WebmasterRadio.FM

WebmasterRadio.FM - A LittleSomething For Everybody

By David Wallace (c) April, 2006

I admit it. I am a WebmasterRadio junkie. Not only do I listen to many of the live shows that they do on a weekly basis, I also find myself listening to archived shows as well. I absolutely love it. It allows me to not only keep abreast of the latest happenings in my industry very quickly, it also allows me to hear the audible voices of many folks that I already know online or have met in real life. If you frequent any of the popular search marketing forums or blogs or have attended conferences such as Search Engine Strategies, PubCon, AdTech and others, then surely you have heard of WebmasterRadio as well. In my opinion, they are very quickly becoming the audible voice of the search industry.

We already have a vast array of sites on the subject search engines and search. These include blogs, forums, resource sites and the like. Many have been around for years nöw, especially sites like Search Engine Watch which has been online since almost the birth of the search engines themselves. Even the trade shows have been around for quite some time nöw. However, lacking was a way to bring people together with audio and live chat outside the realm of a costly trade show or forum. That is where WebmasterRadio.FM fills the void.

WebmasterRadio is the creation of Daron Babin and Brandy Shapiro Babin, who are not only husband and wífe but partners in business. They officially launched in November 2004 at a Yahoo Party that was held during one of the PubCon conferences. It all started with a single show entitled RainMaker, an Internet radio broadcast that gained such favorable response from listeners and advertisers that more shows were soon added out of necessity. Daron and Brandy's goal in establishing WebmasterRadio is to not only get info from industry leaders to help people in their business but also to bring people together and connect them through live broadcasts and chat. They have done this very well with more shows and listeners coming on board all the time.

So what were Daron and Brandy doing before WebmasterRadio? Well for starters, Daron was one of the pioneers in the SEO industry, coming onto the scene in 1996 (one year before myself). He even earned the nickname "SEGuru" which he is still known for today. While WebmasterRadio occupies most of his time these days, he still does some SEO work. Before WMR, Daron was in television, working as a director at NBC for twelve years. The combination of his television/broadcasting experience combined with search marketing expertise is a perfect match for what WebmasterRadio currently offers.

Brandy comes from a public relations and business development background. Before WMR, she was the Director of PR for two of the largest independent advertising agencies in the country. Brandy's extensive background has allowed her to see both the client and vendor side of product development and promotion. This has allowed her to guide clients to success, helping them to maximize their earning and growth potential with a special focus on non-traditional revenue. Some of the companies Brandy has worked with include SouthWest Airlines, SunBeam Inc, Data General, Sun Microsystems, Clear Channel Communications, Paxson Communications, Silicon Graphics and many other industry leading organizations. Combined, Daron and Brandy make an awesome team, along with all their staff as well

Whose voices have been heard on WebmasterRadio? How about names like Noel McMichael - Vice President of Search Marketing for Digital Impact, John Marshall - CEO of ClickTracks, Rob Grosshandler - EcomExpo, Michael Korda - Simon & Schuster, Bruce Clay - Founder of Bruce Clay Inc., Tobi Elkin - Executive Editor of MediaPost, Communications, Matt Cutts - Google, Lee Nadler - Founder of Sherpa Marketing, Amanda Watlington, Ph.D. - author of "Business Blogs - A Practical Guide", and the list goes on and on and on.

So what does WebmasterRadio have to offer? A variety of talk shows dealing with many different topics which I will summarize below. Before I provide a summary of current shows, keep in mind that WebmasterRadio is Internet based. That means anyone in the world can listen. The fact that they have a live chat room provides for an interactive experience when listening to live broadcasts. One can actually engage with others listening to the show at the same time as well as show hosts and guests themselves. The shows are also available as podcasts that you can listen on your iPod as well as mobile casts that you can listen on select mobile phones. So their reach is without borders. Here are some of the shows they have on their line up:

• The Daily SearchCast - This is my personal favorite. 30 minutes with Danny Sullivan as he recaps current events as well as throwing in a rant here or there. Daron usually hosts the show but occasionally Dave Naylor, Todd (Oilman) Friesen and Detlev Johnson fill in as hosts.

• RainMaker - The show that started it all. Daron and Brandy interview various guests or sometimes just talk among themselves about current events. Each week immerse yourself in a different facet of online business, ask questíons of the experts and hang out and have a great time.

• That's A Wrap - Ok, so its two of the old-timers, originals in the SEO industry, SEGuru (Daron Babin) and WebGuerrilla (Greg Boser). They are opinionated, bold and pull no punches. Expect their opinion of the current landscape in the world of technology, web, and life in general. Also expect to hear the dirt on the Search Marketing World and those who work in it. Its all a matter of opinion on this show... so everything is fair game.

• SEO Rockstars - Join Todd (Oilman) Friesen every week and have your eyes opened to the wide variety of search engine optimization tactics available to you. Covering the spectrum from low to high risk methods of online marketing, this show is guaranteed to make your head spin and keep you thinking.

