Time Says 00’s Worst Decade Ever? Screw Them.
Posted on November 27, 2009 by Derrick Schommer
Filed Under Editorials, content, ramblings | Leave a Comment
Time magazine is calling this the decade from hell, seriously? I guess it depends on your perspective. They source a few good arguments in the “why” behind their decision: 9/11 to start the decade and economic crises to end it. What ever happened to learning from experiences and failures, have we learned nothing?
9/11 was a sad state of affairs, definitely something we’ll never forget around the world, especially here in the United States. Let it not go down as the start of the worst decade ever, let it go down as an eye opening “we are not the most powerful thing on earth” epiphany. There are many lessons to be learned in the 9/11 attack and it should go down as one of the biggest lessons and teachings in the history of the United States since the Civil War. Turn the bad into the good and walk away smarter, more aware and more responsive.
The economic issue is bad, lots of people are out of work and lots of great businesses have gone away. Is this the worst thing ever? No, every country (including our own) goes through economic turmoil and this downfall brings some of the best business births in history. Name a huge company full of success and you’ll probably see that it was born out of economic crisis and turmoil. Microsoft is a great example as is Amazon and so many others. Just like a wildfire, sometimes great things grow from the burned charred remains of what was left to die.
The economy is great for new start ups to grow and find awesome talent in industries with many intelligent folks out of a job. Smart people will always be needed and many will plant seeds of new industrial growth in the years to come. What will be the next big business boom to come out of this economic crisis? Perhaps those little “twitter” guys? Facebook? NewEgg? Battery powered cars? Fuel cells? Cure for cancer? So many small companies growing in the economic downturn, I can’t wait to see what phoenix rises from the ashes.
For myself, this is the perfect time to start a little video network business. I’ve got plenty of time to grow my audience while the rest of the world goes “oh my gosh, what are we going to do!?” While those big businesses struggle to keep their investors happy, I’ll be growing my smaller business so that when money floods back into the economy, I’ll have companies with “new money” asking to advertise on the shows.
To Time Magazine, I say turn that frown upside down. Make lemonade out of those lemons, things can be a lot worse and I think we’ve done very good in terms of suffering through some of the issues we face. A country that goes through such struggles grows stronger and more wiser in the end. Many countries could have crumbled under the stress, governments could have been overthrown during the chaos, but we stood strong and our people continue to spark life into the economy with good ideas, creative innovations and a can-do attitude.
Keep your can-do attitude and pay less attention to the dramatic news headlines.
Be Outstanding: Build A Podcast
Posted on October 12, 2009 by Derrick Schommer
Filed Under Editorials, audio, content, motivation | Leave a Comment
Audio can be a very powerful tool. With a climbing unemployment rate, everyone is looking for a way to stand out of the crowd and show potential employers that they’re the ones that are best suited for the job. Believe it or not, there are many people suited for your job; it is a competition to find the right person with the right attitude and talent. How do you gain the edge on the sea of humanity that is the unemployed?
This can be a huge hurtle for college kids that are looking to jump into an industry. Podcasting is a great springboard to build a resume and show a future employer that you don’t just wait at home for the call backs, but work the industry to better yourself and others. Although podcasting is relatively inexpensive and almost anyone can sit down and figure it out, very few will attempt to do it and that can make you different. Those that have found themselves recently unemployed can share their experiences and lessons in their career with those around them.
Does giving information away for free allow others to absorb the information and take away potential jobs from you? Potentially, but when they go up against you in an interview who is better suited? The one that learned it from a podcaster or the host of the show? Think about it. You’re helping them, but you were the one that went out of your way to build a show from scratch to present to the masses.
There are thousands upon thousands of podcasts on the Internet, many which are bad and a few that excel at what they attempt to deliver. You don’t have to be a rockstar, web celebrity or genius to find yourself a niche in a market. The goal isn’t to build the next podcasting empire, it’s to show employers and yourself that you won’t take being jobless sitting down. What sounds better to an employer, the individual that has been job hunting for months and just can’t find anything or an individual who hunts for jobs while creating their own “radio show” about the industry.
Your podcast might be on recent news and events in the industry or perhaps an education show where you spread your current knowledge to others. You don’t have to have a PhD or a masters of business to define a space for yourself; podcasters are individuals that have found a passion for a topic and want to bring that passion to others.
