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Sue said:
I think the sliding scale idea is ridiculous. $50 a year/$5 a month is an extremely reasonable rate
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I'm not sure where "sliding scale" comes into play? My suggestions have nothing to do with sliding scale. It has everything to do with marketing genius and growing an audience including subscriptions too.

This isn't someone being a cheapskate! It's a numbers game, and it is also there to help young people and those that can't afford it for a VERY LIMITED time once a year! Gene, you know those 5 year subscriptions to paper magazines were offered at extreme discounts more in-line with what I suggested. You don't have all the print magazine costs, so ...

Imho.
 
I hope you understand that paper magazines get most of their revenue from advertising. So by offering cheap subscriptions, they build up the reader base, which means they could charge more money for ads. That's where the real money comes from. Sometimes, though, they go overboard and are flooded with super cheap subscribers who end up being a money loser for them, because advertising fails to compensate. I've been there and I know how this works.

We cannot do any of that because we need every penny to cover our living costs, so discounts have to be done judiciously. We do have a 5-year plan now with a 30% discount for those who care to take advantage of such a deal.

We are also adding one more piece to the mix: For those who subscribe for a year or more, we'll get them a copy of Chris O'Brien's "Stalking the Tricksters," the eBook version, free of charge.

Those of you who already subscribed for one year, just use write via Contact Us below. Include your forum name, and I'll get you a copy via email.
 
Gene Steinberg said:
Sometimes, though, they go overboard and are flooded with super cheap subscribers who end up being a money loser for them, because advertising fails to compensate.
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That's also because their print format and postal costs are high. You have to admit you have none of those costs. You're running the forum on a mini-mac? You can always experiment, as I suggested you do, and if you think it isn't helping then you can stop doing it. Again, imo. Just trying to be helpful.

You're advertising some of your products/services too, right? Or, at least you're getting some percentage, right? Doesn't GCN give you certain benefits too? Why else would you join their network?
 
You try to do something nice (and simple) for the people and all they do is complain...

$5/month. $50/year. Free w/ads if those options are too rich for your bank account. NO ONE is eliminated from being able to enjoy The Paracast. Could it be made any simpler while also trying to generate some decent revenue for the show? I don't think so. That so much energy has been wasted discussing cheaper options is a ridiculous waste of Gene's time, IMO. NEXT!
 
GCN gives a real network syndicator and a few slots for our own ads. That's all. I've covered this before. So, yes, The Paracast+ is meant as a paycheck. Servers may be cheap but rent and food aren't.
 
My suggestions are meant to increase your income and not to reduce it. It's numbers, increasing the audience, and marketing concepts, but I'm not knowledgeable about radio broadcast. I just know other GCN people do this for more than a decade. It must work, otherwise they would not do it.

Experiment. Nothing's carved in stone.

Enough said on my part unless someone else responds that I need to reply to. ;)
 
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ChrisJohnsen said:
You try to do something nice (and simple) for the people and all they do is complain...
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Sorry, I'm responding to your post, because I disagree with your connotation that I'm complaining. I am not. I am answering posts. I am offering ideas to increase income. To increase the audience. This is NOT being a cheapskate on my part, which you have implied twice now. I'm responding that I'm not complaining.

My motives are well meaning, and I know other VERY SUCCESSFUL GCN hosts use this very income model. It works. They would not do it otherwise. Sometimes you have to invest in the present to do better in the future. It's NOT a loss leader! These are for profit operations.
 
Gene and Chris

I don't want you to take on this guy's suggestion. If someone cannot pay $50 a year or $5 month it says more about them than The Paracast.


If people value your service (which I do) they will pay. If they don't want to subscribe they still get the show with ads.

With many services these days, you don't get to hear the interview unless you pay.

I feel incensed that I paid $50 a year and someone wants your service knockrd down at a price point that is extremely uneconomical. In fact I'm really enraged and almost punching walls.

That's all...

- Digital_Archivist













DissectionStalker said:
I'm not sure where "sliding scale" comes into play? My suggestions have nothing to do with sliding scale. It has everything to do with marketing genius and growing an audience including subscriptions too.

