Should you start a blog, or start a podcast? Should you podcast, and not blog? Should you do both?
I do think that podcasting and blogging go hand-and-hand, both for the SEO benefits and because some readers prefer to receive information in an auditory medium, and others in a visual medium.
However, there are some differences between blogging and podcasting that I’d like to highlight in this post. If you’d like to skip to any at any time, you can use the mini-header titles as guides for the various sections
Many blog readers “skip” or “read ahead.”
Unlike podcast consumers, which may sit through a thirty minute or hour long podcast, many blog readers prefer to skip around the content by skimming the blog post for major points or relevant links.
As a blogger, you should take this to heart and use this type of reading habit to guide the structure of your blog post. Rather than having one long essay, where you explain from start to finish why you made a certain decision or the benefits of a particular software tool, it would be better to break that long paragraph into sub-sections that have distinct headlines.
This is how this blog post is structure and it ensures that the content is easily-consumable. In contrast to blogging, I’ve noticed that podcast listeners may be hanging on your every word or be engaged in some activity while they are listening, like cleaning the dishes or commuting to work.
Naturally, you should take advantage of this more involved listening pattern by taking a chance to develop a relationship with your listener, in addition to broadcasting to him or her.
Podcasting is not good for SEO.
If you were hoping on getting more readers from people typing in key search terms like “x best website for” or “difference between x vs x,” then podcasting is not the medium for you. Most people, in my experience, learn about podcasts from searching the iTunes store, looking at related podcasts, and from their favorite frequented website of choice.
Podcasting as an SEO strategy is not recommended because search engines have not yet learned how to understand audio and incorporate that audio into the searchability of a piece of media. You could improve the SEO of a podcast by for the podcast episode or a blog post which introduces the main concepts the podcast will talk about.
You could also boost the SEO of the podcast by distinctly naming the podcast, which might get a lot of inbound links to the particular URL you chose. You could then start blogging about the topics for which your website is considered an authority and benefit from some of those high quality back-links.
Blogging has links vs. Podcast’s audio mentions
As you may already now, it’s difficult to get passive podcast listeners into the active state needed for them to take action on one of your main points and go to your website or type a particular URL in their search bar to learn more about a particular website.
Seeing as it is difficult to secure a podcast audio sponsor initially, you must get the listener on your website for them to join your email list, have the chance to browse your products, or be introduced to your website’s advertising.
So far, the way I have been doing this is by using the “show notes” as an incentive for the podcast listener to go to my website to check out the notes and transcripts for each episode. I’ve shown how I’ve formatted them below:
Rather than trying to get your podcast listener to go to a bunch of clickable links, I think it’s best to send them to one location, the show notes for your episode, where they can check out any links mentioned in your episode and also discover other articles or products in your library.
Podcasting Has More Intimacy Than Blogging
Unlike a blog, which a reader may skim or look over briefly, a podcast must have time set aside for it to be listened to. During a podcast, a listener will interact with your voice, your intonation, and the sincerity behind your words.
For this reason, I believe that podcasting is more intimate than blogging and therefore is a better method to develop a rapport with new potential customers for your informational or physical products. When taking this into account, it’s important to give your potential customers a way for them to get to know you, as they would through the “bio” section of a blog.
Including a short snippet which explains why you are doing the podcast or a fun fact about you that the viewer can learn about is a good way to humanize the podcast a bit and make it less about the information being presented and more about who is doing the presenting.
Obviously, including too much personal information is another podcasting mistake that will harm the overall podcast, but including a little bit, especially enough to be interesting, will enhance the podcast experience for the listener.
Over time, the intimacy that you develop with your listener will help with recommendations for other podcast episodes, podcast shows, or informational products.
Blogs are easier to crank out, but harder to resonate with.
As someone who has been blogging for two years, I can tell you that if I know the subject about which I’m writing, then I can crank out a professional blog post pretty quickly.
On average, it’s taking me about three times the amount of time to produce one podcast episode, edit it, apply ID3 tags, schedule it to go out, and add the additional blog post context.
For this reason, I’m scheduling the podcasts to go out only once per week, but as I increase in efficiency with my system, I could see myself doing more podcasts per week. At the same time, I think that the podcasts have more of a lasting impact on my listeners than my readers. Listeners seem to remember a particular episode better than a particular article, as those can blend together over time.
Ultimately, I think that blogs are easier to crank out in terms of numbers and frequency, but the podcasts give me a certain depth with my audience that I am unable to achieve from blogging alone.
Do you have a blog and a podcast?
I’d love to hear from you! What made you to decide to have a blog or podcast along with the other? Have you considered creating a video vlog or series instead of an audio podcast?