• Strike Point - Hosts Mikkel deMib Svendsen & Dave Naylor bring you the first European show of its kind, addressing issues faced by European webmasters regarding search marketing and optimization. Expect to be informed on the nuances of maximizing earnings revenue from a European perspective. Irreverent, cocky and experienced... don't let the Eurotrash fool you! These guys are true experts and a show to not be missed.

• Cover Story - Host Brandy Shapiro-Babin reserves a headline for you. Each week she is joined with public relations powerhouses to share and discuss information which is vital and timely for you to maximize your public relations efforts

• Affíliate Marketing Today - Each week hosts from Commission Junction share both advertiser and publisher perspectives ranging from basic to advanced on how to get the most out of your affïliate marketing program and often reach out to some of the industry’s top players. Listen in, learn what the other side is thinking, and make it a win-win

• NextStuff Now - Hosted by Chris Tolles, vice president of Topix.Net; each week get a sneak peak behind closed doors to speak with the people who are developing new technology, products and services for the internet.

• Domain Masters - Hosted by Monte Cahn, founder and CEO of Moniker.com; learn how to be the master of your domain including lëgal rights, domain name monetization; ask questíons live from the pro's.

• Ms. Write - A content moments segment brought to you by InfoSearch Media's Sarah MacKay (Ms. Write). The show focuses on building quality content while illustrating its usefulness

• ad:tech Connect - Join ad:tech chair Susan Bratton and guest hosts as they interview top marketing leaders of today in this candid, one hour, web radio program.

• GoodKarma - Hosted by Greg Niland (GoodROI); this show helps explain topics for newbies and can even help an old dog to learn some new tricks. During the show there will be prizes given away as well as the answers to the newbie questíons you were too embarrassed to ask.

• The Hook with Katie Kempner - Katie is VP and Director of Agency Communications at Crispin Porter + Bogusky. The Hook charts the territory where advertising and public relations meet providing exclusive interviews with the industry's finest advertising and public relations gurus, creatives and journalists to discuss the latest news and strategy in the industry.

• Power Source - Tim Mayer and Jeremy Zawodny of Yahoo! Search are your hosts for a power hour surging with an exciting look at some of the Valleys newest and hottest companies. Tap into interviews and commentary from people working behind the scene plus, Tim and Jeremy will light it up with the latest happenings in the online world.

• The Fringe - This show will keep you in the know on what's hot and what's not, tracking the future of cool! Delve into an entertaining journey to the edge. Celebrity designer, TV personality and international DJ Nani Vinken takes you to the fringes of our culture. To a part of our culture, that most rarely see, to entertainment and insight into hip, cool and intriguing parts of everyday life before it occurs. Philosophers idea generators, rule-breakers, social divas, cultural studs.

That's a lot of shows. Time in between shows is filled with a wide variety of popular music. There are also commercials but nevër over-bearing like you would experience with most radio stations. As you can see by the titles above, there is just about something for everyone. It is rumored that a couple of new shows that will be coming online shortly will include Jennifer Slegg of JenSense and Michael Korda from Simon & Schuster.

Besides having a great line-up of talk shows, WebmasterRadio is the official radio for Search Engine Strategies, AdTech, PubCon and EcomXpo. They are present at all of these conferences, broadcasting live and bringing an inside view of these conferences for people that cannot attend in person. This makes for a heavy travel schedule for both Daron and Brandy but they seem to love it. Did I also mention that they are great at getting parties started as well? They recently organized a party at blues legend, Buddy Guy's club where Buddy himself made an appearance

So if you haven't tuned in to WebmasterRadio yet, what are you waitïng for? They are truly creating a legacy. When interviewing Brandy for this article, she reflected that her and Daron feel overjoyed that they are responsible for bringing a community of people together. WMR is making a difference in people's lives, helping them improve their businesses and themselves. Listeners are also coming to depend on their daily dose of WMR. I know I am. For that, both Daron and Brandy are thrilled at what has transpired so far and look forward to a bright future.

About The AuthorDavid Wallace is CEO and founder of SearchRank, an original search engine optimization and marketing firm providing keyword analysis, organic search engine optimization, link popularity enhancement, pay-per-click management, search engine friendly web design and ongoing campaign maintenance

Small Business Podcasting Demystified

By John Jantsch (c) 2006

Much has been written lately about the subject of podcasting. Podcasting is a very powerful small business tool but, some are kept away because it all sounds so technical.

In this article I will attempt to simplify the subject.

Let's start with the Podcast definition from the growing resource Wikipedia: What is a podcast - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast.

The definition provided by Wikipedia is a good place for you to start, but let me just add my take. A podcast is little more than an audio file (usually an mp3) placed on a website and combined with an RSS file that allows people to subscribe and automatically download any new content recordings

From a technical standpoint, there's nothing really too complicated about podcasting so don't think this is some geeky tech stuff. From a marketing standpoint, I didn't get too excited about the concept until Apple decided to make a podcast directory a primary component of iTunes. When that happened the market for podcasting on any subject imaginable was born.