Think of podcasting as a gateway to a career in the field you’ve worked or wish to work. You can use it as a bridge to gap the sea of humanity and sameness to one of individual drive and motivation. Employers want career driven people that show strength and desire to learn new topics and to share their knowledge with a strong team of people. Podcasters grow to have key qualities needed for such a job: public speaking, presentation skills, motivation, planning, up-to-date knowledge and the ability to complete a project without micromanagement.
A podcaster plans shows in advance, releases on scheduled intervals and provides content that is needed or desired by others while constantly watching trends, fielding questions and learning along the way. That sounds like the template to a quality employee, doesn’t it?
You don’t need a large budget to start your first podcast, especially if you’re doing it alone or with a few local folks. Getting yourself a microphone and, optionally a mixer, is a great way to start to build a high quality audio show. With a budget of under $200 and a mildly powerful PC/Mac you can setup a show. You may opt to find a free service to host the audio content or host it on a small pay service like Libsyn.
The world needs more podcasters to talk about political science, software development, web design, art, photography, childrens programming and so many other great fields of study. A school teacher looking to find a job can start up a show to entertain younger children or teach them topics to advance their learning in school. The options for podcast topics are endless.
So, what are you doing in your free time? Perhaps you should focus a bit more on being outstanding.
Understanding The Global Audience
Posted on September 8, 2009 by Derrick Schommer
Filed Under content, etiquette, podcast, research, video | Leave a Comment
So, you say you want to be an producer of awesome content? Audio show, video show, pick your medium but you’re going to run into the same problem in all of them: your audience is global. This is something many folks in the United States have a hard time understanding because we tend to be a very isolated group regardless to speedy plane travel and low-cost international calling plans.
Case in point, a man asks “what is club soda?” in a comment one of my cocktail shows. The response was one that I’ve seen before and will no doubt see again, “what is club soda????????? How did you log onto a computer and use finger muscles to type that question? … In another episode he uses cream for a white Russian let me know if you want to know what that is and I’ll explain…” Obviously the comment was left with a sarcastic tone but the point was made clear, someone doesn’t understand my international audience.
There are no stupid questions, only ignorant responders and I don’t mean this in a bad way. Some folks do not understand the idea of an international world where not everyone speaks English or the same English as we do in the United States. What is “Club Soda?” That’s actually a very good question but to answer it you first must do some investigation. Turns out the first commenter is from the United Kingdom while the responder was from the United States and these separate regions define carbonated products differently from one another.
Club Soda isn’t a global term, it’s not like “Coca Cola,” a product heavily marketed across many countries with a symbol, trademark and billion dollar namesake. The same can be said for the origin of Lemonade which may be entirely different from one country to another as may be the cocktail garnish we know here in the United States as a “Maraschino Cherry.”
We’re trying to create excellent video and audio content that streams the globe from time zone to time zone. However, we’re only human, we cannot understand every culture on earth and we cannot predict what people may or may not understand within our content. But, we can keep an open mind when the “stupid question” arises and rather than be condescending in our response, ask for the persons origin and a bit about their culture.
By opening a line of communication with your international audience it’s important to respect their efforts to speak your native tongue (no matter how bad) and understand that not all forms of English have the same meaning in all countries. After you’ve opened communications with your international audience you’re bound to not only answer their question in more detail but learn a bit about another culture in the process.
Creating content is a two-way road and while you may be teaching someone something, there is no limit to your own knowledge absorbed by those around you and abroad.
Teach Yourself To Be Successful
Posted on September 1, 2009 by Derrick Schommer
Filed Under Editorials, audio, blogging, brand, community, content, organic search, podcast, seo, social networks, video | Leave a Comment
So you want to be popular and get “a million unique’s” on your website now that you’ve posted your first piece of content. Web marketing folks will tell you how they can rank you #1 in search engines and promote you by utilizing their social circles (most of which are unrelated to your audience). Let me inform you of a little inside tip: there are no shortcuts.
You hear about sites that take off and get thousands of users overnight, before they know it the owners are getting millions of unique users hitting their site and the world is their oyster. Okay, now let’s talk about everyone else, the 99% of the population of bloggers, podcasters and video producers. Unless you own a successful brand or property with thousands of dedicated fans, you’re starting at ground zero like myself.
