Info: PODCAST: Educating CFers on the Patreon model

[ChrisMWilliams]

Jared and I recorded this today. Hopefully it sheds some light on the future of the site.

https://cyclonefanatic.com/podcasts/podcast-discussing-cfs-transition-to-a-patreon-model/

 

[Cycsk]

Glad that CW didn't go the route of "America Needs Another Lawyer."

 

[Messi]

Just listened to the podcast, very informative. A question though, how profitable are the podcasts for the site? The CF podcasts are the one form of content that you guys provide that I use the most often. In the busy world we’re all living in I don’t always have time to check the boards or read an article but I enjoy podcasts because I can utilize them while partaking in other activities. My work commute, mowing the lawn, running… im always listening to podcasts.


Right now is a crazy time for basketball recruiting and names ISU is involved with is changing seemingly every day. A quick 10 min podcast posted every night would be a godsend right now to get my update for the day on what kid listed us in his top 5, what player announced he’s transferring, what your birdies are telling you… etc.


Just an idea and maybe there’s no way to make that profitable for you guys but I enjoy the site and want to throw any ideas out there. Thanks for all your guys hard work, Go State!

 

[jburke]

Just a suggestion, from the mobile side of thing maybe creating an app and charging for download pay provide another profit stream as well. Not sure what logic is used for the core side but there are ways to develop the web core to translate to an app. Just thinking of other profit streams surrounding this, I will be partaking in Patreon, just a very tough spring so far...

 

[Yellow Snow]

Just listened to the podcast, very informative. A question though, how profitable are the podcasts for the site? The CF podcasts are the one form of content that you guys provide that I use the most often. In the busy world we’re all living in I don’t always have time to check the boards or read an article but I enjoy podcasts because I can utilize them while partaking in other activities. My work commute, mowing the lawn, running… im always listening to podcasts.


Right now is a crazy time for basketball recruiting and names ISU is involved with is changing seemingly every day. A quick 10 min podcast posted every night would be a godsend right now to get my update for the day on what kid listed us in his top 5, what player announced he’s transferring, what your birdies are telling you… etc.


Just an idea and maybe there’s no way to make that profitable for you guys but I enjoy the site and want to throw any ideas out there. Thanks for all your guys hard work, Go State!

The bolded is the same for me. I love the podcasts.

The FAWcast even grew on my after I realized Charter is just Charter and not being fake. Holy cow... that dude is real... lol

Anyway... Keep up the good work and podcasts are my favorite content on the site.

 

[Sigmapolis]

I kind of wonder what their goal is on monthly donations -- what qualifies as "success."

This is where they are right now...



Compare that to this YouTube stream for a family in Chicago that fosters kittens...



I mean, I love kittens, too, but I wonder what range this settles into eventually.

 

[ChrisMWilliams]

Just listened to the podcast, very informative. A question though, how profitable are the podcasts for the site? The CF podcasts are the one form of content that you guys provide that I use the most often. In the busy world we’re all living in I don’t always have time to check the boards or read an article but I enjoy podcasts because I can utilize them while partaking in other activities. My work commute, mowing the lawn, running… im always listening to podcasts.


Right now is a crazy time for basketball recruiting and names ISU is involved with is changing seemingly every day. A quick 10 min podcast posted every night would be a godsend right now to get my update for the day on what kid listed us in his top 5, what player announced he’s transferring, what your birdies are telling you… etc.


Just an idea and maybe there’s no way to make that profitable for you guys but I enjoy the site and want to throw any ideas out there. Thanks for all your guys hard work, Go State!

The thing about podcasts is that still, believe it or not, they are a bit ahead of their time in the ad world. Locally at least, not a ton of companies are ready to jump into them we have learned. There's this whole side of the business - ad agencies specifically - where only a few of them purchase podcasts for some reason. I think that will change in the coming years but it's simply just where we are at right now. Hoping the market comes around to them, and I think it will. When it does, we should be in good shape because I really believe the metrics would show that we have the largest sports podcast network in the state.

 

[ChrisMWilliams]

Just a suggestion, from the mobile side of thing maybe creating an app and charging for download pay provide another profit stream as well. Not sure what logic is used for the core side but there are ways to develop the web core to translate to an app. Just thinking of other profit streams surrounding this, I will be partaking in Patreon, just a very tough spring so far...

Problem with this - as we have looked into it - is two-fold. One, apps are revenue killers. Your site doesn't get traffic because of them, hence a loss of revenue. Two, apps are very expensive. When we did the redesign last year, we looked into launching an app too. A good one that could support the 20 K people on CF every day would have cost 30-40 K to make. We simply could not justify it. No way we could make that back with charging a buck 99 to download.

