Today I would like to share with you some of the best free podcasting tools tools I have found.
Before sharing some free tools for podcasting, lets get an understanding of what a podcast is shall we?
Without going into a lot of technical descriptions ( breathe a sigh of relief please), Podcasting is a form of audio broadcasting on the Internet and is made up of two words “broadcasting” and “iPod”
People can selectively subscribe to audio or video content over the internet. This content can be automatically added to a mobile device like an iPod, computer or any other affordable device.
One of the reasons why I am interested in sharing with you some of the best free podcast tools is because of how popular podcasting has become. I have noticed many people are now getting on board with podcasting and research is saying that what they are doing is on the right path
For example: The Pew Research Center shows that podcasting has in been steadily growing its audience over the past few years. and the awareness of podcasting among Americans 12 years old and older has doubled since 2006.
I would also add that podcasting is becoming a popular way of creating content as it is a time shifting. In other words when you record a podcast your audience can listen to what you are saying at a time that is more convenient for them. For people this is a distinct advantage in a time where time has become a premium commodity.
Personally I tend use my mobile device for two reasons. When I am at the gym, I want to listen to music as it really is the best way for me to lose myself while doing my physio, but when I am travelling on the bus or out walking then listening to different podcasts can be entertaining educational and motivational.
For a while I was a bit unsure of the difference between listening to an audio-book and a podcast, so just in case you are in that boat…
The difference between an audio-book and a pod cast is in terms of ( to me) the length of information.
An audio-book is a whole book that is put into a audio file, where you can download and listen at your leisure.
A podcast is where you can listen to episodes/installments..like a radio (digital) show on different topics.
As with audio-books, one can download a file and listen on your favorite mobile device.
When you are learning about marketing (internet marketing), depending on your stage of knowledge, then podcasts can be a good way to get your mind moving in a direction that might be useful.
Editors note: I would add a caution about listening to podcasts especially on marketing – the fact is your mind can be so overwhelmed by what your listening to, to the point that it can cause enough confusion so that instead of taking action, you will sit and get eye glazed, which really is not a good thing to happen to anyone.
None the less, podcasts have a good place in any marketing strategy especially if you are a listener or you are wanting to create podcasts based on mindset and motivation.
When you listen to people talking about business, strategy, social media, then podcasts are a great way to understanding the entrepreneurial mindset and we all know that when you listen to anything that has to deal with success, then that can create motivation for many people ( sort of like having that first cup of coffee in the morning, it is a motivational kick to start the day),
For bloggers podcasts are becoming a popular way to enhance their blog posts by making an audio version of the post they have created. Many bloggers are now creating ways for their readers to subscribe to to their podcasts as well as subscribing to their blog ( I call that a smart way of becoming an authority on your niche/blog/topic etc)
I am unsure if podcasts can compete with audio-books in the marketing arena, but I would say, they sure cant hurt!
Before sharing some Best free podcasting tools, I must add another caution and it is about “free versus paid”
I love free tools, I always have and I always will for the simple reason that for many marketers, budgets are pretty much non existent ( translate – people are paying their bills and feeding their families and don’t have the extra funding for many tools) I also believe that before you start buying tools, get a feel for what you want before you pay them!
A couple of other issues with free
Free = advertising! Lets get real, when a person creates anything, they have to pay for it and they need to make money somehow, so you need to be aware that you are going to get advertising thrown at you. That being said, in most cases these companies may have an affiliate program or there will be inspiration for you to upgrade to remove the ads.
Free = limited. This gets a bit tricky to be fair. I have seen many free tools that are amazing and are fully featured. But… there are many companies who will limit the time you can “try” out a tool, or they will have other types of restrictions. Just make a point of reading the small print before you try out any tool and then you wont feel that you are being gypped.
Best Free podcasting tools
Audacity
Audacity is a free, open source, cross-platform software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for many operating systems namely Windows, Mac, GNU/LINUX and others. It has a large range of keyboard shortcuts for creating and editing sound
Power Sound Editor
Power Sound Editor Free is a visual audio editing and recording software solution. You can use Power Sound Editor to record your own music, voice, or other audio files, edit it, mix it with other audio or musical parts, add effects like Reverb, Chorus, and Echo. You can then burn it on a CD, post it on the World Wide Web or e-mail it.
vozMe
This is an effective web tool that converts a text into an audio file.
