Rainmaker team says, “It’s the new thing: 1. Start a podcast. 2. Attract an audience. 3. ??? 4. Profit! Sounds a lot like blogging in 2006. Problem is, with the exception of a few huge sites, it didn’t really work out that way for most bloggers. Which is why thinking in terms of content marketing and developing your own products took off in that field. Brian Clark will admit that the prospects for good revenue from audio ads — when done correctly — are much better than banner ads and AdSense were for bloggers. So there’s no reason why working with the right sponsors shouldn’t... [...]

Ryan Matthew Pierson says, “High-quality audio recording was once the exclusive domain of professional studios, radio stations and other settings tricked out with top-notch equipment. But now, thanks to advances in technology and lower pricing, professional-level audio recording has moved within reach of practically anyone. So if you’ve ever wanted to reach a broad audience as a podcaster, there’s no time like the present. These days, the difference in quality produced by professional set-ups—with layers of soundproofing and pricey microphones—don’t sound all that different... [...]

Mitch Meyerson says, “The proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices with broadband connections has made podcasting an ideal channel for claiming the attention of targeted prospects and getting them to buy from you. But things have changed: It used to be that by simply launching a podcast, you’d attract an audience. So few shows existed that listeners happily subscribed to any quality show related to their interests. Today, the selection has grown significantly. But don’t let that scare you away from podcasting. There’s still plenty of opportunity to create a popular... [...]

Rainmaker team says, “Most podcasts fail. It’s unfortunate, but true. That might psyche out some potential showrunners before they even start. But savvy showrunners will recognize an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others. Obviously, there are many possible mistakes that can lead to podcasts failing. But there are some common ones that The Showrunner hosts, Jerod Morris and Jon Nastor, have seen over and over. And what’s encouraging is that many of these mistakes are avoidable — simply by knowing what they are and knowing how to turn them into positives instead of negatives“. 5... [...]

Rachel Sprung says, “Now more than ever, businesses are focusing on creating delightful mobile website experiences. After all, 80% of Internet users are using smartphones to search online. What’s more, marketers are gearing up for a big change Google plans to make to their algorithm starting on April 21, 2015. Google wrote in their official blog that they will be “expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal,” and their update should have a significant effect on marketers. When Google makes this change, it will affect 40% of mobile search queries.... [...]

Rainmaker team says, “In previous episodes of New Rainmaker with Brian Clark, Brian and Robert Bruce have discussed the “why” of starting a podcast (or podcast network). In this one, they talk about the “how.” As many of you know by now, it has been almost two weeks since Copyblogger Media launched an on-demand audio network called Rainmaker.FM. Thanks to you, things have gone pretty well in that time. What you don’t yet know is the story behind that launch — the planning, production, and marketing of the 10 distinct shows that are currently airing. Not to mention the next crop... [...]

Mike Del Coure says, “We’ve all seen them before: the frustrating little pages that appear when you click a broken link on a website. Maybe the developer forgot to remove that link when they deleted that blog post. Or maybe they updated the site and an extra sneaky character got into the link URL. Whatever the case, sending a website visitor to a 404 page is never a good thing. Ideally, we’d want our sites locked tight and linked right. But these things do happen. However, we can use this as an opportunity to not only build brand loyalty but delight customers at the same time. Here... [...]

Alisa Meredith says, “It started with a few tweets here and there asking me to start a podcast (“I don’t have time to read all your blog posts!”), a couple of guest appearances on hangouts and other marketing podcasts, and next thing I know, for Inbound Marketing Week this year, I launched The Superheroes of Marketing podcast. There is more to it than that, obviously. And the challenges were well, challenging… I’m not good with hardware. Wires and plugs all look the same to me. As an introvert, the performance part of the project is exhausting. Like everyone else, I’m busy. Really... [...]

Brian Clark says, “Yep, we’ve launched a digital marketing podcast network. Someone was bound to do it, but you may be surprised that it’s us. Truth is, this is something I’ve personally wanted to do for a long time … and the time is right. Copyblogger came to prominence by teaching people how to write engaging content and copy, and that won’t change. But we’d be silly to ignore the surge in podcasting. In many ways, audio makes more sense for more people than text. Audio is the perfect format for accessing the intelligence and advice you need to succeed. It goes with you wherever... [...]