3 Questions to Ask Before You Start a Podcast

Podcasting seems to be the latest branch of the Internet vine. In March of this year, Nick Quah at Hot Pod noted:

The share of Americans who report being monthly podcast listeners (the key metric in my mind) is now 24 percent (67 million), up from 21 percent (57 million) the year before. That’s a 14 percent (or 3 percentage point) growth year-over-year. The story is more dramatic if you take a longer view: Over the past two years, monthly podcast listening has grown by 40 percent.

Podcasts are audio (closer to an audiobook), rather than video or text. Podcasts can supplement rather than supplant reading and research material done online; two blogs might be mutually exclusive. A podcast and a blog need not be.

You congregation (and others) can listen to podcasts while driving, exercising, taking an elevator, or mowing the lawn. Podcasts provide the opportunity to do two things at once.

Podcasts are easy to start (and relatively inexpensive to create and maintain), but they are not for everyone. Depending on the type of podcast you might consider, there is time involved researching, recording, editing, and publishing. So, before you start a podcast, ask yourself these three questions.... Read More