After 91 years of providing marketing services to client companies (dog years, but that’s how hard we worked) my partner at Market Arts Creative, Susan Bachman, and I knew it was time for a change.

We looked into the future (metaphorically) and saw that we weren’t going to be part of it unless we embraced the social and interactive media of Web 2.0.  Happily, we were fearless and unaware of how much we didn’t know.  Now, after lot of work and a little suffering, we’re ready to share the 7 biggest secrets that we’ve learned about podcasting so you don’t have to do as much of either.

 Bumpy Beginnings

18-months ago we didn’t own a single iPod, knew absolutely nothing about how to produce a podcast and we thought social networking was something you did at a chamber of commerce meeting.  But we embraced technology with the complete confidence that any girl places in a product that holds the promise of a transformational makeover.

The buzz about new media can be intimidating, but we’ve learned that with a little (okay, a lot) of help from the Apple Genius Bar it CAN be learned. And (this is important) you don’t have to know it all to put it to work in your business.

Secret #1

Purpose.  Figure out WHY you want to podcast.  What do you want to achieve?  How will you know you’ve succeeded?  Who do you want to reach and why will your podcast be of interest to them? 

In our case, we wanted to re-focus the business around the creation of own podcasts, showing (not telling) clients that we can do the same for them.  We also wanted to celebrate and promote the practical application of creativity, equating ROI with return on innovation.

Secret #2

Structure.  Yup.  You heard it here.  Podcasting, like any creative endeavor, isn’t about freedom.  It’s about working within a constraint and using those boundaries to discover a fresh insight.  It’s about structure, not about freedom.

Our first encounter with structure was the necessity to decide on our podcasting format, choosing from: Narrator; Co-hosts; Host with guest; Host with panel (preferably no more than 3 panel members).

In our enthusiastic state of not-knowing, we captured (yeah, we started with video and that’s a story for another time) so much content that we spent light years in editing.  Let me be clear.  Don’t do that.  Decide on the format and length of your podcast first.

Here are a couple of podcast that I really like.  And they execute their formats well.

Mignon Fogarty’s popular Quick and Dirty Tips for Good Writing is a breezy, informative 5-minute show that works well in the narrator format.

Mike Duncan’s impressive narration on The History of Rome runs for 20 minutes. It’s so well done it seems like two.

The Mayo Clinic’s Medical Edge is a 2-minute podcast on subjects ranging from Arthritis to Hockey Injuries.  It’s good, but it would be even better if they gave you a personalized podcast visual to look at during the run time.

BBC Radio’s In Our Time, hosted by Melvyn Bragg is one of my favorites.  The show runs about 50 minutes with the charmingly quirky Mr. Bragg interviewing a 3-person panel on the history of ideas from Newton’s Laws of Motion to Marcel Proust.  It’s smart, lively and not at all stuffy or egg-heady.

With more than 125,000 audio podcasts available on iTunes in 2007, there’s plenty of material to explore.  Just let the clock help you decide on the length of your podcast because you’ll spend approximately 15 minutes editing every minute of audio capture.  

Secret #3

Audio Quality. YouTube has adjusted our video expectations downward.  Stuttering delivery and poor lighting are now acceptable.  But poor audio will kill a podcast.  We wanted to keep production levels high and our budget low.  Here’s what we did.

For solo narrator or two-person podcasts we usually work with a freestanding SnowBall microphone.  It provides good audio capture for an affordable $100.00.  While the SnowBall gives you a few options to reduce ambient noise, we learned that in noisy settings lapel mics are a necessity.  Also, some guests aren’t comfortable cozying up and staying close to a free-standing mic.  And if you have a combo of low and loud talkers, you’ll need the multiple sound tracks to equalize the voices in post-production. 

We invested about $1,000.00 in 3 wireless lapel mics, audio box and software.  We did learn one thing that you’ve got to know.  Wireless mics are great for reducing the trip and fall factor.  BUT if you’re in the vicinity of powerful microwaves or a passing long-haul trucker using a CB, you’ll get feedback.  LOUD FEEDBACK!  And your audio engineer will cry (or swear) depending on their personality type.  If you want to attract listeners, audio quality matters as much as quality content. After all, who wants a sonic boom directly in their ear bud, followed by an unintelligible murmur?

