Converting Articles Into Audio Podcasts

Repurposing and repackaging existing text-based content into other online distributable formats can be an important strategy to consider for serious online publishers.

Photo credit: Lynn Cummings

Until now, repurposing and repackaging text content into other formats has been a labor-intensive task requiring lots of manual editing work.

But new technologies offer the opportunity to change all of this into a semi-automated process in which the major challenge left is only the monetization of the newly created audio content.

By converting existing text articles into RSS-based podcasts, online publishers can both extend their reach while augmenting access, exposure and visibility.

We are taught to recycle paper, cans, bottles and plastic but online publishers rarely discuss the value of repackaging and repurposing their existing content.

While many online publishers have already embraced content syndication via RSS, only a few have considered going beyond it by expanding their distribution channels further.

What about complementary channels that while carrying existing content could deliver it to new audiences or deliver more of what you already do to your existing ones?

 

 

Repurposing and repackaging content or information so that it can be consumed through a variety of media is not a new concept.

Cost-conscious businesses with tight budges are often interested in minimizing work loads and cost, while increasing communication. By presenting the same content and information in multiple ways and formats, publishers could be able to further increase their reach and accessibility while remaining cost-conscious.

Businesses quickly found that PowerPoint presentations could be converted into technical articles, or forum posts could be ported to become a basis for a list of frequently asked questions.

Along a similar vein online publishers have now a new opportunity in repurposed content: reusing text articles by converting them into audio podcasts can be indeed a profitable and smart strategy to consider.

The process is surprisingly simple.

You certainly don't have to read the articles to be repurposed aloud while recording them, which is both intimidating and time consuming; by using two simple software applications, you can create a podcast from existing pre-written articles in just minutes.

The first challenge, that is the creation of a spoken audio file out of the original written article is taken care by NextUp's TextAloud. You simply paste in the text of an article, select a "voice" and save the newly created "spoken article" as an MP3 file.

After you have created the audio MP3 file, you can use the FeedForAll tutorial to create a podcast. This is a 12-step guided approach that makes it easy for you to build a proper RSS podcast feed.

Best of all, you will find the quality of the newly generated podcast, which utilizes synthesized speech-to-text, surprisingly good.

Check out the following samples:
- RSS Podcast
- Software Marketing Podcast

An evaluation version of TextAloud can be found at:
http://www.textaloud.com and an evaluation version of FeedForAll can be found at http://www.feedforall.com.

Original article by Sharon Housley entitled:
"Instant Podcasts - Instant Content; Converting a Text Article to a Podcast."
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for FeedForDev an RSS component for developers.