My podcasting “Ps” are pretty much frozen by now, but I’ll reheat them and serve up another helping.

The last “P” I talked about was “Planning.” Once you’ve done that, you’re ready for the next “P”: “Producing.” This is where the “Ps” really start to get good.

Producing podcasts consists of creating the content and recording it. Here are some best practices to keep in mind as you produce your podcasts:

• Content is king. Make sure the content is something your listeners will value. Also, get to the point and be succinct. The worst thing you can do is waste your audience’s time.
• Stick to the basics. The structure of your podcast should be the same as any other presentation, whitepaper, or effective communication: introduction, body, and a reinforcing conclusion.
• Don’t advertise or sell. Your audience can smell a sales pitch a mile away. What they want is information that enlightens or entertains them. Otherwise, they won’t listen.
• Be authentic. Polished, professional-sounding podcasts are difficult and expensive to produce. Luckily, it’s not necessary, if you’re producing something useful. It’s more important to be authentic.
• Have a clean delivery. Although you don’t have to sound like a professional, the quality of the performance is still important. Use performers with clear, articulate voices. Follow a script to keep the performance focused. Practice before recording, at least while you’re getting started.
• Make it easy to edit. You will make mistakes, probably a lot of them at first. So record your podcasts with editing in mind. Slow down and pause frequently as you record to create adequate cut points if you need them. Don’t try to edit individual words. If you make a mistake, re-record the entire sentence or more.
• Build a backlog. Try to produce several podcasts in your series before publishing your first one, and always have more than one ready to go. This will ensure regular releases, which helps build and retain your audience.

Producing your first podcasts may be a bit intimidating and take some time. But don’t worry, you’ll get good at it. And before long you’ll probably really like doing them. Just like you learned to like peas. Okay, well…better than that.

Technorati Tags: B2B, Customer Service, Human Resource, Marketing, Podcasting, Public Relations, Sales, Social Media

In previous blogs, I’ve been discussing the “Ps” in podcasting. The first “P” was the “Popularity” of podcasting, The second “P” was the “Pros” for companies to podcast. The third “P” of the peas in a pod metaphor I’m hacking to death here is the “Possibilities” for business podcasts. It isn’t exactly enough for a meal yet, but hey, I’m getting there.

You can blog about anything or nothing, and many people do. The same is true for podcasting. But if you want people to actually listen to your podcasts, you need to make sure they provide useful information or are entertaining to your audience – preferably both. That’s not always possible, of course. Podcasting your earnings reports isn’t going get too many yuks from the financial community (at least we hope not), but they’ll find them useful.

One way to come up with podcasting ideas is to analyze all the types of communications you use inside your company and with your customers. Some of these may be suitable for podcasting, or even be more effectively delivered as podcasts. This exercise may also generate some completely new ideas for communication that are uniquely suited for podcasting. Here are some possibilities to get you thinking:

Corporate:

• Financial updates such as quarterly earnings reports
• Business news such as company announcements, industry news and trends
• Internal company announcements, newsletters
• Management fireside chats

Sales and Marketing:

• Product news, such as new features and release schedules
• Product promotions and discounts
• Account management status and updates for customers and clients
• Interviews with industry experts
• Whitepapers
• Research paper summaries

Human Resoures:

• HR training courses
• HR initiative announcements
• Policies and procedures
• Management tips and best practices
• Employee commentaries

Customer Support:

• Product usage tips and best practices
• Problem reports, status and workarounds
• Product training

Another way to come up with business podcasting ideas is to go to iTunes and listen to some business podcasts. And talk to other companies to find out what they’re podcasting. You’ll have a bowlful of possibilities before you know it.

Are you doing business podcasting? I’d love to hear what you’re podcasting and how it’s going.

Technorati Tags: B2B, Customer Service, Human Resource, Marketing, Podcasting, Podcasts, Public Relations, Sales, Social Media

Ever read a white paper and said to yourself: “I could have written this.” I read a whitepaper the other day that was so general that I learned nothing. Unfortunately, from my experience, this has been the majority of white papers I read.

The problem, I believe, arises when producers of white papers want to entice without giving away too much. After all, if you tell the reader everything, they won’t have to hire you. This is a very narrow view of whitepapers. This is compounded by the fact that most white papers are, at their core, a self-serving marketing piece. So, what you end up with is a document that tells the reader nothing they did not already know, and nothing they wanted to know.

I prefer the approach advocated by Michael Stelzner. Take a step back and first decide who your audience is and what they are seeking and then being writing from that perspective. The first step is to frame the problem or issue you believe the customer is trying to solve in coming to your site and downloading your paper. This allows you to immediately connect with the reader and shows that you understand the challenges they face. This is a great place to put any data or facts that you have to give credibility to your position.

Once the problem is framed, give specifics about the solution while keeping any product mentions out of it. You are still educating the reader and after all, if they are reading white papers, they are most likely not at the buying stage yet. Now is the time to establish yourself as a credible and valuable source of industry information.

Technorati Tags: Michael Stelzner, white papers, marketing, writing

The problem, as I see it, is that white papers talk in generalities because the topics they cover are too broad. Choose a very specific industry problem and hone in on a specific solution for that problem. Keep your topic focused and tight; and keep your paper to no more than eight pages. Remember, you are establishing yourself as an expert; so be an expert.

If you are like me, you hate being sold to. I don’t want people interrupting my day to convince me I need to do or buy something.This is along the same lines of canvassers. Even if they wish to discuss a topic I am interested in, I very seldom stop. The main issue for me is that the individual is not approaching me on my own terms. They are injecting themselves into my day without my permission and I will react negatively to that every time.

The challenge for the sales person is to soften the interruption and make it easy for the potential buyer to say yes.

It can be done as I was reminded yesterday at Safeway (our local grocery store here in Denver).

This month Safeway is running a drive for prostrate cancer. Every time I make a purchase, I am asked if I would like to make a donation to prostrate cancer. I reactively say no to this because it is an unwanted intrusion. However, the other day, the cashier took a novel approach and asked me if I would like to “round my bill up” for prostrate cancer. My bill was $8.58 that day so my donation would have been $0.42.

In that one sentence, the cashier removed the intrusion and made it easy for me to say “yes”. I commented on her approach and asked her what kind of response rate she was getting. It was much higher than the other cashiers; so much higher, that they are now making all the cashiers ask for donations in that way.

This got me thinking: What subtle shifts in wording can we use to impact our sales?

Technorati Tags: sales, positioning, marketing