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Gene why don't you charge for The Paracast?

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itsthenoise

itsthenoise

Neophyte Paranormålé
Why don't you charge us for The Paracast? Maybe the cost of a paper or iTunes download per week??

There may be a host load of complications iTunes/Paypal fee's that I don't know about if you did, plus maybe the listener ship would dip down a bit but I'm sure you've got 10's [ maybe more ] of thousounds of listeners who would pay. Even if it was temporary and after a few months you made it free again, dunno... just throwing the idea out there.

Maybe my estimates are naive? But I would pay, you are worth it and I'm sure there's lots of others who think so to.
 
there are some great podcast on itunes for free. The paracast is one of the better ones but charging in a sea of free may not be the best way to do it. Still, I think your hearts in the right place. (I guess.) 8)
 
tyder001 said:
there are some great podcast on itunes for free. The paracast is one of the better ones but charging in a sea of free may not be the best way to do it. Still, I think your hearts in the right place. (I guess.)
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A premium version is a viable possibility with extra content and all, but it's a sure thing that we'd lose a heap of listeners if we charged for the show. And there's no way to structure a paid show within iTunes that I can see.
 
I subscribe to the mysterious universe podcast hosted by two Australian researchers. They have a free podcast but if you choose to be a premium member you receive an extended version of the free edition and a further 'plus' edition all through iTunes. They charge $9 per month which is what I would pay for a good magazine in the UK so I think it's worth the cash. You get 3 to 4 hours of podcast per week for the subscription fee.
I'm not sure how many subscribers they have but I would think they must have a good number. How many does the Paracast have?
It may be worth considering something similar Gene?
 
duffmeister said:
I subscribe to the mysterious universe podcast hosted by two Australian researchers. They have a free podcast but if you choose to be a premium member you receive an extended version of the free edition and a further 'plus' edition all through iTunes. They charge $9 per month which is what I would pay for a good magazine in the UK so I think it's worth the cash. You get 3 to 4 hours of podcast per week for the subscription fee.
I'm not sure how many subscribers they have but I would think they must have a good number. How many does the Paracast have?
It may be worth considering something similar Gene?
Click to expand...



I believe in free radio, and I actually began working for a traditional broadcast outlet when I was just 21. When you start charging for the shows, listenership goes down, because people can't afford to pay for all the content they want. Having undergone some serious financial trials, I can tell you I've heard from listeners with similar problems. It's not fair to ask them to pay even a modest fee, and the logistics of distribution are complicated, since we can't use iTunes for distribution of a paid show (well actually they just use our "XML" file to provide the subscription capability and the access to the files on our server).

My real goal is to boost listenership as much as we can — with your help of course. This will also make the show more attractive to potential advertisers, and it will give us leverage to begin to boost the rates.

We hope some of you will help get the word out about the show, or help us find someone who wants to advertise on The Paracast or The Tech Night Owl LIVE. :)
 
I always mention The Paracast when I get the opportunity to talk about my favorite websites and podcast. I would love to see the show get on live radio.
 
Sadly, if the Paracast became "paid" radio, I would not be able to listen. Even if it was a small fee. My finances took a big dump in 2008 when I was laid off, and then again in March when my dog had to have some expensive surgery. I love the show but it would seriously add another cost where I don't need one.

I would love to advertise the Paracast on my blog though, not sure if I need permission to do that.
 
Xylo said:
Sadly, if the Paracast became "paid" radio, I would not be able to listen. Even if it was a small fee. My finances took a big dump in 2008 when I was laid off, and then again in March when my dog had to have some expensive surgery. I love the show but it would seriously add another cost where I don't need one.

I would love to advertise the Paracast on my blog though, not sure if I need permission to do that.
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This is why we cannot charge for the show, and feel free to spread the word on your blog -- with links. :)
 
What about another approach of; like a voluntary weekly 'coverprice' contribution you suggest at the top and tail of every episode? Then those that 'can', would pay and those that can't at the moment will maybe some time in the future if their circumstances improve? Maybe you need to 'advertise' this for yourself a bit more.

If you 'nudge' 20,000 people into giving you $1 a week rather than 10 people sending you $10-30, maybe that could work? I understand that talking about money can be awkward but only the hardest hearted would begrudge you mentioning this.
 
itsthenoise said:
What about another approach of; like a voluntary weekly 'coverprice' contribution you suggest at the top and tail of every episode? Then those that 'can', would pay and those that can't at the moment will maybe some time in the future if their circumstances improve? Maybe you need to 'advertise' this for yourself a bit more.

