Your Show Notes/Blog The overwhelming majority of podcasts use blogging software as the foundation of their website. This isn't just an arbitrary convention that developed over time. There are several good reasons to structure your website as a blog. For one thing, blogging software makes it easy to update the content of your website. When you post a new podcast and you want to add show notes, blogging is the simplest, most straightforward way to do so. Another reason to use blogging software is that it allows you to add show notes or other content from any computer that's connected to the Internet. It doesn't matter where you are. As long as you have access to a browser, you're in business. The final reason to use blogging software is that it provides a quick and convenient way for your listeners to provide you with feedback. When you post show notes in a blog format, you can include a link at the end of each post that allows users to make a comment. For example, Figure 5.1 shows the show notes for Garrick Van Buren's First Crack podcast with links after each post to comments from listeners. Figure 5.1. First Crack show #43 received one comment from a listener while show #42 received two comments. 
When a listener clicks on the comment link, he or she is immediately presented with a form that allows them to post comments, as shown in Figure 5.2. Figure 5.2. For your listener, leaving feedback is as easy as filling out a simple form. 
Of course, it would be just as simple to create a link that would allow your listener to send you an email. Why not do that instead of having them leave a post on your website? Well, actually you should do both, as we'll see in a moment. However, there are some important advantages that posted listener feedback has over email. Using a form to post feedback is faster and easier for your listener. Posted comments permit the option of anonymous feedback. Of course, you have the option of not allowing anonymous posting (and there are certainly valid reasons for exercising that option). If you choose to allow this practice, though, a feedback form is the easiest way to do it. When posted comments are used on your website, listeners can see each others' comments. This encourages further postings. In effect, the thread of postings can evolve into a "conversation." Figure 5.3 shows part of a thread of postings from the website of The Dawn and Drew Show.
Figure 5.3. When Dawn and Drew changed the format of their website, lots of listeners weighed in with opinions. 
Blogging Software for Your Website If you're maintaining your podcast's web presence on a blogging site such as blogger.com then you're all set. If, on the other hand, you're maintaining your own website and want to add blogging capabilities to it, that's easy to do. WordPress is open-source software that's available for free and can be easily installed on your website. Some web hosting companies offer WordPress installation as a free option with their web hosting services. If yours is one of them, and you didn't install WordPress with your initial installation, you can still add it on at any time. If your web host doesn't offer WordPress, check to see if it supports PHP (the scripting language of WordPress) and MySQL. Most hosts offer these, although some do so more elegantly than others. If you're not confident in your host's capabilities, ask for links to a few sites they're hosting that already have WordPress installed. Once you've determined that your web host can accommodate your needs, you can download WordPress for free at wordpress.org and install it yourself. Once it's installed, WordPress makes it easy for you to post your show notes (although a basic knowledge of HTML will make things considerably easier). It also automatically provides for listener comments and gives you options for moderating those comments. If you have programming skills, you can modify the appearance of your WordPress website yourself. Otherwise, there are dozens of WordPress templatesavailable for free onlinethat can do the job for you. Many of the most popular podcasts use WordPress to power their websites. Go to the home page of your favorite podcast and scroll down to the bottom. Chances are good that you'll find a small notice there specifying that the site runs on WordPress. |
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