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Hey guys,
Over the last few weeks I have been looking in the premium podcast model since many people have been asking me about it. I have noticed a lot of podcasters are starting to offer premium content for their listeners ... of course at a cost. Some people offer exclusive shows to their paying audience others offer HD video or bonus material.
What do you guys think of this? Is this a model that works?
From my research you're lucky if you get 2 - 5% of your audience to sign up. It's passive income if you want to sell your back catalog (that already exists).
A really good percentage of people that will follow you into a premium model is 10%. That is a REALLY good number.
There is no “one size fits all.” Rob Walch from Wizzard Media / Libsyn said that if you give bonus content you will have more subscribers, and also the more niche you are seems to help. An average is around 1 to 3% (which is what the people I spoke with years ago about this subject were getting).
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Originally Posted by andrewzarian
I believe that all shows should be free, and downloadable being a GNU-head and all. I would pay for premium content if it really interested me, but I highly doubt that.
I think this is a great idea Andrew. I think you still have to offer free content for people to consume along with the paided content. I believe that if you execute this properly than it can be a killer service.
What do you think Listeners / Viewers are more inclined to pay for ?
VIP Exclusive content
Back Catalog
Bonus Material
I am willing to pay for content if I am committed to the community. There are many shows that I enjoy but would not pay for content because I don't feel a connection to the show/ host. The most successful shows that follow a premium model are the ones that have a very active and committed community
I wouldn't and more importantly I don't think this is a viable business model at this stage in the industry's growth.
While people might subscribe to services (Netflix, HuluPlus, etc) and they may be for series content such as "TV show" style content, I can't see many paying for podcasts as I know them. You'd really have to define this though.
Take RippleTraining for example. Their tutorials are all paid but their MacBreackStudio series and their occasional live streams with PixelCorp are all free. It is possible to use free podcasts to entice sales of their in depth tutorials as they do, but that isn't simply "premium" content as its tutorials not podcasts per se, that you buy.
I personally have been paying for a Podcasting for the last 5 year. The content is only available for paying customers of the website. they offer a daily Podcast and 1 free podcast a week.
If you have what people want behind a pay wall, they will pay for it. Most people want something for free, though.
Sadly Most podcasts are not good enough to be behind a pay wall. The ones that are successful in doing this are broadcasters that have come from terrestrial radio.
I think you are partial correct. Someone coming from regular radio can create a model that works. I am a huge coast to coast fan and pay monthly to have the episodes via podcast.
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Originally Posted by cseeman
I think the model can work for well produced, compelling Internet broadcasts under the right circumstances…Glenn Beck's done it with http://www.theblaze.com/tv/ , but most traditional broadcasters who've attempted the the pay per play model have failed.
I know Tom Leykis is attempting it, but I'm not sure how well he's doing. His audience, while loyal, seem a little apathetic, unlike Beck's, so I'm assuming that they are less inclined to spend money to listen….I could be wrong.
I'm not really a fan of paying for something that was originally free. Something like this could turn people off to a podcast altogether.
I agree with you but what if its not free. What about bonus material or extra shows?
Yet I think of the examples posted are the exception not typical. Yes they come from a broadcast background so they already have very large audiences. This also means that at some point they were offering a lot of free content (usually advertiser supported) to garner that audience. Consider how big these shows were before they were able to offered paid versions.
It's kind of like pointing at a profitable Hollywood film and inferring that any of the thousands of indy filmmakers can just distribute and charge $15 a ticket. Of course I'd pay for an indie film if it had strong recommendations or, I had previous experience with the creators or, was a subject I was deeply into. That doesn't mean that the indy filmmakers is going to garner a mass audience that way though. In other words, most would not pay to see the film and the filmmakers struggle. Podcasting isn't that much different except I expect the "success" rate is even lower than Hollywood.
It all depends on what the bonus material consists of.
I've listened to Howard, and O&A on KRock. I don't have a Sirius or XM subscription, so I do without. Unless, of course, I'm with a friend who does.
Porn seems to do well behind a pay wall. The success depends on the consumer's motivation, I guess.
Yes, but there are still a lot of free porn sites to choose from. Also, if someone really wants certain content, there are ways to get it for free.
Does anyone here offer premium content to go along with their show. I think one great way would be to offer video at a price and give the audio away for free.
I posted this thread on some of the google communities (I hope you dont mind Andrew). Todd Cochrane said this :
When we did a community poll more than a year ago, we only had about 25 shows respond that wanted to make their content available aka premium.. Either Pay Per View or Series subscription.
With the amount of content out there, the content in my opinion has to be over the top good.
I am surprised to see even 25 people say they want to go to a premium model.
Obviously you would have to have a successful show in order to have a premium podcast. I would not recommend start out with a pay show. Here is an example of a premium model that would work
You already have a successful show with advertisers and want to start a second show. some shows will have a harder time finding ads because of the format/topic discussed. You can turn that into a premium show and work off following the other show has.
I think if it was a show I listened to every week I would only pay if it were a yearly transaction. I would be turned off it was a monthly fee.
