Personality. Droning is an attention killer. Right now for research purposes only I’m listening to a podcast that is purportedly designed to give you tips on public speaking. The podcaster has one tone – a dull one. I’m questioning the interest level of the broadcaster, so why should I bother listening to the content. Behind the dullness may be the most intriguing and provoking ideas in the world. But who’s going to bide their time waiting for the nuggets to pull them in? And more importantly, why am I still awake when by rights this podcast should have sent me to sleep?

Relevance. Know your audience and address their needs with reference to your company and its offerings. If you’re a tech company check the most popular diggs, vet techcrunch and mashable for the topics that are jarring and inspiring your kin. If you’re in marketing, suss out what the big agencies are working on. Find out who’s won the latest awards, and check out their work. Then talk about them.

Have a co-broadcaster. It’s far easier to engage your audience if it feels like they’re part of a talking shop rather than simply being addressed. I like it hard which is why I don’t. But you should, if you have a hot topic on your hands. Plus with two or more heads you get a more balanced opinion so your listeners are far more likely to relate to the subject matter.

Respond to your listeners. As your podcast grows in popularity you’ll get emails asking you to cover certain topics or questioning your line on a particular subject. Address them. Not only is it great PR to mention that so and so called in/wrote to ask about x, y or z – it’s also an essential way of making and breaking news yourselves. And since the chances are your podcast is relatively niche, you might even get some new product line ideas from your audience. Make it as easy as possible for them to contact you. Mention it on your website, in the show notes and of course, in the podcast itself while the moment is warm.

Set an agenda and stick to it. Give yourself an agenda as you would for a meeting. Expect to digress now and again – that’s human nature. But do stick to the subjects on the script and keep things on track.

Know your limits. It’s ok to have a short podcast, but not so great if you bust your listeners’ eardrums with an hour of chat. Rein it in. The runtime of an episode of ‘Neighbours’ is generally enough for any audience. Don’t forget they’ll be listening to it on their commute or in the kitchen/study. Half an hour is generally more than enough time to cover the topics of the day and pitch (subtly) any new products or services you’re working on. Don’t stretch your listeners’ capabilities. Podcasting is all about adding value, remember?

Develop a brand. Once you get into the swing of podcasting you’ll naturally gravitate towards a certain style. Try also to slot different segments into the ‘cast, punctuated by musical moments to break up the different sections. It’s important your podcast has its own personality. Don’t suppress it. You’ll soon find out by trial, error and audience feedback how well it’s being received. Adjust your tone and format accordingly. Keep an eye on iTunes to see how it’s being perceived by its wider audience (although don’t pay too much attention to the star ratings, since studies show most people are skewed towards the 5s and 1s with very few able to differentiate between 2s, 3s and 4s; I long for the day when Apple intoduces a thumbs up/down ratings system…) and stay close and loyal to the opinions of your most prolific customers.

Supplement with web content. Always, always, always produce show notes. They’re a mental recap of what’s gone on. They give your listeners additional information. A why, where, how, what and when relating to the podcast’s content. With links to even more information on the net or across other marketing channels. It’s so important to keep the conversation going after the podcast has finished. Don’t deny yourself the chance to convert that listener into a customer – or if they’re already one, to upgrade them to a bigger, better product. And when you get feedback, feel free to revert to the podcast theme through clever use of business blogging.

Did we mention we do business blogging, too?

Hey: after all that, now’s the time for me to put my money where my mouth is.

I promised you some awesome podcasts. Note: you’ll need iTunes to see, and subscribe to, these ‘casts. But it’s absolutely worth it. So, my favourite five:

• Get-It-Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Work Less and Do More – simple ways to make things happen. As far as podcasts go this sets a benchmark: it’s usable, personable and definitely a brand builder. Steven Robbins is a clever guy with a great voice. Five stars.
• Marketing Over Coffee – commentary on current trends in marketing and communications, mostly focused on tech. But inspired nonetheless, for any listener. Four stars.
• Peter Day’s World of Business – a catch-all for commercial stories that might not necessarily get airtime elsewhere. Peter is lucid and enlightening. Four stars.
• Six Pixels Of Separation – this is a true work of genius. Your host Mitch Joel gets some great guests on board to discuss marcomms: an essential strategy if you’re going to keep your podcast fresh and lively to capture your listeners’ attention. Four-and-a-half stars.
• Freelance Radio – one of my all-time favourite podcasts. The team covers a smorgasbord of topics relating to today’s contractor in a fun and no-holds-barred style. Five stars.

That’s what I’ve discovered in a worrying number of cases where companies blithely ignore the voice of the brand and hunt forth a writer with all the aesthetic potential of Stephen Hawking on a windsurfer, but with the promise of a hen about to lay golden eggs.

I had an interesting chat with my mother today. She’s an exceptional wordsmith. You’d expect nothing less since she bore me. In any case, I discovered in her a candid frustration in becoming a published writer. She had no track record as a published writer, you see. And to become a published writer you automatically need to be one.

But what’s more alarming than the stilted reality of a catch 22 situation is a sizeable number of people who have become published – perhaps by offering their services for free to desperate recipients – and then building upon a lacklustre job a somewhat vacuous reputation that somehow beguiles future assignors into believing they have what it takes.

This occurs more often in the sphere of ghost blogging than anywhere else, a survey* recently revealed. The number of companies who are jettisoning their brand voice in favour of someone who can patch together in a manner of crazy paving words that breathe an altogether different conceit.

I’ve worked with big brands and those not so big. One thing that unites each and every one is uniqueness. Yet there’s a breed of writer which cannot discern between the subtle nuances of enterprises which, delving a little into the company’s background, are amplified into shrieks of exclusivity.

As a writer I spend at least two days with an organisation that wants me to either speech-make or craft intimate web content. I don’t make this promise for ad-hoc jobs relating to one or two pages of editorial: one has to make a living.

To recruit a ghost blogger, you need to know they share the same personal goals and objectives as those in your professional realm. They must vicariously live your brand and what it stands for. Don’t employ a snowboarder if you’re an abseiling products manufacturer: unless they manage to combine the two disciplines faultlessly.

Like them. If you like them and their work, they’ll probably like you too. And they’ll strive for you. But more importantly, your readers will like them, and respond accordingly.

Make them feel like the CEO. Here’s the rub: if your ghost blogger is exactly who you’re looking for, you’d trust them to run the company. It’s that simple. If you wouldn’t, don’t employ them. Because in a marketing sense their role is more important than the CEO. Customers will live and die by your ghost blogger’s keyboard.

Found the right person? Watch your profits soar…

* Survey was manufactured entirely for the purposes of illuminating a particularly shaky and vague line of argument.