Podcasts are the hot new media format. In 2006, only 22 percent of the adult population in the U.S. were aware of the phrase “podcasting”, but this figure rose to 60 percent by 2017 and it’s only getting bigger.
You might be thinking that starting a podcast isn’t right for your business. Maybe you think that podcasting is only for comedians and retellings of true crime stories, but that’s not the case.
You can turn your own blog content into podcast episodes that your audience can listen to while they drive to work, while they’re walking the dog while working out — pretty much any time, anywhere. If that’s not enough of a reason to turn your blog posts into audio podcasts, keep reading.
Why should you turn blog posts into audio podcasts?
Turning your blog post into audio podcasts has a number of benefits for your marketing and your business overall. Everybody has their own preferred way to consume content; some people like to read, some like to watch videos and others like to listen. So, by repurposing your written content into audio content, you can widen your reach and connect with target audience members that you wouldn’t have encountered before.
Podcasts also have an “open-rate” that’s typically higher than text-based marketing. When users subscribe to a podcast, they’re likely to listen to each of your episodes and stay through to the end, versus written content that is more often skimmed. In fact, 43 percent of people admit to skimming blog posts. Podcasts episodes may just be the perfect way to get your message absorbed by consumers.
Now that you know the “why”, let’s dive into how to turn your blog posts into audio podcasts.
Determine your best blog posts.
Not every single post on your blog will make a great podcast episode, so you need to determine which blog posts will lend themselves best to podcast episodes. When you launch your podcast, whether it’s going to be a full-fledged podcast available for download, or you’ll just host the episodes on your site, you should have at least 5 episodes for your launch. Because if a listener likes what they hear, you want them to have more than one episode to enjoy; the goal is, after all, to get them hooked on your content.
When repurposing content it’s generally good practice to repurpose the content that performed the best, because you already know it works. But with an audio podcast, some of your blog posts that didn’t perform as well might make awesome podcast episodes. So, do some digging through your content and figure out what posts you’ll turn into podcast episodes. You can also use a free tool like SERPstat to identify popular questions related to your niche that people are searching for on the web to give you an idea of what topics will be popular with your target audience.
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Use the right tools.
With the technology that’s available today, it’s even easier to turn your blog posts in audio podcasts than you may have thought. In a matter of minutes, you can turn your written content into audio content, just by using the right tools.
You can use a tool like Play to narrate WordPress, Medium, Pocket or any other site’s articles in more than 30 quality voice types. For WordPress users, simply download the Play WordPress plugin and activate it. Then head over to your posts and click on the “Convert to Audio” button and voila! The plugin automatically transforms your words into high-quality audio.
Record it.
If you choose not to automate your text-to-speech, you can simply read some of your best blog posts using your own voice. You don’t need to spend a fortune on expensive recording equipment to have a successful podcast, but you do need to consider quality. No one will want to listen to your podcast if they can’t hear you or it’s poorly edited.
First, you’ll need a microphone to ensure your voice can be heard loud and clear. Next, there are some great free software options you can use to record an edit your podcasts. Audacity is an awesome free multi-track audio editor and recorder you can use to turn your blog posts into podcast episodes. Another great option for Mac users is GarageBand. This free digital audio workstation is great for beginners and experts. You can easily create separate tracks like an intro and outro as well as ad spots and move them around or fade them in and out as needed.
Promote your podcast.
When your podcast episodes are ready for download, don’t expect to send them out into the world and have tons of people flocking to listen to them — you’ve got to promote them. After you’ve put them up on the platform of your choosing, whether it’s your own website or a media hosting platform like Buzzsprout, you’ve got to let people know it exists.
Start promoting your podcast episodes on all of your social media accounts and send an announcement message to your email subscribers. You should also consider making a blog post announcing your podcast episodes and in the future, all of your posts should include information about where to find your podcast as well.
What are you waiting for? Take these tips and start turning your awesome blog posts into entertaining, engaging audio podcasts that will delight your current fans and turn avid podcast listeners into customers.