chrisbrogan.com - Latest Comments in Picnics

Re: Picnics

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Re: Picnics

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Re: Picnics

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Re: Picnics

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:11:45 -0000

A member of an arts organizations here in Pittsburgh was recently saying -- during the free "gallery crawl" event we have every 3 months -- that all these people coming down to the arts venues doesn't translate to profits throughout the year.

As I see it, the problem isn't that they're spending too much time giving things away for free. It's that they're NOT spending enough time directing those free attendees and converting them into subscribers / paying customers / supporters of the arts. They bring them in, but then they don't know what to do with them, so the setup fails.

Having an audience is great, but you also need a plan to engage them and make them a part of your own forward momentum, all while providing them something that improves their lives as well.

Re: Picnics

Nathan Hangen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:47:44 -0000

Interesting read. The fact that free content exists makes it more difficult to attract a community, let alone drive revenue streams from them. I don't believe that blogging is a long-term sustainable business model, but I do believe that it is perfect for building a brand. Learning how to use your brand to improve the lives of others while making a living is a genuine way to make money without selling every affiliate product known to man. I like to highlight some of my interests on my blog, but if people don't want to buy them that is fine. However, I am a firm believer that if you help to open people's worlds to new ideas, like you have been doing, then they are going to show their appreciate with money spent.

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Alister Cameron // Blogologist — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:31:35 -0000

Another whole side of this conversation, one that is not really covered here that I can see, is the question of business models.

Within the bounds of what we might all agree are OK ways to make a quid, there is still a lot of choice and variety in terms of business models. Here there are some who know how to manage cashflow and others who don't.

Business model tweaking can mean the difference between making it to riches, and going broke on the way there.

-Alister

Re: Picnics

Doug C. — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:21:52 -0000

I can understand ads for big well-known sites where the ad might actually generate some small amount of revenue, but not for smaller ones. Ads are like pop-ups; they're annoying. As a small blog myself I would prefer not to annoy my visitors.

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Steven-Sanders — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:21:28 -0000

It doesn't seem to me like anyone has a problem with radio and the advertising they do there.

So why should blogging be so different. Both are simply a person putting content for others to hear about or read, and then selling ad space, or displaying some sort of ad for a curious audience to visit.

I say if you don't like ads, don't click them. Just read the content, and go about your merry way.

Re: Picnics

chrisbrogan — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:09:27 -0000

@Ted - you know how there's a group of peers, and then there's a group of customers? I think blogs are unique (and other online media properties like blogs) insofar as they are often mix-and-match with who's on them.

Thus, we have a little bit of separating to do. I have to extract my customer base from my peer base, so that my customers will find their way to the products and services I create, while my peers and friends feel they're still learning and sharing with me.

My customers are more than welcome to learn from my peers. I'm a big fan of sharing. That's what I do best.

But you're right insofar as there has to be some kind of dividing line on what one might buy or not.

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Laura "Pistachio" Fitton — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:33:13 -0000

There's definitely something in common between the little bits of content, advice, attention, feedback that are expected to be "free no matter what" and the tragedy of the commons.

Each individual perceives that they are consuming only a negligible quantity of the commons -- the blogger's ideas and intelligence, the event's value add, the colleague's "brain to pick" (OUCH, I think, EVERY time someone asks to pick my brain) -- and yet cumulatively it overloads and degrades the resource. It's not sustainable. Sometimes the beneficiaries of the commons are not happy with the kind of tradeoffs (price) they really *should* expect to pay in order to partake of the commons.

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Elizabeth O. Dulemba — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:31:30 -0000

I’m glad a musician piped in on this thread - we have similar issues.
As a children's book author and illustrator, this is a subject I (and my fellow creators) deal with constantly. There are many expectations involved when people request authors to speak at their school or event. It's "for the children" - shouldn't it be free? Never mind the days of preparation, travel expenses, office time lost, or that teachers get paid for the same service (although not much, granted).
People value the books we create, but they often forget to value the creator. We have bills to pay too. School visits are one of the main ways children's book authors and illustrators make their living (the average income is not high) and they can be profound experiences for the children. Many schools have budgets for this, while others have to apply for grants or organize fund-raisers. For those who flat out can’t afford to hire a speaker, most creators give back through free materials on their websites, or by donating one free engagement a year. Personally, I give away tons of free activities on my website and a new coloring page every week on my blog which has proven to be enormously popular. The question is, when is it too much?
I give away what I do to attract interest to my books. The more I sell, the more I can keep doing what I love. But I am constantly hit with requests to do more, more, more - for free. The message seems to be, if you love what you do, you have a social obligation to give it away. Under those demanding expectations, how do we make enough money to continue writing and illustrating?
My 2 cents,
e
dulemba.com

Re: Picnics

Ted Murphy — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:25:50 -0000

I found your post troubling, in that you say: "Maintain the triangle. I don’t want YOU to pay for my content. I want people who need my help professionally to pay for my distilled thinking."

At some point, successful publishers need to move from entertaining, educating and helping their audience to selling them something. This can be very tough, as anybody touting a Freemium business model knows.

I hope that the Internet develops a tolerance for direct payment for good advice and makes that third leg of the stool unnecessary. My new product does try to facilitate a direct payment model, so there's my bias.

Re: Picnics

Nick Savides — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:21:32 -0000

Hey Chris,
Thanks for another thoughtful post. I have absolutely no objection to advertising as long as it is relevant. In fact, good advertising informs me of services and products that could be very useful to me, and I appreciate that.

