Reading tips on doing good podcasts, I came upon this blog by Carson McComas, a web guide for startups specializing in ecommerce, and online marketing. I figured if he does a lot of things online, he would know ow to determine a good podcast from a bad one. In his blog, he gives 20 tips. Here are 5 of them that I found interesting or that I will apply to my upcoming podcast.
1. Don’t be too serious. McComas described that the best podcasts are more fun which makes them more enjoyable and easier to listen to.
2. Put music in between segments. I think this is an excellent idea. Some kind of music breaking up your talking will make the listening easier on everyone. It also gives them some time to think about what they have been listening to.
3. Be organized. I originally thought that for podcasts, you just go right in with an initial topic and just talk or interview. Obviously I’m a rookie. It seems that the better podcasts are always organized and laid out before the recording even starts.
4. Have more people be in the podcast. Listening to some podcasts of only one person speaking can get a little boring, especially if they are not engaging. Having a variety definitely makes things more interesting. This way there is some kind of dialogue and also more perspectives.
5. Be natural. For me, this will probably be the most difficult thing to try to do. It’s hard recording yourself for the world to listen to when you are not an expert, just an observer of a certain issue or subject matter.
I like how you added in your own opinion to each step. It really helped me – and i bet other readers – relate to each step. I also think that, for me, being natural will be the hardest part but you explain it nicely when you state that we are just observers and not experts. This way, it is easy to sound natural when you are just explaining something you are looking at.