If you love talking and have a lot to say about a particular topic, you may want to consider broadcasting an Internet Talk Radio show online. Quite a few of these independent shows have been popping up over the past year on a variety of topics from parenting to scrap booking to car repair.
Internet Talk Radio shows are usually anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours long and are available to listen to and for download 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Some broadcasters offer a new show every week; others are on a bi-weekly or monthly schedule. It’s up to you to determine how often you would like to create a new show.
There is a little bit of equipment and software that you will need for a professionally sounding show. You will need a computer with a decent soundcard. Most new computers have pretty good sound cards build in. Of course you should also have a microphone. Skip the cheap $10-15 models and go for a good headphone microphone combination that will record less background noise than a basic desktop microphone. Plantronics has several good models available.
To record the show and add the audio to your website, you will need software, or preferably a service like Audio Acrobat, that will allow you to record from your computer, or call into your own phone line and record the show this way. For a monthly fee audio acrobat also hosts your audio files, which will come in handy when you start to get a following of listeners. The large audio files can eat up quite a bit of bandwidth. You will save on your website hosting, because you will use less bandwidth by hosting the audio files with Audio Acrobat.
If you would like to be able to edit shows, you can download a free piece of software called audacity. You can edit your show; fade in and out of music and more. Once your done editing, you are ready to upload your show, get some listeners and start making money.
So, how do you monetize an Internet talk radio show? Your two main sources of income will be paid advertising and affiliate programs. You can sell 30 - 60 second ad spots on your radio show. Some Internet Talk Radio Shows (mainly those that already have a good following) will also charge guests to come on the show and promote their product.
As far as affiliate marketing goes, you can promote related products on your website and mention them in your show. If a listener follows your recommendation and buys the product through your link you will make a commission.
If you’ve always dreamed about being on the radio, having your own Internet Talk Radio Show may be just the thing for you. Give it a try, the start-up cost isn’t very high and Internet Radio is fast growing industry.
Nell Taliercio is the owner of a leading work at home mom resource website packed full of unique information for the telecommuter, business owner and virtual assistant. Visit http://www.mommysplace.net today!
Podcasting is a technology that coaches can no longer ignore. It has become so popular in such a short period of time that the New Oxford American Dictionary declared podcasting as the 2005 Word of the Year.
While it can be intimidating to get a podcast up and running, many coaches will see the benefits of adding a podcast to their coaching funnel. It will take another year before the coaching profession really embraces podcasting as a fundamental part of growing a successful coaching business, however, the seeds of curiosity will be planted in 2006.
The marriage between podcasting and coaching - otherwise known as podcoaching - has started and here are 3 big predictions in regards to podcoaching in 2006:
- The number of coaches using podcasting as a marketing tool will increase dramatically. Many coaches are still trying to wrap their mind around the techno-mumbo-jumbo, but will soon launch their own podcasts. The curiosity about podcasting will drive many coaches to educate themselves in the first half of 2006, however, I predict that there will be a dramatic increase in the number of coaches producing and hosting podcasts around September 2006.
- Coaches will eliminate complimentary coaching sessions because of their podcasts. Currently, coaches consume a portion of their time qualifying prospects over the phone using a 30-minute complimentary coaching session. However, many coaches complain that for every 10 comp sessions they conduct, only 3-4 prospects convert into paying clients. This isn’t a good use of a coach’s time or energy. I predict that more and more coaches will drive prospects to their podcasts and eliminate complimentary sessions altogether. In these podcasts, a coach can include snippets from a coaching session or a teleclass so the prospects can get used to his or her coaching style. This will make the enrollment process easier for coaches.
- Coaches will lead the way in showing people how to make money from podcasts. Because of how easy it is for coaches to get their hands on great audio content from their coaching sessions and teleclasses, coaches have a mountain of resources sitting on their computers that can be used in their podcasts. Because of this, I predict that coaches will take the lead in showing others that money is made driving traffic to the products on your website and not on wasting energy looking for a sponsor for your podcast.
© 2005 Leesa R. Barnes. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Leesa Barnes, Chief Divapreneur, helps consultants, virtual assistants, professional organizers and coaches pull clients to them using a podcast. Leesa’s advice is based on her experience producing and hosting a podcast where she saw a spike in subscribers to her ezine list and signed up 10 new coaching clients. Her audio program called Podcoach Your Way to Success: Secrets for Coaches on How to Use a Podcast to Market Your Business & Gain More Clients contains worksheets and exercises to help any coach set up their own podcast in as little as 4-hours.
Go to http://www.podcoachyourwaytosuccess.com and sign up for her free ecourse that will teach you how to use a podcast to grow your coaching business and pull clients to you.
