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RadarGaming
12-10-2012, 03:10 PM
So lets talk about sponsors. How have sponsors changed your show for better and for worse? And also when looking for sponsors do you go to them or do you wait for them to come to you? Thanks.

BradShoemaker
12-10-2012, 03:20 PM
I always think sponsors change the show for the worse. Even the best sponsors in the world still mean that your show is stopping down at some point to hit you with an ad. Most ads these days are dismissed and tune out factor on advertising is high.

Having said that FilmRiot on Revision3 handled ads very well. They usually produced funny skits to go with the ads and because they teach people how to film and produce visual effects, they tied the sponsors sketch into the teaching the effects... granted, they rarely do that type of ad anymore, they mainly do live reads only now.

GFQ does a great job in mentioning the sponsors upfront and then getting on with the entire show without stopping down to do a live read.

The shows I am working with, they do live mentions in the middle of the broadcast. Not my preferred method and I think it stops the flow, but as I am 1/3 of the operation, I don't always get my way.

andrewzarian
12-10-2012, 03:56 PM
I think sponsors are great as long as you are making some money :) at GFQ we have a quick ad at the beginning of the show then do a live read 15-30 min into the show ( It depends how many sponsors we have). As far as it taking away from the show, It all depends how the live read is done. I like to make it fun rather then it sounding like im reading the copy.

Podnutter
12-10-2012, 05:29 PM
Has anyone here tired out an affiliate program. does it work?

BradShoemaker
12-10-2012, 05:47 PM
I think sponsors are great as long as you are making some money :) at GFQ we have a quick ad at the beginning of the show then do a live read 15-30 min into the show ( It depends how many sponsors we have). As far as it taking away from the show, It all depends how the live read is done. I like to make it fun rather then it sounding like im reading the copy.

Well there you go. It doesn't even feel like I am taken out of the shows when you do it. Granted I don't catch all the shows, but generally What the Tech and Free For All.

podcastcoach
12-26-2012, 09:25 AM
Has anyone here tired out an affiliate program. does it work?

I talk about this in my book More Podcast Money (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EZDVPO/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bone-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008EZDVPO). When I had a sponsor I was getting $13 cpm. As my show had about 2800 downloads per month that equaled $36.4 for the month.

This is a fitness/weight loss show. I had been pimping the total gym for about a year. I finally sold one and made $75 (or $6.25 for the month, or $2.23 cpm). In dealing with my audience, I found that most were Mom's with kids. I found a product for $15 that paid $1.5 per sale. They were playing cards that allowed you to "deal yourself a workout." It was a game, and something you could do with your kids. I got a check at the end of the month for $140 (or $50 cpm). While I can't live on $140 a month, it does show that with the right product (I bought one, and liked it), that fits your audience, you can do better than CPM. CPM is my least favorite way of making money with a podcast. It's advertising the "way we've always done it on radio." Podcasting is not radio.

andrewzarian
12-26-2012, 12:53 PM
To follow up with what Dave said. We have been doing the Amazon affiliate program for the last few months and its been working out great for us. It might be something to look into. you only get a small percentage from each sale but since many people use amazon its a great way to make a few bucks a month without a lot of work