Learn how to podcast and blog to to establish thought leadership, extend your brand and engage your target market

Over the weekend Podango sent out an email to their users stating that the official switch of the GigaVox system to their own servers was going to take place. Sadly, the notice came about 24 hours before the switch. I’d hoped to have time to offer more tips and guidance on the matter BEFORE the switch, but time didn’t allow. Here are a few pointers for those of you who still have questions or just haven’t gotten around to making the necessary changes.

The server switch is part of the acquisition of the Gigavox Audio Lite technology by Podango. It affects anyone who has been using the GigaVox Audio Lite system (now Podango Show Builder Lite) to publish their podcast. Until you make these changes, none of your GigaVox Audio/Podango Show Builder Lite published episodes will download or play.

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Have you ever played a podcast and it comes out sounding like a chipmunk (or the devil) recorded it? Fortunately the explanation for this is easy and so is the fix. The problem lies in the sample rate the audio file was recorded and saved at.

When you record digital audio (whether for a video or audio podcast) there

Kent Nichols, of the very popular and successful Ask a Ninja video podcast, has started a blog. I’d like to add some additional insights to his first post which brings up an important point

How to Use a Mixer to Streamline Your Workflow and Increase Production Quality

The Podcast Answer Man, Cliff Ravenscraft, posted this handy video that walks through the mixer setup he uses for recording podcasts. There are three solid things you can learn from this video: (more…)

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Microsoft has released the next generation of Zune portable media players as well as a new version of the Zune Marketplace.

Both adopt podcasting and bring significant features for podcast publishers and listeners. This will bring a wave of new listeners into the space. If you want to take advantage of this, you need to be do a few things.

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The Association for Downloadable Media is getting close to having their official board elections

Yesterday, Chris Penn posted an open letter to apple asking them to add podcasts to the iTunes WiFi Music Store. As of writing this, 77 people have signed the post in the comments and 802 people have Dugg it. It’s currently on the front page of Digg.

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A much-needed alternative to the iTunes one-click podcast subscription will be available soon. This comes with the upcoming release of the Zune 2 software and line of players in mid-November.

I don’t have anything against iTunes and the iPod (I use them myself). I just don’t like the fact that it has been the only seamless directory/podcatcher/player combo for the last two years. Finally another viable option is entering the field.

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Sometimes a simple, visual explanation of podcasting comes in handy. I extracted the most successful explanations from my speaking engagements and created a short video (8m11s) that can be freely used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Feel free to share it with colleagues, friends or even your grandma. Post it to your site or blog if it will come in handy. You can get it from YouTube here or from Revver here.

• There seems to be a natural audience level for each show. The listenership races up to a plateau and then sees a gradual growth that is similar across the network.
• Your transcripts can be a product that is sold or licensed.
• Making money is more than advertising in your podcast. For example, her book is a form of moneizing the podcast.
• She has a set format for the network: one host, scripted, short. People know what to expect.
• She owns the brand. Quick and Dirty Tips is the brand.
• Podcasters are paid. In general she pays a base rate plus additional compensation based on the success of the show.
• Each show promotes another show on the network at the end of the episode. The network cross-promotes itself.
• The network offers resources such as sound production and script editing. The host records the raw content, the rest is taken care of.
• Building a brand has opened doors for her to make money speaking, consulting and writing books.
• 100,000 downloads a month is a good level for running a profitable business.