Everywhere you turn online these days you hear \rthe word "podcast" or "podcasting." No, it's not\rsome broadcasting method used by Martians, even\rthough it might sound like it. A Podcast is just\ran audio file that is syndicated via an RSS feed, \rthat you download and listen to with your computer\ror a portable device such as an iPod.

What makes it different from an ordinary RSS\rfeed is the audio component included in the\r"enclosure field." Think of it as a feed that\rtalks to you.

Podcasting is increasing in popularity. According\rto Forrester Research, by 2010 podcasting should\rhave about 12.3 million listeners. That's a pretty\rbig audience. For more info see\rhttp://tinyurl.com/84tyo

Similar to a talk radio show, podcasts can also take\rthe format of an interview. Topics range from\rbusiness to hobbies; even rants and obsessions.\rLengths vary, but a typical podcast will run \ranywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, but I have seen\rsome longer. So far, there are not many music\rpodcasts due to the red tape and cost of music\rlicensing -- although musicians and/or small\rrecord labels bypass that issue by utilizing their\rown recordings.

Before you think you need some special device to\rlisten to a podcast, let me assure you that you\rdon't. Most RSS readers have the capability\rbuilt in to play podcasts. Any software that\rcan play a sound file can play a podcast. If you\rwant to take them with you to listen to while on\rthe road you'll want to invest in a portable MP3\rdevice like an iPod.

Like other RSS feeds, you decide which ones you \rwant to subscribe to and you can unsubscribe at \rany time.

Online business owners should think of podcasting\ras yet another avenue for promoting your products\rand services. Like an ezine or the RSS feeds you\ralready use, it's a simple inexpensive method of\rsyndicating your audio files online. It would appear\rthat a podcast is a bit more personal. Instead of \rjust reading, like an ezine, people can listen to \rthe sound of your voice and make a more personal\rconnection.

Now that I have your attention you may be\rwondering "How do I create a podcast?"\rWell, it's really pretty simple if you follow\rthe easy steps below:

1) First you'll need to use software to \rrecord your own audio file. A good free\rone is Audacity which you can download\rat http://audacity.sourceforge.net/\rWhile there, you'll also need to download the\rLame MP3 Encoder which allows MP3 exportation.

2) Once your audio is recorded you'll need\rto create an RSS feed file which is simply\ra special text file with an RSS extension\rthat also includes a particular enclosure tag.\rFor step by step directions on making a feed\rfile see this site:

http://make-rss-feeds.com/making-an-rss-feed.htm

There's also a great tutorial on RSS here:

http://www.mnot.net/rss/tutorial/

3) Once your audio and RSS files are completed\ryou'll need to upload both of them to your\rserver/website.

If you'd like to read more here are some more\ronline sites to help guide you.

Make Your First Podcast\rhttp://tinyurl.com/757fx

Create Podcasts Using Your PC\rhttp://tinyurl.com/9jfcb

If you don't want to do all this work manually\rthere are software tools specific to podcast\rcreation.

ePodCast Creator\rhttp://tinyurl.com/do7sq

Pod Producer\rhttp://tinyurl.com/9dwrh

That's it. Wasn't that simple? Remember, you\rcan't get subscribers if people don't know \rabout your feed, so make sure you add it in\ra prominent place of your site. You want to\rmake it easy for them to subscribe and add\ryour feed to their news reader.

Audio files are rather large and can take up\ra lot of space on your server, so make sure\ryou won't run out of bandwidth. If you're \rtight on space you can always farm it out\rto a third party service such as \rhttp://www.PodLot.com . For only $5.00 they'll\rgive you 150 MB of storage space with no\rbandwidth limitations. Your domain will\rlook like this: nameofyourshow.podlot.com

If you think you're going to have a hit\ron your hands and want to try to generate\rcash from your podcast, check out\rhttp://www.PremiumPodcasting.com . They\rprovide a system that allows you to charge\rfor your shows and also include private\raccess to them, track who is listening\rand more. You can try them out for a four\rday trial for only one dollar.

Once your podcast is live you'll want to make\rsure you list it with the various directories\rthat exist for just this purpose. You'll find\ra nice list here:

http://tinyurl.com/create.php

Podcast Bunker\rhttp://tinyurl.com/9qayk

Open Media Network\rhttp://omn.org/submitfeeds.htm

Podcasting Station\rhttp://tinyurl.com/7qlzq

Robin Good has a huge list at\rhttp://tinyurl.com/9rusq

So now that you see how easy it is to create\ra podcast, what's stopping you? Remember, this\ris a great tool to add to your marketing mix\rand if you're a bit on the creative side this\rmight be just the ticket. Have fun with it,\rexperiment and you'll become an expert podcaster\rin no time.

By Merle- Want to Know the SECRETS of Article \rPromotion? Discover everything you need to know \rin this brand New Ebook, "How to Use Articles to\rDrive Website Traffic". Get your F-r-e-e Copy now \rat http://articleannouncer.mcpromotions.com