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Anyone Know Anything About BlogTalkRadio.com?

by Nightengale
20 replies
Hi Warriors!

I came across BlogTalkRadio.com when it was mentioned in a personal finance newsletter I subscribe to. I took a look at their site and the idea of creating my own radio show/podcast via their site is pretty cool.

But I'm a bit confused. It seems that anyone can create their own radio show on any topic and all you need is a telephone and a computer. Apparently, BTR inserts radio ads and splits the revenue with the show creator/host.

But what if you want to create a show for business purposes and DON'T want any ads inserted in your show? Apparently, BTR will charge you then. Fine. Except NOWHERE do they say what the cost is! They just say to call or e-mail them.

Well, I don't want to contact them because I don't want to be sold. I just want the information and I'm a little irritated that they haven't posted the info anywhere.

I know Willie Crawford has posted some of his teleseminars on BTR. There were no ads in the call. Does anyone know how much it costs or what the arrangement is with BTR?

I'd really appreciate it if anyone can give me some insight into this.

Thanks!

Michelle
#blogtalkradiocom
  • Profile picture of the author Chuck Evans
    Michelle, why don't you just ask Willie?

    Willie is very accessible, and as well as successful, so maybe he'll read this post, otherwise just PM him through the forum.

    chuck
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  • Profile picture of the author James Schramko
    The real benefit is drawing in your audience and building a relationship - this is what Willie does so well.

    Also you get to announce your show on news sites as a press release.

    The other benefit apart from the authority you can build for having your own radio show is the power SEO links you can plug back to your own sites. It ranks really well.
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  • Profile picture of the author chewie49
    Who is Willie?

    The whale from "free willie"?

    I am sorry,...I just don't know (and I was kidding about the whale)
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    • Profile picture of the author James Schramko
      Originally Posted by chewie49 View Post

      Who is Willie?

      The whale from "free willie"?

      I am sorry,...I just don't know (and I was kidding about the whale)
      The OP mentioned it - Willie Crawford. The famous list building forum marketing / JV expert / cookbook / online for offline business turned blogger Willie...
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    • Profile picture of the author grumpyjacksa
      Originally Posted by chewie49 View Post

      Who is Willie?

      The whale from "free willie"?

      I am sorry,...I just don't know (and I was kidding about the whale)
      yes, he is a whale.......of a success !

      bet you had a few people spitting out coffee with that one.........

      no offense taken........
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  • Profile picture of the author Talltom1
    Actually, to be completely honest with you, you don't need a service at all. If you want to do a good job, you need a product called 'Voice Path' (do a google on it) which connects your telephone to your computer for a high quality studio sound. You can download the open source software (Audacity) to do your own editing, and compile it into whatever format you want to post on your website for podcasts, webinars, whatever. If you need any technical assistance, pm me.

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    • Profile picture of the author Chuck Evans
      Originally Posted by Talltom1 View Post

      Actually, to be completely honest with you, you don't need a service at all. If you want to do a good job, you need a product called 'Voice Path' (do a google on it) which connects your telephone to your computer for a high quality studio sound. You can download the open source software (Audacity) to do your own editing, and compile it into whatever format you want to post on your website for podcasts, webinars, whatever. If you need any technical assistance, pm me.

      Talltom
      From their site.
      Voice Path will not work with telephones that have a keypad in the handset.
      So that pretty much eliminates most users here is the US. Of course you could go buy some cheap telephone for around 20 bucks to get around this issue. And then, those of us who don't use landlines are pretty much hosed! That's why we use things like Blog Talk Radio!

      chuck
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  • Profile picture of the author Dana_W
    Blog Talk Radio seems to have amazing SEO benefits - it's really good for web visibility. I've been interviewed by 3 people with Blogtalk Radio programs and if you search for my name, Dana Willhoit, my blogtalk radio interviews are on the top of page one of Google - above the hundreds of newspaper article that I've written over the years, and all the other mentions of my name that appear anywhere else.
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Woodside
    Now you can create your own blog talk radio. I use my blog as a creative outlet and have set it to audio! You can check out the main blog site in my sig, but you can listen to how i've created my own blog talk radio on my own blog!

