Who has a better deal than Talkshoe?

[Scott Jensen]

Currently, my show ("Recreational Poker with Scott Jensen") is at Talkshoe ( http://www.talkshoe.com (http://www.talkshoe.com/) ). Here's a link to my show's webpage at Talkshoe:

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=7552

Talkshoe pays $5 for your each of first ten episodes and up to $4 for every 100 downloads of your show. They pay monthly. They send payment via check in the mail or, if you scan and send in a bank check, direct deposit to your bank account via PayPal. Last November, one host earned over a $1000 and it looks like a few will also get paid at least that for December.

However, I am new to the podcast scene. My gateway into it has been strictly Talkshoe at this time. I am now looking beyond my nest to see what lays out beyond.

First, does anyone offer a better financial payment system than the above from Talkshoe?

Second, my shows are not done live. I record all my episodes on Talkshoe's unlisted side and once I'm happy with them (usually taking at least a couple attempts), I ask for them to be moved to the public side. It is the public side where naturally the public can see and download my shows and where Talkshoe will pay the above. However, Talkshoe is focusing on livecasting and making that their niche. This was made very clear in the following thread that I started on Talkshoe's forum and Talkshoe's reply to it.

http://www.talkshoe.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=114&page=1#Item_1

That they make livecasting their niche is fine. More power to them. But since my show will never be live, I am looking for a podcast host that at least equals the financial payments listed above AND gives more post-production features than does Talkshoe currently. The features I seek are those listed in the thread to which the above link links.

As I am about to move out of my "idea proposals" episode production phase of my show, start doing interview episodes (which I have guests waiting to do on back burners) and due to Talkshoe's reply in the thread above, I am thinking if there is a better deal and podcast host (for my situation) out there for me, now is the time for that move.

So is there a better deal than what Talkshoe is offering? If so, the more information you can give, the better. Or is Talkshoe currently the best deal?

Thanks in advance!

[dpeach]

Mark, I have nothing to add to your question, but I did want to point you to another thread. Today I just recommended someone contact you for some questions. If you would answer in the forums, that would be a help to all of us.

This thread: http://podcastalley.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135318

[Scott Jensen]

I am not seeing the connection between what I posted and the thread you gave a link to. Please explain.

[dpeach]

There is no connection. I just mentioned that someone ought to talk with you about a question that they had and I wanted to point you to that thread because I think you might be able to help them.

Sorry to confuse.

[WyethDigital]

Scott, after having read your post in the TalkShoe forums, and what you're asking for here, I can tell you that no one has the exact services you are requesting from TalkShoe. There are services that do let you cut and edit podcasts online, but I don't know if they make you wait to do that like TalkShoe does (remember, that 30 minute wait time is probably related to transcoding your podcast into an mp3). YouTube once took 12 hours to transcode one of my videos into a Flash version, so I'd say you're getting off pretty nicely on that.

If you want a more productive workflow, you're better off creating your podcast on your end, with your own software on your own computer.

You're new to this whole podcasting thing, so I'm going to be blunt and dispel any illusions you may have: If you aren't prepared to spend the time to promote your podcast and enter it into directories yourself, then you shouldn't be podcasting -- or at least you shouldn't expect to gain much of an audience. There are tools that can expedite the process, but some directories, like iTunes and a few others, will not accept third party submissions. Libsyn tried doing the whole "we'll take care of signing you up with iTunes thing," and it failed miserably. Lots of people that thought they were in iTunes weren't.

Now, is there a better deal than TalkShoe's? You're getting free bandwidth, free hosting, and free recording/encoding... and if you have enough downloads, they pay you. That's very reasonable. You might find similar deals out there (without the livecasting that you don't care for), but I don't think you'll find a much better return.

Ad revenue, audience, etc, all take time to build. Be patient, and be dilligent. 100% of the responsibility to make something of your podcast is yours (unless you're specifically paying someone to do that for you). There is no magic bullet.

I've got a handy link that will at least help your podcast get noticed by blog and podcast indexing sites that ustilize RSS feeds. The site is called Triyo, (http://www.triyo.com) and it's one of the handiest tools out there. Copy your RSS URL and paste it into their search box. Tick the "I'm a podcaster" checkbox and hit enter. Triyo will automatically ping dozens and dozens of directories and indexers for you.

Best of luck,

Eric

[Scott Jensen]

Scott, after having read your post in the TalkShoe forums, and what you're asking for here, I can tell you that no one has the exact services you are requesting from TalkShoe. There are services that do let you cut and edit podcasts online, but I don't know if they make you wait to do that like TalkShoe does (remember, that 30 minute wait time is probably related to transcoding your podcast into an mp3). YouTube once took 12 hours to transcode one of my videos into a Flash version, so I'd say you're getting off pretty nicely on that.