Prepare yourself for many nights and weekends working on your personal brand and website. Making money on advertising occurs when you can show advertisers “impressions” on your properties and your new property may be receiving under twenty visitors a day even if you’re pushing one to three daily pieces of content; it’s a slow process. Video bloggers are worse off because all their awesome content is unsearchable–it’s not textual. They’ve got to work hard, craft great headline articles and start supporting blogs and articles to support their effort to bring in organic searches. It’s possible but it takes time.
I’ve found very few working shortcuts to getting seen as a video podcaster and audio podcaster. There are no fast ways to be number-one in a search engine or ranking on the top podcasts in a podcast directory aside from paid advertising or getting a web celebrity to pimp your show. You can setup twitter accounts, facebook fan pages and accounts on all the trendy social network systems on the Internet and that won’t make your show popular until you understand how to use the tools most effectively. You can buy consulting for a hefty fee or do what I did: follow a few other brands that are doing it successfully and mimic their behavior, that’s not a shortcut, that’s an educational experience.
Spend less time looking for the shortest route to success and spend more time pumping out quality content, watching others performing social networking techniques and being an all-around normal guy or gal with the drive and passion for success. Let people know about what you’re doing and why you’re confident it’s a successful venture.
Trust In Yourself
When producing audio and video content, there is only one person you can trust to get the job done: yourself.
When most of your salary is being paid in blood, sweat and tears you’re going to find very few people want to work with you in the effort. Unless you can find co-hosts, guest audio speakers or a video crew of dedicated passionate individuals, you’re going to be doing most of your work alone. Creating a great audio show is only as good as the participants in the show. You may have the best idea in the world along with a great chemistry with your fellow podcasters but if they decided to leave, lose interest or “no show” for a few episodes, where does that leave yours how and your audience? Are they going to work those same nights and weekends to promote the production you’ve all been working so hard on?
I’ve found the most reliable thing to do is build a list of friends that are comfortable on camera (or on a mic) and get as many to show up to the shows as possible. Don’t trust any one individual to have the same drive and interests as yourself but, as a whole, you’ve got enough folks to always make the show. Having a pool of individuals to call upon (much like they do on This Week in Tech), then you can always have a successful broadcast.
Lessons of the day: Only trust yourself to get the job done and plan on working your ass off to get there. Don’t hire SEO experts, social media professionals and all that crap; learn the techniques yourself using articles and free editorials on the Net. Teach yourself how to be successful, don’t expect others to do it for you.
Listen To The Haters
Posted on August 23, 2009 by Derrick Schommer
Filed Under Feedback, Inspiration, community, content | 3 Comments
After a “date night” at the Chinese restaurant the other night I got a fortune cookie with a fortune that read, “We find comfort among those that agree with us – growth among those who don’t.” This phrase can mean a lot of different things to different people, including those that wrote it down to be printed in fortune cookies. But, I think it means something very special to those of us putting ourselves out there in video and audio podcasts.
When we’re asking ourselves, “why do we do this week in and week out? what is the reward?” we are uplifted when an e-mail or comment arrives telling us how we entertain and give listeners something to do at work, during their commute or on lunch break. We find comfort knowing that our efforts have changed the life of at least one single individual.
But, there are haters as well. Those that tell us our stuff is boring, inaccurate, too long, too short or just simply sucks. You can disqualify them as “haters” that lurk the internet making sure they let everyone knows how much they are non-valued citizens of the world. I’ve grown a thick skin as I put myself out there for the world to see but I’ve also grown a bit because I listen.
While 80% of what a hater will say in a comment is unjustified and immature, they will occasionally say something profound. They may point out a flaw in your content that can use work or a slight bit of polish. Those that love your content will often times set disregard the small things because the overall content is good. If you’re a person of perfection, always looking to better yourself and your content then listen to those that criticize your work.
In my own experience, I’ve had a person tell me that my cocktail video’s are too long and they don’t get down to the point: getting drunk. I thought to myself, “since when have I been making cocktails to get you drunk?” That was never my goal of the show and I apparently never made that point clear to viewers. This doesn’t mean the next episode will start with a paragraph of my goals of the show, but I can use that lesson to further define the underlying structure of each episode.
