So I’ve been doing the Webside Chats podcast for awhile now. I thought I’d write and let everyone know how having a new podcast has been going as a content and traffic strategy for Friday Traffic Report.
Webside Chats for Content
The response from readers has been positive, but a little lighter than I expected. My feeling is that people are listening but forgetting to comment on individual chats. Also, people are downloading them from the RSS feed and not necessarily listening with the player on the individual chat posts all the time.
The chats in total have been downloaded over 2000 times since I started. This means people have grabbed them with their “pod catchers” and put them on their iPods or phones to listen to them. That’s a great sign of interest so far.
Webside Chats for Traffic
The traffic I’ve been able to isolate as being generated by Webside Chats is encouraging. It is definitely traffic I’d have missed out on without the podcast, but maybe not for the reason you are thinking.
Being able to interview people who fans search for gives me new keywords to score for in the engines. Darren Rowse isn’t just a great guy, he’s also a great keyword.
People looking specifically for content they can consume as a podcast now have ways to get it through me. Where before they’d have to come to Friday Traffic Report to read, they now have options to listen to great marketing interviews on the plane, on the way to work, or while working out.
When you do a good interview, your interviewees link to you. I’d never gotten a link from ProBlogger other than through comments before I interviewed Darren for Webside Chats. The links from high traffic sites will be helping in the search engines as well as driving traffic directly to the site.
Has Webside Chats Been Worth It?
From a content standpoint: absolutely.
The experts and web celebs provide great content that is insightful and in demand for internet marketers and bloggers.
From a traffic standpoint: absolutely.
The show’s guests link back and send traffic, making the podcast more and more popular as I put up new episodes. Those links help in Google as well and they are the highest quality links you can get on the web today because they are “in content” links and not just blog comments or blog roll links.
Other Benefits of Podcasting
- Your blog becomes a multi-media experience with more to offer readers and, now, listeners.
- You get to place your podcast RSS feed in podcast directories and on your social site profiles. You can expose your site, yourself, and your content to whole new channels where new, targeted followers can be reached.
- You ramp up your credibility as a content provider and expert considerably. Everyone can write a post. Hardly anyone takes the time and effort to put together a good audio or video podcast with regularity. Your readers will immediately think more of you and your blog for having a regular podcast because it is so different than 99% of the content providers in every niche.
- With a podcast you can network with bigger and bigger “celebrities” in your niche who will respond to you and want to take part in your show. This not only gives you content most others in your niche cannot or will not go after, but it puts you in the “Larry King” position in your niche. People start contacting you to be on the show.
- By having a vehicle through which to network effectively with the top people in your niche, you benefit by having conversations that can lead to joint ventures and other connections with the people your interviewees know.
We are contacting people constantly for future shows. We aren’t limiting ourselves to the “usual suspects” in our niche and are looking at experts and successful people who are not only web celebrities, but who are known and respected offline as well. I think people will be surprised at who we get to be on future shows.
Here’s a Recap for Webside Chats Thus Far
- John Biggs, CrunchGear.com
- Andy Beal, MarketingPilgrim.com
- Darren Rowse, Problogger.net
- Michel Fortin, MichelFortin.com
- Maria Reyes-McDavis, WebSuccessDiva.com
- Jim Stroud, TheRecruitersLounge.com
- Dan Shawbel, Personal Branding Magazine
- Neil Patel, CrazyEgg.com, KissMetrics.com
- Scott Bradley, NetworkingEffectively.com
- Eve Tahmincioglu, CareerDiva.net and MSNBC
- Heather Armstrong, Dooce.com
- Nathan Anderson, SEOClub.com
- Sylvie Fortin, WorkaholicsforHire.com
That’s many hours of wisdom from some seriously wise people so far. I detail a lot more about podcasting inside Social Power Linking.
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Jack,
I have left several comments, or compliments on your exceptional webside chat podcasts. The knowledge and wisdom shared in your webside chat series of podcasts has been very helpful to me and I have begun to look forward to your next episodes week after week!
I know you make it look easy but i’m sure there is a lot of hard preparation that goes on behind the scenes calling people up, making appointments, laying out your format, questions, etc.
-Tim
Tim Starks last blog post..Have You Been Chromed?
Hi Jack
I’ve been thinking about podcasting recently, I’ve read 5 books in the past couple of months on the subject and your ‘how to podcast’ post has been extremely helpful to me. The thing is, I’m not convinced that the people in my niche would be interested in it and I don’t want to waste my time. I don’t seem to have enough hours in the day as it is and this would just add to my never ending ‘to-do’ list. If I new that it would impact my bottom line and make me appear to be the ‘go to guy’ for my niche then I would dive right in. I like what you said about it giving you new keywords to score for in the search engines, I never would have thought of that. Perhaps I should just give it a go and see what happens. My niche is highly social which is good, it’s not like I’m selling paperclips or something. I suppose I’m just a bit nervous about taking that first step into the podcasting arena.