    I really believe that with the technology, this will help you go where you need to go!

    Here's today's audio post: BLOGCAST.SCOTTWOODSIDE.COM: Today's News - The twisted version
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    • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
      Thanks for all of the great replies!

      Last week I posted a couple of threads about creating my own radio show. Actually, I meant podcast. It's something that really interests me.

      I already have Audacity. On a recommendation from Warriors here, I bought Gary Ambrose's Web Impact Audio program, but I found the quality of the sound to be really poor. And that surprised me since I believe Gary is a stand up guy and only sold quality products. I've e-mailed asking for a refund, but haven't heard anything back yet. However, it IS a holiday weekend, so I'll wait a little more.

      But then I opened Audacity and recorded a little as a test. The sound from there isn't good either. Maybe it's my microphone. But that seems a little weird too since it's fairly new -- a Logitech microphone and I believe those are of reasonable quality.

      For whatever reason, the sound is so low when I play it back and I have to turn my sound way up to hear what I just recorded -- whether I've used Web Impact Audio or Audacity. So it's NOT going well. Plus, I've been having trouble with good buttons, etc. I'm about to throw in the towel and just open an Audio Acrobat account and be done with it.

      However, I'd like to be able to add music to the intro and outro. I even found some music I liked at Opuzz.com which provides royalty-free music for such purposes. I haven't bought anything yet though because I haven't found a way to create podcasts that I like yet.

      As for using Blog Talk Radio vs. creating and distributing my own podcasts independently... I could do that, but the biggest benefit I see with BTR is that they already have traffic and BTR would help me spread the word about my services.

      As for a blog... I'll be starting one shortly. I haven't gotten into blogging yet, but my designer is installing a Wordpress blog for me this weekend. Now I have to figure out blogging too! (What are pings, how do I ping or get pinged, how do I get the word out about my blog, and what else do I need to know????)

      Scott, I will check out your audio blog. That really interests me as that's kind of what I'd like to do too. I'm really a copywriter, but talking from just an outline is so much faster and easier. We'll see. I think it will take some experimenting to find the right mix of promotion that will work for me.

      Michelle
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Lockwood
    Originally Posted by Nightengale View Post

    But I'm a bit confused. It seems that anyone can create their own radio show on any topic and all you need is a telephone and a computer. Apparently, BTR inserts radio ads and splits the revenue with the show creator/host.

    But what if you want to create a show for business purposes and DON'T want any ads inserted in your show? Apparently, BTR will charge you then. Fine. Except NOWHERE do they say what the cost is! They just say to call or e-mail them.
    Where did you get that impression? I've heard several shows there, and none had ads. I know some of the people who host those shows and have never heard anything about them having to pay to have a show.

    In fact I've seen several presentations about it, and if there was a fee, I'm sure the speaker would have mentioned that.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
      From this page on their site Free Online Radio - Internet Talk Radio | BlogTalkRadio

      For Hosts: the end of the first line says FREE

      For Listeners: the end of the first line says FREE

      For Business: It doesn't say free and they ask you to contact them. I assumed to get a quote. Like I said, they never quote any prices. Maybe I'm misunderstanding. Maybe they just charge for production assistance. ?????

      Here's a show by the woman who publishes the personal finance newsletter I mentioned. If you listen long enough, you'll hear the break for the commercial.

      http://www.blogtalkradio.com/station...king-from-Home

      Then again, it's part of the Woman's Day Radio Network (of Woman's Day magazine). So maybe that's why: because WD sponsors her show. Maybe it has nothing to do with BTR. On the other hand though, it seems that BTR makes money from the ads in the shows, which BTR splits with the show host/creator. So I thought they required it unless a host/creator was willing to pay for it.

      ???? Like I said, I'm confused.


