If you're considering jumping into the exciting new world of podcasting, a case study from MarketingSherpa might be the next important read on your to-do list.  The study, which looks at IFS North America's success with podcasting, showcases some best practices to follow when starting a podcast service.

1. Keep the podcast short:  IFS' podcast is 16 minutes long and is one of the lengthier ones.  It's one thing to listen to music for 30 minutes or an hour.  It's quite another to listen to people talking directly into your ear for that long.
2. Set a schedule:  If people know when to expect the next podcast, more will come back to hear the next installment.
3. Use more than one person:  Again… it's hard to listen to recordings of people talking.  Keep it interesting by including multiple people and voices on the podcast.
4. Use more than one story:  Don't talk about the same story for the entire length of the podcast.  Talk about different stories like a newscast.  It's possible to create successful podcasts that are themed each episode… but with multiple stories.
5. Don't just read:  Don't just read the content you're presenting.  If you're talking about a white paper, re-write the paper into a vocal-friendly format.  Most people don't like to be read to.
6. Build vs. Buy:  You'll have to decide whether to build your own podcasting solution or use an existing service.  If you can find a service that offers the features you need, go with that and make life easier for yourself.
7. Links in Publications:  If your company publishes a newsletter or other regular publication, include links to the podcast in your newsletter.
8. Make a CD:  IFS mailed out CD-ROMs with several podcasts each on them.  That's an excellent way to put them right in front of your users.  The easier it is for them to listen, the more likely to listen they'll be.
9. Links on Websites:  Get links to your podcast on websites.  Don't just restrict the links to your own website, either.  Partner with trusted associate website and have them provide links as well.
10. Personal Invitations:  For your really special audience members, a personal invitation can be the deciding factor on whether or not they listen.
11. Landing pages:  While the urge to link directly to the podcast might be strong, resist it.  As the case study points out, most people don't expect clicking a link to end in blasting audio.  And when it does happen, they don't appreciate it.
12. Consider terminology:  Does everyone know what "podcast" means?  No.  IFS used terms like "audio production" and "radio network" to make it clear that what was housed on their site was auditory in nature.

In addition, MarketingSherpa recommends outsourcing the storage and delivery of podcasts.  Streaming audio can eat up bandwidth very quickly so services specifically designed to handle the workload are better suit than most corporate networks.

There is much more information available directly in the case study.  If you're working on a new podcast initiative (or even if you have an existing service), it's definitely worth a read.