What Is Podcasting?
Podcasting is, quite simply:
Audio or video made available online for easy on-demand consumption and/or subscription-based delivery.
That’s it.
You were expecting more, weren’t you? Others have certainly tried to make it out to be more than that. Of course, there are details and nuances, but that’s podcasting in a nutshell.
Yes, it is simple — but there is power in simplicity.
That’s it. The whole Apple, iTunes, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV podcasting thing — it’s all possible because of the fact that it’s audio or video made available online for easy on-demand consumption and/or subscription-based delivery.
Apple recently announced 10 billion podcast streams in 2016. This is a media format that has reached mainstream.
But it’s not just an Apple thing. What about the podcasts on a Google device, a Microsoft phone, a connected car stereo, or some other platform out there that supports podcasts? Those too are just simply audio or video made available online for both easy on-demand consumption and/or subscription-based delivery.
One single podcast will work on any device that can access your content. You don’t need to make things specifically for an iPad, Android device, connected car stereo, or any other device or platform. Once your podcast is up and running, it works on any device for anyone. In that way, it is just like radio or television. It makes no difference if the listener gets your content on a Sony or a Hitachi device. What really matters, in fact, is that they can get your content.
Why do others make it so complicated?
There are a number of theories as to why some have tried to make podcasting more complicated than it needs to be. They range from the conspiracy level, “they can’t charge you as much once you realize how easy it is” — to the more human explanation, “some people are so excited by the tech that they want to share every single element of it with you, even if you don’t need it.”
When I was first putting my book together, I posted this definition online to a few podcaster sites to see what they thought. If someone had a simpler way of explaining the process, I certainly wanted to share it with you. No one did.
We’ll never really know why some people like to make things complicated, and it doesn’t matter anyway. This book is about making it simple so that in the end, you can get your podcast up and running quickly.
I’ll say it one more time — podcasting is, simply: audio or video made available online for easy on-demand consumption and/or subscription-based delivery.
Let’s break down our definition and look at it with a bit more focus and clarity.
Audio or Video …
Almost all audio or video media is digital now, and conversion is easy for the few pieces that aren’t yet digitized. The important benefit of digital media is that it’s stored on a hard drive or a chip somewhere — not in a warehouse or on store shelves with a distinct physical copy for each and every person. The same scale that quickly made Apple the biggest retailer of music is now the force behind your message. How cool is that?
As technology has advanced, digital media has improved as well. This means that the files are getting smaller and smaller in size, making them easier to send over the internet. The quality is getting higher and higher, meaning they look and sound better. Oh, the joys of technology!
….Made Available Online.…
Because your media is placed online, it’s accessible to anyone with a connection to the internet. Because the internet is everywhere, accessing your content isn’t a question of “Apple vs. Windows” or “iPhone vs. Android” — it’s available anytime, anywhere, to anyone who knows where to find it.
….For Easy On-Demand Consumption.…
Making your content easily accessible is incredibly simple to do with the existing podcasting and web infrastructure. The great part is that you pay NO licensing fees to make your media available to the world, and everything that you’re going to need in order to achieve that global exposure — at minimal cost — is included in this book.
Okay, so there are no licensing fees for podcasting, but what does it cost to make your audio and video available to the world? There are ways to distribute this easily-accessible content to the world for less than the price of a large pizza each month. We’ll discuss that in more depth in Step Two. You might notice in our bonus section that one of the biggest names in podcasting is going to give you your first month for free, just for picking up this book.
….And/or Subscription-Based Delivery.
Finally, your content needs a subscription option, so that when someone finds out they really like your message, they can subscribe. This feature alone remains one of the biggest strengths of podcasting. With subscription-based delivery, every time you release a new episode, your subscribers will get it automatically, 100% spam-free. This is not just an iPhone or Smart TV feature, nor is it owned by Apple. This is, quite simply, the backbone of podcasting and you can set it up very quickly.
Not everyone uses the subscription element of podcasting, and that’s unfortunate. Once someone has found content they like from a source they trust, it is imperative to make sure they understand that they can get new episodes automatically, usually with just the click of a button.
Is That It?
Is that everything? Can it really be so simple?
Yes. What’s more, this book will cover EVERYTHING you need to get your podcast up and running. We’ll even explain it to you in just four simple steps.
If you’re looking for something more complicated, you’re not going to find it here. I hope that’s okay.
