With some rare exceptions, the answer is likely “very few”. According to a new Forrester research study podcasting is more hype than reality. The report Podcasting Hits the Charts reveals that only 1% of
Anecdotally, I have to tell you, I don’t know a single person that listens to podcasts except for one or two people – and they’re hard core tech nerds that have their own podcasts. And I know and meet a lot of like-minded people who are hardly luddites. They’re technology savvy and have iPods. But they have no interest in listening to an amateur broadcaster talk about their favorite (fill-in-the-blank).
While some of you iPod fans reading this will be shocked and angered by these low numbers (as some podcasters such as PodTech.net founder John Furrierh who has already expressed his outrage over this study) there is a difference between hope and reality. The hope – and certainly all expectations – is that podcasting will explode with millions of users by the end of the decade. The reality is that this media is limited in use and practice to just a few techno geeks.
Does that mean you shouldn’t launch your own podcast? No. If you have a desire to do so then go for it. It’s practically free (if you have a computer and microphone). But temper your expectations regarding potential listenership. Unless you only plan this as a side hobby there are far better media for reaching your target audience – unless that target audience is hardcore tech fans. If you plan to start a business podcast for employees or customers you better know what you’re doing and a well-defined plan is a must. If you want to build an attentive listener base you’d better understand your target audience and market to them accordingly.
A good podcast is more than an investment of 15 or 20 minutes a week. Understand that the return on your time in these early months and years of podcasting likely won’t amount to much despite all the hype indicating otherwise. But the future looks bright…
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