Secret #4

Big Picture to Pixel Thinking.  Even though we podcast, I wouldn’t advise a client to do so just because they can.  But there are compelling reasons to add podcasting to your marketing mix.  Actually, there are 18.5 million reasons.  That’s the number of people in the US listening to podcasts right now according to eMarketer. They project 65 million listeners by 2012, with $435 million spent on podcast-based advertising. 

We looked at the big picture and saw that podcasting was going to put down roots.  Like author Chris Anderson’s premise in his book, The Long Tail, when production costs are low, then custom content (like ours) can be a hit even if it only appeals to a very small audience.  In other words, thinking small might be big for your business too.

Secret #5

Re-purpose Content.  Yes.  Podcasting takes an investment of time and a commitment to continue for the duration of your marketing strategy.  It may sound strange, but once we started podcasting we found content all around us waiting to be re-purposed. It’s common for people to blog before they podcast.  Not us of course, because we wanted to put on a show (entertain and amaze, you know?)  Our interview podcast, Conversations with Creative Minds, inspired the Creative Juice audio podcast where we talk about our talk show.  That led to our blog, Conversations with Juice, where we write about what we talk about.  It’s a self-recycling center of ideas that grab us, technology we like (because it’s techno-idiot friendly) and our take on the business of being creative for a living. 

Look at existing material and resources and find a way to re-purpose them. If you’re blogging, posts can serve as the catalyst for a podcast.  If blogging isn’t your thing, take a look at white papers, articles or business presentations that already exist.  And don’t forget about your in-house resources; super sales people, new applications, technological breakthroughs and industry trends. Raw content is already there once you direct your attention to reinventing it.  Keep in mind that the best content is a conversation between you, your guests (if you have them) and your audience.

Secret #6

Search Engine and Client Optimization.  While search engines are still not adept at reading audio files, podcasting can boost your search engine presence if you post a written transcript online; preferably on your web site with links to selected social networks.  This is a really good thing to do if you’re not building your online presence with blog-based content. 

We also use our podcasts as a way to stay in touch with clients and colleagues, announcing the release of a new episode with a link back to our web site and social platforms.  Our page views always spike following the release of an e-newsletter.

Secret #7

Podcasting as PR Opportunity.  Our podcasts have been a great source for PR coverage.  Inside Mac Radio, OnineBizU, CommercialCreationCenter.com, Metro Chick Radio, and Crain’s Detroit Business have interviewed my partner and me.  Our conversations with guests have positioned us as knowledge leaders by association and interpretation.  And knowledge leaders are always in demand as sources. 

If don’t already subscribe to Peter Shankman’s Help a Report Out, do it now.  Many of our PR opportunities are because of HARO’s emails and Twitter alerts.

Is podcasting right for your business? 

Only you can decide.  But here’s a bonus secret as you think it over.  Don’t let a lack of knowledge be the only reason you don’t podcast.  It’s never stopped us and, let me state the obvious, we’re still learning.

I feel your pain. There’s too much information out there and it’s changing too fast. But the pressure to sound informed is unrelenting, particularly during the dangerous hours of 5 – 7 p.m., when real time, face time takes place. If you’re okay with social networking but terrified of actually talking about social networks, here are 10 little tips that will see you through any small talk situation.

Scan the list while you’re in line at the cash bar and you’ll be good to go. Just don’t get smug. You don’t want to blow an actual social networking opportunity by sounding too superior about the world of Web 2.0 (or anything else for that matter).

1. Name drop. When hasn’t this worked? If you’re not a thought leader in the new world of social media, talk about someone who is. You can’t go wrong by mentioning any of these:

Chris Brogan has been called the blue-collar guy of social media. Shake your head as if it’s incomprehensible that such a nice guy got so many people worked up because K-Mart gave him a $500 gift card and he wrote about his shopping experience.

Brian Morrisey is the editor of all things digital at Adweek. To sound insiderish, just say the word ‘PigDog’, followed by a pause, then an exclamatory ‘intense’. Pigdog is Morrisey’s personal blog about running and overcoming personal limitations.

Brian Solis looks awfully young to be a social media pioneer, but that’s what he is. You can compare his new venture, MicroPR, with Peter Shankman’s Help a Reporter Out. Be pleasantly vague, saying both services help connect media with pr people.

2. Take a strong stance against blurting, the practice of talking too much about yourself, your company, your client or your anything on Twitter. I’d like to start a trend where blurting is called barking but then you get into troublesome issues like: “He’s such a dog. He just barks about himself.” This is even worse. “She barks incessantly. What a dog.” Hmm. You’d better stick with blurting in all its ugly manifestations.

