The Top 8 Best Free Audio Podcast Downloads on the Web

Have you wanted to start learning more about Internet marketing but just haven't found the time? If you have a commute, household chores or any other time sink during which you could be learning, podcasts might be the answer for you. Podcasts are free audio downloads. They span many topics but there some especially wonderful Internet marketing podcasts out there. And today, Big Picture Web brings you our Top 8 Best Free Audio Podcast Downloads on the Web.

Free Podcast Downloads Could Save Your Company

Internet marketing is becoming more and more important each day to how our businesses grow and run. In fact, MarketingCharts.com presented data from a Forrester Research study predicting that Internet marketing will grow annually by 17% until 2014, from 12% to 21% of total spending. With so many companies shifting their eggs into this basic, education is the key to the future for many. Podcasts are a great way to learn and can be accessed from practically anywhere. I've listened to dozens of different free podcasts and have come up with my Top 8 Best Free Audio Podcast Downloads on the Web (in no particular order. Just kidding, it's alphabetical.):

• 10 Golden Rules Internet Marketing Podcast. Longtime Internet marketer Jay Berkowitz, CEO of 10GoldenRules.com, produces one of the best Internet marketing podcasts out there. Jay has worked for legendary marketing giants like McDonald's and Coca-Cola and brings to his audience a biweekly helping of industry news, expert interviews and listener questions. Big Picture Web and I owe a lot to Jay and 10GoldenRules.com.
• Digital Marketer from Quick and Dirty Tips. These 5-10 minute pearls of practical marketing wisdom range from social media "dont's" to which Internet marketing tasks you should automate. Quick and Dirty Tips also produces the very enjoyable free audio downloads from the Get-It-Done Guy and the Public Speaker podcasters.
• Internet Business Mastery. I heard one free audio episode of this best-of-breed podcast and was hooked. Sterling and Jay are flat-out inspiring as you hear them talk about getting an Internet business off the ground. These guys have one of the best shows out there and will really get your blood pumping with new ideas and energy towards Internet marketing.
• Managing the Edge. This fantastic show out of Des Moines, Iowa (yes, Des Moines, Iowa) brings weekly podcasts on learning the fundamentals of Internet marketing. Doug and Andy present everything at just the right level to make it both valuable an accessible to folks new to some of the concepts. Spend about 45 minutes and get to know my neighbors to the south.
• Marketing Over Coffee. Hosts Christopher S. Penn and John Wall meet up Thursday mornings for coffee and a chat about Internet marketing. It's a great back-and-forth from two experts steeped in experience. These 20-30 minutes podcasts are dense with insights that will have light bulbs going off over you head the entire time. Marketing Over Coffee is definitely in my top three.
• SEO Rockstars. Search engine optimization (SEO) (link to article) is a hot topic for Internet marketers and SEO Rockstars brings a great podcast about the most interesting events and stories within the industry. Their coverage of Affiliate Conventions's session on Black Hat vs. White Hat SEO was like listening to an epic battle between good and evil. WebmasterRadio.FM produces this and other great free podasts like Domain Masters.
• Social Media, What?. Produced right here in Minnesota, Social Media, What? is a fresh and insightful podcast on one of the Internet's hottest trends, social media. Hosts Ian and Graeme practically live and breath music, the Internet and social media.
• This Week in Tech. Despite the acronym, TWiT, by which its listeners affectionality refer to it, This Week in Tech is a superb source of news and insights for the technology industry as a whole. Tech Luminaries Leo Laporte, Patrick Newton, John C. Dvorak and more produce a weekly podcast that is a mix between comedy, news round-up and panel talk show.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed Big Picture Web's Top 8 Best Free Audio Podcast Downloads on the Web. There are many different podcasts and even more ways to learn about Internet marketing. Are you listening to Podcasts and if so, what are some of your favorites?

How to Create a Banner Ad Revenue Estimate

Does your Web site make you money? Turn off your order-entry system. Now does it? Well, it should. Web page banner ads have been around since the start of the Internet and the number of people using them continues to grow. They're a great way to earn your company extra revenue. How much, you say? It depends only on several factors such as Web banner ad specs (e.g., size), your Web site traffic and how targeted your audience is. No, you don't have to know how to create a banner ad that works. You just need a Web site. Join Big Picture Web today as we estimate how much extra income you could make with banner ads.

How to Create a Banner Ad

Oops. Wrong topic. We're not going to learn how to create a banner ad. Others have done that. WorkZ posted a great starter piece on how to sell banner ads on your site. Web Marketing Today also did a great intro on banner ads. Head over there if you need help on how to create a banner ad program. Today, we're here simply to gauge opportunity. What could we be making if we had banner ads that work to make us income just by being there?