That's good to know. What online editing services would those be? Links would be appreciated.

If you want a more productive workflow, you're better off creating your podcast on your end, with your own software on your own computer.I realize that and am looking into it. Talkshoe wanted input. The owner has personally asked me to give it and give a lot of it on the forums. Check out their forums. I'm presently their heaviest poster. The owner has already said that my previous posts has already had major impact on the direction that Talkshoe is taking.

You're new to this whole podcasting thing, so I'm going to be blunt and dispel any illusions you may have: I don't mind constructive criticism.

If you aren't prepared to spend the time to promote your podcast and enter it into directories yourself, then you shouldn't be podcasting -- or at least you shouldn't expect to gain much of an audience.First, "you shouldn't be podcasting" is a bit too harsh of a statement to make to anyone. No one is born fully an adult. You can enter into a field in baby steps.

Second, in my humble defense, please read the thread on Talkshoe forum titled "Digg Nation and ... ???" and you will see that I have done exactly what you're stating. I went through three good lists of podcast directories. Gave input on what I did and encountered. If another podcaster were to read through the thread, they could do as I did. There are some podcast directories that no longer exist that I didn't mention their non-existence but I figured people would find that out when they clicked on the links and possibly for some reason or other I just couldn't access them that day. I am registered with all the podcast directories I can find and feel comfortable being listed with. What I was proposing to Talkshoe is something that I, myself, would not necessarily benefit from since I've already done it but from which other less aggressive hosts could. ;) I was trying to be an advocate for the little guy.

Third, if it is possible, it would help their shows gain a larger following. However...

There are tools that can expedite the process, but some directories, like iTunes and a few others, will not accept third party submissions. Libsyn tried doing the whole "we'll take care of signing you up with iTunes thing," and it failed miserably. Lots of people that thought they were in iTunes weren't.Possibly what I can do for Talkshoe is take the three lists, merge, purge, and put them into one then ask Talkshoe to put a sticky on the thread so other hosts can see it at the top and benefit from it. They then only need to click through the links and follow my directions.

Now, is there a better deal than TalkShoe's? You're getting free bandwidth, free hosting, and free recording/encoding... and if you have enough downloads, they pay you. That's very reasonable. You might find similar deals out there (without the livecasting that you don't care for), but I don't think you'll find a much better return.I realize that it is very reasonable. I'm just wondering if it is the best one. I like exploring my options. I've cut my teeth on Talkshoe and am now willing to venture beyond the nest. I want to know if there's a better deal out there for my type of show (non-live). Talkshoe's focus is livecasting so I thought there might be competitors that focus more on non-livecasting podcasts that offer one or more services I'm seeking and possibly a better financial package. If Talkshoe is the best, I would also like to know that. It is always great to know you have a great home. :D

Ad revenue, audience, etc, all take time to build. Be patient, and be dilligent. 100% of the responsibility to make something of your podcast is yours (unless you're specifically paying someone to do that for you). There is no magic bullet.I'm not expecting any magic bullet. I'm melting my own lead and make my own bullets. Read the two "Suggestion for hosts:" thread on Talkshoe forum. What I suggest others do is what I'm doing. And being a marketer by profession, I am well-aware that the most stupid marketing strategy is "If you build it, they will come." I am a big advocate of proactive marketing. I am currently considering different option and their effectiveness. Reading forums like this one to get more ideas.

I've got a handy link that will at least help your podcast get noticed by blog and podcast indexing sites that ustilize RSS feeds. The site is called Triyo, (http://www.triyo.com) and it's one of the handiest tools out there. Copy your RSS URL and paste it into their search box. Tick the "I'm a podcaster" checkbox and hit enter. Triyo will automatically ping dozens and dozens of directories and indexers for you.Thanks suggesting it. I already did it previously.

Best of luck,And the good wishes is much appreciated as is your reply here. Again, thanks!

[Scott Jensen]

There is no connection. I just mentioned that someone ought to talk with you about a question that they had and I wanted to point you to that thread because I think you might be able to help them.

Sorry to confuse.

Nope. I don't know much about their problem.

[WyethDigital]

That's good to know. What online editing services would those be? Links would be appreciated.
I've seen them. I don't use them. I don't remember who they are. I would try Google

First, "you shouldn't be podcasting" is a bit too harsh of a statement to make to anyone. No one is born fully an adult. You can enter into a field in baby steps.
Well, that's not entirely what I said, Scott. I said:
If you aren't prepared to spend the time to promote your podcast and enter it into directories yourself, then you shouldn't be podcasting -- or at least you shouldn't expect to gain much of an audience. (emphasis mine)

There's a big difference between saying that, and just saying you shouldn't be podcasting. I realize that it still sounds harsh, but it's a fact. Someone said the same thing to me, and it made an impact. I found it to be very motivating. Sorry if you take offense to it, but I'm not retracting it. The fact is, unless someone's podcasting just to hear their own voice, then they need to be their strongest advocate and hardest worker. That goes for all new podcasters. You sound like you already do that, so it obviously does not apply to you. But your post at TalkShow sounded like an appeal to "do it for me," and I think that would be counterproductive to most new podcasters.

