Reaching Readers: 7 Reasons You Need A Walking Podcast

US indie author Michael La Ronn shares his enthusiasm for a new craze that's helped him reach more readers for his self-published books: walking podcasts. With as little as 20 minutes required to create and upload your own, it has to be worth a shot!

Photo Credit: Copyright 2013 © Janay Michel

One of the biggest trends right now among indie authors is the walking podcast (“walkcast”). The author takes a walk, talks into their phone about whatever is on their mind, and then uploads the talk to YouTube or iTunes.

A few authors started this trend (Nathan Lowell, Lindsay Buroker, and David Wright), and then almost overnight, at least a dozen authors started walkcasts of their own. Just go to Google+ or YouTube and search for the hashtag #walkcast and you’ll see what I mean.

Why Make  Walking Podcasts (Walkcasts)?

Walking is one of the best things a writer can do. It keeps you healthy, and it gives you time to clear your mind. Why not walk AND get some work done at the same time?

I decided to try my own walkcast, just to see what would happen. I recorded myself talking as I drove to the gym. I loved it so much that I do it every week now.

I discuss a variety of things in my walkcast, both writing and non-writing. I’ve done episodes on “Writing Interactive Fiction,” “Creating a Production Schedule,” “The Pros and Cons of Living in Des Moines, Iowa”, and “Jobs I’ve Had,” to name a few. The non-writing episodes were fun because I explored old memories. Surprisingly, the non-writing episodes have been the most popular.

If you’re still not sold on the idea of a walking podcast, here are seven more reasons to consider trying one:

Your existing audience will appreciate it. Readers love to hear what makes their favorite artists tick.

How to Make a Walking Podcast (Walkcast)

1. 

   Photo credit to Danka Peter, used with permission from Unsplash.com

   It’s easy. Just take your phone with you and talk. You can use your camera app on your phone (if you want to do a vlog), the Voice Memo app on your phone (like I do), or you can use a digital camera or voice recorder.Most of my episodes are around 10 minutes, and it takes me approximately 5-10 minutes to upload each one. That’s much easier than producing a full-length podcast.

2. It’s extemporaneous. Are you looking to start a speaking career? Doing a walkcast off-the-cuff is a great way to build your speaking skills, and also something you can link to on your speaking page.
3. It’s intimate. A walkcast is a direct link between the walkcaster and the listener. When I record my episodes, it feels as if I’m talking to a friend, and I find myself opening up more than I ever would in a blog post or on social media.
4. It’s quite amazing. David Wright talked about his addiction to diet soda in recent episode. The Walking Rob talked about his addiction to marijuana. Others have spoken openly about battles with depression. Few mediums allow a writer to get this intimate.
5. It’s painless. You can edit your podcasts as much or as little as you want. As long as the audio is clear and/or the video is good quality, no one is going to complain.
6. It’s fun. As a listener and watcher of walkcasts, I’ve gotten to know other indie writers. We often mention each other in our walkcasts, and we piggyback on each other’s topics.
7. It’s healthy. Enough said.

What I've Gained from Making Walkcasts

My walking podcast has helped me reach new people, which resulted in a big bump in pageviews on my site.It also helped me make some new friends. It has been an invaluable tool in helping me express myself and find my voice online. Perhaps it can do the same for you, and even more.

Check out Michael's walking podcasts here: 

http://www.michaellaronn.com/extras/podcast/

Great ideas, Michael – let's help spread the word! Here's our suggested tweet to share this post:

“Authors – reach more readers with walking podcasts! Here's how: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/walking-podcast/ via @MichaelLaRonn for @IndieAuthorALLi “