Try a good headset microphone or better yet the Marshall Electronics MXL 006 Condenser USB Microphone for only $129)
Identifying The Theme - The Nucleus of Your Podcast
Developing your podcast description is a necessary step in the branding process. When you are brainstorming your podcast description, make sure that it explains the purpose of your show and accentuates the theme of your podcast. This description should be no more than two to three sentences in length.
Selecting a Name - Personify Your Podcast
When selecting a name, be sure that the name of your podcast reflects the content that you are recording. For example, if your subject matter is about travel, your podcast name should be branded to complement your show.
To illustrate, a podcast about travel might be called Globetrotter, Passport Podcast, The Travel Guide, and so on. Make sure that the name you choose is also available as a domain name online. Try to make your name unique but easily understood and recognizable.
Acquiring a Domain Name and Blog Name
Once you have picked a name for your podcast, purchase the domain name for your podcast. This is extremely important because interested listeners and inquisitive searchers will be able to find your podcast in Search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN and others.
As a reward for consistently branding your podcast, search results will display your website and podcast accordingly.
Get Your Podcast on the Internet
As you probably know, once your first podcast is recorded you'll need to upload the MP3 to a web hosting service. By doing so, you'll be making the audio available for download by anyone with Internet access.
Sounds great, doesn't it?
Did you know you had options as to where to upload? Well, now you do and here they are:
Free Podcast Hosting Services
The easiest solution is to host your MP3 at a podcasting hosting service, such as LibSyn.com or HipCast.com. These are wonderful web services that will not only store the MP3 file of your podcast, but also provide you with some statistics including number of downloads.
Regular Web Hosting Services
If you currently have a web host, for example, the company that is already hosting your web site, you can just as easily work with this set-up. You may need your webmaster to assist you with configuring this part, however in short, you'll need to create a new directory on the server called "podcasts" and upload the MP3 file to that directory using FTP, short for File Transfer Protocol, which is the standard means of adding new files to a website.
Once you have these two steps accomplished your small business podcast is up and running.
Planning topics to discuss, possible guest interviews, and the duration of your show in advance will go a long way when producing a professional sounding podcast. Since you'll be recording your podcast in an almost live fashion, you will have the flexibility of going back and re-editing sections before committing your show as "podcast-ready".
Before you started, you'll need:
A web publishing tool (Try Blogger, TypePad, WordPress or MoveableType)
A file hosting service (Try LibSyn for free, AudioBlogger is also a good choice)
Recording software (Try Audacity for Window-based PCs or Garageband on Mac - both are free)
Microphone (Try a good headset microphone or better yet the Marshall Electronics MXL 006 Condenser USB Microphone for only $129)
Identifying The Theme - The Nucleus of Your Podcast
Developing your podcast description is a necessary step in the branding process. When you are brainstorming your podcast description, make sure that it explains the purpose of your show and accentuates the theme of your podcast. This description should be no more than two to three sentences in length.
Selecting a Name - Personify Your Podcast
When selecting a name, be sure that the name of your podcast reflects the content that you are recording. For example, if your subject matter is about travel, your podcast name should be branded to complement your show.
To illustrate, a podcast about travel might be called Globetrotter, Passport Podcast, The Travel Guide, and so on. Make sure that the name you choose is also available as a domain name online. Try to make your name unique but easily understood and recognizable.
Acquiring a Domain Name and Blog Name
Once you have picked a name for your podcast, purchase the domain name for your podcast. This is extremely important because interested listeners and inquisitive searchers will be able to find your podcast in Search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN and others.
As a reward for consistently branding your podcast, search results will display your website and podcast accordingly.
Get Your Podcast on the Internet
As you probably know, once your first podcast is recorded you'll need to upload the MP3 to a web hosting service. By doing so, you'll be making the audio available for download by anyone with Internet access.
Sounds great, doesn't it?
Did you know you had options as to where to upload? Well, now you do and here they are:
Free Podcast Hosting Services
The easiest solution is to host your MP3 at a podcasting hosting service, such as LibSyn.com or HipCast.com. These are wonderful web services that will not only store the MP3 file of your podcast, but also provide you with some statistics including number of downloads.
Regular Web Hosting Services
If you currently have a web host, for example, the company that is already hosting your web site, you can just as easily work with this set-up. You may need your webmaster to assist you with configuring this part, however in short, you'll need to create a new directory on the server called "podcasts" and upload the MP3 file to that directory using FTP, short for File Transfer Protocol, which is the standard means of adding new files to a website.
Once you have these two steps accomplished your small business podcast is up and running.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Basic Podcasting for Small Business
- Getting Your Customer Grabbing Small Business Podcast Produced & Published Quickly
- How To Successfully Market Your Small Business On The Internet
- Getting noticed on the Internet - Digital Marketing for Small Business
- All Grown Up: Why your Small Business Needs a Web Solution not a Website
- 5 Great Tools From The Small Business Administration
- 5 Things Howard Stern Can Teach You About Small Business Marketing
- 2008 PR Guide for Small Business-the 9 Things you Must Do This Year to Make Money
Would you reveal first the #1 mistake that many beginners do?
