But I'm English...
Monday, October 5, 2009 at 9:04AM Lots and lots of chatter on the Interwebs over the weekend around the subject of making money from podcasting. Most of it was generated by the venerable Leo Laporte (my gracious host when I appear on MacBreak Weekly and fellow MacMania presenter) who went public with the revenue of the TWIT network during a talk he was giving last week.
Basically, TWIT has an annual revenue of $1,500,000 but costs of $350,000 along with a staff of 7. As well as staff costs, Leo also has the upkeep of the TWIT cottage, a rented house in Petaluma where all the shows and live streaming video are recorded. It's also worth bearing in mind that Leo produces almost 20 podcasts per week and many hours of live TV. It's really quite a significant operation.
As well as this nugget of information, I've previously mentioned an article by David Sparks in which I and several other podcasters discuss the various models for podcast monetisation has also been published. This is now available from Mashable although Leo is actually not included in the list.
I'm not sure if the upcoming Blogworld 2009 has been the catalyst for this sudden flurry of activity or it's just co-incidence.
Now I did submit a few sessions on the subject of podcast monetisation and running a full time podcast but these were rejected in preference to a session on screencasting, which is fine by me, but probably would disappoint a few people attending.
The problem I would have however, is discussing the actual figures of running a full time podcast from my own perspective.
You see I'm English!
It's sort of in our DNA not to discuss money and finances in public. It makes us very uncomfortable and we are actually embarrassed by telling others of our success.
Not only that, but unlike in the US where success is celebrated, we (I?) harbour fears that too much success might turn people against you.
So I won't be spilling the beans about how successful ScreenCastsOnline has become in actual terms.
My operation is completely different to Leo in that I produce a single show, have only two people (myself included) that cover all aspects of the show production, website, and membership. I don't take traditional ads but do have show sponsorship but mainly rely on a membership scheme to sell premium content.
Even so, I make a good living, am able to travel the world, send my son and daughter to further education, fund my Mac gadget addiction and save a good chunk of change each month, something I never was able to do in my previous well paid salaried position.
Just don't ask me how much!
I probably should close this off with some final thoughts before you think all is too rosy..
I mostly work seven days a week, often 12 hours a day or more, I read and answer every piece of email that comes in (for now anyway) and I've never worked as hard in my life.
The up side is I've never enjoyed working as much in my life either.
Reader Comments (18)
The up side is I've never enjoyed working as much in my life either.As long as you can pay the bills there is NOTHING more important then that!!
PS "Just don't ask me how much!" -> Don't worry, I won't. I passed by your driveway the other day and saw this: Don's driveway ;-)
Hi Don,
I have to agree with your on not sharing actual figures, it's pretty much the same thing here in Belgium.
What I find interesting though is that the whole thing about the Revenue is what people are talking about, which I personally think Leo said a lot of other things which were more interesting to me. His whole point of view on traditional media and how they could / should evolve is actually what I remember from the talk he gave.
People also seem to forget that in order to get where Leo is, you have to work damn hard. A 30 minutes screencast for example is a lot more work than just those 30 minutes, and people often seem to forget that. They forget all the research, preparation, recording, redoing some parts, editing, post production, website updates, and probably a lot of other stuff I'm not thinking about at the moment.
I guess here in Belgium we are even more humble (if that's the correct word) than you guys in the UK :-P
Anyway, looking forward to seeing you in Vegas.
Regards,
Stefaan
and you make us happy, learning software or just seeing them in action.
You save us so much time and hassle.
Love your screencast ! thanks for the hardwork and whatever you earned, I feel it's well deserved.
have a nice day
Being a fellow Englishman, I fully understand your point of view and also totally agree.
I also believe that if you are providing such an excellent service as you do every week, you should never need to justify what you do or how much money you make from it.
The fact you love what you do and we also love the results is testiment that you are obviously doing something right and I take my hat off to you.
I can also appreciate that it must be a lot of hard work but as long as you're having a good time doing it, that's fine by me.
I have learned so much from your shows that I for one, do not begrudge the fact that you are successful at it, in fact I'm very happy that you are, otherwise what's the point, right?
Keep up the excellent work Don.
I'm a very happy and will continue to be a ScreenCastsOnline member.
Paul
To be fair, your average American doesn't go around divulging finance numbers either. That Leo gave out that number was a pretty big surprise to us too. :-)
Well, I am totally with you on this topic and I honestly don't think that it is the "English" way. It is similar, if you are German. :)
It is not of anybody's business how much money you are making. I am a subscriber for almost a year now. I took a look at your show before, but I was a little bit deterred from it, when I saw the price tag. Then, there was this offer to subscribe to it for half the price (for a limited time). So, I gave it a try and it was worth it. I like it and Screencasts Online is the only (!) podcast that is being watched by myself as soon as possible because I learn a lot and I enjoy discovering the Mac and those fantastic apps out there that makes the Mac experience so unique.
