My top five marketing podcasts

Podcasts were built for multi-tasking.

Just like books on tape. Most people don’t settle onto the couch at home, pop in a book on tape, and listen for a couple hours. People buy books on tape for the car, for travel, or for the gym. It’s a great way to catch up on a book when you don’t otherwise had time to read the “traditional” way.

Podcasts are no different. I’ve found podcasts to be perfect for the gym, for example. I’m focused on the words and conversation, which makes my time on the Stairclimber go that much faster.

If you’re still relatively new to podcasts, I’d encourage you to browse the selection on iTunes, or use one of the fantastic new podcast search engines (such as Pluggd) to find content fit for your interests. Here are five of my favorites:

The New York Times Front Page: In five minutes or less, a nice man reads me the stories from the paper’s front page, plus offers a little perspective on each story beyond the headlines. A great way to get caught up quickly on national and world news, and it fits into even the shortest morning commutes! It’s one of several podcasts offered by the Times.

Duct-Tape Marketing Podcast: I’m a big fan of what John Jantsch is doing on his Web site and blog, and he’s now extended it to a series of podcasts. Most feature interviews with some of marketing’s top minds, all focused on providing listeners with real-life, tangible marketing ideas that can immediately be put to work in almost any business.

HBR Ideacast: The editors of Harvard Business Review bring their journal to life in this great podcast, featuring a mix of outside speakers, HBS professors and other luminaries sharing a combination of business strategy, marketing insights, and collected best practices. Just like the magazine, this podcast will help you keep a strategic edge.

Marketing Voices: One of several great podcasts from PodTech.net, this one features Jennifer Jones interviewing a wide variety of marketing and technology leaders on subjects relevant to all of us.

The Wood Whisperer: This is unrelated to marketing, and a video podcast to-boot, but it’s just plain cool. I’m a budding (but very amateur) wordworker these days, and Marc does a great job explaining everything from how to use tools to how to build boxes. It’s a great example of how video podcasting can work, and also an example of just how much great content is out there already.