Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Start Your Own Podcast

By Michael Shilling
Friday, May 20th, 2011

I’m a keen consumer and producer of podcasts…… you can hear my rambles every Monday at photocreative365.com

In fact the New Media Photographer podcast where Trevor had a regular guest spot, is how I first came across Current Photographer.

Podcasts have been around for a long time but it’s a medium that continues to grow. They are cheap to produce and relatively easy to put together.

I have a very inexpensive microphone and all I use is Garage Band and the Blubrry PowerPress Podcasting plugin…… all free (if you have a mac) except the mic which set me back a staggering £11.99 (time for a new investment methinks). Earlier this year at the SWPP convention I met a lot of other photographers that either know me from a forum or have visited my site. I was actually quite surprised (and encouraged) that quite a few of them listen to the podcast….. even if some use it as a sleeping aid!

In the beginning you will just be talking to yourself but be patient. After just over a year of podcasting I’m pretty happy with the amount of iTunes downloads I get and it’s become an important part of PhotoCreative365.

Where to start…… a few tips

  • What do you specialise in? There’s a start.
  • If you’re a wedding photographer then talk about weddings….. you’re an expert on them after all!
  • Maybe you can just talk about your work, it’s up you!
  • Podcasts don’t have to be audio only but to be honest I personally only listen to the audio ones as I usually download them all from my iPhone….. don’t get me started on battery life!
  • Consider the length of your show. I experimented quite a bit with this and settled on a 10 minute weekly format.

Someone once told me that the average commute to work was 27 minutes so I’ve always been weary of producing content longer than this.

Be consistent

Podcast listeners get very upset if you don’t post on a regular and consistent basis. If you can only manage once a month that’s fine but try and make it the same day every month.

Be yourself and be honest

Don’t pretend to be something you’re not as you will found out!

Grow a thick skin

You’re putting yourself out there to a very different community. Praise and …. are often in equal measure. If that sounds a bit too ambitious then ask to appear as a guest on an already established podcast. Better still become a regular contributor like Trevor did.

What will this achieve?

Well let’s go back to what Trevor did as an example…..

  • Trevor appeared regularly on The New Media Photographer podcast
  • Michael (me) listens to podcast and after a couple of weeks or so checks out Currentphotographer.com
  • Michael submits article ideas and becomes a regular contributor
  • Since September 2010 this is my 37th guest post at Currentphotographer.com and I actively promote my articles at PhotoCreative365.com on Twitter, Facebook and on the Photo Creative Podcast.

All this from a handful of podcasts not lasting more than a couple of minutes each.

I’d say that was a worthwhile marketing campaign wouldn’t you?

Be sure to check out Trevor and Joseph Cristina’s new podcast Digital Photography Café

This is the eighteenth in our series looking at different marketing campaigns for photographers.

Also in this series:

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Categories : Grow Your Business, Marketing Campaigns
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