Are there too many commercials?

[unsubscribing]

Since you appear to have joined us just to attack the ads, I suggest you take a few moments to read the previous posts I made on the subject. As I said, there is no other viable business plan to run this show successfully — other than public radio. Nobody is giving us a large cash grant to ensure our survival.

Why isn't a subscription based alternative not an option? I pay for my podcast version of two other terrestrial talk shows why is it impossible with this one?

 

[trainedobserver]

I read this and assumed old guy; click profile big suprise it is an old guy. Welcome to modern media why do I have to deal with commercials, why do I have to do anything? Way to take a podcast and turn it into the same thing as bad AM radio. I would pay 5 or 10 dollars a month for a commercial free version but I see thats not even offered.

Rather an old guy, which if you're lucky you may be one day, than a whiny end user.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Why isn't a subscription based alternative not an option? I pay for my podcast version of two other terrestrial talk shows why is it impossible with this one?

This has already been asked and answered.

 

[kcfraser]

It's not a bother having the commercials. It would be nice not to have any but in the real world it's simply a part of the package. I hope the shows' popularity grows and maybe the quality of the commercials will be better. I'm not in the market for gun holster, survivalist seeds and books on how the US federal reserve is destroying the worlds economy. Keep up the good work Gene.

Keith ( As a teenager, I could fit my entire life into the back of a pick-up truck. Now, as an adult, it fits perfectly into my Blackberry.)[FONT=&quot]<o></o>[/FONT]

 

[exo_doc]

Nah, it's a good trade off, gives me a chance to go pee and get snacks........after I wash my hands...then get snacks. Needed to make that clear.

Your faithful and totally hygenic listener

 

[Cybernia]

Understand that there is really no other viable business plan to allow this show to grow beyond the confines of just a podcast. We run the same number of commercials as any networked radio show in the U.S. As to the change of format, aside from somewhat more structured breaks (which actually helps keep the discussion on track), it's not all that different.

Now if NPR picked us up, well that would help, but then you'd get the regular pleas for donations to fund the station. And those who know of the financial trials I've suffered are probably sick of that stuff.

In another thread I responded to Paul about the new business models that are popping up around the internets. The problem is not that you have an insolvable problem but that you haven't found the right business model. You're using an outdated business model that is solely focused on the show itself. You need to expand, so to speak.

As someone who makes makes part of his living with the internets, I am always on the look out for new ways of doing business for my clients. I have some ideas that might be of use.

One thing you can to do is create original content for your site. Simply having a podcast and a message board isn't enough. if you look, you will see there are other podcasts that have content heavy sites and that keeps people coming back. I noticed looking at Alexis that 94.6% of your traffic is in the forum. Approximately 57 seconds on each pageview and a total of three minutes on the site during each visit. You need to keep them there. So, more content. longer stays. ( i know alexis is not totally accurate, but it's close enough for general purposes). I know you already do this, but I'll say it anyway. Your traffic stats are invaluable for coming up with new ways to generate views and listeners.


You already use Twitter. What about Facebook?

You can partner up with various vendors who sell the books, videos etc that guests on your shows might have available.

Finally, I don't understand why you went with a company that keeps you in the paranormal ghetto. If you want to gain listeners and broaden your audience why did you not go with a mainstream outfit?

I haven't listened in a few weeks, specifically due to the amount amount of ads. I have other podcasts that I like that have limited or no interruptions. As much as I like the PCast, I just can't listen to all the ads. And when I did listen, it's not like I'm just sitting there, so to fast forward through the ads is not an option.

When i first discovered podcasts I was ecstatic due to the lack of ads. I was a faithful listener of PCast until the change. But hey, you don't need me and you have to make a living. This is all just my two cents.

 

[Michael Allen]

Spoiled brats...

 

[Gene Steinberg]

As someone who makes makes part of his living with the internets, I am always on the look out for new ways of doing business for my clients. I have some ideas that might be of use.

One thing you can to do is create original content for your site. Simply having a podcast and a message board isn't enough. if you look, you will see there are other podcasts that have content heavy sites and that keeps people coming back. I noticed looking at Alexis that 94.6% of your traffic is in the forum. Approximately 57 seconds on each pageview and a total of three minutes on the site during each visit. You need to keep them there. So, more content. longer stays. ( i know alexis is not totally accurate, but it's close enough for general purposes). I know you already do this, but I'll say it anyway. Your traffic stats are invaluable for coming up with new ways to generate views and listeners.

You already use Twitter. What about Facebook?

You mean, of course, Alexa, which gathers much of its purported data with a spyware Web toolbar, which isn't even used on the Mac, where we have over a third of our Web visitors. I am well aware of our Web stats, and Alexa isn't even close. Nobody has access to our server logs and hence any estimates of our traffic from questionable sources of that sort are doomed to failure.

What I do know is that a lot of our traffic consists of downloads of the show, that the GCN network, with a million unique visitors per month, delivers lots of new listeners that do not necessarily visit our site. The same is true for the radio stations that are adding us, although we mention our portal regularly.

I'm also surprised that, as someone who makes an income in the business, you don't know this.