 

[3TrueFans]

Maybe I'm weird but I will gladly donate $5 a month but would almost certainly never pay $.99 or $2 for an app to access the site.

 

[cyclonedave25]

Say Chris, you mentioned something about paypal but was wondering if you have anything set up for Venmo?

 

[JP4CY]

The bolded is the same for me. I love the podcasts.

The FAWcast even grew on my after I realized Charter is just Charter and not being fake. Holy cow... that dude is real... lol

Anyway... Keep up the good work and podcasts are my favorite content on the site.

Yes, the post Mexico podcast is really good.

 

[ArgentCy]

I'm still confused on the demise of third party ad revenue from mobile devices. I'd always heard in the industry and specifically a place like FaceBook that mobile ads were more profitable or perhaps it was useful. This seems to say the opposite.

 

[ArgentCy]

I don't know much about Patreon as I've seen other sites look for donations directly. I would add that you might look into adding an option for BitCoin or other eCurrencies.

 

[jburke]

Problem with this - as we have looked into it - is two-fold. One, apps are revenue killers. Your site doesn't get traffic because of them, hence a loss of revenue. Two, apps are very expensive. When we did the redesign last year, we looked into launching an app too. A good one that could support the 20 K people on CF every day would have cost 30-40 K to make. We simply could not justify it. No way we could make that back with charging a buck 99 to download.

Back to my other comment, it is all how you develop the site, because if use hybrid logic, the core of your code base for the site and app are mostly the same code and you can easily build for different environments(ios, android). In this case, through the app you could price it up there($5+) and have that be local ads only.... similar to what it seems you are doing with premium membership, but another revenue stream.

 

[ChrisMWilliams]

Back to my other comment, it is all how you develop the site, because if use hybrid logic, the core of your code base for the site and app are mostly the same code and you can easily build for different environments(ios, android). In this case, through the app you could price it up there($5+) and have that be local ads only.... similar to what it seems you are doing with premium membership, but another revenue stream.

Not a bad idea to look into. The biggest problem we have had app wise is our forums. Pretty easy to plug our WordPress content into a basic app.

 

[Fitzy]

Glad that CW didn't go the route of "America Needs Another Lawyer."

Upcoming headline: "Chris Williams Avoided ANAL in his Youth"

 

[cychase_]

Maybe I'm weird but I will gladly donate $5 a month but would almost certainly never pay $.99 or $2 for an app to access the site.

I feel the same way, for whatever reason I will never pay for an app. It makes no sense at all.

 

[HogueNation]

30K in hosting a year? That's hard to believe, if true, you may want to start looking into other options.

 

[megamanxzero35]

The thing about podcasts is that still, believe it or not, they are a bit ahead of their time in the ad world. Locally at least, not a ton of companies are ready to jump into them we have learned. There's this whole side of the business - ad agencies specifically - where only a few of them purchase podcasts for some reason. I think that will change in the coming years but it's simply just where we are at right now. Hoping the market comes around to them, and I think it will. When it does, we should be in good shape because I really believe the metrics would show that we have the largest sports podcast network in the state.

You could always do national ads in the meantime.

I listen to the Mr. Sunday Movies podcast. They are based in Melbourne, Australia. They do ads for Harry's Shave Club, Audible, LootCrate, a sofa company, and a clothing company. Pretty much all US based companies. They are probably a bigger podcast. I think I remember them saying they do over a million downloads a month with just a podcast a week.

The way they do their ads reminds me of how you do yours. They have some fun with it. Maybe make some jokes during it.

 

[BMWallace]

The thing about podcasts is that still, believe it or not, they are a bit ahead of their time in the ad world. Locally at least, not a ton of companies are ready to jump into them we have learned. There's this whole side of the business - ad agencies specifically - where only a few of them purchase podcasts for some reason. I think that will change in the coming years but it's simply just where we are at right now. Hoping the market comes around to them, and I think it will. When it does, we should be in good shape because I really believe the metrics would show that we have the largest sports podcast network in the state.

Have you looked into uploading your podcasts to Youtube and monetizing that way? Something as simple as the normal podcast audio with video that is just the CF logo with the relevant Twitter handles. There a number of podcasts that I follow that I primarily listen to on Youtube. Many of them have their own sponsors, and are able to take in the Youtube ad revenue on top of that. An added bonus, in my view at least, is that the Youtube interface is much more friendly than the current podcast player on the site.