If you 'nudge' 20,000 people into giving you $1 a week rather than 10 people sending you $10-30, maybe that could work? I understand that talking about money can be awkward but only the hardest hearted would begrudge you mentioning this.
Click to expand...

I do run an announcement almost weekly about helping us find advertisers and sending PayPal donations, but I don't see much response to either. Perhaps listeners are just worn out by my ongoing financial trials and their own personal struggles.

These are hard times for lots of people.
 
it's almost like the iTunes / Podcasts need like a painless simple quick way of donating paying small amounts at the point of 'delivery', a "pay your weekly $1 here" button, Bosh... done.

I work for myself and have not had hardly any work since january so I know what you're saying! but there are also plenty of people who can definitely afford it who just need a little 'moral' push or reminder I think, anyway just a thought.
 
itsthenoise said:
Why don't you charge us for The Paracast? Maybe the cost of a paper or iTunes download per week??

There may be a host load of complications iTunes/Paypal fee's that I don't know about if you did, plus maybe the listener ship would dip down a bit but I'm sure you've got 10's [ maybe more ] of thousounds of listeners who would pay. Even if it was temporary and after a few months you made it free again, dunno... just throwing the idea out there.

Maybe my estimates are naive? But I would pay, you are worth it and I'm sure there's lots of others who think so to.
Click to expand...


No maybe about it. I love the show but would never pay for it.
 
Charging for a podcast in a sea of similar but free alternatives is a sure way to marginalize yourself. I fully understand the desire to turn a profit from one's labors but charging listeners is not the way to go. Advertising is a better route. I have never payed to listen to a podcast and it seems to me that anyone that would must be doing pretty well for themselves...better than me anyway.
 
Gene you are doing everything right. PODCAST covers interesting themes, you have a website, you are advertising, you have a website with an active forum.

More Affiliated Marketing

Maybe a paracast googlemap showing locations of interesting activity

Camera's placed covering interesting areas (UFO active areas, deep sea cameras, or haunted places) so that people could logon to a chat room while watching tham and try to see an event of interest. See whether suppliers of the hardware would help sponsor such a project for exchange of advertising space. This is a really good idea as it would generate content on its own and everyone in the Paracast community can be part of the search. Even trying to negotiate a feed from research vessels by promoting an extra pair of eyes would be awsome. A remote submarine feed would promote so much interest and give immediate feedback that mars rovers can't.

Paracast merchandice - pens, cups, telescopes

BLogs on paranormal investigations

Voting from the paracast community on investigations to pursue

Start fund raising for such expeditions (maybe that interesting mountain that always has cloud cover where people report craft going in and out of it in south america)
 
The cameras would be expensive to implement, but as we grow, things like that are possible. Expanding the blogging capabilities on our site can be done. I'd need some help with the design. Right now my sole blog entry is actually our weekly newsletter, but this can and should be expanded.

We already have some merchandise available from our store (see the links on the site and the Announcement section in this forum), and that, too, will grow. But, frankly, I haven't seen much movement yet with merchandising. I understand that many people today just don't have the extra cash for the frills. That may also be true when it comes to financing expeditions. So far, that's been done privately, as individual researchers such as our own Christopher O'Brien talk to people who have the fat checkbooks to finance such ventures. It's really difficult.

In saying that, the listenership of The Paracast is larger than any single UFO research organization that I know about, and larger than the circulation of any UFO or paranormal magazine. We do have the audience to get lots of things done, and I hope this will only get better as we move towards network distribution for the show.
 
It my be a long shot but maybe contact from you to Peter Andre and Robbie Williams may prove fruitfull. Both are in the media and very interested in UFO's and may appreciate your endorsement for a trip they sponsor. Maybe it could be turned into TV program and you could help be putting them in touch with good investigators and a really good active location.

Gene I'll keep firing ideas - its a matter of odds, one of them has to be worthwhile. :)

On the camera front - how about seeing whether you can patch into existing ctv feeds. here in the UK there allowing civilians to help spot crimes by allow access to camera feeds.

Laters.
1EB
 
1stEarthBattalion said:
It my be a long shot but maybe contact from you to Peter Andre and Robbie Williams may prove fruitfull. Both are in the media and very interested in UFO's and may appreciate your endorsement for a trip they sponsor. Maybe it could be turned into TV program and you could help be putting them in touch with good investigators and a really good active location.

Gene I'll keep firing ideas - its a matter of odds, one of them has to be worthwhile. :)

On the camera front - how about seeing whether you can patch into existing ctv feeds. here in the UK there allowing civilians to help spot crimes by allow access to camera feeds.

Laters.
1EB
Click to expand...

Lots of good ideas in the bunch. I just have to see which ones are practical now and what might serve later on.
 
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