Second, in my humble defense, please read the thread on Talkshoe forum titled "Digg Nation and ... ???" and you will see that I have done exactly what you're stating.
Scott, I would love to, but I'm just going to take your word for it. :) You're obviously very smart and have a lot to say, but I just don't have the time to add another forum to my reading list. Sorry!

That said, if any new podcasters are reading this thread, then I think they should check your articles out. Any forum thread that lists podcast directories is a must-read for new podcasters! So thanks for putting those links together.

Eric

[Webzu]

Mark, I have nothing to add to your question, but I did want to point you to another thread. Today I just recommended someone contact you for some questions. If you would answer in the forums, that would be a help to all of us.

This thread: http://podcastalley.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135318

Hey dpeach, this post is by Scott Jensen not Mark Jensen of Podsqod so I think you got the wrong Jensen.

[Scott Jensen]

That said, if any new podcasters are reading this thread, then I think they should check your articles out. Any forum thread that lists podcast directories is a must-read for new podcasters! So thanks for putting those links together.

I am under the weather today (been hit with a sinus infection for almost a week now) so I'm not up to merging and purging the lists. However, I did put them into one thread on the Talkshoe forum. Here's a link to that thread:

http://www.talkshoe.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=122

[dpeach]

Hey dpeach, this post is by Scott Jensen not Mark Jensen of Podsqod so I think you got the wrong Jensen.
HaHa!!

Wow! I missed that one. This has bothered me all day. I know that Mark Jenson does the kind of recording that the original poster from that thread is interested in. Because of that, I thought that Mark was being a bit snotty by saying he could not help out.

Apologies to Mark for thinking bad things about him (I was actually considering dumping his podcasts from my listening line up over this). Scott, forgive me for pulling you into something that had nothing to do with you.

And to everyone else, I apologize for hijacking a thread and causing a scene.

I will go crawl under a rock for a while now.

[WyethDigital]

That was a scene? Not hardly! In the "good old days," someone making a scene would have generated 8 pages of back and forth jabs. Now those were scenes! ;)

Eric

HaHa!!

Wow! I missed that one. This has bothered me all day. I know that Mark Jenson does the kind of recording that the original poster from that thread is interested in. Because of that, I thought that Mark was being a bit snotty by saying he could not help out.

Apologies to Mark for thinking bad things about him (I was actually considering dumping his podcasts from my listening line up over this). Scott, forgive me for pulling you into something that had nothing to do with you.

And to everyone else, I apologize for hijacking a thread and causing a scene.

I will go crawl under a rock for a while now.

[WyethDigital]

I am under the weather today (been hit with a sinus infection for almost a week now) so I'm not up to merging and purging the lists. However, I did put them into one thread on the Talkshoe forum. Here's a link to that thread:

http://www.talkshoe.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=122

I've been under the weather since Tuesday with a pretty persistent cold, so I get where you're coming from. Yuck!

Eric

[lyzz]

Hmm, I didn't explore this one.

Do they add advertisement to your podcasts? If they don't, are they going to?

As for what has a better deal - having your own subsribers does. Probably.

[WyethDigital]

Hmm, I didn't explore this one.

Do they add advertisement to your podcasts? If they don't, are they going to?

As for what has a better deal - having your own subsribers does. Probably.
Subscribers are subscribers, no matter where they come from. Libsyn, Podshow, TalkShoe, Bluberry, iTunes -- they all count.

The question here isn't about subscribers, but benefits versus trade-offs. I would say that Talkshoe's benefits are fair at this point, but I don't know if they're the best. I suppose that depends on what we're each looking for as individual podcasters.

Eric

[Scott Jensen]

Do they add advertisement to your podcasts? If they don't, are they going to?

Currently, they add one at the beginning of each of the episodes of your podcast while they're in beta. The one they add is for Talkshoe itself. They are, however, actively working on an audio ad system. They have not revealed its full details. Here's my suggestion for what they should do as far as ads:

http://www.talkshoe.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=76&page=1#Item_1

As for what has a better deal - having your own subsribers does. Probably.Talkshoe isn't going the subscription route but the advertiser route. A route I am glad they're taking.

[lyzz]

Hmm, it seems you misunderstood me.