For instance, instead of concentrating on the potency of a cocktail, I may concentrate on “expanding your cocktail palate” and request people try new brands, new styles and enjoy new experiences. I also focus less on getting an individual drunk and more on the economy of the cocktail and how to save an individual money from going to a bar to get a good drink when they can be made affordable at home. The tastes, the costs and the overall experience is the theme of the show so I make sure to enforce the behavior throughout the content.
What I learned from such a “hater” is to enforce my overall goals and to refine my “pitch” when telling sponsors and potential viewers about the show. We’re about making cocktails for the home enthusiasts that are looking for great new tasty recipes and introduce new brands to the public; we don’t promote excessive drinking or suggest such an act.
The “hater” may come back again someday and find that the content is even further from their expectations from the first viewing. If they leave another scathing comment about how the show is “too much about talking and not enough about drinking” then you know you’ve learned from the experience of their first comment and grown as an individual.
Take comfort in those that love your content and let the haters guide you and focus your content to better please the ones that enjoy the show. Don’t let the hate mail rent space in your head, flip it around and use it to better the quality of your podcasts.
Swap Business Cards, Make Connections
Posted on August 23, 2009 by Derrick Schommer
Filed Under Editorials, blogging, community, content, industry, social networks | Leave a Comment
There is no connection like the human connection. We are a passionate social species that builds great relationships with those around us when we’re given the opportunity. You can spend all day twittering and build a list of 1,000+ quality twitter followers but the one missing link is actual human contact: a handshake. You don’t have to shake hands with all your thousands of twitter followers (or facebook fans) but you should at least let a few of them know you’re human.
If you live near a big city, it’s usually easier to find some folks in the industry you’re trying to dominate with video and audio content. For instance, I’m working to build a cocktail show from the ground up and I’ve build a good roll of PR folks, industry leaders and distributors who are ready and willing to send me content in the form of spirit samples. They’re dedicated to your cause because they’re hoping you can show their products off in your content. This is a good give-and-take relationship but that’s about where the line is drawn and you’re still only a name.
A launch event last week in Boston gave me the opportunity to shake a few hands. I’m 45-minutes out of Boston but making the trip was well worth the time and effort. I met up with some folks I’ve talked with in the industry and build some new relationships with folks that I didn’t know existed before the event.
Meeting folks in person allows you to establish a stronger relationship. Hitting parties and industry gatherings will give you new exposure to journalists and bloggers to which you can swap “business cards.” Saying, “hi I’m Derrick from everydaydrinkers.tv” isn’t good enough; do you want them to remember you among all the other party gatherers? If so, you’ll want to toss them your card with contact information on it. After the event they’ll head home and toss all the business cards they gathered on the coffee table for later viewing. You want to be part of that list otherwise they’re not going to remember “that guy” they met at the show.
A week after the event the e-mails will start to come in saying, “nice meeting you last week, love your website.” Some folks may have never heard of you before while others could have seen you in passing while working in the industry. Of course, you’ll know a few people from “chatting” over e-mail or Twitter direct-messages but now there is a greater connection: you’re a real person. The experience of a five minute chat at an event is all that is needed to begin to grow a new contact. Next time you hit an event you may see them again and can shake with a familiar grasp.
During the event you may pickup a few new folks that have never heard of your show. This goes back to my preaching about building your relationships one person at a time. If you give away one business card at an event and they take a look at your website, you’ve established a new potential fan. Even public relations folks in the industry can become fans of your content for more than just pimping their products. I’ve got many PR agencies that watch every show I produce because they like the content, quality and it’s relevant to their industry. PR agents are typically passionate about the industry they’re in, this is what keeps them going to work each day and your content brings them closer to their own world.
Many folks may live far away from the big city and find it much more challenging to get out to launch parties, meet up and all the good human gathering that occurs in our social circles. For those folks (much like myself) plan to hit two events a year that have large gatherings where you can do a full year of meetings in a single day. Make yourself known, stand out, print up some business cards and spread the love with as many people as you can shake hands.
