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Text to Podcast
Instant Content; Converting a
Text Article to a Podcast
We are taught to recycle paper, cans, bottles and
plastic but marketers rarely discuss the value of
repackaging and repurposing content. Publishers
and marketers alike have embraced content syndication
and RSS but few have considered the value beyond
the actual syndication. Consider an alternative
communication channel that reaches a new or different
audience.
Repurposing and repackaging content or information
so that it can be consumed through a variety of
mediums is not a new concept. Many businesses today
sight increased communication as a common goal.
Cost conscious businesses with tight budges are
often interested in minimizing work loads and cost,
while increasing communication. By presenting the
same information in different ways and formats,
businesses are able to increase the reach and communication,
while remaining cost conscious.
Businesses quickly found that power point presentations
could be converted into technical articles, or forum
posts could be ported to become a basis for a list
of frequently asked questions. Along a similar vein
webmasters have located a new advent in repurposed
content is reusing text articles by converting them
into audio podcasts.
The process is surprisingly simple, I personally
found the prospect of reading the articles aloud
and recording them, both intimidating and time consuming,
hence I opted for a simplified approach. I found
that by using two simple software applications,
I was able to create a podcast in minutes.
The first obstacle, the creation of the audio file
was conquered using NextUp's TextAloud program.
I simply pasted in the text of an article selected
a "voice" and saved the file as an MP3
file. In under a minute I had an audio file containing
the article.
After I had the MP3 file saved, I used FeedForAll's
tutorial to create a podcast. The step by step tutorial
( http://www.feedforall.com/podcasting-tutorial.htm
)laid out 12 simple steps to constructing a podcast.
I found the quality of the constructed podcasts,
using synthesized speech to text, surprisingly good.
Check out the following samples:
RSS Podcast - http://www.rss-specifications.com/rss-podcast.xml
Software Marketing Podcast
http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/smr-podcast.xml
An evaluation version of TextAloud can be found
at: http://www.textaloud.com
and an evaluation version of FeedForAll can be found
at http://www.feedforall.com
Experiment by repurposing and repacking existing
content save time and money while increasing communication,
distribution and exposure.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll
http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds
and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing
for FeedForDev http://www.feedfordev.com
an RSS component for developers. |
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