There's no debate about Podcasting itself. Podcasting is one of the best techniques to adopt for an information marketer or someone in the advice business. They're easy to create. Powerful in the ability to influence. And valued by the audience. That's a powerful combination for any technique.
But there is a debate about Podcasting.
Specifically the debate is around whether it is smart to charge for a podcast. People are lined up on both sides of the table. They're taking sides and as usual they're quite vociferous in their support for their opinion. The truth, of course, is somewhere in between.
Some people believe that there should be no doubt about charging for podcasts.
Podcasting can be the basis for a very useful and powerful membership product. Many membership programs are built around newsletters or video products. But podcasting can provide a higher value product for more people with less work than the alternatives.
Ongoing revenue products are extremely powerful and profitable. But there aren't many methods of generating this type of revenue. Membership programs, newsletters and coaching are the normal techniques used. However, a podcast is a recurring product and therefore makes an excellent base for a recurring revenue product.
Podcasts can also be repackaged in many ways. By charging for the base product (the podcast) you can ensure that the subsequent products retain their value. After all the information is proprietary and shouldn't be shared without recompense.
On the other hand there are a number of people who believe that charging for podcasts is foolish. They also have a strong argument.
Not all products will sell equally. Changing formats may cause a product to suddenly start to sell. Even though it is essentially the same product. Podcasts are such a powerful source of subsequent products that selling them may fool you into believing there is no market when there really is. If the podcast does not sell well you may decide not to release the subsequent products. The result would be a major loss in profits.
Podcasts are an extremely powerful technique to increase credibility and build a reputation. As such they are a marketer's dream. Selling them would seriously impact their distribution and therefore reduce their ability to deliver increased credibility. Bluntly they are worth more as a free product than they ever could be as a paid product.
Podcasting draws part of its history and techniques from the broadcast media such as radio. But unlike traditional broadcasting it is a content rich media. And it is judged by both its content and its production values. As a free product both the audience and the producer will concentrate on the content and tend to ignore the production values. However, as a paid product the producer will tend to focus on production values thus reducing the actual value of the product.
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