Lots has been published about the value or hype of podcasting....

MarketingSherpa today put out a nice piece on the subject titled MarketingSherpa's Practical Podcasting Guide for Marketers. In typical Sherpa fashion, it's a well-thought-out collection of the usual suspects and should act as a nice guide to encourage someone to look further into podcasting.

But, and they are not alone, nobody really gets the true value of podcasting as a marketing tool for the typical small business. Just like the early days of blogging, everyone talked about how a blog gave you the ability to have a conversation with a market, but the search engine juice was the real reason for every business to start blog.

Same with podcasting. Right now the experts are busy debating whether anyone is listening to podcasts or not. To me, that's not really the point. It's what simply having a podcast does for a small business that excites me. A podcast publisher is seen by many as a member of the media - even more so than bloggers. I think this is due to the fact that a podcast more closely resembles a radio show than a blog does a newspaper or magazine.

Here's what I mean. Create a podcast and you have the perfect door opening tool. Now, instead of calling that big shot business leader or influential referral source you would love to know and begging them to let you come over and sell them, simply request an interview for your podcast show.

Bingo. People can't resist interview requests. No matter how small the audience. Reach out to authors, celebrities, industry gurus, influencers, it doesn't really matter... they will respond often to your request for an interview. (If they employ a PR firm it's even easier, because most PR folks just want interviews, any interviews.)

You know that getting the introduction is the hardest part. Now you've got the perfect tool.

Okay, convinced? Make a pit stop at my Podcasting Demystified article and fill up with some more basic "How To" so you can get your podcast going today.