To me, only one thing is important: is your show worth the money to me to stay subscribed, or not?! If so, I will stay subscribed. If not, I will cancel my subscription. And this is all I have to care about. It would not change anything, if I knew how much money you make. After almost one year I can say that I am happy to be a subscriber. And this is me from a listener's perspective.
I am no podcaster, but if I was, I don't see the value this particular piece of information would have to myself, either, if I (the podcaster) knew, how much money you make. My advice to other podcasters would be: do your podcast, be unique, be good, be interesting. And if you come to the point that you have a big audience and you wan't to charge for it, then tell the listener the price and wait, if there are people out there that are willing to pay. If so: fine. If not: yeah, well...
Keep up the great work!
I don’t think it’s just an English thing. I’m in the US and my parents always raised me not to discuss money, no good ever comes of it. That isn’t to say everyone is like that. I know several people that like to compare how they are doing with others, it is always very awkward if someone asks how much you make.
Don, I don't think you have to discuss figures, but I love the fact that you tell us that you are doing alright. Hard work should pay and I am happy it does for you. SCO is excellent value for money and only one of three companies providing services on the internet that have me as a paying subscriber.
So I hope you keep doing well, because without money worries you can focus on the things I care about, the quality of your shows.
Always suspected that you were doing well Don and good to know that things are working out for you. I know the feeling of giving up a job to go it alone - scary at first - but hugely rewarding and liberating. As to whether or not you should divulge your income to the world, surely that's between you and the taxman and certainly not your audience's business. In my book telling all and sundry what a load of money you're making would amount to bragging, and not something most people would be happy to do or hear.
Should you become so successful that you need to form a company employing numerous staff, big premises and retail stores all over the world, and all that entails, it might be a different matter. Until then, keep schtum!! Keep on doing what you're doing and keep us all happy Maccers.
Good points Don. All I know is that you are one of two people in real life that I know of that is making a "living" doing this. Most of us that make any money podcasting are simply helping pay for bandwidth, web-hosting and a few gadgets.
To me your success is even more meaningful that Leo's in that you are a two person operation and you did not have a head start of already being a traditional media star with millions of listeners. You have done it "the old fashion" way and you deserve all of your success.
Thanks for all the really positive comments!
Victor - You make a good point and one that I'd not really thought about before!
Don, as I always say, you're my hero and a role model. I totally agree with your points and I find it fascinating to see that in so many cultures it's not considered proper to discuss money matters. I'm from South America and I was raised with this saying: "Never ask a woman her age and never ask a man how much he makes"
My podcast is a small one with about a thousand listeners a month. It's a labour of love and I do it because I enjoy doing it. The only significant cost I have is a subscription to Libsyn which is really low. Besides that I bought some of the gadgets one needs and that's it. I don't expect any payment and don't depend on it.
You Don, you play in a different league. As a full-time podcaster you have to make a living and if you'd earn a fortune, I'd be glad for you. Paid podcasts are still niche and they'll probably remain niche. If it weren't for Mac enthusiasts who pay you couldn't do it - and I'm convinced the Mac crowd are a special people.
Don, I’ve always been curious how successful your venture was - not to be nosey per se, but because I see you as a mentor and an example of something I’d like to do one day. I was always interested if you’d be as successful as you’ve become and how viable podcasting was as an actual profession.
I’m very excited and happy to see that you are doing well and continue to grow, I’m not sure I’ll be taking my leap of faith anytime soon, but who knows.
Don, I respect your decision to keep your income from SCO private. Personally, I hope you make a heap of $$$$ because then you'll keep giving me great shows. I switched to Mac last year, your shows have been one of my primary learning resources. Because of you, I have bought Bento, the Mac switcher bundle, the MacHeist and many more.
Don,
Support you 100% in your view. I pay what I consider a vary fair price for a product that I enjoy. The decision is mine and mine alone.If you were a public entity and sold shares in what you did and I purchased said shares then I would view it differently Until then however I see it as a personal decision to share such information and as you say us *british* do consider it slightly vulgar to discuss such things. Maybe we shouldn't but that's how we are made, and personally I am comfortable with that.
Oh and I won £10 on the lottery this week!!! I would like to reassure my audience however that I have no intentions of letting it change me!
Don, I wouldn't ascribe privacy (or the foresaking thereof) to a particular culture, although we do tend to make generalizations which can be quite trenchant. Be as private or as public as you wish. That metric may change from week to week as well. Its called freedom. Enjoy.
Hi Don,
I support your work 100% and get great value from it :-). Recently I had to resubscribe to your premium pod cast and I didn't hesitate. I'm from New Zealand and all the things you talk about are applicable to every Mac user.
The thing that I enjoy is that your friendly laid-back style helps me as the user not feel intimidated by something new. I personally was very surprised that Leo disclosed how much money has operation made (maybe he believed by doing this he could show people you could make a living from pod casting).
I always get great value from your shows. And of course you always have your back catalogue of past shows to draw upon.
Cheers,
Malcolm.