What I meant by subscribers was - paid subscribers.
What I am saying is not that you should make your podcasts paid but you can make users subscribe for a fee in a different way (like transcripts, depending on your podcasts; some extra shows, various bonuses on the site or the forums etc etc).
The advertisement just scares off the listeners. And if you chose to have it anyway, I guess you could make more by doing direct advertisment rather than choosing someone as the middle man.

This might be a good solution, though, for users who aren't up to something really big.

[Scott Jensen]

Hmm, it seems you misunderstood me.

What I meant by subscribers was - paid subscribers.
What I am saying is not that you should make your podcasts paid but you can make users subscribe for a fee in a different way (like transcripts, depending on your podcasts; some extra shows, various bonuses on the site or the forums etc etc).

I see. Sale of extras. I don't see that working for my show though.

The advertisement just scares off the listeners.I would like to see some stats on that. And I am willing to have a loss of some listeners who oppose advertisements. Naturally not all listeners but I highly doubt that would be the case.

And if you chose to have it anyway, I guess you could make more by doing direct advertisment rather than choosing someone as the middle man.It is something I am considering down the road a bit. Not now. I have other things I need to get going before that is something worth considering.

This might be a good solution, though, for users who aren't up to something really big.Before approaching advertisers, I need numbers to show how popular of a show my show is. Talkshoe is a good first step. Talkshoe gets my traffic, I build up my traffic, Talkshoe pays me for my traffic, and, if at a later time I feel I can profit more by doing it alone, I have the traffic numbers to get the advertisers to pay.

However, Talkshoe allows you to insert your own ads if you so wish. Given this, I might not leave them. They might bring in advertisers that I cannot. It all depends on how much advertising is stuffed into episodes, how the insertions are done, and what control (if any) I have over the process.

[WyethDigital]

Hmm, it seems you misunderstood me.

What I meant by subscribers was - paid subscribers.
What I am saying is not that you should make your podcasts paid but you can make users subscribe for a fee in a different way (like transcripts, depending on your podcasts; some extra shows, various bonuses on the site or the forums etc etc).
The advertisement just scares off the listeners. And if you chose to have it anyway, I guess you could make more by doing direct advertisment rather than choosing someone as the middle man.

This might be a good solution, though, for users who aren't up to something really big.
Rocketboom was playing around with a paid premium service that delivered Hi-Def content, as well as some extras. The low res version is free. Others have done the same. I think that's a workable model, but I still think that a person would rather sit through a 15 second ad than pay $5 - $15 month for the same quality content. And if I'm getting a cut of the ads and I don't have restriction on placing my own ads, then as a Producer I would prefer that to a paid subscription.

We don't produce our show on Hi-Def equipment (that's coming eventually), but we are experimenting with full quality downloads from a place called DiDGU (http://www.didgu.com/series/6). They insert ads, and subscribers have to register with DiDGU, but they can download and subscribe to videos anywhere from small iPod size to full-on Hi-Def video. Plus, the ads will be targeted at the specific user's interests (according to DiDGU's plans).

Eric

[Scott Jensen]

Rocketboom was playing around with a paid premium service that delivered Hi-Def content, as well as some extras. The low res version is free. Others have done the same. I think that's a workable model, but I still think that a person would rather sit through a 15 second ad than pay $5 - $15 month for the same quality content. And if I'm getting a cut of the ads and I don't have restriction on placing my own ads, then as a Producer I would prefer that to a paid subscription.

My thoughts exactly.

We don't produce our show on Hi-Def equipment (that's coming eventually), but we are experimenting with full quality downloads from a place called DiDGU (http://www.didgu.com/series/6). They insert ads, and subscribers have to register with DiDGU, but they can download and subscribe to videos anywhere from small iPod size to full-on Hi-Def video. Plus, the ads will be targeted at the specific user's interests (according to DiDGU's plans).What's their pay structure? Do they carry audio-only podcasts? Mine's just audio.

[WyethDigital]

My thoughts exactly.

What's their pay structure? Do they carry audio-only podcasts? Mine's just audio.
Pay structure will be similar to Talkshoe's, based on CPM. We won't get rich off of it (which is why the podcast itself can only be a part of a business plan, not the whole business plan), but we hope it'll help with some expenses.

Nope, no audio. Just video. Two of their senior staff actually took us out to lunch one day and explained their business concept. Part of it is being positioned to provide free high quality video to web-enabled computers and Hi-Def TVs, as well as intermediary devices like TiVOs and similar boxes. Of course, the other part of their model is making it attractive to host viral videos as well. You can watch videos from the site without registering, but downloading, reviewing and subscribing are only available to registered users. Of course, there's some very interesting things they're going to be doing with the ads, but I'm not sure how much of that is supposed to be public yet, so I won't say any more about that. I will just say that because the ads will be geared to the user, they have the ability to make the experience very "dynamic."

Eric