OnlineMediaTips.com

I’ll be speaking at MacDayLA on Saturday May 31. I’ll be talking about digital photography but will also be talking a bit about This Week in Photography (TWIP). It’s a show that my pal Leo Laporte predicts will even overtake TWIT someday. Stop by and say hi if you’re in the area.

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We’re still trying to figure it out. And we’re still arguing amongst ourselves about what word to use. Not me. I use any and all words I need to get audience and advertisers to view my content.

Podcasting has NEVER been a good word for what we do. Leo and I talked about trying to find a way to change it two and a half years ago. I have taken Online Media as a generic substitute but that’s not always good enough.

The one thing absent from all the discussions I’ve heard on this subject is audience. Whether or not podcasting is a good word, or online media is a good descriptor, or any other word makes a better choice, depends on the audience. If I am talking to a group of Web 2.0 savvy young people, I will still use podcasting. They know the word. If I am talking to my elderly Aunt Faye, I’ll say I produce a radio program you can listen to on your computer.”

While people in our industry battle over what word to use, I suggest they first focus on the audience. How best can we describe what we do to the people who want to consume our shows? That should be the only thing that ever matters.

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This will be short and sweet. If you’re selling downloads - you’re most likely going to fail. Because advertisers are NOT buying downloads. They are buying more sales.

In my shop, we sell based on a flat-fee approach, regardless of downloads. The flat fee approach makes life easier for everyone. There are no stringent reporting requirements. There are no arguments about partial or complete downloads. We sell access to our audience and a fair and fixed fee. The advertiser is trading on the reputation we have with our audience. That’s all there is to it.
The naysayers will tell you this can’t be done. They’re wrong. I always do it that way for all my shows and am generally sold out.

The reason this works is simple. I know I have a large and dedicated audience. I know they’re right for my advertisers or I wouldn’t pitch the idea in the first place. I believe my product works.

So when the rubber meets the road I simply tell the advertiser that all they need to do is look at the results. If they’re selling more widgets than they were before they started advertising on my show, then the ads are working.

I encourage them to try it for a month and to leave if they don’t get the results they want. Most stick around month after month.

Online media ads work. I know they work. I have confidence in the product. I’m able to translate that honest enthusiasm into sales when combined with shows/blogs that make an obvious connection to the right audience for the right advertiser.

So if you’re not getting the results you want selling downloads, and most of you aren’t. Try selling your relationship to the audience. Try talking about increased sales. Work from a flat fee basis. Challenge the advertiser to try your show. It works for me.

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The more I think about it - the more I am convinced that online media should be multimedia. By combining blogs, podcasts, vlogs, screencasts, music, and slideshows, we can tell a more complete story.

Last night I went to Stanford to see a presentation by Sports Illustrated photographer Bill Frakes. He surprised me by not just showing the expected slide show, but by presenting presentations that included audio, video and stills.

He said that SI.COM received millions of page views for some of his online presentations. You can see a funny example of one he did on NASCAR on the SI site.

What struck me about this was that this was an “old” media company doing some NEW media. And that, while I am involved in podcasting, there is much more to it than that.

A new show that I’ve been working on with Alex Lindsay from Pixelcorps.TV is a good example. This Week in Photography (TWIP) has a blog, three Flickr forums, a video podcast, a screencast and a traditional audio podcast. They are all parts of the same overall entity. And the results have been impressive. We’ve never been out of the iTunes top 25 in Technology in the four months since we launched. We even made it to the top 25 overall list, seven places from Oprah! Wow that was weird. Anyway, I think - no - I know - the audiences are starting to expect more.

Is there a reason that new media producers can’t go more multimedia? I mean if SI can do it, why can’t we?

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Last year’s inaugural Blogworld & New Media Expo was a success. This year, things should be even better. The organizers have one year under their belt and know what did and didn’t work. They’re working hard to provide more podcast/new media coverage.

I’m glad to announce that I have again been asked to speak at the show. My pal Leo Laporte will join me along with several other new media luminaries. As more details become available, I’ll post them here. You won’t want to miss it.

We’re going to build a podcast stage like none other you’ve ever seen at a trade show. That alone will be worth the trip.

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