How I made money podcasting and why you probably don't want to(blog.usejournal.com) |
How I made money podcasting and why you probably don't want to(blog.usejournal.com) |
Mainstream broadcasters are always super-careful when staff are sent to the USA, to get the right visa. If the staffer just goes to the USA, they have to make damn sure they don't return to work, even if they take that call about some story, there is a risk: If you entered the US on a tourist visa but always intended interviewing somebody, you're working as a journalist.
They can, and do, chuck you out of the country. And returns get hard once you have to say YES on the forms about "...have you ever...."
I don't think the USA is unique in this regard. Lots of economies, western, democratic, and otherwise do not want people to casually "just do it" -you need to front up about what you do sometimes.
I entered the US dozens of times on an ESTA for work reasons, I always declare I'm there for "business", offering detail if needed, and never had any issue.
For example, in the US case, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_visa#Acceptable_and_prohibit.... The rules for B visas apply to ESTA as well. Journalism is explicitly prohibited on B visas.
This is why my employer's internal immigration processes, even for short-term visits like conferences or whatever, present you with a comprehensive list of different categories of activity you might be undertaking to determine whether you need a work permit or not. It's annoying, and our internal immigration systems are very, very much imperfect, but I can see how it came to be.
I've never worked anywhere but the us, but as a dev I could work remotely anywhere in the world if I was certain it wasn't illegal.
I've first-hand experience with the many challenges of startups in Japan. Finding talent who understand how startups are different. Convincing larger partners you're not simply another "supplier" they can grind margin out of. Explaining to potential investors the tradeoffs of quality, speed, and confirming product fit.
Educational platforms like what Tim has built through podcasting are needed to help close these gaps.
Thanks to Tim for the insightful post on "how the sausage was made" and looking forward to seeing good things coming out of Tepco's innovation platform.
I like to think I'm having an impact on the ecosystem here, and as I mentioned in the article, four Japanese startup founders have told me that listening to the guests on Disrupting Japan is a big part of what gave them the courage to start their own companies. I kind of teared up when they told me that. I'm not sure exactly why.
These open, personal episodes are emotionally draining to publish. I'm a nervous wreck right up until the moment they go live. The feedback is almost always wonderful, so I don't know why it's still so hard to share, but it is.
I guess I'm fine with that.
Maybe part of connecting is just accepting that we are all kind of basket cases on the inside. And that's perfectly OK.
I have gone out of my way to purchase products that advertise on podcasts: I'm typing this as I eat a lunch flavored with hot sauce from FuegoBox.
I don't know how well most podcasters do from that. You had a wonderfully lucrative target audience; most of what I listen to has a larger market but with less money. I don't know how many Casper mattresses and MeUndies they can possibly buy. The impression I get from the IHeartRadio-branded ones hint that by the time the marketers and support get their cut, it's poverty-level wages.
Again, thanks for the look behind the scenes. That was incredibly informative and very well written.
Is there a general ratio for how much audio you record per session vs how long your average podcast episode is? Do you cut, say, 25% or something like that? They seem to run 40-50 minutes, from checking your site.
Would going the Patreon route (since your podcast is ad-free now) be viable?
That might seem a bit extreme, but some of my guests are not native English speakers, so there is a lot to fix in post-production.
My other podcast is scripted and pre-produced. An episode usually comes in at 8 minutes, and I usually record around double that. For some sentences, I do 4-5 takes until I get it right. (That said, recording is really the smallest part. The biggest timesink on that podcast is research and writing the script, which takes around 3-4 hours per episode. Partly because of my perfectionist attitude.)
Also, it seems like there are still ways to receive some revenue from creating useful content that thousands of people are interested in. Not because the money is so important, but because there are parts of community engagement that are fun to do and feel rewarding, and there are other parts that can be contracted.
I didn't understand the "make a media company" or nothing aspect considering he is still podcasting as a fun hobby anyway.
