Most of my podcasts I'm giving you information, but today I'm asking for some information from you. Call in your comments 888-563-3228 (or record a quick mp3 and email it to me dave “at” schoolofpodcasting “dot” com).
Podcasting can help you build a relationship with your audience. Musicians have found this over the years. Don't believe me? Watch any episode of “VH1 Storytellers” and see if you don't enjoy the music more when you hear the story that inspired the music.
With this in mind, this is one of the reasons I recommend starting off your podcast with an episode “0.” This way you can explain what you want to cover in future episodes of your podcast and explain why you have been inspired to start a podcast.
So why did I start a podcast? My first podcast was back in 2005. I had moved from doing a newsletter for musicians to putting the newsletter into an audio format. Then later when I added an RSS feed to my site, the Musicians Cooler Podcast was born. Upon getting a voicemail from someone in Germany, I could see the power of Podcasting. I had decided to go back to school and needed a job with a flexible schedule. I had been a corporate trainer for 15+ years and was looking to stay in that field. With this in mind, I opened the School of Podcasting. It was simple. Every resource I came across that I thought would be beneficial I put into our resource section. Every time I learned about some new software that I found useful, I made a tutorial on how to use it. As I added more great content, I raised the price.
Along the way, I've been able to “scratch my teaching itch” and meet phenomenal people from all over the world. I've heard stories of new podcasters creating lasting relationships with their audience, and entrepreneurs creating sales with their new global reach.
While this may be “What” I've done, it still doesn't answer the question, “Why?” It comes down to what makes me tick. I hate to blow my own horn, but I won the “Employee of the Year” award twice as a trainer when I worked for a fortune 100 company, and my passion is helping people understand technical subjects.
I spoke with a Rabbi last week who is going to create a podcast that is going to be very unique. Rabbi Steve understands the power of the Niche and is looking forward to growing his audience. When I was on the phone with him doing some one on one consulting and he said, “Man you just saved me a mammoth amount of time” I got all warm and fuzzy.
I've said this before on other podcasts, but I try to make people laugh, cry, think, or groan. I want to move people with content, but my biggest motivation always has been helping people. It is behind every tutorial, resources, phone call, etc that exists at the School of Podcasting