Banner Ads that Work to Make You Income

(click to access the spreadsheet)How to create a banner ad vision of the future? Banner ads that work for you? I've created this Google Docs Banner Ads Revenue Estimator to assist us today. (You'll need a free Google Docs account). It's a spreadsheet with much of the math already done so we only have to focus on just a few things. If you love it, be sure to get additional free tools like this in the future by joining Big Picture Web's mailing list (There's a sign-up box in the right margin). Now then, let's begin.

Money on the Web. Banner Ad Specs

Remember, we're not here to learn how to create a banner ad or discuss web banner ad specs. We're really only going to learn enough to answer four questions:

1. How many monthly page views make up your banner ad real estate? Much of banner ad math involves these page views, or impressions. Certain Web banner ad specs may not allow you to display an ad on every Web page. Furthermore, you may have some banner ads that work particularly well only on certain product category pages. Locate the exact pages on which you wish to advertise and then track down the monthly impressions in your Web Analytics software.
2. How many ad slots do you have? Do you only have room for a super tall "vertical skyscraper" in the margin or is there room for an 4x4 display of "square button" banner ads? Your Web banner ad specs may be constrained by your your overall Web design. Determining how many banner ad slots there will be on your page is an important step in calculating how to create a banner ad fortune.
3. How much will you charge? The basic banner ad unit of measure is CPM or "cost per thousand impressions" (the M is Roman numeral for one thousand). Your CPM could vary widely, anywhere from $10 - $150. It's all a matter of demand. If you have minimal traffic or a very untargeted audience, you may get something closer to $10. Higher traffic? Focused audience? Perhaps large Web banner ad specs? These factors can increase your expected CPM dramatically. It can be hard finding your starting CPM. Look at some of the examples below to help you out. If all else fails, call your competitor and ask them!
4. Will this banner ad space be shared? Will you be doing any advertising in these banner ad slots? If so, what percent of the time will your ads be there? Also, will advertisers' banner ads show each time the page is viewed or will they rotate from a pool of advertisers? Know your total number of advertisers in order to know what to charge each one.

How to Create a Banner Ad Income

Once you can answer these questions, you can just plug them into the Banner Ads Revenue Estimator and know your banner ad income potential. All that and we didn't even have to know how to create a banner ad that works. Nice. Let's check out some examples of how this might look.

Example 1:
This popular Web page wants to advertise a banner ad on their home page only. They have a slightly targeted audience and plan to advertise this space exclusively.

Example 2:
A highly popular blogger has a reasonably targeted audience. She has a 2x2 ad slot available on the home page and all of her blog posts, which add up to around 100,000 page views per month. She wants to get a group of eight advertisers rotating in on these ad spaces each month.

Example 3:
Finally, a B2B site with great traffic boasts 300,000 page views in its ad space each month. It has a very targeted audience and its web banner ad specs are a single, large banner that is highly coveted by advertisers. This business wishes to advertise its own services 25% of the time and break the rest up among three top business partners.

So there you have it. Do you have questions about banner ads? About your audience? Your banner ad revenue prospects? Post a comment and let the discussion begin!

Business Internet Strategy - Two Reasons to Start

If you're still only doing traditional marketing and advertising, you're probably starting to get a little stressed out, right? Times are tight. Budgets are thin. Advertising spending in the U.S. has dropped by 4.1% in 2008. Magazine advertising is down by 7.5%. Newspapers are down 11.8%. The only place where spending increased in 2008 was Online, which experienced 4.6% growth. Either companies are having success only here or trying to throw together an approach to Internet marketing for business. Either way, what's your business' Internet strategy?

Internet Marketing for Business

Internet marketing for business is becoming the norm for smart marketers these days. E-mail campaigns, social media, affiliate marketing, Google AdWords (pay-per-click advertising), Search Engine Optimization (SEO)...these tactics and more are all part of the new media mix. What's the big deal? There are two fantastic reasons to dip your toes in the waters of Internet marketing.

Measure your Business' Internet Strategy

The first check in the "pro" column for a business Internet strategy is the ability to measure it. You can track costs and revenue down to the penny using free tools like Google Analytics. Whether you want to gain subscriptions, leads or sales, Internet marketing for business can be tracked. And if you can track it, you can improve performance and meet goals. Everyone loves reporting solid numbers to the company brass, especially in down economies.

Big Results with Little Investment

The second boon to Internet marketing for business is the bang for the buck. There's no need for the big tools of yore. The aforementioned Google Analytics installs in just five minutes and can provide insights to everyone from the Webmaster to the marketer to the designer. It's free. Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are also free and very much a part of internet marketing for business. Constant Contact will run your entire e-mail marketing campaign and even teach you how to incorporate e-mail marketing into your business' Internet strategy for $15 a month. You get the picture. You can access insights to drive your business forward for little to nothing.

What other compelling reasons can you think of to start the ball rolling on your business' Internet strategy?