This year I wanted to kick it up a notch and refine the categories on the Podcast Awards website. The final list is posted and you will notice that we have listed a “Best Podcast Directory” and a “Best Mobile Podcast” a large number of people are now listening to Podcast on their mobile phones and many of the Podcasters are creating short format shows for those audiences.
You will also see that we have worked very hard to make sure that there is no duplication in categories and that we covered as wide a base as possible without adding another 10 categories to the listing. We are pretty excited about this years event and even though Silver sponsors have been slow to come on we found this to be the case last year that a bunch of companies jumped on board.
We did a lot of advertising last year, and when we went back to some of the same sites they were asking ridiculous amounts of money for short advertising runs, these were podcasting sites and even though we explained this was a non money maker for us and that everything goes back to the podcaster most sites were not willing to cut us a break. Some where asking for banner ad CPM rates as high as $25.00 per 1000 impressions, I wanted independent verification of their impression numbers and most sites would not allow us to run our own tracking code on the site, so we have opted to not run ads on many podcasting sites. If they want their sites nominated they are going to have to promote the event on their own. [www.podcastawards.com]
Sponsor wanted for PodSafe Music Concert at Podcast Expo
We have been working on putting together a PodSafe Music concert in the evening during the Podcast and Portable Media Expo in September in Ontario California. We are in need of a sponsor for this event. If your company is participating in the Expo as an exhibitor, and you would like to get some additional exposure after the daytime events on Friday drop us a line finance@rawvoice.com
Podcast Promo Contest for PodcastAwards.com
I am looking for a really awesome promo for the 2006 People’s Choice Podcast Awards if you submit one and we choose it to the the official promo for the network I will give your podcast or your company free advertising on the PodcastAwards.com website for an entire year. Entries need to be received by the 26th of June
Blubrry.com Launch Meeting Final Call
We sent the invitations tonight out to a massive number of podcasters that have requested to be part of the Blubrry.com Podcast site launch. If you are a podcaster and want a invitation to attend the meeting you must send the following information immediately.
Send your an email to blubrry@rawvoice.com include the following in the e-mail
Your Full Name:
Email address that can be used for a private mailing list:
Your Telephone Number:
Your Show Name:
Your Show URL:
Your Show RSS feed:
Your Current Network affiliations if you have any:
Panel Participant at Podcast Expo
A month or so ago Tim Bourquin of TNC Media asked me if I would be willing to be on a panel during Podcast Expo. He asked me to be on the Panel titled “Monetize with Ads and Sponsorship: Use An Advertising Service or Sell Your Own?” being that I have sold my own, and actually run a advertising service for over 500 podcasters this was a good fit. The panel is made up of some other firms that represent podcasters and should be a lively discussion as all of our models are a little different.
Blubrry.com an Invitation to Participate
As many of you know the team at RawVoice is in the final stages of development of Blubrry.com which when launched will be significantly different type of podcasting site. This team has worked on the concept, layout and back end programming for the site for nearly six months, and feel they are now in a position to start revealing the concept and the listing requirements to podcasters that may be interested in being on the site. Over the next several weeks they will be having some informational meetings where they talk about the site, the goals, and what will be offered, to get feedback from the community along with a opportunity to be included in the site when we go live.
To date they have been working with the team of content producers at Podcaster News Network (www.podcasternews.com) who has been instrumental in shaping Blubrry. The concept for the site lies within the highly diverse RawVoice team, but has ultimately been influenced by Podcasters and many of the observations over the past year of what is happening in the podcasting space.. The majority of the team at RawVoice podcast and they know the struggles of building YOUR brand and growing YOUR audience. Blubrry.com is going to be a site that will allow your brand to be represented equally, and at the same time assure that the hard work you have put in is not turned over to someone else, and that you remain in control of everything you have worked to build. Blubrry is not a directory they want to be clear about that, but it will be a site where listeners will be able to find content they are looking for and join a integrated community.
They have a business model wrapped around the site, but it is a business model that has been shaped and scrutinized by podcasters. They pledge to have podcaster best interest at heart in anything they do. Over the past six months podcasters have been signing up at Blubrry.com for more information. Today the initial invitations where sent to podcasters that have expressed an interest in the participating on the site. There are no restrictions to participating on the site even if you are a member of some other network! You are welcome to drop us an e-mail that we will keep in strict confidence and then will forward you an invitation to sit in on one our pre-launch discussions where they will reveal all, and at the same time take your inputs into consideration if you do not like a provision of being part of the community. Because we are building a community, prior to the launch no podcaster will be allowed to be listed on the site unless they have had a opportunity to hear what we have planned and also given a opportunity to provide feedback.
