Posts from — July 2008

Here is the audio from my presentation on Internal Enterprise Podcasts at the PodcampBoston3 in 2008.  I also created a video version with the slides from my presentation.  I’m always trying to re-purpose my content…

 

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I was up early this morning to finish polishing my presentation on Internal Enterprise Podcasting.  The slides are here.  I also talked about my conversation guide which is available here. 

I was just reading Paul Colligan’s latest post about growing your podcast’s audience. He made some great points and I agree with all of them. It prompted me to discuss my view of how to make money with podcasting.

“One legged stools don’t work very well.”

Producing a podcast and waiting for the big bucks to roll in is a failed strategy. The podcast can’t be the sole “product.” When I talk to people about starting a podcast, I make it make it clear the podcast can be a product, but it is ALSO a channel – a tool. It has to be part of a bigger plan – one leg of a many legged stool. The podcast has to point to other legs of the stool – a website, vidcast, forum, book, Facebook page, email sign-up, meet-up… There can be many legs to the stool. Each of these legs must support the other legs of the stool. It is the combination of all of those channels and spaces (read: legs) that will help build stable platform where you can build a following that can lead to income.

Notice I said “following” and not “audience?” You may have people who don’t listen to the podcast, but read the blog. Or, who discover, buy, and read your book. Or, who follow you on Twitter and buy your next book.

As Paul Colligan points out, it is very hard to generate a real income just by advertising in podcasts. If advertising in your podcast is your main focus, then you are selling your audience’s attention to the advertisers. Your audience is your product. If you don’ t have an audience, you don’t have a product. Your efforts should focus on audience generation. As Paul points out, you can’t depend on anyone else to do that for you. Your focus should be on building an audience outside of the podishpere.
If your income generation plan is broader, to include premium services, books, affiliate programs, paid gatherings, then your time should be spent on fostering the relationship with your narrower, niche, following. A smaller faithful, following can produce more income than a larger transient audience.

With all this said, we are still VERY early in the growth of new media. Tell me how you do it…

At a time when big corporations are trying to adapt to all the change in their business environment, many are taking small, incremental steps when bigger steps are needed.  One of my favorite quotes is by Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel:  “Innovate or die.”  True, but with my twist…

”If your internal rate of improvement is less than the rate of change of your environment, you will die.”

You can adapt reactively or innovate proactively.  I prefer to be proactive.  Big business can fall into a comfortable, internal state of continuous improvement.  The company feels that it has a viable improvement program, but the whole codified, improvement process itself can stifle true innovation.  External change forces can be evolutionary, disruptive, or even disasterous.   A company’s internal devotion to innovation has to at least match the rate of change of the external environment. 

My friend C.C. Chapman wrote a blog post for Entrepreneur.com about the Boston Globe’s use of their photo content and photo staff.  C.C. had some great, low cost, low risk ideas the Boston Globe could use to leverage their current and future assests.  Innovate.  Embrace the new technology faster than the competition.  Innovate now rather than playing catch-up when it is too late.  “Innovate or Die.”  C.C. sounded a little sad and frustrated with the Boston Globe.  He shouldn’t be.  He is an innovator.  He is proactive.  He is willing to take risks.  He is certainly changing faster than his business environment.  C.C. will thrive.  The Boston Globe, I’m not so sure about.

Thanks to David Buchanan at CoefficientMedia.com for his work on recording all the sessions at Podcamp Ohio 2008. I am glad to be able to go listen to the sessions I missed. Let me know what you think.

“‘Superiority in the physical environment is of little value unless it can be translated into an advantage in the information environment.” – Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, “The Transformation of Strategic Affairs”

I have not read the book, but what a great quote.  Everyone agrees the world has moved into the information age.  Boundaries, borders, and physical bonds have less and less meaning in the new information world.  Connections, information, and knowledge are the currency of this new age. 

Leaders who do not look for and win the battle for the strategic high ground in the information environment will lose the war even if they win the battle in the physical environment.    Managers may have the best plan, people, and programs, but without also leading in the communications and information environment, success will be allusive.  

Interestingly, I could not find much about this book nor author in the information environment (read: google). He and his book were there, but it is quite obvious that he is more interested in the strategic and military value of information and narrative to turn a conflict than in selling books.

  I’m just back home.  What a great experience.  It was an opportunity to connect with old friends and create new ones.  My session on Internal Enterprise Podcasts went well.  I’ve included the audio from my presentation here.  My slides for the presentation are at slideshare.com. Don’t forget to use my podcast interview guide .

 

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