You cannot collaborate with another person toward some common end unless you know him. How can you know him, and he you, unless you have engaged in enough mutual disclosure of self to be able anticipate how he will react and what part he will play?
If we want to be loved, we must disclose ourselves. If we want to love someone, he must permit us to know him. This would seem to be obvious. Yet most of us spend a great part of our lives thinking up ways to avoid becoming known. Indeed, much of human life is best described as impersonation. We are role players, every one of us.
Well written and sincere, great stuff.
Podcasting was one of the best (non-financial) decisions I ever made.
Bring back blogspot!
The text - what I came to the page for - occupied just 60% of the screen.
What a horrible UI!
I get only 2/3rds of the headline on mobile.
I guess it’s nice that the Medium app is made for readers, cause their website sure as heck isn’t ...
Oh yeah, also using it in hopes of having real adblock on mobile.
https://smashnotes.com/p/disrupting-japan-startups-and-innov...
I didn't understand the "make a
media company" or nothing aspect
Presumably his success criteria for the become-a-pro-podcaster experiment wasn't being met selling his ad inventory alone, and selling extra inventory to his existing sales prospects got him closer.
https://www.disruptingjapan.com/how-i-made-8000-per-month-po...
I wish it weren't so.
I haven't yet found a freemium site that either this or turning off javascript doesn't work for.
TFA was great, and I'm motivated to pursue my podcast idea (not for money, but because I think it would be interesting). But I just don't get why people put their creative content on Medium. Does it actually add value (bring more readers?) Seems to me it will discourage some potential readers; what's the offset there?
I know it's a bit of a rant, but we shouldn't need Outline to make the web useful. Thankfully it exists as an option, but that's like needing antibiotics because every time we go shopping we get cut 1,000 times by the doorways to the stores we try to shop at...
It was a different one than usual. No x-button.
Was trying to let the guy know a lot of people wouldn't have been able to read it, not moaning about the usual "let's make it official" popup.
To be honest, the range of activities allowed it's fairly reasonable.
Two guys talking about the NFL to 3,000 listeners would be very hard to monetize, but a sports podcast that focused on local HS sports teams, or one that talked about MLB from the LGBTQ perspective? Those would be pretty easy to monetize using the same basic strategy I used.
I think the biggest advantage I had was not my specific audience, but the decades I've spent selling new products and starting companies. Of course, that is also my audience, so I can't be completely sure.
[1] Try to spot the article content! https://twitter.com/ColdPie1/status/1115247985410048001
Interestingly, the blocking seems to be on the Outline end, because the site says "We're sorry, but this URL is not supported by Outline" if you try to use it on an article from one of those sites (example: https://outline.com/WytaqY). The message when scraping a page fails is "We're sorry. This page failed to Outline."
So it's not that the sites themselves have figured out how to block it, but they seem to have gotten Outline to specifically exclude them.
HN does it very well, btw.
What I don't do, which is where Medium might add value is go on Medium to search for content. I don't reckon I'd find good stuff by going down that route.
So really they are piggy backing off search and links that would otherwise go to "free" blogging software, or at least something like Ghost that isn't in your face and actually hosts just the content.
In short they are a parasite.
There are economies which would welcome you as a digital nomad.
How does the border agency know? They ask you a whole bunch of questions upon entering the country. So if the plan was to work remotely you'd end up lying to them. Digital Nomads calling it a grey area is often a nice way of saying "unless you tell someone the truth, you'll be fine"
If it's something you plan on doing, I'd highly recommend knowing the regulations for each country yourself and not relying on a third-party website to tell you things. That way you decide what you say to whom and what risk you take.
Put another way vp of sky visits Canada answers a few emails/calls while on vacation, perfectly legal.
I have an APEC card. I only ever enter for work. I think it's considered ok to recreate, having entered for work related reasons.
I know that some countries (such as China) do require business visas for attending a conference and I've to get letters of introduction, etc. in order to get my visa. But it's never been an issue in Europe.
