A podcast is an easy way of distributing audio or video media files over the internet. Making a podcast is fairly simple and a good way to expand your blogging efforts.

The first step should be identifying where you are going to host your podcast files. You can host them on your own blog site, but if you are dealing with limited space and bandwith you should probably look to an outside source to host them. A simple Google search should find you plenty of hosting sites. Most of the good free services have disappeared, but there are several reasonably priced ones out there. If you do decide to host your own, be sure that your storage and bandwith are large enough to handle the traffic you expect to get.

There are several free plug-ins for WordPress that will help you to integrate your podcast into your existing blog or set up a blog as a podcast portal in and of itself. Check out the podcast plug-ins page at WordPress.org and find the one that suits your needs best.

You will probably need a good audio program, too. A nice open source (free) program is Audacity. Audacity can be used to:

• Record live audio.
• Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
• Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files.
• Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
• Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
• And more! See the complete list of features.

If you’re doing video podcasts, and don’t have the resources to purchase a full-blown video editing program, search this page to find one for free.

Next you will want to start recording your podcasts and uploading them to your host. Once you have at least one episode in place it is a good idea to submit your site to podcasting directories.

Like site or blog directories, the podcast directories list your sites and give backlinks and in some cases an RSS feed link to your podcasts. This will help your SEO efforts and get more vistors to your site.

There are more advanced things that you can do with your podcasts, like uploading them to iTunes or other download sites, but you’re just getting started so we’ll save those for a later post.

Related Blogs

• Getting Started With Audacity 1.3 » Synthtopia
• How To Submit Your Podcast To iTunes » Podcasting News
• Tips On How To Use Your Business Podcast to Increase Your Search Engine Rankings: Marketing With Audio And Video | Geomatic Solutions – Website Marketing Expertise
• 5 Foundational Plugins, Critical Infrastructure for Your New WordPress Blog | Website In A Weekend
• Vultures Music: Free Video Editing Software | All in your hands…
• Why Google Blog Search Matters to Your Business | blog-article.info
• Search Engine Marketing | Using a Podcast in Your Marketing Campaign. By Mike McCoy | blog-article.info