3. Casually mention some newsy news you’ve seen on The Huffington Post, but be sure and call it HufPo.

4. Don’t worry about stylish prose. Just use the words ‘Ning’ and “The Long Tail’ together in a sentence. Ning is a niche social network platform and The Long Tail is Chris Anderson’s book subtitled: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More.

5. Show disdain for the reliability for web metrics, but be sure to mention the names of three major firms: Nielsen Online (gets data from installed tracking software and panels) comScore (gets data from installed tracking software too); HitWise (gets data directly from ISPs).

6. When the topic of Web 2.0 or social media comes up, toss off one of these phrases. “Content is the new currency, right?” “You can’t be authentic if you don’t have something to say, don’t you think?” “Participation separates genuine listening from eavesdropping for personal gain. Just one girl’s/guy’s opinion.”

7. Sound like a digital historian and bring up Burger King’s successful Subservient Chicken promotion.

8. Build rapport with people by confessing in a conspiratorial whisper that you’re afraid of mommy bloggers.

9. Be ready to name your favorite podcasts. Here are a few personal favorites:

Smart: BBC’s Melvyn Bragg host of In Our Time

Useful: Mignon Fogarty’s Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Guide to English

Emergent: Conversations with Creative Minds (Oh, wait. That’s self-serving since it’s our podcast. It is emergent though.)

10. Ask people which micro-blogging site they prefer, Twitter or Friend Feed. It’s okay if they mention a platform you haven’t heard of. Nobody likes a know-it-all.

That’s it. With these ten little tips you can be social offline and sound really smart about being social online. It’s just like mom said. Be interested and people will find you interesting – no matter where you’re networking. Ultimately, the smartest person in the room is the one who listens more than they talk.

jan

I just had the chance to listen to the interview that my partner, Jan, gave recently to Lisa Marie of MetroChickradio. Jan, although she loves to talk (did I already mention that?) is shy when it comes to tooting her own horn. Listen to the interview and you’ll see why she is my hero. Yes, that was rather schmaltzy, but I meant it.

MetroChickradio is based just outside of Detroit, Michigan and is a Women’s Internet Radio Station founded by producer and talk show host, Lisa Marie. Their mission to inform, educate and empower women at every level made them the perfect venue to interview Jan on her life, work and personal philosophy.

Jan and Lisa cover a variety of subjects including Jan’s interesting and rather tawdry past. Alright… interesting, yes… tawdry, no. I may have been channeling my own past. Anyway, the part of the story that I love the most and I think speaks volumes is the very beginning. Jan was born in Peculiar, MO. PECULIAR!

The story that she did not tell was how she used to lock friends in her attic and make them pretend to make cold calls. Now it could have gone one of two ways at this point… a serial killer could have been born or what actually happened… a SUPER SALESMAN! The jury may still be out of which was the lesser evil, but I think goodness did prevail.

By now, you may have realized that this post isn’t really going to tell you much about the interview. That you are going to have to listen to yourself.

Go.
Now.

Are you still here?
Fine. I’ll tell you a smidge. Jan talks about how she has lived her life with passion and no regrets. She has followed her own path and focused on what she wants to do rather than what she is afraid of.

There. See? She’s hero-material!

Susan

This week I listened to a teleseminar presented by Elizabeth Marshall with Author Teleseminars. The notable guests were Guy Kawasaki, Rich Sloan, Pam Slim and Andy Sernovitz. Each of them served up uncommon wisdom about business that has nothing to do with business as usual.

As someone who believes in the power of personality and authenticity to build rewarding relationships (on and offline) I was delighted with the panelists’ comments. Though I don’t remember who said it, one thing in particular stuck in my head. It was a simple question that we should ask ourselves when evaluating any idea. Here it is. Would anybody tell a friend?

Wow! What a great idea evaluator. So why would someone tell a friend about your business, your podcast, your anything?

Well. there’s the cool factor. It makes me laugh. It makes me feel good. It captures my imagination. It’s interesting. And it’s important to me.

Then, there’s the ‘I get it’ factor. This ‘thing’ (even a complex thing) is understandable. It’s clear and simple (even more important when it’s complex). It’s a good deal. It’s in my best interest.

And finally, there’s the ‘I want it’ factor. It comforts me. It elevates my status. It expresses the wonderful quirkiness of me. It makes me feel (supply any of the following) sexy, powerful, beautiful, and popular or other emotional drivers.

