Is New Media Selling Itself Short?
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. A LOT of thinking.
In conversations with people and in watching what is going on I’m starting to wonder about the roles of podcasting networks, the roles of advertisers and if content producers are selling themselves short across the board. I’m not going to say I’ve got the answers because I don’t, but I had to record this show to get some of the ideas out of my head to start the conversation.
Earlier this week there was a Boston Tweetup and Clarence Smith Jr. really got me marinating on some pretty deep topics. Then going to the StartCooking.com hosted movie screening for No Reservations. Those two things really hit home and more in common in my mind then most people would have thought.
Then when I got a call in from Jay Moonah about the recent Jaffe iPhone news it all came together and I had to record this episode.
Are we all selling ourselves short? Are new groups such as the Association for Downloadable Media going to help solve the problems? What do you think? I want to hear from you! Leave a comment here or call me at 206-309-4729 and leave your thoughts.
Really looking forward to the conversation that follows.
[…] I just finished recording the latest Managing the Gray where I question if we are all selling ourselves short or not. You can listen directly […]
Hmmm…. ok, I’ve let it marinate for a little bit and I think that I am going to respond from the “podcast novel” point of view (since that is the stage of life that I am in right now). I believe that “most” of the people out there that have jumped into podcasting, jumped in because… well, it seemed like a cool thing to do. Some continue with it and do it in earnest. From the podiobook point of view, there is a level of commitment just to record the episodes… but a J.C. Hutchins/Scott Sigler level of exposure and success is a whole other story!
How many podcast novelists (or “regular” podcasters for that matter) are willing to put in the time and effort in marketing their podcast? Everybody likes to see the success of others, but we tend to gloss over all of the hard work that they put into it behind the scenes.
So, exactly what you were talking about in today’s episode it the very question that I have to ask myself… How far do i want to take my podcast? How much am I willing to put into it? And… whatever I decide… have I sold myself short?
cc, i must respectfully disagree with you about jaffe’s sponsorship… and, thinking about it, apple’s not being involved doesn’t denigrate the sponsorship.
this is something that the podcaster wanted, and it was provided to him… it’s a perfect barter system, value for value. “you want this? i have this. let’s trade.” it can be money, or whatever else.
the amount will depend on the size of the podcast, obviously, but i suspect many podcasters will be suspected with $1000 a month, or $250 an episode… and that’s not a lot of money, it’s manageable (no pun intended) for many companies.
also, the fact that he has to pay for the service on the phone is besides the point… the iPhone is an example, and most barters of this sort won’t require a payment of that sort.
I didn’t mean to say that what happened with Jaffe was a bad thing. In fact I love the concept of bartering like that. What I do question is how “big of a deal it is” and that is what I’m questioning.
Bartering has worked for centuries and it is not about to stop working today. At least I hope it doesn’t.
I’m also not sure there is a magic number of dollars for sponsorship or not. I keep thinking about that and wondering.
Content creators have a long history of being undervalued. Just ask any actor or writer. I’ve written a post about it here: http://devoninspiration.typepad.com/blog/2007/06/digital-serfdom.html.
I work with a lot of different agencies in London, and even the media buying agencies do not seem to have podcasting on their radars. One of the difficulties is that there isn’t an established CPM, so clients don’t know what they *should* be paying and how to slot in podcasting with the rest of their media plan. I think it’s just going to take one big success story, then all of the brands will come rushing in - and hopefully offering decent compensation.
In terms of what podcasters should accept as compensation, I suppose it’s down to the individual. I don’t know that anyone’s pushing for a strong union to enforce a minimum payments to podcasters, because doing so seems contrary to what podcasting is all about. Each person has to establish their own market value.
Kudos to you for keeping the standard high and not just accepting any old offer.
I think that the reason that online content creators are still undervalued is that those without the right tools find themselves sorting through endless garbage (spam blogs, porn, whatever) in order to get to anything that’s actually good.
Until the mainstream learns the tools to sort through the nonsense and find the valuable, I’m afraid that this theme will continue.
GREAT podcast–I listen to just about every PR podcast (job requirement!), so I enjoy the short and sweet “brain dumps.”
As for a conference in New Hampshire, that’s just what we need up here. Come on up, I’ll help you plan it!
Thanks for addressing this C.C.
As far as the ATS thing, my personal view is that sponsorship of Joseph’s show might or might not be worth an iPhone, but if he had just come on and asked for $600 straight up, would anyone care? Would anyone have cared if he had come on and asked for the money to buy a Blackberry? An eco-friendly lawn mower? Two-dozen steaks? 180 cubic feet of pine spruce garden mulch? The more I think about this, the more I think it’s precisely because he attached this to the hip toy of the moment that people are making a big deal about it. It’s all about spin. What has fundamentally changed as far as monetizing or not monetizing a blog, podcast, whatever? Near as I can tell, nothing, except now Joseph Jaffe has an iPhone. Good on you Joseph.
As far the rest, I agree with many of your points C.C. I think value is a matter of personal choice. One of the problems we are still struggling with is convincing others of the value of this stuff as far as the relationship with the audience goes. It’s interesting that Neilsen recently added total minutes into their web metrics. Hopefully that’s a sign that DEPTH of engagement counts, and that’s where new media really shines. Your podcast or blog might have relatively low numbers compared to Big Media Site X, but most of your audience will spend WAY more time engaged with your brand than they will be effected by some banner that flashes in their face for half a second before being looked or scrolled away from. That’s the value of new media that we still have to do a lot to sell, but I think progress is being made.
Great episode of MtG today.
I’ll agree with the earlier poster - that creative people always have a hard time putting a price on their product. As a photographer, the overall trends today are towards cheaper and cheaper prices on images (lots of people who want to make a little side money). It’s hard to value your product when others don’t value theirs.
John Harrington’s Photo Business News (http://photobusinessforum.blogspot.com) regularly comments on pricing.
It all comes down to the value you place on the relationship with your audience, and what value you place on your work and time invested.
[…] I don’t think this will have the effect that it would have for a consultant, business, etc. but, could this idea hurt them? C.C. Chapman had an episode of Managing the Gray in which he discussed the possibility that new media marketers are selling themselves short. Basically wondering if offering discounted rates hurts the perceived value and effectiveness of new marketing/social media. It was a great cast (as they all are) and you should really go check it out. […]