Podonomics

Sitting here listening to Paul Colligan, co-author of The Business Podcasting Bible and overall a pretty savvy marketing guy. Here are some points:

• Podcasts don’t make money, clicks on websites do. Use your podcast to lead people to your website (this is what I preach).
• CPMs on podcasts will go away very soon as soon as people figure out how to really make money from podcasts.
• The seven monetization strategies:

1. Benefactor - Sponsorships, tip jars, donations.
2. Newsletters - Give people a reason to subscribe, then send out your ezine weekly.
3. Merchandising - Sell items on your website or through cafepress.com. Mention these products in your podcast.
4. Premium Podcast Content - Have people pay to hear your podcast. Use audible.com.
5. Commissioned Sales - Otherwise known as affiliate marketing, mention products in your podcast, list the affiliate links in your show notes. When your listeners buy, you get a portion of the sales.
6. Web Clicks - Use adsense to drive people to your website, then offer a community complete with transcripts, boards and comments that listeners can participate in.
7. Sell Your Own Products - Digital is better as you keep more of the profits. Use PayPal.com or AutomateSales.com to do this. Mention your products in your podcast, then lead people to your website to purchase the download.

Technorati: pme, podcast expo 2006, podcasting, paul colligan

Scott Bourne, host of PodcastingTricks.com and a host over on the TWIT network, gave some tips on how to keep your sponsors and advertisers based on his many years in the broadcast field. Some points:

• When you make first contact, sell the appointment, not the sponsorship.
• Always keep in mind that you’re trying to help people.
• If you know what they want, you can help them with a solution.
• Handle objections with empathy, not with whining or additional objections.
• Feel - Felt - Found is a perfect formula in dealing with objections, for example:

Prospect says, “The price is too high.”

You say, “I understand how you feel. Many others felt that way, but I found that with the type of customer service I provide, my price is very competitive.”

• 90% of business is lost because we don’t close the sale, so just ask for it.
• Once you have the sale, develop an ad that focuses on the benefits and not hte features.
• Have a call to action in your ad by asking the audience to do something.
• Start your ad with headlines, such as, “Don’t you just hate it when…” or “If you do this right now…” or “Are you tired of…”

Technorati: scott bourne, pme, podcast expo 2006, podcasting, podcasting tricks

During his keynote, Ron Moore, the creator of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series, spoke about his experience podcasting.

I’m a huge BG fan, so it was rewarding to hear from the person who prompts me to lock myself in a room and turn off the ringer on my phone for 60-minutes each week.

He talked about an episode that he felt took him to a low in his professional career. Black Market, Ron said, wasn’t well done. He thought it was filled with cliches and resembled a traditional way of producing a TV show.

In the podcast he released just after the show, instead of saying that the show was a success, he decided to “be real” and admit that he wasn’t happy with it. Ron said that many wondered why he would trash his own episode, but to Ron, he couldn’t pull the wool over the eyes of his audience since they would just read through it.

Ron loves podcasting because it gives him a direct line to his audience. He can invite them into his house, set the rules, decide the content and there’s no one to interrupt them.

How many corporations can say that they can “be real” through the message they send to the media, to their customers, to their prospects? There’s so much corporate spin on a message that it’s no wonder that people tune it out and don’t trust what executives have to say.

In this era of Enron, Worldcom and now HP, people are demanding honesty and will support the corporations that embrace the communications tools that give them a perception of honesty.
Technorati: ron moore, podcast expo 2006, pme, podcasting,

Leo Laporte, hailed as the Podcaster of the Year, gave a short keynote this morning. Some points he made:

• We should look at using another name besides podcast to call what we do. Tying our name with a brand has been one of the stumbling blocks for podcasting.
• We need to build a consortium that unites the podcasting community to address issues from a united front.
• Podcast monetization is decided not by audience size, but the relationship we have with that audience. We need to work with agencies and advertisers that understand this.

Most importantly, Leo reminded us that podcasting isn’t radio, it isn’t TV. We will only succeed if we treat the monetization of podcasting differently. We should be careful not to copy the mistakes of past media.

Technorati: pme, podcasting, podcast expo 2006, leo laporte

Last night, I was overwhelmed. I took in the speakers only schmooze event and it was buzzing. I met a variety of interesting people and discovered some interesting news, so here’s a quick summary.

• The Business Podcasting Bible - Finally met Paul Colligan who has a big personality and is so in the know. He whipped out a copy of his book that he co-authored and flipped to page 245 that features my podcast monetization case study about Cubicle Divas. I practically bragged about it the entire night to anyone I met. Paul should hire me for sales.
• Robert Scoble - A simple guy with big ideas. He was wearing a black t-shirt and looked relaxed. His hair - which is blond - reminded me of a surfer dude. I liked the way he introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Robert Scoble.” That’s it. Love it.
• The Canadians - We’re such a posh group. Everytime I go to these types of conferences, the Canadians seem to gravitate towards each other, find a corner and camp there all night. The Canadians include Bruce Murray, Julien Smith, myself and (oh I forget his name) a chap from Calgary.
• Ben Williams - I think this guy’s on something because his enthusiasm was up there all night, although it’s just that he loves podcasting so much. I liked him for a couple of reasons, 1) He’s one of the few Black folks podcasting and 2) He’s actually making money helping others podcast.
• David Jackson - School of Podcasting, I met him online through Ryze and the International Podcasting Expo. Way taller in person than I thought and such an enthusiastic guy.
• Doug Kaye - Another man very excited about podcasting, he told me about a new product that Gigavox is coming out with called the Levelizer. I get a chance to play with this today when the exhibiting floor opens up.
• James Pearson - The PR guy for Audible.com. He’s married to a Canadian actress (I don’t remember her name). She starred in Show Me Yours and I remember a long time ago, she starred on this show called Dear Aunt Agnes (this is going way back). In any case, I liked James because he understands how to create a buzz using the media and he gave me a ton of ideas.