My creative partner Susan and I frequently encounter businesses in search of a personality. These are perfectly fine people, it’s just that their collective corporate persona is devoid of anything resembling human. The language landscape is over-populated with facts in search of context. Their knowledge is lost for a lack of narrative. And don’t get Susan started on design that fails to reveal any signs of life. That makes her really cranky.

Here’s my take. Friends tell friends about things that are insanely silly and monumentally important. Friends tell friends about things that are real and relatable that can readily be re-told.

So if you’re exploring ideas on how to build a brand, attract an audience, or make more money, just ask yourself, ‘would anybody tell a friend about this?’ If the answer is no, you may be suffering from absentee personality syndrome. But don’t worry, if you’re a person (even the non-perky kind) personality can be recovered and brought to life. And life is what friends are telling friends all about.

Jan

During an interview for our podcast Conversations with Creative Minds, Guy Sanville, actor and artistic director at the Purple Rose Theatre, repeatedly used the I-word. No, he didn’t say idiot, which I mutter frequently in reference to myself. Guy chose the word industrious to describe his work habits and those of people who are successful regardless of their profession.

You just don’t hear the word industrious all that often, unless you’re watching a wildlife show about the nature of beavers. Though there’s nothing bad about it, industrious is not one of the top ten characteristics I’d like someone to use when describing me. Maybe that’s because I associate it with a faint hearted kind of praise, like having a solid attendance record. (Although, Woody Allen did say that 80% of success is just showing up.) Or maybe I simply equate industrious with the machine-like regimen of industry.

And yet, industrious is the word that Guy chose to describe his approach to the craft of acting. Which makes sense because the development of craft, the essential skills and techniques that are fundamental to all endeavors, does take work. A lot of it. But industrious doesn’t happen all willy-nilly. It demands a certain structure, a framework for accomplishment. Creating, whether it’s a character, a play or a new theory of the cosmos is work. But industrious, when applied to work you love, is not at all industrial. It’s rigorous not regimented. It’s structured but never static. It’s practiced repeatedly but is not mind-numbingly repetitious.

Industriousness and creativity are not mutually exclusive. They’re just different sides of the same coin. It’s that dynamic tension thing of apparent opposites coming together to produce work that lives instead of working at making a living.

Industrious people continually refine their craft. They are engaged in such a way that work is something more than working. In our commitment to craft, we catch an occasional glimpse of art; the ephemeral and transcendent feeling of being completely at ease in and one with the universe. It is the pursuit of this that informs and inspires the practice of craft.

As Guy reminded me, acting is about doing. Industrious people get things done without an industrial way of working. Hmm. Industrious is sounding better and better. Maybe I could strike stylish off my preferred characteristics list and replace it with industrious. I’ll always love clothes, but for now I want to get stuff done.

Jan

Guy Sanville on Creating Reality (video)

I just finished reading Jonah Lehrer’s beautifully written book, Proust was a Neuroscientist. Before you wrongly assume that I’m all egg-heady (more pointy-headed, especially on bad hair days) this book articulates in lucid and engaging prose the premise that creative types of the 19th and 20th centuries had an innate understanding of how the brain works long before neuroscience proved their insights.

This made me all skin-tingly and sweaty under the eyes (does anyone else perspire there)? You see, many of the guests that I’m privileged to interview for our podcast reveal insights about the practice and thought process of creating just as eye-opening as those in Jonah Lehrer’s book. Here’s an example.

Guy Sanville, actor and artistic director at the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea MI, was a guest on our show. When I asked him to define acting, he described it as being authentic in imaginary circumstances. He also said that the greatest actors are those who know how to pay profound attention to the other person in the scene.

After the rigorous crafting of a character from the inside out, it is the actors ability to pay attention to what’s going on that allows reality to arise from a make believe situation.

Coming back to the book, Proust was a Neuroscientist, the author makes a similar point, saying that the brain’s ability to pay attention is what gives rise to our sense of self. In essence, when we’re not practicing paying attention, there’s no there there. It’s our ability to listen-up, tune-in and take note that makes us real to ourselves. That’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard. As long as we pay attention to one another we can construct reality together. I guess that means you’re a neuroscientist and I am too.

Jan

One of of the best things about interviewing guests on our podcast Conversations with Creative Mind is that my partner Susan Bachman and I come away with fresh insights about the practice and practical application of creativity.

