You think you have what it takes to compete in the exploding underground-industry of Podcasting and have a great concept for a Podcast?

Have you checked all of this off your list?:

A Great Idea for a New Podcast!
A Killer Script (No the same as a great concept)
Recording Software
A Microphone
A Webpage (and plenty of bandwidth)
An Rss Feed for your Podcast episodes
A Well Laid Out Plan on How to Market Your New Podcast

So how did you do?

Were you able to check everything off the list? Most of these items are necessary to create and host your podcast, and if you haven't bothered with a good marketing plan yet? Well, keep your fingers crossed that your family and friends like the sound of your voice because it is unlikely that many other people will ever hear your Great New Podcast show.

Don't shoot the messenger. It is a dog-eat-dog world out there with too many businesses competing for the same Podcast audience. What's that you say? We are not talking about businesses? Only a free, donation based, underground, podcast? Well, that may be true, but the world of podcasting has grown exponentially over the past year and that means there are a large number of Podcasters out there who are competing for the same listener base that you are. In fact, according to Forrester Research, by 2010 the multitude of podcast shows should have around 12.3 million regular listeners.

And don't forget that the business world knows a good thing when it sees it; resulting in more and more businesses jumping on the Podcast bandwagon over the past few months.

But that's okay; because there's still plenty of room in the Podcast Empire and you can learn valuable lessons from the business world

They know how to put together a classy Podcast. They know how to advertise.They know how to network. And possibly most importantly, they know how to market a Podcast. And you can scoff at the corporations invading the tranquil Podcasting Nirvana all you want, but the fact remains... If you want to get your new Podcast out to the masses, you had better bone up on some Marketing Basics.

So where do you start?

Well, one of the most important things that you can do is to understand and have a working knowledge of your business Value Chain. Whats a Value Chain you ask? Essentially it is the logical flow of your new Podcast business starting with your original concept and following every step through until the finished product hits your listeners iPod.

Did you catch that? In other words, your Podcast's Value Chain consists of all the steps you need to take to get your product into the hands of your listeners.

A Podcasts Value Chain will consist of 10 steps:

Concept -> Pre-production -> Post-Production -> Publishing -> Hosting -> Promotion -> Community/Search -> Downloading -> Show Viewing

If you produce a podcast show, you will touch on each of these steps. And while each step may offer you a unique set of challenges, each will also provide you with their own opportunities to monetize and market your new show.

The Value Chain of your Podcast Show will always be at the core of your venture whether you utilize it or not. This being the case, the more aware you are of your Value Chain, the easier it will become for you to take advantage of and capitalize on each step of the process.