I’m very interested to hear from you, the Dear Reader, on this one. How can a site, be it blog, forum or whatever, benefit from publishing a podcast?

Let’s start with traditional podcast, the ones that consists of a mp3 file, or similar sound file. They are really hard to monetize, there are no Google Adsense for podcasts (yet), and although you could sell commercial spots on your own I doubt it is very easy. I mean, you’ll have to have your advertiser record their spot, or offer that service. Possible, but hard.

So ruling out making actual ad money on your podcast, what benefits are there?

• It’s an extra feature that could attract more readers.
• A downloadable podcast can reach an audience outside of the computer, on an iPod for instance.
• Offering content in other forms than just text adds another dimension to the site.
• Adding a strong jingle will further strengthen your brand by giving it its own soundtrack.
• You can reach new audiences via iTunes and podcast services, people that you might not have reached otherwise.
• Maybe you could land a radio show? Who knows…

Video podcasts add even more possibilities, besides the one above:

• You can put a living moving face on your site, which further strengthens it.
• There are advertising programs (Adsense and YouTube are friends) and services (like Metacafé or Revver) for online video, although they are pretty limited still.
• You can get your site on YouTube (and similar) and gain new audiences.
• Maybe you can land a TV contract, or get bought by a network, like Wallstrip was?

Are there any more benefits in having a podcast? What are your thoughts?