It may cost you $30 to head to staples to print out a few hundred basic business cards. If it has your domain, name and contact information on the card then you’ve done your job right for very little cash out of pocket. It is important to make those connections and let a small group of folks in your industry know you’re a human and not just a voice. Who knows, you may establish some great relationships beyond a simple ‘tweet’.
Be Talked About, Be Seen
Posted on July 10, 2009 by Derrick Schommer
Filed Under brand, community, content, industry, promotion, video | 2 Comments
It’s difficult to rise to the top of the charts, your audio/video show might be A+ class in content and quality but you’ve got to fight to be seen. As cheap video camera’s hit the market everyone wants to be a superstar and get their 15-minutes of fame. While these crazy folks are trying to do something stupid like light shoot fireoworks at their friends, you’re trying to make a name for yourself.
Don’t be surprised when Joe Average gets a million hits for taking a rocket in the pants while you struggle for 40 views. Keep your head up and produce quality content because Joe Average will eventually die out as an internet meem or viral video. While making a viral video is unpredictable and will receive millions of views, it’s rarely going to be a career or hobby; luck isn’t going to win out in the end.
You want to be talked about and be seen by people in your “circle” of interest. In many cases, it’s not about making your viewers happy but making the people in your industry see you standing out and making a name for yourself. If you’re going to make a video show about dirt bikes than make sure dirt bike manufacturers see the show. If you’re creating a political podcast, get some politicians involved.
While it’s important to cater to your viewers it’s also dire to show your production to those that work in the field. This will build you more “street cred” with the industry and allow your contacts to grow. Perhaps, six months ago you’d like to do a special episode dealing with a specific brand; it would be great to have a list of people you can call to get more information or samples of the brand to create the content for your show.
Many industries have “circles” of folks that talk to each other. It’s a small world and the Internet keeps people together, you’ll want to take advantage of it. Making friends with manufactureres, press folks, industry leaders and industry startups gives you an edge because they talk to each other, don’t you want them talking about you?
Industry folks talk to each other because, in many cases, they’ve once worked together. In todays market people don’t commit to the same job for fourty years, they move on to new opportunites across their industry. Often times they’ll find old friends are now new competitors but, on a personal level, they’re still friends and will keep in contact. You’ll want some of their “small talk” to be about you and your content and it’s possible to make this occur.
One great way is to “name drop” on ocassion with those you’ve met in the industry. “Hey, do you know Bob from Company-A, really nice guy you should meet him sometime.” Turns out they worked with Bob at Company-Z five years ago and haven’t kept in touch, perhaps you can link them back together and pass over an e-mail address or phone number? What better way to be seen than bring two old buddies back together.
I keep everybody’s contact information, in the cocktail industry, in an big excel spreadsheet. I keep notes about them (are they married, do they know others in the industry, what’s their dogs name?) so that I can use this information in the future with a “hows Chubby your little pug doing?” I make sure to write down their title, phone number, address and what brands they represent so I have a go-to spot when I need information or product samplings.
My list of contacts grows large and I can trade them with other folks that do the same thing to build a larger list of contacts. I try to fire off an email every few months to each of them to say hi and pass off any of my latests works. I’ll also use people’s products within my shows and then send them a note saying “we used your product here” and link them off to our websites so they can see it. This is a great way to re-established stale relationships and get them talking about you again.
Viewers and community are extremely important, but being talked about by others in the industry and being seen as someone of usefulness and value is also an important key to growing a successful audio or video show.
Just something to think about.
Nice Guys Finish Last, But With Respect
Posted on June 18, 2009 by Derrick Schommer
Filed Under Editorials, Inspiration | 1 Comment
Every now and again I learn something. That’s actually a bit of a lie, I learn stuff all the time. One thing I’ve learned is the truth to the saying that “nice guys finish last.” It sounds bad, but in the world of Internet broadcasting, video shows and niche markets being last doesn’t mean being worst. It just means you’ll get there eventually but behind other aggressive people that kiss everyone’s ass to climb the latter of success.
When it comes to building your “celebrity” presence on the Internet, you can go about it two ways: hard work and struggle or kissing up to other internet celebrities. Getting into the web celeb circle can be a real bitch if you’re not one of “the boys” and they’re really not looking to sign anyone up as friends “just because.” However, if you continue to tell every web celeb you see just how awesome they are, they may eventually notice you.