You would also know we have a Facebook group, though I've not had the time or the volunteers to help me expand it.

You also don't know that you can't just pick a network as you do a book on Amazon. They come to you, although you can pitch them, usually with little success. GCN contacted us and gave us a way to quickly build the audience with the show and make it possible for it to become a viable business while sacrificing little of what made The Paracast what it is, other than adding extra ads.

Let me continue: Publishers usually don't have cash to buy ads on the show, particularly the smaller ones, so partnering up with many them is a non-starter (we did add Adventures Unlimited Press, at least for Web banners). Besides, what sort of partnering do you expect, other than ads? It's not as if they would write us checks without some payback.

But as someone who makes an income in the business, I'm surprised you don't have a viable alternative.

And anyone who does is welcome to contact us.

 

[Cybernia]

First off. I'm not in the radio business. Part of my business is helping clients get on the web and market their sites etc.

So, basically you're going to stick with an old business model. Okay. You stated that there are no viable business models out there besides the one you chose. I just showed you that isn't true. BUT, in typical Steinberg style, you ignore that and come up with reasons why your model is better.

The way people listen and watch is changing. Let me ask you something. Why don't iPods etc come with radios? Because that's not the way the current younger generation listens anymore. They hate commercials. You say that GCN delivers listeners that don't necessarily visit the site. You want people to visit your site and download the PCast from there. You want The Paracast to be the brand name.

I'm around younger people simply due to the nature of my social and business milieu. It's a mix of old and young. I don't know of one younger person that actually listens to the radio. In fact, people around my age (54) don't listen either unless it's something like NPR.

You say that GCN offered you the chance to quickly build an audience without the sacrificing. Well, all those extra ads are a sacrifice. You keep pointing to the fact that the extra ads are pretty much standard in the biz. Well, among younger listeners that's anathema.

Follks here bitch about how the kids want everything for free. Well, guess what? They're the new generation of consumers whether the old farts here like it or not. Many businesses will have to adapt and find a new business model or die. The basic idea is to give away the main product for free or at very little cost and find other ways to generate revenue. You can provide value added services that people will pay for.

Good luck.

---------- Post added at 09:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:56 PM ----------

One other thing. Not publishers but vendors. You become an affiliate and get a piece of the action. How big that piece is depends on how much business you send them.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

First off. I'm not in the radio business. Part of my business is helping clients get on the web and market their sites etc.

So, basically you're going to stick with an old business model. Okay. You stated that there are no viable business models out there besides the one you chose. I just showed you that isn't true. BUT, in typical Steinberg style, you ignore that and come up with reasons why your model is better.

The way people listen and watch is changing. Let me ask you something. Why don't iPods etc come with radios? Because that's not the way the current younger generation listens anymore. They hate commercials. You say that GCN delivers listeners that don't necessarily visit the site. You want people to visit your site and download the PCast from there. You want The Paracast to be the brand name.

I'm around younger people simply due to the nature of my social and business milieu. It's a mix of old and young. I don't know of one younger person that actually listens to the radio. In fact, people around my age (54) don't listen either unless it's something like NPR.

You say that GCN offered you the chance to quickly build an audience without the sacrificing. Well, all those extra ads are a sacrifice. You keep pointing to the fact that the extra ads are pretty much standard in the biz. Well, among younger listeners that's anathema.

Follks here bitch about how the kids want everything for free. Well, guess what? They're the new generation of consumers whether the old farts here like it or not. Many businesses will have to adapt and find a new business model or die. The basic idea is to give away the main product for free or at very little cost and find other ways to generate revenue. You can provide value added services that people will pay for.

Good luck.

---------- Post added at 09:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:56 PM ----------

One other thing. Not publishers but vendors. You become an affiliate and get a piece of the action. How big that piece is depends on how much business you send them.

I hope you're joking. Affiliate marketing rarely pays off and seldom works with radio shows. It's a non-starter. I've been online since the 1990s and I know what doesn't work.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

More to the point, the ad-free podcasts are ad-free because they can't sell ads. Banners are dying. Asking listeners to pay eliminates 95% of listeners. Aside from a grant, ad supported radio is still the best way we can find.

 

[Cybernia]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I know you're no neophyte. I'm just saying that things are changing so rapidly these days that new models have to be discovered and I have found some that work, at least for my clients. All I am trying to say is look in "a direction you never looked before." I had to and it seems that if you look you can find it.

I actually surprised myself when I was able to look beyond the old models. I was a "Hey you kids get out of my yard" kind of guy and then I realized, "shit it's their yard now."

I think the show has potential to get out of the paranormal/ufo ghetto and reach a broader audience that is interested in this stuff, but is put off by all the zanies.

The only reason I say all this stuff is because I like the Paracast. I think it's a great show and I like the round robin kind of approach you've taken regarding co-hosts, except for that Kimball guy. He's too cranky for some someone that young and he's not even a real "Merican." (that's a joke). It's a brilliant idea. You looked in a direction you hadn't looked before regarding that, so why not do so with the business model?

 

[Gene Steinberg]

There's nothing in what you suggest that we haven't explored, tried and moved beyond. I welcome innovative suggestions, but have yet to see any.

But thanks anyway.