Catholic Insider & Slice of SciFi - How'd you do it?

[Ian]

Catholic,

You have accumulated more votes in 5 days than Dawn and Drew did in one month. What's your secret?

Scifi,

How about you? You came out of nowhere and generated more votes than most top tenners did in all of March. Do you have a big scifi email list or something?

Not that I expect you to reveal your strategy, but I am quite curious.

Thanks,
Ian

[Version3]

I think C.I. is a result of plugs on DSC and the goings on with the Pope's passing. I'd be really interested in knowing what's up with this Sci-Fi deal.

[evo]

Scifi: How about you? You came out of nowhere and generated more votes than most top tenners did in all of March. Do you have a big scifi email list or something?

I suppose the ubergeek thing would be to claim that we have subscribers across various dimensions, or that we forced all the tin-foil hat wearers to hit the library and vote for us en masse, so sorry to disappoint.

Let's set the record straight on this whole idea of "coming out of nowhere" business. Mike and I have been producing, broadcasting and syndicating The Dragon Page (http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_detail.php?pod_id=40) since February of 2002. We started out life as an internet-only radio show and moved gradually into the steamy underbelly of broadcast radio. But from the start, our shows have always been available via download off our website (http://dragonpage.com).

On October 12, 2002, my partner sent me a link to a page where Doc Searls was talking about DIY radio with this new thing called "podcasting" (http://garage.docsearls.com/node/462). Two days later, and I am neither shitting you nor making this up, I hacked the RSS feed and figured out how to use the <enclosure> pluggin on MovableType. My response back to him contained words like "this could potentially change how we do things," and it did. A day or two later, we got listed on Podcast Alley. (Don't have a record of that, but our show is #40 in the database, so it's pretty accurate.

Outside of producing podcasts, I've been a podcatching junkie. Faves are:
DnDS
The Bitterest Pill
DSC
Sam Geppi's Free Daily Astrology Forecast (helped him with that)
BandTrax (my only music show)
Dave Slusher's EGC and ViYH
Croncast
Area51
Geek Fu Action Grip
Useful Sounds... and other's I'm forgetting. Sorry. Did I mention I also have a full time job? :)

I also maintain the Science Fiction/Fantasy node on iPodder.org, and we've been helping a few select authors make serialized audio books out of their novels and release them on our site (and theirs) in podcast form. Being nice and helping others tends to spread the word, too!

A few weeks ago, we decided to launch a new podcast and target that audience at a very VERY niche audience: Star Trek fans. There's a whole battle being waged over UPN's impending cancellation of Enterprise, and these folks aren't taking it lying down. We contacted the leader of this group (membership in the 6 figures) about creating a Trek-focused show. Through those conversations, Slice of Scifi was born. We talk a lot about Trek right now, but have left the door wide open for any other media-centered topic, like B5, SG-1, Battlestar... you name it.

So now the two of us, Mike and Evo, have three shows/podcasts to do each week. This one has spread through the Trek world pretty quickly, and they are a dedicated bunch of folks.

Oh, and Mike is giving away free rimjobs to all who vote. (Nah, just kidding.)

[Version3]

Well see... there can be a good explanation. You marketed a nitche show to an existing audience. That's cool, and it's nice to see someone explain the goings on without getting crazy and defensive. It's very refreshing, thanks for taking the time to do it!

:D

[evo]

Well see... there can be a good explanation. You marketed a niche show to an existing audience. That's cool, and it's nice to see someone explain the goings on without getting crazy and defensive. It's very refreshing, thanks for taking the time to do it!

No problem, AT&T.

To take that one step further, Qwest, I'd like to point out that the overwhelming majority of the folks who have voted and commented on our show are brand new to podcatching. We knew that getting involved with this group would make our numbers skyrocket which would be pretty cool in itself. But behind that was a plan to take a dedicated group and not just get them to vote and say nice things to us, but to get them to in to the idea of podcatching and podcasting.

Just as much as we're marketing our shows to the folks in the Trek and SF/F community, we're evangelizing this medium to anyone who will listen. We've worked with ClearChannel and know first hand the bullshit that happens in the industry and the crap they are looking to schlep on the masses. We've had countless ex-radio listeners who have written us with tales of "I'll never listen to radio the same way again". We're proselytizers of podcasting, that's for ****ed sure!

I'm happy to take the time and explain this to you and others, Dex. We try to have a good, fun show with interesting contents. Well, interesting to those who dig SF/F!

(You'll have to scroll through Version3's other posts on the forum to see why I'm intentionally screwing up his name. You know, reading this again... it sure seemed funnier when I thought it up than in practice.)

[Version3]

It made me laugh, and I'll be Chris starts laughing in the next few minutes when he reads it. :P

[theFerf]

HA HA HA

very funny evo, version and i were just talking about that!

Further, I must commend you on you dedication to podcasting and promoting this new medium. Im glad to hear that your evangelizing podcasting and helping the newbies jump in and splash around a bit.

<stands up and applauds evo>

Keep up the good work!

[Ian]

I'm envious. I only wish all my listeners had that dedication.

Nicely done, Evo.
Ian