This is a two step process – type or copy/paste the text you want as a podcast in the box provided on the website and hit create mp3.
It generates an instant podcast for you to download it for free.
WaveSurfer
WaveSurfer is an open source tool for sound visualization and manipulation. Typical applications are speech/sound analysis and sound annotation/transcription. WaveSurfer may be extended by plug-ins as well as embedded in other applications.
MP3myMP3
MP3 my MP3 Free Sound Recorder is an easy to use program that lets you record the sound being processed by your sound card and save your recording directly to MP3 or WAV format. It easily records from any source, a microphone, streaming audio from the internet, CD, turntable, cassette, phone or Skype calls, multiplayer gaming action and more. If you can hear it, you can record it!
Audio Joiner
I have to say this is one tool can do everything from recording videos to being an audio converter. I have added this tool because it has a void recorder. Its a simple application which will record sound from your microphone. YOu can then save it to your computer.
Archive.org
I love this one site by the way for many reasons from finding music, books,movies but also, you can upload your podcast. While it does meet the basic technical requirements from Apple, you should be aware that you will have limited admin tools and it wont give you accurate stats or fast downloads, but its worth the mention.
Bluebrry
Bluebrry is one of those tools that seems very simple. Not only can you get free stats to see how many people are downloading your episodes, but they will show you everything from monetizing your content and they even have an affiliate program!
Free Podcast Directories
Just like any form of content you create, getting people to know about your podcast means marketing yourself and one of the best ways is to of course share with your respective audiences on social media. but also submit your podcast to directories.
I would suggest that you go through these directories at your leisure and see if they would be right for you. I would advocate not paying to have your podcast listed as you won’t get any more ROI as with the free directories.
While iTunes is the most popular podcast directory on the market and yes you need to get your podcast on there..don’t forget some of the other directories that you can submit your podcast to -
1. Stitcher
2. Miro
3. double Twist
4. gigadial
5. Fluctu8 Podcast Directory
6. Lisn.cc ( a new directory where you have a podcast directory meeting Pinterest)
7. Podcast Alley
8. poddirectory
9.Replay Media Guide
10.Two Thumbs Up Media
If you know of other podcast directories that have been working well for you, then I would love to hear about it in the comment form below
Free Podcasting hosting
While there are many paid hostings sites for podcasts, is there anything that is free and of value?
As a matter of fact there are including using Google Drive to host your podcasts…seriously! Amit Agarwal has written a how to use Google Drive to host your podcasts. Its a good read and best of all its easy to understand.
Audioboo
This is a popular audio upload and instant sharing service where one of the strengths is Audioboo is considered a sort of audio YouTube by many It has a short processing time. Even uploads of 100MB can be readied for a listen within 5 minutes.
Podomatic
PodO-omatic hosts the world’s largest community of independent Podcasters and DJ’s, with over 4,000,000 episodes and mixes published. You can also create “world-famous” podcasts that you can share all over the world. An interesting aspect to podomatic is that you can liste to podcast episodes at the same time with friends ( I could see this being useful for team meetings for affiliate training etc.), you can see the top trends based on city, category and top overall on Podomatic ( another great way of know where your customers may be)
Any questions about podcasting?
I hope that some of these best free podcasting tools will prove useful for you and if you know of anyone who would find this information interesting, please be sure to share with your own readers…after all sharing is caring!
Bonus: Many of you may be wondering how to produce a podcast. Here is a super awesome slideShare by Jay Baer who happens to be one heck of a smart fellow when it comes to marketing.
Here is his presentation of ” How to Produce a podcast in 15 steps.
How to produce a podcast in 15 steps from Jay Baer
Related articles
ProBlogger Podcast: Blog Buddies (problogger.net)
19+ Free Tools to Start Your Podcast From Scratch (business2community.com)
The Definitive Guide to Podcasts (remelehane.wordpress.com)
411 – When Should I Start Promoting And Marketing My New Podcast? Plus Other Questions New Podcasters Ask (PodcastAnswerMan.com)
19+ Free Tools to Start Your Podcast From Scratch (bufferapp.com)
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