Podcast Basics

Podcasts are typically published with a blogging tool like Blogger, TypePad, or MovableType. If you already use one of these blog services, creating your podcast is as simple as linking to your audio files and using a service like FeedBurner to automatically convert it into a podcast friendly feed. (More on that in a minute)

Create Content

Most podcasts are formatted much like radio shows. Hosts will interview guests or simply decide to talk about a subject that they feel is of interest to someone. From a business standpoint it can be a very powerful way to produce content that will make your website more interactive.

The plumber that records simple how to fix it podcasts will own the world! (Videocasts are just around the corner too.) There are a couple other very good reasons to host a podcast that may not directly have to do with content per se. Think about interviewing your clients on the benefits of using your service and posting those interviews as a podcast. Think that might make your best client even more loyal?

What about referral partners? What if you identified business owners that also serve your target market and invited them to be guests on your podcast. My guess is that you could instantly build a network of leading businesses with you as the hub. When you publish a podcast, whether you have a local or national audience, you become a member of the media. The tables are suddenly turned when you approach prospects and influential individuals. When you are the publisher of a podcast you have the opportunïty to gain access to the decision makers inside your biggest prospects – by simply requesting an interview. Do you see the potential in that?

Record

As I wrote earlier, a podcast is a digital recording so one of the steps you must complete for each session is to record your podcast. There are many ways to accomplish this task. You can use a portable mp3 recorder, use a service to record a telephone interview, record an interview using any number of VoIP services or create a recording set-up for your computer. (Obviously, you can go into a professional recording studio too.)

This article is not meant to explain in great detail every element of working with digital audio files but there are many ways to accomplish this step when you determine what your podcast needs are.

A great set-up for recording you own voice is to use a professional mic and a frëe software program called Audacity (Audacity has some very useful editing functions as well)

For telephone interviews you can use a service such as Conference Calls Unlimïted. CCU offers a telephone bridge line, recording, editing and hostíng of your mp3 file.

VoIP is a PC to PC or PC to telephone service led by a service called Skype. This is a particularly good option for International calls. A host of add-ons are cropping up to build even greater functionality into Skype.

Evoca
Gabcast
Skype VoIP calling
Conference Calls Unlimïted
Audacity free audio recorder and editor
Skype recording that interfaces with Outlook

Edit

You may find that after you conduct an interview you want to add some music or cut out segments. Again, look no further than Audacity (It's frëe and works very well).

File Host

Once you record your podcast you must upload the file to a server. There are services that offer recording and hosting options but, all you really need is enough space with your current web host to upload your mp3 files. Either way, you will simply link to the mp3 file from a blog post or web page. Below are some other options.

Podblaze
OurMedia
Audioblog
Liberated Syndication

RSS Feed

One of things that makes a podcast something more than an mp3 file is the addition of a podcast format RSS feed. This is simply a file that is updated every time you add an mp3 file so that subscribers through iTunes or some other Podcast service can automatically download your new content.

Podcasts do require a specific kind of RSS feed but, the only thing you need to do is go to a frëe service called FeedBurner and allow them to convert your blog feed or other RSS feed to work for podcasting. They can also set your feed up the way that iTunes and Yahoo Podcast want it set-up.

FeedBurner - Enhance a blog feed
Feed for all - Create a feed

Submit

Just like websites and blogs, podcasting has its own set of directories. You need to make a point of submitting your podcast or podcast feed (the one you formatted with FeedBurner) to the major podcast directories and engines.

ODEO
iTunes
Podcast.net
Singing Fish
Podcast Alley
Podcast News
Yahoo Podcast
Digital Podcast

Apple's Podcasting FAQs
Apple's Podcast technical specifications

Music and Intros

Maybe you want a cool music beat to kick off your show or a big radio voice type intro.

Royalty free music
Professional intros and outros

Listening and Searching

You should subscribe to and listen to podcasts to get a good idea of some of the ways people are using this tool for business. You will need what is sometimes referred to as a podcatcher to subscribe. If you have iTunes you already have one. (Most of the time you can visit a podcast site and simply listen to the mp3 file if you have an mp3 player like Windows Media Player or RealPlayer installed on your computer.)

iTunes
Juice
Doppler

Misc. Podcast Gear
Search audio files

Podcast Tutorials and Forums

Podstrigs
About.com
Podcast Alley
Podcasting News
FeedBurner's Podcast Guide

My Set-Up

Just in case you are curious, here's how I podcast. I use Conference Calls Unlimïted to provide my recording and editing. I hook up with a guest by telephone, conduct the interview and about 24 hours later receive a link to the edited mp3 file to link to from my podcast blog.

My intro was produced my AudioBag.com.

My RSS feed was created and enhanced by FeedBurner.

There are lots of things that you can do to make your podcast even more professional. In this article I've attempted to demystify the major points and get you interested in producing your own podcast.

About The AuthorJohn Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide published by Thomas Nelson - due out in the fall of 2006. He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. You can find more information by visiting http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/.