For some magazines, like "Wired," I make a point of reading every single ad, because the majority of them are of interest to me in some way. On the other extreme is MySpace. There every other inch is plastered with obnoxious advertising, and so I ignore everything. The ads on Facebook I tolerate and glance at from time to time because they are less intrusive, and I can vote away an ad if I'm so inclined.

Bloggers who include banner ads for products that relate to their core topics don't bother me. In general, as long as the ads aren't too annoying, I don't get annoyed by their presence.

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Craig — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:04:51 -0000

Great post. Chris Anderson of http://www.thelongtail.com/ has a book he is in the process of writing that talks about the concept of "Free" and how it has changed our lives. There is nothing wrong with making money, that's usually a goal people strive for. If you charged a premium for people to read your blog, odds are you would lose viewers. Advertising is annoying but right now is the best way to maximize profits on the internet with a blog. Tough decisions but do what you have to do to make money.

Craig
www.budgetpulse.com

Re: Picnics

Shannon Ehlers — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:59:48 -0000

Hey Chris, interesting post on monetization. I'm always amazed at the many ways there are to make a buck. We have tried something a little different where I work.

My company (employer) doesn't have any digital content for sale, but we did manage to produce a blog that receives relatively large numbers of hits every day, even though it has been static now for over a year and has few if any incoming links. This is due to a couple of things. First, the information is a type of technical reference and is very useful and reliable (it is scholarly and includes primary reference material), and second, it is entirely free. It is well indexed by all of the major search engines and it shows up in results from all over the world.

The products we sell are actual, physical products for consumption by individuals. They are related to the information collected on the blog. We sell mainly to other businesses, with a very small minority of our revenues coming from retailing. The information, on the other hand, is given freely to the consumer base for our products. We have no way of assuring that the end user of our info is actually purchasing products from our customers, who are the ultimate retailer of what we sell, but our view is that a more educated consumer will eventually make the best purchasing choice and we can get a large part of that business. And that is really the sandbox that we want to play in (selling the best products to the best educated consumers).

A different type of monetization.

Re: Picnics

Brian Clark — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:47:45 -0000

Chris, great post. Here's something to try... flip it on its head:

Rather than selling to your community, think of it as creating new or sub communities of buyers.

For example, with Thesis, we're not really selling a WordPress Theme... we're selling support and community that revolves around that theme.

Sometimes charging money in a predominately free environment builds even stronger (albeit smaller) communities thanks as much to who is excluded as is who is included.

Seth's new book Tribes nails this.

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Aaron Strout — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:56:55 -0000

Chris - you nailed it! At the end of the day, it's all about the disclosure. If you're up front about who you're doing business with and what potential conflicts might exist between sponsors & content, people can read/digest you knowing that there might be a bias. With that said, you always do a good job separating church and state.

Aaron | @astrout

Re: Picnics

Betsy Wuebker — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:16:03 -0000

Hi Chris (and hi to Ed Welch, nice to see you, gosh they'll let anyone in here, won't they! :) )

Thank you so much for addressing this. Yesterday, we posted our first affiliate recommendation - Chris and Ed, you might recognize who we carefully selected. The product dovetails with our content and intent, it delivers a fantastic value, and we fully disclosed the relationship in the post. Still, I struggled, wondering if readers would think we were crassly commercializing.

Finally, I figured we're gonna hear about it one way or the other if anyone should care, so hit publish. As other realists have said above, it's about keeping a balance. You mentioned the Triangle above. Like a tripod or three-legged stool, if one of the elements is out of whack, it'll fall over. This is a very helpful image for us to keep in mind with our future evaluations.

Thanks again!

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Meredith Gould — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:02:39 -0000

When did making money become evil again? Didn't we/they in the personal growth industry handle that at the end of the 20th century by talking about right livelihood?

For me, decisions if and what to charge for professional services (e.g., writing, editing, thinking fancy) depends on how generous I can afford to be at any given time. Gotta put that oxygen mask on my own face first, y'know.

Also, some enterprises are rarely ever money makers. I've stopped being even remotely polite when I hear a wannabe author yipping and yapping about writing a book "to make money."

Great post, Chris.

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Craig Klein — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:12:43 -0000

Guys I'll bring the beer on my tab! If you're all there to knock around ideas with, its the best investment I'll ever make!

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Alan Weinkrantz — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:28:39 -0000

Chris...you forgot one key thing: you gotta have a house band.

Jeff had the Stray Cats. You gotta have a house band.

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John Michael Cannon — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:20:12 -0000

This is a post I'll be coming back to again and again.

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Gary McElwain — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:58:23 -0000

If you and the others keep throwing the picnic, we the ants will show up for the great content and tips. Then it is our choice to click on the advertisements, and affiliate links.

If the ad is worthy of the click, and the prize is worthy of the price. We as ants have the choice join the picnic, or buy the beer. And just which beer commercial would we all click on.

Thumbs up for Miller Time?

Gary McElwain

Re: Picnics

chrisbrogan — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:36:07 -0000

Remember, though I'm talking about me, I'm also talking about you. People are still trying to figure out how to make money in this space. Most of them won't. For those who want to do so, there are avenues, but they take effort, and they take disclosure, and they require a certain two-way relationship and understanding.

Re: Picnics

Ed — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:12:49 -0000

Answering your tweet directly, obviously Oreos should pay for the picnic.

Seriously.

Who gets to be the dessert, the final taste, the beneficiary of the blog's effort that 'day'(week, month, series, etc)?

To the victor go the spoils. And the bill.