We all know that in order to keep ahead of the game we need to make ourselves visible in the marketplace, as well as credible (not to mention likeable, trustworthy etc) so it really should come as no surprise that podcasting really is coming into its own as a leading medium with which to do this.

An article published today by eMarketer gives us some stats to show us why if we’re not doing it already, then it’s time to get an invitation to the podcasting party. The article discusses US statistics but I think we can safely assume that the podcasting explosion won’t be far behind in the UK.

What do you think the total podcast audience was in the States for 2007? A few million? A few more million? According to eMarketer, we’re looking at 18.5 million. That’s 18.5 million potential listeners who could be listening to you and your niche subject. Are you already putting together your first podcast or do you need more? How about if you knew that this figure was a 285% increase? Now it’s getting interesting.

And what if you knew that the at the predicted rate of growth, the podcasting audience stands to increase to 65 million by 2012. Surely you’re reaching for your microphone now?

One more thing, how recently was it that you’d never even heard the term ‘podcasting’? Isn’t it time it became as much a part of your daily vocabulary as ‘blogging’? Don’t be shy, open your mouth, let people know who you are and shout it from the rooftops…