There is a strong belief that once television became popular it was the only broadcasting tool there was. Wrong. The radio is as, if not more, popular than it has ever been and, in the same way, creating a podcast to market your book is an amazing way to get to your audience. The benefit? Listening is passive; people don’t have to expend any real effort to hear your message. They can listen to while they are driving, doing the housework, or relaxing on the sofa, anywhere.

Recording a podcast is really very simple. You could even use your mobile phone or tablet to do it, although adding a pair of headphones and microphone will give you much better sound. And, to make life easier for yourself, write your script first. If you make a mistake, delete the recording and start again.  Editing a podcast is quite simple too and there are plenty of free tools to help you.

What to Talk About

Well, your book is a good start; you could read a teaser chapter to get people interested and, if things go really well, you could turn your entire book into a series of podcasts and charge people a small amount to access them. This gives your potential readers an idea of what your book is about and, by hearing your voice, they start to feel as if they know you.

If you have a blog where you talk about your work, you can turn blog posts into podcasts, either existing ones or new ones. The best bit? It doesn’t matter what you look like because no one can see you! And, by turning your book or your blog into a series of podcasts, you widen your audience even more. Many people prefer to listen than read while they are traveling, for example, and you also have one more market – the visually impaired.

Do you know any other authors? You do? Interview them on a podcast. It’s a popular way of producing engaging content and, again, your potential audience is doubled to include theirs. Offer fans an opportunity to be interviewed or ask them to send questions that you will answer on a podcast. You get more content, they get more satisfaction because they feel that you are engaging with them.

Posting Your Podcast

Podcasts don’t tend to attract such a large audience as videos do because they are not popular platforms like YouTube. However, you could look into distribution companies like Amazon and Apple to get your podcast out to the masses. iTunes is the best place; it's simple to do and you get access to a huge audience.

Once your podcast is out there for all to hear, don’t forget to tell everyone! Ask them for ideas, for comments, get them involved and you stand a chance of widening your audience even more.

Podcasting is an excellent marketing tool and it should be part of your strategy. Written work almost always translates brilliantly into audio and it gives you an informal method of connecting with your readers and pulling in potential new readers.