I’m off to polish up my presentation before meeting John C. Havens for breakfast. I’ll be blogging from the conference floor, so check in with me in a few hours.

Just to let you know:

• If you’re attending the PME and would like to meet up with me;
• If you can’t attend the PME and would like to get an insider’s look for your podcast;
• If you’re a journalist and need quotes for your article or program about PME or podcasting in general;

…call or text me at 647-225-3792.

Technorati: podcasting, pme, portable media expo

I truly feel like I’m at the Oscars. People are scheduling meetups, after parties and networking sessions before, after and during the Podcast & Portable Media Expo (PME).

I now see the importance of attending industry specific conferences, whether I’m a speaker or not. You learn about new advances in your industry, but the invaluable part comes from the general schmoozing that happens after the sessions are over.

I’m a huge believer in technology. It runs my business. My podcast has helped me to make money. My blog has helped me to build my platform. I use technology to help companies market their brands and control their message. Technology has helped me to develop relationships with people who don’t even live in my country, often with journalists who were once unreachable. It’s a wonderful world to be in.

Yet, despite these benefits, nothing can take the place of the tangible interaction. Nothing. It’s the reason why newspapers, magazines and books will always exist. It’s the reason why expos, conferences and unconferences will always happen. Human contact with tangible things is valued above everything else.

One could argue that leaving a comment on a blog or calling a comment line to voice your feedback is tangible interaction. Sure, but there’s a delay, in essence, this can be called delayed interaction. You don’t get to read the person’s body language or see the unspoken nuances that come with tangible interaction. With delayed interaction, the spontaneity is missed. And what does Malcolm Gladwell say about this in his book Blink?

At first, I thought it was a generational thing. A man I know who is an entrepreneur and is now my client, insisted that we meet in person before he signed up with me.

He’s a baby boomer and I know that their generation doesn’t trust the automation process. Part of it is because they don’t understand, but a huge part is because it’s much more personal to deal with the person than the machine.

My dad, for example, is on the leading edge of the boomers. He just turned 59 and he refuses to use a bank machine. He’d rather go line up and be face-to-face with a teller.

He’s banked at the same branch for 22-years and anytime he walks in, he’s treated like a super star. My sister said that she went in with him recently and she was shocked at how giddy some of the female tellers acted. One even opened her booth and called my dad over just so he didn’t have to line up.

Think about teenagers and MySpace. There have been many stories of teenagers flying across the country to meet with a person whom they’ve developed a relationship with. Of course, for many of these stories the person waiting was a pedophile, but my point is that tangible interaction is what drives us to connect.

This all comes back to a sense of belonging. While I feel that I belong to a group of thought leaders in the media and marketing community here in Canada, I jump at the chance when someone organizes a dinner and invites me to attend. Here I am sitting in Ontario, California and I’m busy calling people to find out when they arrive just so I have people to have lunch with.

Seeing someone’s smile, seeing how they walk, noticing the quirky way they talk may seem like a recipe for a really great romance, but it’s actually a way that people connect. Belonging is what will keep these relationships going and it’s the reason why we’ll continue to go to conferences and expos, even though technology connects us much more easily and cheaply.

Technorati: podcasting, Blogging, technology, Business, conferences, Travel, pme, portable media expo

As you read this, I’m in the air on my way to the Podcast & Portable Media Expo. I decided to leave a couple days early to maximize my time while in Los Angeles. I’ll be meeting with other consultants and I may also take in the Podcast Academy event on Thursday before the meet & greet Thursday night with The Podcast Brothers and local media.

I’ll be presenting on the Seven Deadly Podcasting Sins to Avoid and will be basing my advice on the 7 deadly sins eg. wrath, envy, sloth, gluttony, etc. etc. Lots of stats and metrics will help me prove my points, although I’m still at a loss how I’ll cram all this information into just 45-minutes.

I plan on interviewing Ron Moore and Leo Laporte for Friday’s Podonomics episode. Because I intend it to happen, it will. So visit here on Friday to find out how both these men answer my questions.

Other than that, I’m looking forward to meeting up with Paul Colligan, Jason Van Orden, John C. Havens, Vic Podcaster, Andrew Baron and others (it’s a long list). And as per normal, I’ll be blogging from the event floor so you can live this experience with me.

See you in a few.

Technorati: podcasting, Podcast Expo 2006, paul colligan, Andrew Baron, ron moore, leo laporte, jason van orden, podcast academy

My friend, Dave Forde, has made a call for speakers for the business and corporate podcasting conference he’s organizing in Toronto for February 21, 2007.

If you podcast for business, read his guidelines, then submit your speaking proposal.

Technorati: podcasting, corporate podcasting

Remember a few weeks ago I said I may be planning a Web 2.0 related event here in Toronto?
Well, after my experience at Podcamp, I put out a call to a few people on the GTA Podcasters mailing and 3 people bit the bullet. Jay, Dave & Brent are the first people to join me in bringing Podcamp to Toronto.

If you’re a podcasting consultant, enthusiast, hobbyist, or just pod-curious, head over to the wiki and add your name to the list. We need a venue, a few sponsors, panelists, presenters, attendees, etc. etc.

We’re looking at having this event towards the end of February, sometime after Dave’s corporate podcasting event. Maybe February should become podcasting awareness month in Toronto?

Update: My favourite Montreal podcaster, Julien, has joined as an organizer.

Technorati: podcasting, podcamp, podcamptoronto2006