Learning from our podcasting friends.

I’m at the New Media Expo in fabulous Las Vegas this week, where hundreds of online content creators – bloggers, podcasters and the like – have gathered in 108-degree weather to talk about ideas, new technologies, best practices, and how friggin’ hot it is. Tomorrow, I’ll be teaming up with Greg Cangialosi over at Blue Sky Factory to talk about email marketing, but today I sat in on a podcasting basics class given by Scott Whitney at Podworx.

I was struck by the similarities between the process of creating an email newsletter and creating a podcast. For podcasters, you start by identifying yourself and your brand at the outset, much like email’s From Name and From Address. You follow that with a short audio teaser about the upcoming podcast designed to entice curious listeners without giving too much away – a subject line of sorts. But I had to stifle a squeal when he flipped to the slide with ideas for episode content. If you’re just getting started with email marketing, if it’s been awhile since you sent an email because you aren’t sure what to send, or if you’re looking for new content ideas to help you move beyond an email newsletter, this list is the perfect starting point:

1. Interview an executive.
2. Create a series about your product/service.
3. Write educational, how-to tips and articles.
4. Interview a customer (or member, or fan).
5. Write about an event you’re attending, from the event.
6. Share some behind-the-scenes information about your company or product.
7. Promote thought leadership articles.
8. Share company successes and awards.
9. Repurpose content from a seminar.
10. Showcase a partner company or service.
11. Interview an employee.
12. Broadcast news from your industry.

Hope this list gets you to thinking about your next campaign – or heck, your next twelve. If you’ve got another content type to add, please leave us a comment and let us know what you’re up to.

[tags] email campaign ideas, email marketing, NewMediaExpo2008, podcasting, Podworx, Scott Whitney [/tags]