Ultimately the Goals are Simple, Give listeners a site to find great content that is organized in a way that is not currently being done, while at the same time build your sites brand, and help you grow your listenership.
This is an invitation to those that want to take a look behind the curtains before we go live, and to be onboard when we launch, and have input into what ultimately will be a fantastic community of podcasters and podcast listeners.
Send your E-mails to blubrry@rawvoice.com include the following in the e-mail
Your Full Name:
Email address that can be used for a private mailing list:
Your Telephone Number:
Your Show Name:
Your Show URL:
Your Show RSS feed:
Your Current Network affiliations if you have any:
Live Video for 2006 Podcast Awards
Do you have experience in pushing live video? We are looking for some volunteers that will be at the Podcast and Portable Media Expo to help us in streaming video of the Podcast Awards Ceremony. If you have the equipment and the expertise to do this let me know. podcast@podcastconnect.com
RawVoice Seeking Podcast Sponsors!
In a very short time RawVoice will be rolling out it’s evolutionary new podcasting website called Blubrry! Upon launch the new Podcasting site will be in need of National Advertisers to roll out media campaigns with a very high number of world wide established podcasts.
If you are a media company, and have properties looking to get in the podcast advertising space we will ask that you negotiate your campaign today. The RawVoice team has spent 6 months of planning, and invested 100’s of thousands of dollars to deploy the new site, and when it is launched in late June it will be unlike no other.
Contact marketing@rawvoice.com for advertising spots on all of their properties.
Podcasters there is little time left to get signed up for the pre-launch orientation!
Podcast Awards Six Weeks till Kickoff of 2006 Event
Today the team at Podcast Connect refreshed the Podcast Awards site in preparation for the 2006 People’s Choice Podcast Awards with nominations scheduled to kick off July 1st. With a revised category list that we feel we is well positioned to bring maximum exposure to all the 2006 nominees and ultimate winners. We will honor the winning podcasters at a ceremony to be held during the Podcast and Portable Media Expo on Sept 29th.
I am happy to announce that all of the Major Sponsorships are sold with Financial Content Podcasting Site, StreetIQ.com being our Platinum Sponsor for the second consecutive year.
Our four Gold Sponsors this year include Podango.com, and their soon to be released Podcast Stations, IPSWITCH the World’s leader in file transfer with WS_FTP, Mobilcast they make listening to Podcast easy on your mobile phone powered by Melodeo, and PodcastReady.com podcast directory and MyPodder, the podcast download client you can use on a memory stick.
We have plenty of opportunities for companies to provide prizes, with some remaining opportunities to become Silver level sponsors or even sponsor a trophy for a particular category. The Podcast Awards site saw record traffic during last years event, and over 6.5 million page views have accumulated since the sites launch. We look forward to Podcasters and their Listener participation. With over $4500.00 in prizes given away in 2005 we are well on our way to being able to give away more than $10,000 in prizes this year
Have your audiences prepared for the July 1 start of the 15 day nomination window. [www.podcastawards.com]
Todd Cochrane
Founder Podcast Connect Inc
www.podcastconnect.com
Podcast Connect connecting Advertisers to Podcasters
Today I say an article written that was giving certain companies accolades in the podcast media space, who are reaping the rewards for some of the work we have done here over the last year. To not get any credit is wrong, I will be honest sometimes I wonder if the editors of these articles have done their homework and actually know who is moving ad deals for podcasters.
There are only a few companies that have been consistently successful in executing podcast ad campaigns and putting real dollars in podcasters pockets, and we are one of them. Since May of 2005 Podcast Connect has been delivering ad campaigns for various companies and we know we have a formula that works.
Our ad inventory is sold, and our podcasters are getting paid this is what counts in the end. My second company RawVoice is having equal success at the Podcaster News Network having just finished a campaign for the USA Network, and with our imminent launch of some new product offerings we are set to bring into play aggregation of podcasters in a much larger way.
All I can do is continue to be the advocate I have, and make sure that we continue to deliver the goods for our advertising partners.