By Jamie Turner, Editor, The 60 Second Marketer

In this article, you will learn:

1) That Podcasting audiences will continue to grow;

2) How you can use podcasts to market and sell your product or service; and

3) What research data tells us about podcasting audiences.

It's true.

Podcasting, which hit the marketing community with a big bang just a few years ago, hasn't swept through with quite the impact that was once predicted. But podcasting isn't dead. In fact, podcasting audiences are expected to jump 450 percent to 55 million by 2011 and eMarketer expects the podcast ad market to grow to $400 million by 2011.

There are a number of ways marketers can use podcasts: 1) they can create an original-content podcast to e-mail to existing and potential customers; 2) they can upload it their product’s home page; or 3) they can submit it to a podcast directory.

The production of an original-content podcast can be as simple as recording in a home studio (if, for example, you’re a Yoga teacher) or as elaborate as hiring a professional marketing firm to produce one in a recording studio (if, for example, you’re a large national brand).

To purchase advertising on an existing podcast, an advertising agency will negotiate a package with the individual podcaster or a podcast network. A package can include the podcast advertising plus banners or logo placement on the site. Packages can range from $.03 per download to $.20 per download.

Podcasts can also be tracked, if there is a call to action. The podcast, like a radio or TV spot, can ask people to go to a website, call an 800 number, mail in their response or even go to the store. Podcast volume is determined by the number of downloads. Responses can be tracked by the number of hits to the unique URL, calls to the unique 800 number or store sales data.

Are podcasts successful?

Not long ago, Forrester Research provided the following data:

1% of online households in North America regularly download and listen to podcasts.
One-quarter of online consumers express interest in podcasts.
Apple has upgraded its iTunes, the most popular managing system for podcasts, several times to meet the demands of podcasting.

Nielson Research provided this additional data:

6.6 % of the U.S. adult online population or 9.2 million Web users have recently downloaded an audio podcast.
4% or 5.6 million Web users have recently downloaded a video podcast.
Young people are more likely than their older counterparts to engage in audio or video podcasting. Web users between the ages 18 and 24 are nearly twice as likely as the average Web user to download audio podcasts, followed by users in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups, who were also more likely than the average Web user to do audio podcasting
Video podcasters trend a little older, with 25-34 year olds indexing the highest.
Web users above the age of 45 were less likely than average to engage in podcasting of either sort.

So, is Podcasting dead or not?

Podcasting isn't dead, it's just evolving, like so many other media. When used as a part of the marketing mix, it can help create brand ubiquity. Is podcasting the end-all and be-all? No, but it was never intended to be.

The bottom line if you're a marketer:

Use podcasts as one of your many marketing tools;
Try to be as efficient as possible when budgeting for podcasts -- the number of downloads for a specific podcast aren't often huge, so devoting vast amounts of time or money to the medium will not show a positive ROI.

Jamie Turner lives in Atlanta, Georgia and is the editor of The 60 Second Marketer. He has spent more than 25 years helping corporations such as AT&T, Cartoon Network, CNN, Motorola and The Coca-Cola Company grow their sales and revenue. Lisa Swayne also contributed to this article.

Is Podcasting Dead?