| Issue 107: July 15, 2005 |
Published monthly, on the 15th of each month |
New, Daily Writing News, Views And Tips — Angela Booth's Writing Blog: http://copywriter.typepad.com/copywriter/ Digital-e News (small business): http://www.digital-e.biz/blogger/index.html Pro Write Blog (news about the Pro Write site): |
In this issue:Editorial: Podcasting — Fad Or Trend? Article: Podcasting: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt Your Business |
It's hard to believe, but we're more than halfway through 2005. How's your year been so far? I hope you're working successfully at your creative small business and getting lots of clients, both online and off. The latest Internet trend – I think it's more than a fad at this stage – is podcasting. Podcasts are Internet audio programs, which you can download and play on your computer, your MP3 player, or burn to CD. If you've yet to discover podcasts, download the iTunes player at http://www.apple.com/itunes/. Apple has included the ability to search for, and download podcasts right into its player. You can find podcasts for any topic or interest. If you've got a Web site or blog, consider offering podcasts to your site visitors to build your online audience. We'll be offering podcasts for Pro Write members later in the year. I've been looking for multimedia options for the site, and podcasts offer a way to make the tutorials on Pro Write more accessible, and more fun too. The big benefits of podcasts is that you don’t need to listen to them at your computer, you can take them with you. This month's article will get you up to speed on podcasts. Have a great month. Don't forget that you can get in touch at any time, using the feedback forms on Digital-e and Pro Write. Please let me know what you'd like to see in CSB, and if you have any questions, please ask. Angela P.S. Don't forget to visit our blog at: |
| Podcasting - What You Don't Know Could Hurt Your Business |
Copyright © Steve Humphrey If you've been online recently, I'm sure you've heard about podcasting. You might be wondering "What's in it for me?" Or perhaps "Why should I care about that?" There are many valid reasons for you to get informed about this hot new technology. Think of a podcast as a way to deliver audio content to a very large worldwide audience. The easiest analogy is to think of this technology as giving you the power to create your own online radio program. First, the name is a little misleading. It comes from 'iPod' and "broadcasting". It doesn't mean you need an iPod to get involved. You can listen right on your computer. Podcasting is made possible by RSS (a type of XML computer code). But have no fear! You don't need to know programming at all. RSS is simply a delivery system that allows people to subscribe and stay up to date any time you add a new podcast show. Having an iPod or similar digital MP3 Audio player is not required. You can download audio files to your device and take the audio shows with you. Or you can simply stream the audio and listen to the podcast show on your computer. There is a lot of free podcast audio for you to listen to online. Do a search for "podcast" or "MP3" and you'll see what I mean. What's out there? Music, interviews, seminars, educational shows, technology shows, news, sports...the list of topics is amazing. Some people say that podcasting it's going to replace radio and TV. Not True. However, podcasting is changing the face of online audio and traditional radio. Podcasters already number in the thousands. The number of businesses and individuals making podcasts is growing at a rapid pace. Or search for more of these directories with Google, Yahoo, and other search engines and directories. What about making your own podcast for your own business or website? That's not exactly rocket science. Get some sound recording software (Audacity or WavePad, for example) and a microphone. Then record some MP3 files yourself. All that's left is to get them up on the web somewhere and have them formatted into RSS. Some blogging software and services allow you to attach audio to a blog post. There's even free programs you can use. For example, you could open a Producer account at: You can start with the free account, which lets you store up to 40MB of MP3 files on their server. It's enough for about four half-hour shows. That's an easy and risk-free way to try out podcasting. They also have paid accounts for people who want to do more than experiment with this new media. Now why would you want to podcast? I can think of many good reasons. Here's a few: Put some recordings of your band up and maybe you'll get a recording contract. Sweet! If you did a teleseminar, make it available to the world. Position yourself as an expert and people will take you more seriously. Maybe you know about news items that the local and national media won't pick up. Podcasting gives your story a chance to be heard. Maybe you just want to share something personal with the world. Whatever your reason for wanting to put your music or voice on the web, podcasting is an easy and inexpensive way to do it. So pick up that microphone and record your thoughts. I'm waiting to hear it. Steve Humphrey is an author, programmer & Certified Guerilla Marketer. His new web site makes podcasting technology easy enough for anyone to use. Find, create & listen to podcasts: http://www.podblaze.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/ |
Please note: we're having problems with sp#mmers spoofing our digital-e email addresses. The easiest way to make contact with us is to use the online feedback forms on Digital-e and Pro Write until the situation resolves itself.
Please contact us at: |
Holiday writing profits start now
Looking forward to Christmas? If you're a writer, you're readying your Christmas lists — NOW. No, not your lists of cards and gifts. You're making lists of all the material you'll be publishing over the holidays. You're sending out magazine article proposals, and shorties and essays for holiday/ New Year publication. Most monthly magazines have a six to eight-month lead time, so you're actually a bit late. You need get started NOW, to have the checks rolling in in the coming months. It's your choice of how you'll spend the holiday season. Just think, you could be taking a holiday in the sun or in the snow, plus buying your children and spouse (and yourself) the gifts you want and need. A new big-screen TV. A stack of 50 DVDs. A new notebook computer. If you want to get started NOW writing and selling, I recommend Pro Write's "Write and Sell Shorties — mini essays and articles, product reviews and more". Here's an excerpt:
Start writing today for your best holiday season ever in 2004/2005. Join Pro Write for the " Write and Sell Shorties" and other writing workshops. You CAN write, and sell. Enjoy. See you on Pro Write. |
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