Podcasting and The Value of Scarcity

With all of the recent kerfuffle surrounding Chris Anderson’s new book Free, it’s worth noting that one basic economics lesson continues to hold true: scarcity creates value. In fact, economics is essentially the study of scarcity, and when a good or service becomes common, it becomes devalued.

I was reminded of this crucial distinction when I perused the results of RAJAR’s latest MIDAS research. RAJAR, the UK’s radio measurement entity, publishes a semiannual look at British consumption of Internet-delivered audio that examines trends in digital radio, streaming and podcasting akin to our own Internet and Multimedia Research Series here in the States, and I am always interested to see how the behavior of UK digital consumers agrees and differs from our own here in the US.

I’ll have more to say about the podcasting statistics in a later post (they show continued growth in uptake, from 7.2 million podcast consumers in October 2008 to 7.8 million today,) but for now I wanted to focus on this telling statistic: while 4.2 million say they listen to podcasts at least once a week, only 28% find time to listen to all the podcasts they download (the typical user reported subscribing to 5.2 podcasts per week.)

I freely admit that I rarely listen to everything in my queue, and often weeks will go by before I will listen to an episode. Some subscriptions I have never caught up with, and others remain weekly staples. The vast stew of unlistened-to podcast episodes in my iTunes folder is very reminiscent of my TiVo “Now Playing” page, which also contains dozens of shows (and one entire series) that I’ve never watched. I suspect, if you own a DVR, that you have had a similar experience.

It’s easy to subscribe to episodic content–less so to find time to fit it all in. If you are a podcaster with a program centered on information or news content in a given niche, you know that listeners have multiple ways to get the content you offer (after all, you also got it somewhere.) What keeps listeners coming back, week after week, is you–character development, roles, trust, and your story. Even the most compelling podcasts, however, can pile up in someone’s feed reader amidst the plethora of audio and video available on the Internet.

Many Look as Podcast Consumer is Revealed

The ADM hosted a webcast called “The Podcast Consumer Revealed” from Tom Webster of Edison Research yesterday. Thanks very much to all that attended. This is the sort of resource the Association for Downloadable Media will continue to provide.

Those that attended got a firsthand look at who uses podcasts and how they use them. Some key points, as highlighted on Twitter at #poddata inlcuded:

• 1 in 5 Americans (22%) have listened to a podcast.
• 59% men 41% women, 18-44 demo = 60% of podcast users.
• Most downloadable media is consumed via desktop, mobile growing.
• Podcast users are very active on social networks – mainly Myspace and Facebook
• 24% of podcast consumers feel “emotional connection” with their favorite podcasts.
• Podcast consumers are more receptive to advertisers heard in podcast vs heard via internet radi.
• Producers need to do a better job of selling the portable aspects.

…and so many more.

If you missed the webcast never fear. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

eMarketer Headline Needs a “Yet”

On Wednesday of this week eMarketer released data indicating, as they trumpeted, “Podcasting Not Too Profitable.” A headline that got my attention, as it would anyone who is dedicated to monetizing any kind of downloadable media. The last thing we want to hear is that money isn’t being made by people generating incredible content. I mean, really, who wants to go after a piece of pie that represents “less than 0.2% of Zenith’s projection for the total online advertising space.”?

However, once you look past the “glass half empty” headline you’ll see real opportunity. Opportunity to do so much better. Opportunity that was really the reason a group of forward thinking people decided to form the Association for Downloadable Media.  How about, “Podcasting Not Too Profitable…Yet!”

First, let’s look at some of the facts about podcasting consumption. After all, you can’t make money on a product or service unless there are people using it, right? Well podcasting is being used…alot. This fact will be reinforced by data to be presented during our May 21st webcast with Edison Research’s Tom Webster and that same fact was noted in data the aforementioned eMarketer have themselves touted as recently as March 9th of this year. “As a percentage of Internet users, podcast downloaders will grow from 9% in 2008 to 17% in 2013.”

To be clear, when eMarketer states that “The appetite for podcasts is fairly light” they are referencing the appetite of media buyers, not podcast users. So, it’s not a matter of finding audience, it’s a matter of increasing the appetite of advertisers for, or even making them aware of the existence of, that audience.

We must seize the opportunity. Or as Tom Webster says in his Infinite Dial post, “Projections generally describe a possible future–perhaps even a probable future–but not the only future. The key is, what are podcasters going to do to change it?” Downloadable media producers (in this case podcasters, must work harder, whether it’s  an organized manner through the ADM, or by individually approaching advertisers to sing the praises of reaching consumers through this new and highly personal medium.

