Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Podcast marketing is (still) a great idea
Remember back in 2005... (It seems like a hundred years ago, doesn't it?) when podcasting was just starting to get some traction? iPods were brand new and very cool... the iPhone was probably just being sketched out in the design phase, and people were starting to download those (relatively) small audio files to listen to while they worked or surfed the web...
Back in 2005, I had a strong hunch that things were going to be changing rapidly with regard to rich media -- and the changes in richness we were going to see, were not just going to be about the kinds of media, but how people used it all. Yes, our media technologies keep getting better. Yes, our computers are better able to handle audio and video, than ever before, Yes, most of us now have iPods or other MP3 players that can store vast amounts of video and audio.
But I personally think that the real revolution in rich media has been not only around the technology, but around our usage. Not only can our computers and iPods and iPhones and MP3 players and flash drives/thumb drives and CDs and DVDs all store a whole lot more audio and video for us to watch and/or listen to, but the way those technologies have been integrated into our lives has made our viewing and listening activities even richer.
Being able to download so much free audio and video is revolutionary, in itself. But being able to watch or listen to it whenever we want, however we want -- whether it's in the car on the way to work or during our workouts or while we're at work or while we're standing in line at the post office waiting to mail out our holiday presents -- is even more revolutionary.
Think about it -- once upon a time, listening to a record could be a very involved process, depending on the quality of the record. If you wanted to listen to your favorite song, you had to be at home, near a record player, and you had to keep an eye on the record (sometimes) in case it skipped or the record came to an end and you had to lift the arm off the vinyl (in my long-ago days of youth, I recall the wonder that I felt when I saw the first automatic record player arm that could sense when it was at the end of the recording and lifted itself from the vinyl and moved itself out of the way). You couldn't even start listening, unless you picked up the arm and set it on the record at just the right place. You had to make sure there wasn't fuzz and buildup on the needle. And you had to listen to one record at a time. Unless, of course, you had one of those fancy record players that let you stack a bunch of albums on top of each other and dropped them one-by-one in the proper sequence.
But now, a simple touch of a button can launch you into a shuffled playback of thousands upon thousands of your favorite songs. And you can listen anywhere you please, whenever you please. There's no need to establish a relationship with a stationary record player that needs a new needle, and tend to it, in case your recording has a scratch. There's none of that, these days, and thinking back to the times when it was the case... well, that seems as though it was light years back.
It amazes me, how quickly people have adopted new technologies, especially around music. I've heard it said that if the entertainment industry advanced its technology as quickly as the automobile industry, we'd all still be listening to transistor radios. I have fond memories of my dad's little handheld transistor radio, so I don't have quite the derogatory rush that others might. But the thing that matters about the analogy, is that when it comes to audio and video and sensory sorts of technologies, people adopt and adapt very quickly. Far more quickly than many experts would probably expect, too.
That being said, I am presently taking advantage of people's love of audio and information, and I'm beginning to market my newest project, "From E to Ink - How to Turn Your eBooks, White Papers and PDFs into Printed Books that Sell". I first wrote this book over two years ago, after I'd published something like 15 books/projects on Lulu.com and saw the potential for people to turn electronic info products into great-looking printed books at very low cost. I think it makes total sense, and it's an idea whose time has come. But then life got in the way, I had to deal with family and health issues, and the project got shelved.
Now, I'm back, and the book is ready to go out there.
From E to Ink walks you through the different, unique aspects of print publishing that you might not consider when you're putting together an eBook or some other digital info product, and it shows you how to turn your electronic information into professional-looking printed books that look as good as -- and sometimes even better than -- commercially available books.
It's available right now as a download for $29.95 at Lulu.com -- http://www.lulu.com/content/632515.
What I need to do now, is market it. Promote it. Sell it. And probably the best way I know how to do that, is by leveraging podcasting to get the word out about the book. This work is ideal for podcast promotion. It's pure information that can be broken down into different pieces. It's educational. It's electronic. And by podcasting my promotional efforts and reading through and talking about the material in audio, I can actually expand and deepen not only my own approach to the work, but also add more "texture" to others' experience of it.
