Mastering New Media :: Jason Van Orden

This question is certainly on many podcasters minds. Whenever this question is posed, I follow up with another question: “Are we talking about entertainment or information (infotainment)?” I have a different answer for each.

Of course, in entertainment, someone like Ricky Gervais is going to have an easier time of building an audience willing to pay for what he has to offer.

When it comes to information, I’m a firm believer that we are all an expert on something. People are willing to pay for good information, especially if they are rabid about the topic. Imagine a podcast that tells a golfer how to shave strokes off their game or that tells a FOREX trader how to make higher returns on their trades. In this kind of focused niche, it’s easier to find a faithful following who will part with their cash to hear what you have to say.

I have a few different podcasts. One is about culture/art/history/music in New York City. This one is largely entertainment and I would have a harder time getting people to pay for it.

Another of my podcasts gives solid how to information on making passive income in internet business. We don’t currently charge for it, but we could more readily get people to pay for this information OR monetize the content in other ways.

I feel that much of the discussion you see on the internet concerning podcast monetization assumes an entertainment stance and hence falls back more on the ad models of traditional radio.

When it comes to subscription model podcasts, you’ll have a far easier time charging for an information-based show than an entertainment show (unless your Ricky Gervais and we’ll see soon how that works out for him).

You might have already seen this new report released by eMarketer that has new projections for the growth of podcast listeners and the amount of money going into podcast advertising. You’ll have to lay down $695 to see the whole report, but here’s the gist of what they have revealed:

In 2006:

• 10 million people will listen to at least one podcast
• 3 million people will have downloaded at least one podcast on a weekly basis
• 80 million dollars will be spent on advertising in podcasts

By 2010:

• 50 million people will listen to at least one podcast
• 25 million people will have downloaded at least one podcast on a weekly basis
• 300 million dollars will be spent on advertising in podcasts

Here’s my reaction to these numbers.

Audience Growth

These figures seem reasonable. Due to the huge sale of iPods (100+ a minute according to 2005 Q4 numbers), inclusion in iTunes and a precedent set by blogs–not to mention people’s disillusionment with the current state of media–the number of podcast listener’s will continue to grow rapidly.

In a report from November 2005, Bridge Ratings stated that 4.8 million people had listened to a podcast in 2005 and this number would reach a conservative 45 million by 2010. This lines up with eMarketer’s 10 million number for 2006. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bridge Ratings is one of the sources cited in the eMarketer report.

Podcast Advertising Dollars

80 million?!? I must admit this surprises me. I have previously mentioned that 2006 would see considerable adoption of podcasting as a valid advertising medium, however, 80 million seems a bit ambitious.

Maybe I’m underestimating big media’s ability to adapt quickly and spend that much money. There’s still a lack of information needed to meet their comfort level. They want good demographic information and accurate market measurement. For now, there’s no way to measure how many people actually listen to a podcast, leaving listenership numbers unclear. That is a hurdle we need to overcome as a new media.

eMarketer Editorial Director, Mike Chapman, attributes the advertising dollar influx to the following:

• The attractiveness of the demographic
• The steep growth in the number of listeners
• The appearance of several companies dedicated to podcast advertising placement and measurement
• The fact that several major brands have already made the plunge and invested money

I can’t speak to the exact sources for their numbers as I’ve not read the full report.

Will this trend hit a whopping 80 million in ad spending? I guess we’ll see. I’m not one to prematurely ruin the party, but, despite my wholehearted hopes for podcasting, I cannot as of yet embrace this 80 million dollar figure. I’d like to know more about how it was derived.

Despite my skepticism and surprise, I remain open-minded (and hopeful). If it’s true, I plan to claim my slice of the pie.

There’s one point I will solidly and respectfully disagree with Mr. Chapman on. He states:

“The appeal of moving images to both consumers and advertisers and the continued evolution of devices like the video iPod mean that videocasts will become the predominant format within the next five years.”

When it comes to consumer preference regarding podcasts, Video will never surpass audio for one simple reason: I don’t see myself driving down the road, jogging or doing dishes while watching my video iPod. The multitasking nature of audio podcasts cannot be overcome by “the appeal of moving images”. I could be wrong, but that’s the way I see it right now.

Have you searched for your podcast in the iTunes Music Store lately? Considering iTunes get’s by far the most traffic of any podcast directory and searching is by far the easiest way to find podcasts there, I HIGHLY suggest you try it. Does your podcast show up for phrases that your potential listener is likely to search for?

How do you go about landing such a coveted top slot? Try searching for the phrase internet business and notice that my podcast, Internet Business Mastery is one of the top listed podcasts in the results. Having this top search slot has greatly increased the number of subscribers we get from iTunes (or any other podcast directory for that matter). So what’s the secret? I hesitate to say anything more, but…

On this week’s epsiode (March 3rd, 2006) of Podcast Brothers, they discussed a comment from a saavy listener who has also discovered part of this secret weapon. If you want more info, sign up for my email list, at the top of the Podcasting Underground site, and I’ll send you an audio file all about it. If you really want the full scoop, you’ll need to read my upcoming book…woops…did I just let that slip?

It’s late, I’d better go to bed before I let anything else out of the bag.

If you’re looking for a host for your podcast, it’s important to find a one that offers these four things:

1. Plenty of Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred from your site each day. Because podcast files can be large and a lot of people will be downloading them, because you will grow a large audience;), you need a host that allows you plenty of bandwidth for downloads.

2. Plenty of Storage

Again, podcast files are large and you need enough space to store them on your site.

3. Excellent Support

There are hundreds of hosting services out there that all seem to have the same features for similar prices. It can be tough to decide which is best for you. The thing that often sets a
great host apart from the rest is the quality of their service. Do they offer a way to answer your questions thoroughly and in a timely manner?

Here’s one of my current top recommendation for podcast hosting. They just started offering 1 terabyte of monthly bandwidth. That’s 1000 gigabytes! For a weekly 30-minute show of music (128 kbps MP3), you could have over 4,000 faithful listeners and not go over the bandwidth limit. For a weekly 30-minute talk show podcast (64 kbps MP3), you could support downloads from over 8,000 listeners per episode.

If you’re in the market for good hosting, give it a try.

Someone recently asked on the Podcast Alley Forums what the best affordable mic is for a new podcaster. The Shure SM58 has been getting a lot of love. At $99.99, this mic provides a lot of bang for your buck. During my days playing in bands, I picked up a number of these mics. They deliver a solid sound not to mention you can flush one down the toilet and it’ll still work (not speaking from personal experience).

You can hear this mic in action on The Podcasting Underground Episode #4. I’ve now upgraded to a Shure KSM27 condenser mic. Most podcasters will agree that a good mic is the best place to invest your money at first to improve the sound of your podcast. Granted, to use a mic like the Shure SM58, you’ll need a mixer or preamp to plug it into.

If $99.99 is too rich for your blood right now, then I recommend the Altec Lansing AHS 302i. This headset can be found for around $25 at Best Buy and delivers great quality for the price. Listen to any of Michael Carrino’s interviews on the Digital MediaCast Experiment to hear it at work.