Well, today was the day a lot of people have been waiting for. Rush Limbaugh has taken Podcasting for profit mainstream. If you’re looking to succeed in business in the 21st Century marketplace, it doesn’t matter what your politics are. This is an exciting advancement because it’s an effort that’s getting functional Podcasting out to an educated, high-income demographic — and it’s being done for profit!

In one fell swoop 22 million listeners were exposed to a detailed explanation of Podcasting, and roughly half a million paid subscribers got to download the inaugural Podcast of the daily Rush Limbaugh show to their chosen MP3 player. I happen to be one of those subscribers, so in the always present spirit of my business coaching thought process — here’s what you can learn from this mega-size Podcasting for profit effort.

What YOU can learn from a REAL Podcasting for profit model

I’m going to give you a quick overview of how Rush’s Podcast system currently works, along with some business coaching insight as to what you should model in any similar Podcast effort (or any paid content delivery via RSS for that matter.)

The first step is to download a desktop management program which ensures only paid subscribers can access the RSS feed.

Downloading, installing, and configuring the super compact desktop program is a breeze. I had it done in 60-seconds. So even though it’s a separate program, it’s very consumer friendly. That’s an important attribute that some other “for fee” RSS programs out there are still lacking, and one important attribute you need to make sure is part of any Podcasting for profit effort you undertake for your business.

Step two, you choose where your files will automatically download to.

And step three, just enter your user name and password as a paid subscriber.

And you’re off the races.

Podcast “purity” vs. marketplace effectiveness

Now I can already hear some Podcast “purists” groaning that this is not “true Podcasting” because the MP3 files are not currently downloaded directly to your MP3 player. But I’m sorry, this is not a “Podcast purist site” and I’m not a slave to labels.

As a business owner and business coach, I’m a practical capitalist who is always seeking innovative ways that a highly effective technology can be applied. I’m always eagerly seeking ways a new technology can be tested, twisted, adapted, and applied for the benefit of a target consumer market, and for the profit of the business owner who applies that technology.

The desktop model is brilliant in that you are getting space 100% dedicated to your content on your client’s, customer’s, or subscriber’s desktop. It’s that same technology we’re using for the delivery of multi-media content for the soon to be launched www.BusinessOwnersJournal.net. As more and more RSS-delivered content and Podcasts are launched for profit, it may become more convenient for all free and for-fee RSS subscriptions to be handled in one reader like FeedDemon, but until subscriber based RSS feeds are perfected, the desktop model is the most viable option.

Another advantage for you as a business owner is that a direct to desktop application allows you to deliver any type of content you want (HTML, audio, movies) directly to your own exclusive channel on your client or customer’s desktop. There’s no clutter, and no chance of a subscriber missing out on your content because they got side-tracked on another channel. It’s still consumer controlled, on-demand media. It’s just that the delivery channel is exclusive, which both the consumer and content provide want if you’re plunking down your cash for that feed.

(NOTE: Subscriber-based RSS feeds and subscriber-based Podcasting is already in the works at www.premiumpodcasting.com. My good buddy Mike Stewart, along with Paul Colligan, and Alex Mandossian has launched the only subscriber-based Podcast service that gives you total and complete control over subscribers to your RSS feed. More on this exciting new service in an upcoming article.)

Anyway… back to the overview for how the Rush Limbaugh Podcast for profit system works.

The two step process required to get the MP3 files to your MP3 player is quick and easy. And Rush has already mentioned that they have programmers working on an upgrade that will do just that. As soon as a new show downloads a notification window comes up to let you know a new show has been automatically downloaded. (Yes, you can turn off the auto-notification too.)

I had my first Podcast automatically delivered by 11:30 am Hawaii time (just two-and-a-half hours after Rush’s show ended) minus any music (to adhere to copyright laws) and without any commercials. After getting my notification of automatic download, I simply opened my Podcast folder on my desktop, and dragged the new show over to my MP3 player for downloading.

The consumer in control. It’s the new marketplace… like it or not!

Simplicity, convenience, and affordability. With time-shifted content people can listen to complete shows when they want and where they want. Rush obviously understands the today’s on-demand consumer, and is already profiting from it. How can you employ this type of technology to satisfy the needs of your target market? If you don’t have the answer, you either get getting up to speed now, or get crushed beneath the wave of change that is the marketplace of the new millennium.

John-Paul Micek is a contributing partner in the only multi-media course that truly coaches business owners how to integrate business blogging for more traffic, more clients, and more profits — How to Master Business Blogging.

He’s know as the “Click-and-Mortar Business Coach” by by business owners around the world thanks to members of the Business Owners Coaching Club.


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