John O’Hara
United Kingdom
Tribute Bandss last blog post..Duffy Tribute Acts: Mimi Croft
Podcasting is innovative, progressive, aggressive and suggestive.
An internet radio show enables the ‘Larry King of Social Marketing’ to position himself as the innovative and progressive leader he is.
His online audio presence enables him to demonstrate (ever notice the first five letters spell - demon?) how aggressive he is with respect to the competition.
Having a website is passive. Developing a website or blog with audio is active. Promoting that website and building traffic is aggressive.
Having an online audio presence enables an individual to influence or suggest action to be taken by those who listen, and actually hear, the message.
Every activist organization should have an internet audio presence. Check out oglhaiti.com to see how one non-profit group in Miami is using BlogTalkRadio to expand the audience for it’s ‘Plant a Tree in Haiti’ campaign.
The switchboard is controlled in Miami. The host, Nadine Patrice, calls in on a cellular phone, this week from St. Augustine, Florida. Her guests call in from various cities. The 6 September show includes Gabrielle Vincent who called in from the only ‘cyber cafe’ in Cap Haitian, Haiti. Are you thinking Starbucks? Well, it’s different in Haiti. There is one computer and two phone lines, one of which doesn’t work. Nine people are waiting to use the phone, but they allow Gabrielle as much time as she needs because she is talking to someone who might be able to help them. Cap Haitian has not had electricity for 14 days. Fuel is running low. Hope is washing away with the topsoil. Less than one percent of Haiti’s tree cover still stands.
Yet, Gabrielle has hope that EcoAlert with Nadine Patrice, an internet radio program, will reach the ears of someone in a position to help. Podcastings is social media as its best. More people should try it.
Thanks Jack, for continuing to ‘demonstrate’ how to use the internet effectively.
Ken English
Great example Ken! Thanks!
John,
How about interviewing tribute bands? In the states, and probably there too, we have “Rock Line” where the interviewer has tons of rockers on his show which airs every week on regular radio.
Right there is your interesting content. Seems like you could connect with tons of tribute bands and offer them exposure, which they will take gladly, in exchange for some time on the phone.
Your niche is primed for a podcast man.
That’s a fantastic idea Jack!
None of my competitors are doing this, they’ve probably never even thought about it. It’s the perfect time to do it then obviously. I’m going to start working on it this week.
Thanks for your input as always!
John O’Hara
United Kingdom
Tribute Bandss last blog post..Duffy Tribute Acts: Mimi Croft
Podcasting is essentially the start of a new media content revolution that is fueling people to distribute their ideas.It has already begun to impact the journalism, education and entertainment worlds by allowing anyone to create and distribute news and media.
Tom At The Home Business Archives last blog post..How To Add YouTube Video To Your Blog Posts
Jack,
I know you said last week that you were working on it, in reference to my comment about getting all your podcasts on iTunes, but allow me to comment some more.
1) I grab 99% of my podcasts daily on iTunes, stick them on a microSD card, and stick that in my phone.
2) Sometimes I might go looking directly on blogtalkradio.com cause I know you’re on there, but I’ve never been able to figure out their system. It’s just hard to find their download links; don’t they realize not everyone wants listen directly on their site? (I sometimes find the links) And what’s with their auto-starting podcasts? How rude. PLUS, I can’t find any of these Webside chats you’re always referencing…on there or on iTunes.
3) Now, all those big name interviews got me salivating because I’ve been dying for good podcast content. I need to learn something!!! I’m getting tired of the same old stuff in the 20 or 30 other podcasts I listen to (general commentary on the world of the Internet & tiny SEO references betwixt incessant silly blabber filler), so I had to be relentless. All your links just pointed to pages where I could only listen to the interviews embedded in your page…but I can’t do that on the road, I need mobility. (well, I could use my EVDO Aircard and stream onto my laptop while driving, but why?) Finally, I happened to notice something on your site about “Podango”.
YES!!! Finally, success! I found download links!! I can now download all those interviews.
I just wanted to let you get a new perspective on different listener habits.
Hey Jack,
another great post, and a further kick in the posterior to remind me that I NEED to get going doing this.
In a way, it works out well, because it fits perfectly into my plans to promote a new site I am going live with this year. I can interview folks for my new site, and given it will give them free exposure, I can 99.999999999999% guarantee it will appeal to almost all of them, giving me a size 12 in the door!
Thanks for the prompt man.
Also, John O’Hara - go for it! You have an AWESOME opportunity here to build some SERIOUS market place recognition for yourself here. If I were playing in your market, I would be salivating at the prospect of what you could achieve with this!
Eran
Eran Mallochs last blog post..Some Google AdWords Best Practises