Commercial Radio’s Podcasting Myth

Mark Ramsey had an interesting post on his blog Hear2.0 and graciously allowed me to repost it hear. Mark is a thought leader in the radio space and is a strong advocate for the integration of new media tools by the broadcast medium. He makes some interesting points regarding different types of radio podcasts.

In addition to his thoughts below, I would advocate online or podcast only content made available by radio stations. Whether it be the long unedited version of an on-air interview, the 4th hour of a 3 hour morning show, episodes featuring character’s from the station,  or anything else you can imagine.

Mark also references the measurement of podcast plays and downloads that warrants some discussion, especially as it pertains to iTunes, but that’s for another time. Here’s Mark…

When it comes to radio station podcasts, we’re generally talking about two flavors:

One is the Public Radio kind, usually weekly shows with beginnings, middles, and ends or clips of information updates or highlights.

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Tips to Keep Your Podcast Fresh

I have a lot of friends who produce podcasts. Many of them are in my podcast subscription list, and I enjoy them all. You guys do a great job of creating relevant, targeted content — and it’s not even your full-time job (except in the case of Cali Lewis :) One thing all podcasters and producers will need to keep in mind is a lesson to be learned from traditional media … always plan for the next thing. Let’s face it, all shows in traditional media eventually come to an end. Take a look at M.A.S.H. As amazing as that show was, it did come to and end. Heck, it lasted longer than the war on which it was based. And let’s not forget the thousands and thousands of podcasts that started in 2005, only to end in, well, 2005. You want to always plan ahead for your show. There are a few steps you can take to ensure you’ll follow your passion for years to come.

1. SPIN-OFF: While this didn’t work very well for the M.A.S.H. spin-off, AfterMASH, it was a formula for success for All in the Family. That show had spin-offs and spin-offs of spin-offs, including Maude, The Jeffersons, Archie Bunker’s Place, Gloria, 704 Hauser, Good Times, and Checking In. Your podcast has probably grown in areas beyond where it originated, so capitalize on that, and create a spin-off show for this new audience segment. GeekBriefTV has done this successfully with The Big Trip, iCali, Dear Cali, and CarnivoreTV. Each of these shows is satisfying a sub-set her their audience and, in turn, increasing their downloads and ad revenue.
2. CONSISTENCY: I know this point has been beaten to death, as it applies to both podcasts and blogs. You must put out fresh content on a regular basis, otherwise your numbers will drop off. The listenership of my podcast, The Dave and Matt Show, had a significant drop-off when we went on hiatus. This condition is evident in this year’s TV season with shows coming back from hiatus. Skellie has a great post about blog frequency. Of course, this doesn’t have to mean you have to produce a new show each time. If you have a healthy archive of episodes, you can create a “best-of” episode, a “bloopers” show, or have someone guest-host your show.
3. CHANGE IT UP: This tip borders on Darwinistic, but if you find that your audience is dwindling (downloads, ratings, viewership, etc.), then shake things up and evolve over time. One of the best media podcasts out there, in my opinion, is Shelly Palmer’s MediaBytes. He is perhaps the best aggregator of media business news out there, and he puts his own spin on the news from his many (many, many) years in the industry. However, if you listen to the first episodes, they are quite different in format than what you hear today.
4. NETWORKS: One way to ensure the longevity of your podcast property is to not hang your hat on the one show’s name. For instance, one consistently funny show I listen to is Pacific Coast Hellway. The producer, Mark Yoshimoto-Nemcoff, has made slight adjustments to the show’s format to keep it fresh. However, the property is the show, and vice-versa. When I met with the producers of the Wedding Podcast Network, I thought their move to have their enterprise under a “network” moniker was brilliant. They have around 10 shows in their network right now. If one fails, the network lives on. Similarly, if Private Practice gets cancelled, ABC network isn’t going anywhere.
5. DON’T CALL IT A PODCAST: Now, this isn’t a hard and fast rule, but if you call your show a podcast, you’ve instantly narrowed the perception of what your audience should expect. You’ve identified your show by the medium on which it is distributed. The”pod” portion of podcast has confused a lot of non-listeners into thinking that you have to have an iPod to listen to a podcast. However, according to Edison Media Research, more than two-thirds of podcast consumers listen/view podcasts on a computer over a portable device. Today, people can watch a podcast on an a phone, a computer, a television, a portable media player, an AppleTV, and a refrigerator (seriously). If you call your show a “show”, it doesn’t paint you into a corner in terms of distribution. Leo LaPorte was sort of on the right track when he started calling his podcasts “netcasts.”

These are just a few tips, and I encourage you to use the comments section to add your own. And please incorporate at least a few of these tips, because I wanted to listen to you experts-in-your-field for many years to come.