What's more, since I'm using print-on-demand, if I come up with new angles for the infomation, I can add them to the book and release updated editions in the future. There's something about reading material aloud that causes it to take on a different feeling, and add to the overall experience. And that makes for better information, a more refined product, and better "user experience" in the long run.
So, with that being said, I'll sign off for now and start planning my podcast for my latest project "From E to Ink - How to Turn Your eBooks, White Papers and PDFs into Printed Books that Sell".
Back in 2005, I had a strong hunch that things were going to be changing rapidly with regard to rich media -- and the changes in richness we were going to see, were not just going to be about the kinds of media, but how people used it all. Yes, our media technologies keep getting better. Yes, our computers are better able to handle audio and video, than ever before, Yes, most of us now have iPods or other MP3 players that can store vast amounts of video and audio.
But I personally think that the real revolution in rich media has been not only around the technology, but around our usage. Not only can our computers and iPods and iPhones and MP3 players and flash drives/thumb drives and CDs and DVDs all store a whole lot more audio and video for us to watch and/or listen to, but the way those technologies have been integrated into our lives has made our viewing and listening activities even richer.
Being able to download so much free audio and video is revolutionary, in itself. But being able to watch or listen to it whenever we want, however we want -- whether it's in the car on the way to work or during our workouts or while we're at work or while we're standing in line at the post office waiting to mail out our holiday presents -- is even more revolutionary.
Think about it -- once upon a time, listening to a record could be a very involved process, depending on the quality of the record. If you wanted to listen to your favorite song, you had to be at home, near a record player, and you had to keep an eye on the record (sometimes) in case it skipped or the record came to an end and you had to lift the arm off the vinyl (in my long-ago days of youth, I recall the wonder that I felt when I saw the first automatic record player arm that could sense when it was at the end of the recording and lifted itself from the vinyl and moved itself out of the way). You couldn't even start listening, unless you picked up the arm and set it on the record at just the right place. You had to make sure there wasn't fuzz and buildup on the needle. And you had to listen to one record at a time. Unless, of course, you had one of those fancy record players that let you stack a bunch of albums on top of each other and dropped them one-by-one in the proper sequence.
But now, a simple touch of a button can launch you into a shuffled playback of thousands upon thousands of your favorite songs. And you can listen anywhere you please, whenever you please. There's no need to establish a relationship with a stationary record player that needs a new needle, and tend to it, in case your recording has a scratch. There's none of that, these days, and thinking back to the times when it was the case... well, that seems as though it was light years back.
It amazes me, how quickly people have adopted new technologies, especially around music. I've heard it said that if the entertainment industry advanced its technology as quickly as the automobile industry, we'd all still be listening to transistor radios. I have fond memories of my dad's little handheld transistor radio, so I don't have quite the derogatory rush that others might. But the thing that matters about the analogy, is that when it comes to audio and video and sensory sorts of technologies, people adopt and adapt very quickly. Far more quickly than many experts would probably expect, too.
That being said, I am presently taking advantage of people's love of audio and information, and I'm beginning to market my newest project, "From E to Ink - How to Turn Your eBooks, White Papers and PDFs into Printed Books that Sell". I first wrote this book over two years ago, after I'd published something like 15 books/projects on Lulu.com and saw the potential for people to turn electronic info products into great-looking printed books at very low cost. I think it makes total sense, and it's an idea whose time has come. But then life got in the way, I had to deal with family and health issues, and the project got shelved.
Now, I'm back, and the book is ready to go out there.
From E to Ink walks you through the different, unique aspects of print publishing that you might not consider when you're putting together an eBook or some other digital info product, and it shows you how to turn your electronic information into professional-looking printed books that look as good as -- and sometimes even better than -- commercially available books.
It's available right now as a download for $29.95 at Lulu.com -- http://www.lulu.com/content/632515.