By: Asem Eltaher | 17/12/2009In our down economy, we all love the idea of making money online, and the truth is that it can be done providing that you adopt the top home based internet business ideas.
Holiday eBay Selling Ideas
By: Vickie Sayce | 17/12/2009The holidays are a great time to sell on eBay. That is because it is very busy during this time and people are looking for last minute holiday gifts. Preparing for the upcoming holiday shopping rush and offering the right gifts is key to tapping into a huge revenue stream during this time.
You Too Can Learn The Ten Ways To Pick Winning Affiliate Marketing Programs
By: Carl Davidson | 17/12/2009How to choose the best affiliate marketing programs. Ten methods that separate the winners from the losers and help you make money on line with affiliate marketing programs.
How to Enjoy the Best Social Networking Site- Twitter
By: Stacey Zimmerman | 16/12/2009As of today, Twitter is considered as the best social networking site due to its simplicity and applications. As it gradually gains its popularity, more twitter applications are added in it.
Things To Think About When Searching For Online Games
By: user17 | 16/12/2009If you are looking for fun online games there are a few things you might want to think about. This is because you may not want to spend time on a game that is not fun or that you are finding frustrating.
Article Marketing: 7 Tips for an Effective Resource Box
By: Steve Shaw | 16/12/2009Why would you pass up the opportunity to reap the full rewards of article marketing by just slapping together any old resource box (author bio) at the last minute? Your resource box is the one place where you can try to lure readers to your website. By taking some extra effort on the front end, you will be rewarded later on. This article teaches 7 tips for crafting an effective resource box.
10 Tips For Using Keywords In Your Article Submissions
By: Steve Shaw | 16/12/2009This article teaches 10 tips for using keywords in your articles. If you learn to write articles for your keyword terms in this manner, you'll be working towards dominating your niche in Google and the other search engines. Also, the more content you have out there for your keywords, the more likely your articles will show up in searches. Use these tips to create more powerful articles.
How Do You Make Money Online If Everything Is Free?
By: Jeff Schuman | 16/12/2009One of the biggest problems Internet marketers face is and getting people to pull out their credit card. The way many of them get around this is offering things for free in hopes of at least getting the website visitor to subscribe to their mailing list.
Voice Actors for Your Audiobook - Where to Start?
By: Stephanie Ciccarelli | 07/10/2008 | BusinessAs good as Google and their contemporaries are for finding generic subject matter, they are no match for finding niche search queries or specific answers to your questions about narrators, voice-overs and voice actors. This article reveals a better approach...
Improve Social Marketing With Custom Audio and Voice Overs
By: Stephanie Ciccarelli | 25/09/2008 | InternetYou've got a visual presence, are on all of the social networking sites and send messages like crazy but you're finding that the human element, although seemingly everywhere you look, is oddly... missing. Here's what you need to do...
5 Problems Solved Quickly by Using Voice Overs, to Do Slide Shows
By: Stephanie Ciccarelli | 20/09/2008 | InternetThere are literally thousands of people out there who do this for a living so you won't have any trouble locating a professional voice talent.
How to Get Started in Audiobook Publishing - a Step-by-step Guide
By: Stephanie Ciccarelli | 19/09/2008 | InternetRecent studies show that audiobooks are a quickly expanding market. In fact, the number of audiobooks recorded yearly is forecast to increase by 500% over the next four years. But how do you get into this lucrative market? By becoming an Audiobook Publisher...This article will help you get atarted. For more info on getting started in Audiobook Publishing, or finding great Audiobook narrators, visit http://www.AudiobookVoiceTalent.com
How to Build Trust & Increase Conversions by Using Voice Overs on Your Sales & Landing Pages
By: Stephanie Ciccarelli | 07/09/2008 | InternetWhat if you could up the ante and reach those prospects on a heightened, more emotional level? You can! How? Use surprisingly affordable professional voice overs on the landing page or sales page. Adding a voice over isn't just another bell or whistle to your website, it is an ingeniously persuasive method of grabbing a browsers attention and literally overpowering the conversation in their head.
Getting Your Customer Grabbing Small Business Podcast Produced & Published Quickly
By: Stephanie Ciccarelli | 05/09/2008 | InternetPlanning topics to discuss, possible guest interviews, and deciding on the duration of your show in advance will go a long way when producing a professional sounding small biz podcast.
Post a Voice Over Job Quickly and Find the Right Voice
By: Stephanie Ciccarelli | 04/09/2008 | InternetAttracting the right voice talents to your job postings, isn't a secret, but more of a valuable insight that will save you time, money, and precious key strokes.