      Michelle

      P.S. You can also check out this page: Free Online Radio - Internet Talk Radio | BlogTalkRadio
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      • Profile picture of the author Chris Lockwood
        Originally Posted by Nightengale View Post

        From this page on their site Free Online Radio - Internet Talk Radio | BlogTalkRadio

        For Hosts: the end of the first line says FREE
        You're making this way too complicated. All you need to know is this line: "Free Internet radio talk show: No software download. Free."

        I'm not sure why you can't believe it's free when those who are using it have found that to be the case.
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        • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
          Originally Posted by Chris Lockwood View Post

          You're making this way too complicated. All you need to know is this line: "Free Internet radio talk show: No software download. Free."

          I'm not sure why you can't believe it's free when those who are using it have found that to be the case.
          LOL Yes, I'm sure I AM making this way too complicated. Habit, I suppose.

          Ok, another question then:

          So basically I can use BTR for free instead of paying for something like Audio Acrobat or bridge lines for teleseminars AND have some built-in traffic? I can post their widget to my own Web page, so the audio would be there too, right?

          Sounds like a deal to me! Please correct me if I'm missing something.

          Scott, I'm more than happy to pay money for a good product or service. Probably more so than the average person here at the WF, because unlike a lot of people here, I see the value in paying money for a good product or service that saves me time or money. (And I'm not trying to make money with NO money.) Trouble is, I've been spending too much money and now have to do like the rest of corporate America right now and initiate a spending freeze. I'm a bit spend-happy, so I need to be a bit more self-disciplined.

          Right now, other than hosting, domains, AWeber and maybe Audio Acrobat, I've challenged myself to move into a couple of new markets WITHOUT spending any more money. (Except for maybe faxing out press releases... Dang! See, I did it again...spending more money! )

          Michelle
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          • Profile picture of the author TimPhelan
            Yes, it's free and you can post the widget on your own site. You can also download the show in a mp3 file and use it anyway you like. So, if you don't like or want commercials you can do that easily. You would just need your own audio player. I actually wrote a report about BTR about a year ago for a wso. Maybe I'll update it. It's a great site.
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            • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
              Thanks for sharing Tim! Think I'll try it out.

              Michelle
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    • Profile picture of the author ss442
      I know that marketing folks are often the easiest to be "sold" on something but please contact them for their show info.

      I also can see the practicality of placing your radio blogs on your website.

      I subscribe to BlogTalk because I am interested in alternative energy products and systems. The narrator of the program I listen to has absolutely astonishing information on new inventions you don't see in the mainstream media. Too bad for them.

      What I think I would consider is do the BlogTalk show then place the links to your show on your website. The guy I listen to doesn't do that and I am sure he could do a much better job of monetizing his site if he did that.

      If anyone would like to hear a sample of BlogTalk and one of the most ingenious inventions that may soon hit the market, PM me and I'll send you the link. Particularly if you are interested in new energy devices. It's about an hour long but you will be thinking, "what the he@#", why isn't this in production now!

      By the way, I get "nothing" for this but the satisfaction of repaying others in this forum in some way.

      Ed
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Woodside
    I'm using technology from go daddy. It's blog third party software that you can use as one of your subdomains to your main site so you'll get targeted traffic real quick. They make it very easy. All you have to do is click on their microphone and record whatever. Or you can always use software and a good condenser microphone to record your voice and mix your music. On my blog, i give different audio examples, or your can listen to my latest news of the day blog here: BLOGCAST.SCOTTWOODSIDE.COM: Today's News - The twisted version

    I will help you get started. The best place for equipment is guitar center dot com. they have all the software and hardware that you'll need to become the success you want!

    You're going to have to spend a little money in order to make a little money.
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    Scott Woodside

    The number 1 Choice for Audio Production!
    Member, Screen Actor's Guild
    http://www.scottwoodside.com

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    • Profile picture of the author ss442
      "Not bad Scott", good quality.
      Thanks.
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      Ed Sunderland

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  • Profile picture of the author Andy LaPointe
    Never heard of it, but I will be checking it out.

    Thanks,
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