As authors we write a blog or post an excerpt and it goes onto a website as text with a link. And while the reader can read it, they need to be sitting in front of their screen to do it (and hopefully not driving or distracted). Someone with a vision impairment can have a screen reader relay the blog post. But may I suggest an alternative. What if you recorded your blog posts as well as typed them?
I know, first of all you’re hearing twice the work, but I would argue that you’re getting more than twice the mileage out of your recorded blog posts. Offering your content in multiple formats is accessible, and not just for specific groups. Someone who is busy and doesn’t have time to read a blog can listen to it while they do something else. Offering your blog as a podcast can feed it to other apps (like Itunes or Amazon Music or YouTube) which will allow more listeners and potential readers to find it.
And finally, I’d argue as someone who really loves to podcast, it’s fun. All the tone and nuance you try to put into the text you can add with your voice.
This isn’t a how to blog. I’ll probably do one those soon enough. Rather, it’s a suggestion, a way to plant the idea in your mind. I’ve found since recording the blog posts for another blog I write (and I’ll be recording these here soon as well. I’m just putting some finishing touches on things), that I’m able to reach more readers.
You don’t have to be fancy about it. While yes, I created an introduction (you know the jazzy music and “you’re listening to….” at the start of each podcast) and an final close (more jazzy music and “you’ve been listening to… please give us a like, follow, whatever”) and put those on the blog post recording along with the blog’s title and date, you don’t have to go to that much work if you don’t want to. Though it is good to identify yourself, your blog title, and the date and perhaps a main category to ensure that your listeners receive the right context.
Most blogging platforms allow you to embed audio, which if you’re not podcasting is all you need. A quick header of “listen to this blog” and you’re good to go. If you do a podcast then it’s a little more complex to set up, but not difficult. If this is something you’d like to learn more about, or have questions, feel free to comment or reach out. I love to talk podcasting and recording. And perhaps, you can add an additional dimension to your blog that also gives it additional accessibility.