Virtual Event Success

I stumbled upon a report by Edison stating that podcast listening is going up. Aside from the encouraging numbers, the Edison report did one thing right and one thing wrong.

What Edison did right in this report is that it called the people they surveyed for this report podcast consumers. This then incorporates both audio podcast listeners and video podcast viewers.

But what Edison did wrong was focus only on audio podcasting throughout its report. People who read the report will assume that podcasting is ONLY audio.

I hear this so often when I speak to people:

“Oh, I know about podcasting. And video is a great marketing vehicle too, isn’t it?”

When did podcasting become audio only? Podcasting is video too. Heck, I’ve even seen people podcast powerpoint slides and PDFs in iTunes.

So, podcasting is audio AND video. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

So, Amanda Congdon returns to independent video podcasting after her stint on ABCnews.com ended/failed/combusted.

Earlier this year, Amber MacArthur, who was recruited by City-TV, said goodbye to the network after her one year contract ended.

Is there no room for independent podcasters in mainstream television? To say yes based on just 2 examples wouldn’t be fair. However, it appears that the culture of the independent tends not to mesh well in the mainstream world.

For example, in an article in the New York Times today, it appears that ABC producers stopped responding to Amanda’s creative ideas after she was hired by the network in 2006. She was quoted as saying that it was a “slow and messy process.”

In a blog post following her departure from City-TV, the network that hired her in 2006, Amber said:

Rogers (the parent company of City-TV) decided they no longer want to do the show (Webnation), but the offer to stay and do news stories was still on the table. I walked. OK, I ran, and maybe I jumped a little in excitement. I’m just saying. Freedom is a good thing, right? There are more boring details to the departure, but just imagine a bad TV newsroom drama set in Toronto.

I profiled both women in my book, Podcasting for Profit and while their adventure from podcasting to mainstream television has ended, I still believe that using a video podcast to attract the attention of those in mainstream television is a good strategy.

Just be aware that what you’re used to as an independent may be stifled by a culture that’s used to waiting and seeing.

In Thursday’s issue of Make Selling Fun, I’m going to compare the benefits and drawbacks of recorded podcasting, in other words, using archived content from teleclasses, webinars, speeches and presentations to create your podcast content.

To receive this issue and to find out if using a recorded podcast fits your personality, sign up to receive your complimentary issue of Make Selling Fun. Just enter your first name and email address in the boxes below.

In the next 2 issues of Make Selling Fun, I’m going to compare the benefits and drawbacks of live podcasting vs recorded podcasting.

If you’re curious to know the differences between the two and how each can help you in your podcasting goals, sign up to receive your complimentary issue of Make Selling Fun. Just enter your first name and email address in the boxes below.

One of the people I profiled in my book Podcasting for Profit is Terry Fallis. When I interviewed him a year ago, he was using a podcast to share the contents of his newest novel, The Best Laid Plans.

At the time, he couldn’t get a literary agent to represent his title. Many were saying that the topic – Canadian political satire – was just too narrow of a niche to be of any interest to a publisher.

Well, Terry continued to use a podcast to share the contents of his book. People started to take notice. He built an audience and finally self-published his book.

This week, Terry found out that he won a prestigious book award called the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. Part of winning this award was getting $10,000. This on the heels of finally getting a literary agent to represent him.

I’m so proud of Terry on many fronts. But most importantly, I’m tickled pink that he used a podcast to indirectly profit from his passion. I wouldn’t be surprised if Terry donates a portion of his winnings to charity because he’s just that type of guy.

My advice? If every door is slammed in your face, don’t give up. As Terry shows, you can use a podcast to share your passion with the world. It may take a while, but soon people will notice.

There’s a podcasting mailing list out there where I’ve become the topic of conversation. I’m posting my response on my blog since the moderator hasn’t approved 2 replies that I sent through.

I got wind of this when a colleague opened a ticket on my help desk to let me know what was going on. I checked the mailing list and on April 14th, someone started this discussion:

Subject: Leesa Barnes: The First Lady of Podcasting, the Queen of Podcasting?

Who is this person? I stumbled across her blog today where she’s got a bunch of testimonials from people I’ve heard of, like Paul Colligan and Jason Van Orden, and her blog says she is an expert in “podcasting for profit” and she’s written a book on the subject but there are no podcasts on her own blog. Does anyone know this person and can explain where her fame comes from?

There were a few responses. Some said they never heard of me. Others, like Dave Jackson, Larry Wagner and Will Brown all said that they know me and can vouch for my work.

[...]

This week’s issue of Make Selling Fun & Profitable will include some tips on how to write an earth shattering episode title.

Last week, I shared 2 tips in Part 1. Here are the tips I shared in last week’s ezine:

1. Put the episode number at the end.
2. Make sure your episode title contains keywords.

If you want to find out what 2 additional tips I’ll share in Part 2, join the ezine list by filling in the box below. It will be sent to you on Thursday April 10th.

Photo courtesy escortmad79

I’d like to invite you to a 75 minute teleclass that I’m hosting on Wednesday April 16, 2008 @ 8pm EDT.

The teleclass is called 3 Ways Podcasting & Social Media Can Help You Stay Profitable During Any Economic Slow Down. I’m excited about this teleclass and I’d love for you to join me.

This FREE teleclass is designed to do 2 things:

• To give you tips on how you can use podcasting and social media to recession proof your business.
• To share with you a brand new program that I’m launching.

If you’ve been on any of my teleclasses, 95% of the information you get on these calls will help you put it into action right away. To get the call in details, enter your first name and email in the boxes below.

If you’re reading this in your feed reader, you’ll have to go to my blog to enter your deets. Just click on the title of this post so you can enter your info in the fields.