The New Media is so, well, new, success within it – taking your idea from the computer screen to the Big Dance that is Old Media – brings throngs of listeners eager to hear how you did it, and how they can do it, too.
But Howard Lindzon, creator of Wallstrip, a video podcast that followed that minors-to-majors path by being picked up by CBS for a reported $5 million, suggests more manageable goals that are truer to audience needs.
Lindzon delivered the keynote address this morning at the 3rd Annual Podcast and New Media Expo in Ontario California.
The goal isn’t, he said, to take to your show to television, but to let people consume you show where they want. Television, in most cases, is the competition.
But whatever the idea, a person wanting to get into the New Media should enter with a goal in mind, whether it is to get to TV, or to make money from their content.
And just how is that done? Well, he can only speak from experience.
Noting that financial videos were not exactly, well, riveting, Lindzon took the opportunity to create a “Saturday Night Live for Wall Street.” He raised about $600,000 and created his show, which looked at just one stock per day, for about three minutes.
How did he make his show stand out? “We embarrassed ourselves,” he said, referring to the aggressive means he and his team used to promote the show. “You should put your stuff everywhere.” Everywhere includes YouTube, iTunes, DailyMotion, et cetera.
The next step, he says, is good old fashion over-the-phone salesmanship to sell advertising.
Advertising, of course, caused some negative response. But, said Lindzon, “We have a business to run, and if it doesn’t intrude, why not?”
Lindzon said he preferred 2-3 second pre-roll spots and product placement over post-roll ads.
Overall though, a video podcaster needs to enter the game with the end-game in mind, knowing and seeing the goal ahead. And there is a distinct advantage of having your content as part of the New Media.
“Great thing about the Web and podcasts, you do another show tomorrow.”
Murdok video anchor Kara Ratliff contributed to this article.
