A discussion about corporate and business podcasting with tips and guidelines

Ben Yoskovitz, host of the Great Big Small Business Show (great name!), shares his top 5 lessons learned after creating 7 episodes of his show.

I'll leave it to Ben to explain the details, but the main points are:

1. The technology requirements are not overwhelming: True - a $30 microphone and audacity has been the only gear we've used and we're about to record our 80th-something-ish show. It drives the Snake Oiler sellers nuts when I state that I don't think I've spent $100 in total since I started podcasting 18 months ago.
2. Have a script, but don't read it: I have to agree here as well. I use my free Backpackit account to create talking points. I add to them as the week goes on and by the time we sit down to record, the entire show is pretty much mapped out. There's a nice comfy line between a script and talking points to prevent rambling.
3. Promoting a podcast is very similar to promoting a blog: Yup. Directories, linking, and just general making noise are good ways to get noticed. Podcasting also has some unique conference opportunities right now that blogging no longer has, however. The blogging hype is over so the conferences have simmered down to one or two big ones per year. Podcast conferences, on the other hand, are a dime a dozen right now. Lots of opportunity for exposure.
4. Listen to as much as you can: This is one area that I fall down in. I don't listen to nearly as many podcasts as I think someone in my position should. In fact, sometimes weeks go by and I don't listen to a single show. I'm not sure why that is as I like podcasts and enjoy them, but for some reason I just don't get around to listening to them all that much. It's a good recommendation, though, because you'll quickly lose touch with the space if you don't keep up on what other's are doing.
5. Tracking stats is far from a perfect science. Uh-huh. Sure is a long way to go. Ben mentions that he wants to try out PodTractor. I'm not sure where the pricing page went, but I'm pretty sure PodTractor runs in the hundreds of dollars per month range.
6. Yes, there's a sixth, but you'll have to go to Ben's blog to read it.

All in all, it sounds like Ben has learned what he's supposed to learn during the first few shows. Anyone else have different lessons learned when beginning the podcasting journey?

My lessons learned almost all surround bit rate, sample rate, and the relationship to file size.