Having rounded the corner into another new year, many podcasters will be turning their thoughts to how they can make this year the year that they put themselves ahead of the pack, raise their profile within iTunes and make themselves natural contenders for getting noticed. It's time to innovate. As just doing more of the same day in and day out only leads to stagnation, not just for individual podcasters but for the networks too, why not make this year your year of innovation?
No matter how long you’ve been podcasting, there is always a way to add value when you innovate. Even if you go down a path that didn't work. Often the experience you gain is worth it. Here are a few tips to get you thinking.
Tips on How to Innovate
1. Live, eat and breathe innovation. Think about how changes in technology or to systems and processes could make or save you money, and actively seek out opportunities to innovate if you want to make a name for yourself.
2. Don’t get stuck in today. Think about the bigger picture and what might be needed weeks, months and years into the future.
3. Speak up. An idea is useless if you keep it inside your own head. If you spot opportunities, speak up and act on your inspiration.
This is one of the reasons I tested the waters of podcasting live this year. I tried Blog Talk Radio (awful), Spreaker (OK), and Mixlr.com (loved it). I wouldn't have found these tools, or gained the experience of using them had I not been willing to try something different. Keep in mind, trying new things does not mean abandoning your main focus. For me that is podcasting. I can't take Ask the Podcast Coach, and start talking about my favorite rock bands. That's not innovating, that's suicide. If I want to talk about what rock bands are using podcasting to promote themselves, that is a different story. Then maybe review these and explain what I feel works and what does not. See how many of these bands are innovating with the use of podcasting. That would tie into my audience. There is thinking outside of the box, and the there is setting the box on fire.
