Podonomics

By way of Dan York’s blog, I found out that someone has created a script to strip ads out of podcasts.

In my upcoming book, the chapter on advertising and sponsorship turned out to be the biggest chapter. This comes as no surprise since many people still think this is the only way to make money podcasting.

Yet to see podcast consumers actively take a part in eliminating ads from the podcasts they’re listening to is something that can’t be ignored. If anything, this proves that podcasters have to find other ways to podcast for profit besides running ads or securing sponsorships.

Actually, I’m happy to see this. Very pleased. I’ve said for a long time that ads wouldn’t last in podcasting. When I first made money in podcasting, it wasn’t from ads. It was from applying a unique strategy of selling my products through my podcast. Hence the reason that I’m a strong believer that ads are a lazy way to generate an income through podcasting.

I decided not to attend Mesh Day 2 because I need to pump out another 50-pages for my manuscript. I was going to use Day 2 to hold an unconference, sort of a Podcamp Mesh, as there were a number of questions unanswered from my workshop on podcasting. Next time…

Day 1 was fabulous. First, I just love MaRS, the place where Mesh was held. The entire building is so futuristic. On the outside, the building looks historic. On the inside, it was fully restored. I believe it’s a research facility and it’s just gorgeous inside.

I picked up my tag, my speaker’s gift (a red pair of men’s briefs) then plopped myself down in the front row. A guy sat beside me and immediately pulled out his Blackberry. He was heads down working away on his Blackberry from the time he sat down until the presentations began.

(more…)

Mesh, Toronto’s Web 2.0 conference, starts tomorrow. It’s sold out, so there’s no tickets left.

I’m leading a session called Podcasting 101. I’m looking forward to it as I’m going to test out a new presentation format. No, I’m talking about new presentation software. Instead, my presentation will be 100% visual and audio only.

Yeah, I know. Nothing new. But for me, it is. So many times, I’ve used slides with text to explain a concept. Anna Farmery and I chatted at length about how odd it is that people who rely on audio and video to make money and promote their businesses turn to such an antiquated approach - in other words, text on powerpoint slides - to present their ideas.

So, as a podcaster, I’m saying goodbye to text and hello to audio & video. Make sense, doesn’t it?

My website has been listed #1 in Google for the search term podcasting expert. It has been for about 12-months now. Being ranked that high has afforded me with media interviews and business opportunities that I would not have gotten had it not been for that #1 spot.

I desperately want to change that website into a blog for several reasons. Reasons I won’t list here, but I need to get it done.

I’m nervous about doing this because it could mean that I’ll lose my #1 ranking. Or, will I? Can anyone help alleviate my fears?

I’m so jazzed! I found this awesome plug-in that allows me to post any type of video media on my blog. Then, using Camtasia, I put together this virtual tour of the Six Figure Podcasting Success Club. Hit the arrow below to view this 9-minute video (nothing to download).

I’m quite excited about the launch of The Six Figure Podcasting Success Club. After working with many individuals and businesses over the past 18-months, many have asked me to launch a more private group for those who want to profit from their podcast.

I’m excited about this success club because I can freely share all the tools, tips and techniques with you. These are the same resources I’ve shared with my clients to help them achieve success with their podcasts.

Here’s what you get being a member of the Six Figure Podcasting Success Club:

(more…)

I was on a client website this morning and saw the following sentence on their contact us page:

“Our Down-to-Earth Team Operates as a Partner, Not a Vendor.”

I thought about this after getting off the phone with a client (not the one related to the website mentioned above) who’s not happy with my service. It’s the first complaint I’ve had to deal with in 12-months. She was unhappy that she didn’t get any responses to her podcast and she felt that the podcast wasn’t a good use of her time or money.

(more…)

A few days ago, I recorded a virtual roundtable with about 8 podcasters from Europe. I wanted to get their perspective on podcasting for profit because one of the chapters in my upcoming book will present a global viewpoint on the subject.

Many on the call shared with me that the constant upselling found on websites, blogs and podcasts are actually a turn-off for many Europeans. In other words, they were not really attracted to the integrated way of making money podcasting and instead, felt very comfortable with the direct and indirect methods of podcasting for profit. (See an explanation of all 3 methods here)

This is a conundrum for me. I make it no secret that I make money podcasting. I made money early through podcasting using the integrated model - that’s where I used the upselling technique to sell thousands of CDs. On the other hand, podcasts are not an infomercial and if you use it to sell, no one will listen.

What a dilemma. Until I came across this article.

(more…)

First, I don’t believe that men are the majority of iTunes users at 63% according to a comScore study. I really don’t. I mean, I use iTunes and the last time I checked, I’m definitely not a man. Voice is too high, face is too clean-shaven, also I’m missing some parts. You get the picture.

It’s true that women are the minority when it comes to producing podcasts. Had the study revealed that, I would’ve been:

“Yup, that’s true.”

I had a devil of a time finding women to interview for my book. There were the popular ones, the well known names, but that’s about 5 women so I had to really dig deep.

(more…)

For years, people have asked this very important question:

“What is the purpose of podcast.com?”

Probably one of the most lucrative domain names online, podcasters everywhere are scratching their heads wondering what’s going on with podcast.com. Is it a directory? A network? Or just a placeholder for something else?

(more…)