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More than a year ago, I decided to start monetizing my podcasts through advertising. After looking around for my own sponsors, I discovered BluBrry (Blueberry without the e’s), a Rawvoice Company that offers even the smallest podcasters an opportunity to have quality advertising with brand name advertisers on their podcasts. Rawvoice pays the podcaster depending on the number of downloads of a particular podcast.

After looking over their program, I applied and followed the simple task of filling out the ad survey and keeping it updated at regular intervals. I was accepted by Rawvoice and was sent my first ad deals. The host read ads take about 45 seconds to a minute to read and the code to insert on your site is easy to install.

For some of the best podcasting advertising, BluBrry gets my highest recommendation! In fact, I just renewed my ad deal once again and will continue to do so. Visit http://www.blubrry.com for more details.

Popularity: 5% [?]

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In this latest saga of the podcasting realm, video has come upon the scene allowing podcasters to not only voice their opinions, but show you their stuff too!

Vlogging (video blogging), Videocasting and Screencasting are quickly becoming the next level for podcasters everywhere. With video sharing sites like YouTube, Blip.tv, Viddler and others, videos can be posted and viewed almost instantly, allowing you to get your word out to even more people, faster.

But the question is, is going video really worth it? Well, let’s look at what it takes to creating a video for this new realm of podcasting:

1. You need a camera, webcam, digital video recorder or something similar.
2. You need software like Camtasia (for screencasting) or Visual Communicator (for Vlogging or video creation) and video editing software like Windows Movie Maker or Sony Vegas for the final version creation.
3. A quiet place to record, backdrops or a nice atmosphere for your videos.
4. A topic for your video

Now, this doesn’t seem like much, but producing a video for casting is a lot more time consuming that just a normal audio podcast production. Also, keep in mind, that if you are producing a video with yourself as the main attraction, costumes or the way you dress and act will play an important part in your production.

Screencasting is easier to produce because you only need screencasting software and a mic and video editing capabilites and you can easily make a production about a how-to on using your favorite piece of software or playing your favorite game.

Another thing to keep in mind is, if you intend on posting your video to YouTube, you must keep the video under 100mb in size and under 10 minutes in length. The video should be encoded in Flash (flv or swf) for the best results. Your screencasting software will most likely have this capability built in.

So, is it really worth it? Most video producers will say yes. Those who say no, will likely tell you because of time or cost of equipment. Keep in mind that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to produce your own videos. You may already have the right equipment and just need a little push in the right direction.

Join me on Friday Night, July 4th, 2008 for Podcaster Training and find out more about videocasting, screencasting and vlogging, starting with the basics! Visit http://www.nmpnetwork.com/live at 8:00pm EST.

Popularity: 3% [?]

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Avoid Common Credit Score Mistakes

There are a few things that people do without realizing it that have a bad effect on their credit score. Follow these tips to avoid the common traps that can sink your credit risk rating:

It is easy today to apply for a store credit card that you forget all about in three years – but that account will remain on your credit report and affect your credit score as long as it is open. Having credit lines and credit cards you don’t need makes you seem like a worse credit risk because you run the risk of “overextending” your credit.

Also, having lots of accounts you don’t use increases the odds that you will forget about an old account and stop making payments on it – resulting in a lowered credit score. Keep only your used accounts and make sure that all other accounts are closed. Having fewer accounts will make it easier for you to keep track of your debts and will increase the chances of you having a good credit score.

However, realize that when you close an account, the record of the closed account remains on your credit report and can affect your credit score for a while. In fact, closing unused credit accounts may actually cause your credit score to drop in the short term, as you will have higher credit balances spread out over a smaller overall credit account base.

For example, if your unused accounts amounted to $2000 and you owe $1000 on accounts that you have now (let’s say on two credit cards that total $2000) you have gone from using one fourth of your credit ($1000 owed on a possible $4000 you could have borrowed) to using one half of your credit (you owe $1000 from a possible $2000). This will actually cause your credit risk rating to drop. In the long term, though, not having extra temptation to charge and not having credit you don’t need can work for you.

Popularity: 1% [?]