I don’t mind kissing a little ass to get around but I also have my own personal ideas of respect. Hard work pays off and building a list of friends that actually like you on a genuine level appeals to my personality. Building real relationships creates a stronger bond with people that will be there for you while kissing people’s asses only gets you as far as they want you to go. If I meet a few Internet celebrities along the way I can tell them of my hard work and struggle with truthfulness and everyone can respect it.
Hopefully, whatever decision you make when you climb the latter of recognition and success you can go to bed satisfied with the work you did to get there. Struggle, hardwork and a final win is how I want to be remembered, you?
Make Friends In Your Industry, You’ll Be Rewarded
Posted on May 20, 2009 by Derrick Schommer
Filed Under Editorials, audio, brand, community, podcast, promotion, social networks, video | Leave a Comment
So many people are out to make a quick buck in the most “automated” way possible. These “get rich quick” or “get wealthy with little work” schemes may be great ways to build bank but what have you learned in the process? Have you learned any techniques to make yourself more approachable, a better sales person or established strong relationships with people?
Screw the get rich quick method, I think you’ll be more valuable making some friendly contacts in the industry of your choice. Recently, I watched a video on how you can make money on twitter in a “fully automated” fashion selling who knows what to who knows who for whatever cost — really? There is no passion or challenge, it’s all about finding something exploitable and selling it to anyone your automated bots can find.
I’m not really jealous of the technique that “anyone can do” (so could I, right?) but I am blown away by those that will try the techniques. Most will fail and come out of the experience unchanged and lighter in pocket. The only person getting rich quick is the one taking your money to sell you the techniques that they say they’ve learned. Here is an idea, find an industry you’re passionate about and see if you can find a way to make your own techniques and money making systems.
Here is my modest little technique that seems to work okay: establish relationships with people in your industry. You’re no doubt smaller than most of them so you’re going to have to be ready to give some of your services away for free in order to show them you’re serious. In my video podcasting studio, I’ll record an episode of Common Man Cocktails with a product that I’ve been given (if it works as advertised) and give them free exposure to my viewers.
Why wouldn’t I take the aggressive route and ask them to pay me for the exposure? Because I’d like them to see the results of what I can do, show off my techniques and give them a taste for how successful their product can be in my own brand. No doubt I’ll ask them to sponsor an episode in the future, but what trust have I built if I started by asking for money up front? What trust have I built with my viewers if they find out I’m only pitching an item because they paid me to do so?
As the little guy, you’re going to have to admit to yourself that you’re a nobody with no influence outside of your own audience. You’re building your audience and your brand but you’re going to want others to help you along the way; those friends you establish will come back to reward you later.
Perhaps you show off a product on your audio/video show and send it off to the makers of the product. They may give you a nod and a big ol’ “thank you” or they might enjoy the work you did and spread your video to their friends in the industry along with their own customers. That free exposure you gave them can come back to you ten fold with new viewership and exposure.
Who knows, a few months later that new friendly brand may ask to work together no future partnerships. What’s the risk? Nothing but a bit of work on your side, for free, in hopes of establishing stronger relationships. Give it a try.
Care About Your Community
Posted on April 24, 2009 by Derrick Schommer
Filed Under Editorials, Feedback, community, etiquette | Leave a Comment
The only way to really grow as an internet video/audio podcaster is to realize you’re playing with New Media and a system of two-way communication. There is no better way to thank your audience for viewing your show than to actually acknowledge their existence, this is part of the New Media way of doing things.
While old school media is a one-way conversation, you’ve got a tough job to do when it comes to answering all those e-mails and blog post comments. You may want to establish a dialog with each user independently to really add focus to their existence and be more direct on answering their questions. This can be time consuming and, frankly, hard work but you owe it to them to make the effort as it will strengthen their bonded relationship to your show.
Your viewers are probably used to old school media where they really become fans with the host(s) of the show but can never contact the person directly. In the new world way of doing media, the minute you shoot them back an e-mail, they’ll respect you more and identify more with you as an individual.
It’s important to remember that folks contacting you directly via e-mail, web contact forums or by posting on your website have taken time out of their day to say hello. The least you owe them is a little time to do the same, no?
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