Interviews with Guy Sanville, actor and artistic director at the Purple Rose Theatre (founded by Jeff Daniels) are now available at www.conversationswithcreativeminds.com. Guy has mind-awakening things to say about the craft of acting and the business of constructing an artificial reality that seems, well, real. But one of his statements has a particular resonance with the way Susan and I approach our work and our lives too.

“We don’t always know what we’re doing, but we have our principles and our passions to guide us.” Guy Sanville

I’m completely on board with the concept of not-knowing. In fact, I probably hang out there more than I should. But Guy isn’t talking about not having a clue. Rather, he’s making the point that by having an intention, an idea of what you want to do, you can begin doing without waiting to know everything. It’s the willingness to not-know everything that opens the door to possibilities and possibility-thinking leads to the consideration of unlikely ideas; ideas that an informed or knowing mind would reject.

Susan and I often debate whether we’re not all that smart or if we’re just smart enough because not-knowing doesn’t stop us from getting started. Somehow, it’s in the act of doing that we discover what needs to be done. I suppose that’s what some people would call thinking outside of the box. Guy affirms that the willingness to leave behind the comfy place of knowing is a pre-requisite for the structured practice of craft.

Here’s our interview takeaway. Use not-knowing as a point of origin rather than a barrier to beginning. If you’re willing to start from stupid, really interesting ideas will emerge. The knowledge that follows will create the structure that’s needed to sustain your creative insights.

Jan

A problem is well, a problem; intractable, thorny, distracting, distressing, difficult and a pain in the neck. But, what if a problem was a puzzle instead? That’s the premise of Dr. Eric Rabkin, a professor in the Department of English at the University of Michigan. On the live version of the Conversations show, Professor Rabkin made the point that the difference between a problem and a puzzle is that a solution is built into a puzzle. You may mull over the New York Times’s crossword puzzle, searching for that nine-letter word meaning ‘record or history of’, but you know there’s a solution even if it’s not immediately available.

When a person encounters a problem, it’s time to change the approach, to deliberately shift one’s perspective, and treat the problem like a puzzle. Based on Dr. Rabkin’s observation and my experience, a shift in perspective, even the slightest little bit of a shift, opens the door to creativity. The act of thinking about a problem as a puzzle establishes the premise of a successful outcome. When approached from a puzzle point of view, a problem is relocated from the narrow, anxious realm of “how in the world can we solve this” to the expansive and possibility-filled world of “in what ways can we consider this situation?”

So, if a puzzle is an opportunity to introduce variety and consider multiple viewpoints, what can a person do to shift from a problematic perspective to a more productive point of view? The answer is so obvious it’s practically incomprehensible – simply shake-up your habits (gently) and deliberately do something differently for just a few moments. For example:

If you wear glasses, take them off for a few minutes (no walking into walls or driving)

If you hold a pen between your thumb and index finger, re-position it to the index and middle fingers and write something, anything for a few minutes

If you usually sit at a desk, try sitting on it; or better yet, lie underneath it (if your floor is cleaner than mine)

Sure, it seems a little goofy at first, but here’s the point. Changing habits of behavior will enhance your ability to shift habits of thinking. When you change the way you think, a problem has the potential to become a puzzle and a puzzle can be solved.

Jan

Top photo: Every party has one. If there had been a lamp shade this person would’ve been wearing it. Bottom photos: Left: The first guest arrives. Right: Big heads. Big egos. VIPs turn out for the Conversations with Creative Minds launch party.

No expense was spared for the lavish two-city launch of the new Conversations with Creative Minds Web Site. It was definitely OFF-THE-HOOK.

But this entry is not about the party.

When your company works from remote locations and you’re introducing a new venture, creative measures are sometimes needed to keep up the enthusiasm and excitement, and to find a new audience. Utilizing Web 2.0, we turned on our iCHATs, kept in touch, uploaded interviews from Conversations to video sharing sites, shared launch party pix on Flickr, got social on network sites and even started tweeting. Now it’s time to turn our attention to blogging.

The web site, Conversations with Creative Minds, is a talk show that explores the role that creativity plays in the lives and careers of successful people from all kinds of fields. Our podcast, Creative Juice, is two girls talking about the talk show and all other things “creative” that interest us. So I guess the blog will be two girls blogging about talking about the talk show.

Wait, I’m getting dizzy.

Well, you get the idea. We’ll blog about the talk show. We’ll blog about the podcast, including show notes on both when appropriate. We’ll blog about creativity in our own business. We’ll blog about creativity in our own lives. In short, we’ll blog, blog, blog.

Susan