What I need to do now, is market it. Promote it. Sell it. And probably the best way I know how to do that, is by leveraging podcasting to get the word out about the book. This work is ideal for podcast promotion. It's pure information that can be broken down into different pieces. It's educational. It's electronic. And by podcasting my promotional efforts and reading through and talking about the material in audio, I can actually expand and deepen not only my own approach to the work, but also add more "texture" to others' experience of it.
What's more, since I'm using print-on-demand, if I come up with new angles for the infomation, I can add them to the book and release updated editions in the future. There's something about reading material aloud that causes it to take on a different feeling, and add to the overall experience. And that makes for better information, a more refined product, and better "user experience" in the long run.
So, with that being said, I'll sign off for now and start planning my podcast for my latest project "From E to Ink - How to Turn Your eBooks, White Papers and PDFs into Printed Books that Sell".
Labels: audio, book, digital, E to Ink, interactive training, iPod, Lulu, MP3, on-demand audio, podcast, podcasting, podcasting tips, print-on-demand, promotion, publishing
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Apple Reaches 100 Million iPods Sold Milestone
Good news for those of us hoping to explain just how huge an opportunity podcasting presents to businesses and individuals seeking better, deeper, wider exposure for their products and services.
All this gadget-centric hip-hip-hooray-ing aside, podcasting actually does reach a lot more people than the well-heeled celebrities who have plenty of cash to toss at Mr. Jobs. PODDcasting -- Personal On-Demand Digital audio-casting -- reaches a whole lot of people who listen on their computer, either when they're online, or when they're not.
I, myself, download shows and listen to them at my leisure -- usually when I'm not neck-deep in a conundrum at work. In some ways, listening online is even less convenient than just downloading a show and listening whenever it works for me.
Again, the concept of Personal On-Demand Digital audio comes front and center.
But all this aside, it's still a great thing to see the iPod and Apple doing so well. And to think, within recent memory, folks were worried that Apple might go under.
Underdogs, indeed!
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ipod familyApple announced this morning that the 100 millionth iPod has been sold, making the iPod the fastest selling music player in history.
The first iPod was sold five and a half years ago, in November 2001, and since then Apple has introduced more than 10 new iPod models, including five generations of iPod, two generations of iPod mini, two generations of iPod nano and two generations of iPod shuffle.
“We want to thank music lovers everywhere for making iPod such an incredible success,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPod has helped millions of people around the world rekindle their passion for music, and we’re thrilled to be a part of that.”
The iPod has also led to an “iPod economy” of over 4,000 accessories, ranging from cases to speaker systems to iPod vibrators and iPod toilet paper dispensers. More than 70 percent of 2007-model US automobiles currently offer iPod connectivity.
Apple lined up a collection of celebrity endorsements for the milestone:
* “It’s hard to remember what I did before the iPod,” said Mary J. Blige, GRAMMY Award-winning singer. “iPod is more than just a music player, it’s an extension of your personality and a great way to take your favorite music with you everywhere you go.”
* “Without the iPod, the digital music age would have been defined by files and folders instead of songs and albums,” said John Mayer, GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist. “Though the medium of music has changed, the iPod experience has kept the spirit of what it means to be a music lover alive.”
* “I take my running shoes and my iPod with me everywhere,” said Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France champion. “I listen to music when I run. Having my music with me is really motivating.”
All this gadget-centric hip-hip-hooray-ing aside, podcasting actually does reach a lot more people than the well-heeled celebrities who have plenty of cash to toss at Mr. Jobs. PODDcasting -- Personal On-Demand Digital audio-casting -- reaches a whole lot of people who listen on their computer, either when they're online, or when they're not.
I, myself, download shows and listen to them at my leisure -- usually when I'm not neck-deep in a conundrum at work. In some ways, listening online is even less convenient than just downloading a show and listening whenever it works for me.
Again, the concept of Personal On-Demand Digital audio comes front and center.
But all this aside, it's still a great thing to see the iPod and Apple doing so well. And to think, within recent memory, folks were worried that Apple might go under.
Underdogs, indeed!
Labels: iPod, on-demand audio, podcast, podcasting