This isn't someone being a cheapskate! It's a numbers game, and it is also there to help young people and those that can't afford it for a VERY LIMITED time once a year! Gene, you know those 5 year subscriptions to paper magazines were offered at extreme discounts more in-line with what I suggested. You don't have all the print magazine costs, so ...

Imho.
Click to expand...
 
Digital_Archivist said:
I feel incensed that I paid $50 a year and someone wants your service knockrd down at a price point that is extremely uneconomical. In fact I'm really enraged and almost punching walls.
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Bizzare. I guess you never buy anything on a limited time [or holiday] sale???

Enraged? Punching walls? You're wayyy over-the-top!

You obviously are not considering marketing techniques and GCN's much more successful radio show, imo. A.J. started out with less money and experience than Gene did.

It costs less than a penny or a few pennies for the actual download itself. [That's why the very limited once a year holiday sale can work.] At $20 that profit margin is huge, especially, when the person would not have subscribed otherwise. Imo.
 
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One other VERY IMPORTANT point I should make regarding the numbers game. You have a HUGE new audience through the GCN radio network. Get the friggin people on-board, the more, the merrier, and a quick holiday sale can do it. Make it expire always the following February 1st. Why? People will forget to renew during next year's sale in Dec./Jan., and, so, they will tend to renew at the regular price.

It's brilliant. You get more subscribers. Then make even more money the following year, and you can always offer the super sale annually. I makes more money. Snowballing. Plus, you guys all started as children, and I think you could attract a lot of teens and broke young adults too. Win Win.

Ok, I'm brainstormed out...
 
What we do need is some backend help with the setup for Paracast+.

So on Apple's iOS, for example, we'd like to make it possible for you to use such apps as Downcast to download and hear the show. This will require a little more than we can bring to the table.

If any of the web developers in our audience can assist, please let us know via private conversation or via the Contact Us link at the bottom of this page.

Paracast+ is currently set up using XenForo's Resource Manager add-on, and subscriptions are managed through this forum.
 
Good news!

We're making progress. After a very long day's work by a friendly PHP developer, we've been able to add an RSS feed for The Paracast+ that will let you download episodes direct to your favorite podcast app, such as Downcast for iOS. It will take a while to list all the episodes — we have to do it manually until we can find a way to have it auto-update.

You'll find the link to the show feed in The Paracast+ forums among the download instructions, and it requires you enter your forum username and password in your podcast app to be able to get the shows.

It's not a perfect setup by any means, but we're still working on it. Your suggestions are welcome.
 
Gene Steinberg said:
Good news!

We're making progress. After a very long day's work by a friendly PHP developer, we've been able to add an RSS feed for The Paracast+ that will let you download episodes direct to your favorite podcast app, such as Downcast for iOS. It will take a while to list all the episodes — we have to do it manually until we can find a way to have it auto-update.

You'll find the link to the show feed in The Paracast+ forums among the download instructions, and it requires you enter your forum username and password in your podcast app to be able to get the shows.

It's not a perfect setup by any means, but we're still working on it. Your suggestions are welcome.
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Gene, you magnificent bastard, it works like a charm. Thank you!

xo,
CJ
 
Got to add two more months of episodes — but Howard, our developer, did great. This will soon be implemented over at The Tech Night Owl LIVE. But I sure wish it could update automatically.
 
I just finished adding all the "Plus" episodes (manually) so it's up to date. Until we figure out a way for this to auto-update, it'll be more manual labor, but I'm glad it is working.
 
I joined the Paracast+ a week ago or so and I am pleased with the results. The lack of commercials and the after show discussion make it worth the $50 per year.

Unfortunately we live in an era where people want everything for free. Cut out a few extras in your life and you can afford the 50 bucks.
 
Gene Steinberg said:
Good news!

We're making progress. After a very long day's work by a friendly PHP developer, we've been able to add an RSS feed for The Paracast+ that will let you download episodes direct to your favorite podcast app, such as Downcast for iOS. It will take a while to list all the episodes — we have to do it manually until we can find a way to have it auto-update.

You'll find the link to the show feed in The Paracast+ forums among the download instructions, and it requires you enter your forum username and password in your podcast app to be able to get the shows.

It's not a perfect setup by any means, but we're still working on it. Your suggestions are welcome.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I was waiting for.
 
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