Nine More Reasons…

  • 2. Podcasting and book publishing are a perfect match

Podcasting appeals to a deep-seated human curiosity about someone else’s story. In other words, exactly the sort of material that publishers specialize in producing.

Unlike other industries, publishers are uniquely well-placed to capitalize on that instinct. That’s because they have ready access to one of the essential requirements for successful podcasting: varied high-quality content. Authors are, after all, interesting, articulate people with stories to tell. Podcasting is the perfect platform for whetting readers’ appetites and making them keen to know what happens next.

So podcasting enables the person who is the most passionate advocate for the book to get the message across.

  • 3. Podcasting is exploding

Here’s how the Guardian summed it up in November 2007:

‘Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular. The latest Rajar figures showed that 2.7 million adults [in the UK] listened to podcasts on their MP3 players between April and June 2007, representing 18.3% of all MP3 owners and an impressive rise of 40% from 1.9 million during the same quarter of 2006.’

And not only is it growing, it is growing with the kind of listeners publishers want to attract. On 26 November 2007 Newsweek said:

‘studies show that heavy Internet users read many more books than do those not on the Net’

  • 4. Listeners like podcasts

The attractions of podcasting for listeners are numerous:

  • Podcasting is free.
  • It’s portable.
  • It’s available on-demand.
  • Its variety allows listeners to home in on what interests them.

And don’t think podcasts appeal only to young technology-obsessed males: some of Radio Four’s most intelligent speech programmes, such as In Our Time and Start the Week, are among the most popular iTunes downloads.

In October 2007 there were 300,000 downloads of Radio Four’s In Our Time and 12.5 million downloads of BBC programmes. Source: BBC

  • 5. Podcasting is marketing which lasts

Unlike print advertising, which is here today and gone tomorrow, a podcast is available for as long as you want it to be. As your series of podcasts grows, it forms part of your company’s identity. In time you will have created a sound archive that will be a valuable part of your company’s history.

  • 6. Podcasts are easy to disseminate

You don’t need an ipod to listen to a podcast. You don’t even need an mp3 player. Nearly all recent computers can download and play podcasts. All it takes is a click.

‘[Car] Manufacturers are routinely providing sound systems with auxiliary jacks to hook up MP3 players’ New York Times, January 2007

If listeners subscribe via iTunes or other internet podcast directories (which is simple, too), then they don’t even have to click – downloads happen automatically. New episodes are available whenever listeners want them. The latest mobile phones can even download podcasts without using the intermediary of a computer at all.

So your customers can hear about your books anywhere – in the car, in the kitchen or gym, or as they walk the dog round the park. That’s a big advantage over print advertising and streamed video.

This is what Jeff Gomez, then director of Internet marketing at Holtzbrinck, New York said:

‘What we’re doing as a trade publisher is allowing users to experience new books whenever they want, the same way that they might not have the time to listen to a radio show the day it’s broadcast, but will listen to it later.’

  • 7. Podcasting possibilities are endless

  • A podcast can be as long or short as you want it to be.
  • It can feature one author or several.
  • It can be recorded on location.
  • Not only can audio content go on your site, it can also work for you on third-party sites.
  • It can go on promotional CDs.
  • You can use it to keep overseas distributors and partners up to date.
  • It can form part of an information pack for rights sales.

With the growth of new ebook readers, such as Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader, audio also looks set to become part of the content of the book. Just as every DVD today comes with ‘extras’, adding value with audio content is likely to become part of readers’ expectations of ebooks. (Audio Easter egg, anyone?)

  • 8. Podcasting gives you competitive advantage

Most publishers have some sense of the potential of podcasting, but publisher-generated content is still in its infancy. The publishers who will get the most out of podcasting are those who realize that, just as book markets segment, so too do the audiences for podcasts. As publishing podcasts move beyond the one-size-fits-all approach, they will maximize their power to convert podcast listeners into readers.

  • 9. Podcasting is cost-effective

Given that it has so many current and future applications, podcasting can be surprisingly cost-effective. If you’d like to find out more about a podcast that suits your marketing objectives and your budget, contact George Miller at george[at]podularity.com.

  • 10. Podcasting is fun

Last but by no means least. Publishing is after all a creative industry and podcasting is an exciting new marketing resource for publishers that up till now only broadcasters have had access to.

So don’t just think of it as a fancy talking catalogue: it’s also a new form of content in its own right. It can:

  • breathe new life into a website
  • pep up a reading group guide
  • re-animate a backlist
  • or help launch a new author.

Podcasting gives you a story to tell, and your readers a story to listen to…

Click here to find out why you should consider using Podularity for your podcasts…