Egyptian cabinet submits resignation/Financial sanctions on Iran/Democratic Republic of Congo history/US deficit panel fails to reach deal/Libya forms new government/Berlusconi love songs… Podcast Bunker Top 20
My Interview With Leo Laporte
Folks, I am so excited to share this interview with with you. There is no doubt that this will forever be one of my all time favorite episodes of Podcast Answer Man. I’d encourage you to watch the interview via the video that I have embedded below.
At the same time, I’d also like to encourage you to then listen to this audio podcast episode to hear some of my commentary on many of the topics that Leo and I discussed in this interview. I have also included several notes below the the video.
Notes From This Audio Podcast:
In this audio podcast episode, gave some additional commentary on some of the topics that Leo and I discussed. Below are the notes and links that I mentioned that I would share.
- Occupy TWiT Video Post – Click Here
- Meeting Leo Video Post – Click Here
- Post with video of Leo saying podcasting is dead. – Click Here
- Post with Leo saying that nobody cares about video. – Click Here
- Post with Leo saying audio is what people really want. – Click Here
- New York Times Article That I Mentioned. – Click Here
Leo Talks About The Beginning of TWiT:
In this interview Leo shares a brief history of how he first got started in podcasting when a young listener, Matt Bishoff, called in to say that he noticed that Leo was already putting the .mp3 recordings of his radio show on the website and asked why he wasn’t turning them into a podcast.
In April 2005, Leo began to record conversations about technology news with friends from his TechTV days. He mentioned how much of a pain it was to get all of the equipment set up and working each week and how much of a pain it was, spending hours every week, doing post production to salvage whatever he could of the horrible sounding audio. He shared how he got better at doing it over time and how technology and the equipment available improved as well.
Leo Talks About TWiT Revenue:
Over the years that I have been following Leo, I have been able to capture bits and pieces of information that he had shared, in between live show recordings, about the amount of income that his TWiT network was generating. Until now, I’d only been able to report from what I had heard Leo say. However, in this interview, Leo was kind enough to give us some really great ballpark figures for the record.
2005: TWiT brought in between ,000 to ,000 in donations.
2007: TWiT brought in approximately 0,000 in ad revenue.
2008: TWiT brought in approximately 0,000 in ad revenue.
2009: TWiT brought in approximately .2 Million in ad revenue.
2010: TWiT brought in approximately Million in ad revenue.
2011: TWiT will bring in approximately Million to Million in ad revenue.
Leo’s Stats Show That The Power Is In The Audio Podcast:
Leo was also kind enough to give us a great idea of about how much revenue is generated from each audio, video, and live streaming. The main example he gave was the show This Week in Tech which is what he describes as a “Talking Heads” show. This show has an audience of 175,000 to 200,000 people who consume each and every episode.
When it comes to the downloads of this show, 80% of the downloads are from the audio podcast and 20% of the downloads are from the video podcast.
When it comes to understanding where the money generated from a show like This Week in Tech, Leo estimates that 75% of the revenue comes from the audio podcast, 20% of the revenue comes from the video podcast, and only 5% of the revenue comes from the live streaming content.
Leo Is On The Record – He Says Podcasting IS NOT DEAD!:
For me, one of my favorite parts of our discussion was when I asked Leo if he felt that the technology, known as podcasting, which is delivering episodic media, either audio or video, via an rss feed, was dead. His response was, “Oh Gosh, it’s far from dead.”
Now Leo has a dream of creating an online live streaming network that would be something like a Geek version of CNN on the internet. However, from our conversation, it is clear that while he believes that is his future that he is hoping for, he does not think that podcasting is dead.
He believes, as do I, that podcasters should consider multiple distribution channels for getting their content out there. However, for me, I still suggest that getting started with an audio podcast is the best way to go. It’s obvious that is where a majority of his audience is coming from. As linked above, I have a clip of audio where Leo has said that he understands, fully, that “audio is what people really want.” Also, it is possible to create professional sounding audio with a small investment in equipment compared to what it would cost to create professional quality content for video podcasts or live streaming.
Leo’s thoughts on how to succeed with podcasting:
Leo shared some thoughts on what he thinks it would take for someone to find true success in making a living from creating content, to put yourself in the list of the hundreds of people who are able to pull it off.
These are the exact same things that I had shared in my BlogWorld LA talk just the day before I did this interview and what I have been telling my consulting/coaching clients for years. I could not agree more with what Leo said, which I will quote below.
In the interview, Leo said…
Whether you do audio, video, or live, you should aim at a narrow niche of enthusiasts. If you can hit that niche well, those people will support you, and you can make a living doing this. The trick is to aim it at an audience that you know, that you are a part of, that you love, that you understand, that you can SO SUPER SERVE, and by super serving that audience, by building community, I think you can have success.
I could not agree more. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this interview even half as much as I enjoyed doing it and providing it here for you. I’d love it if you’d be willing to leave a comment below and let me know if this interview has inspired you in any way.
Passports are issued with twenty-four sheets that are blank. For the average person, these sheets are enough. However, for those individuals who travel out of the states often, the original sheets will not likely be enough. Refills are limited to three per the life of the document. When refills are used prior to the date of expiration, it is be necessary to request the expedited pasport pages.
Even though the pasport is good for ten years, the regular traveler will more than likely run out of blank sheets before it is renewed. When your blank sheets get down to four, it is time to get a refill. Keeping enough blank sheets in your travel document will help prevent any problems while traveling.
It will be very difficult to travel in foreign countries when your visa sheets run low. Although your travel document is not expired, if you do not have enough pages for a country’s stamps, you may not be allowed entry. Some countries need a few pages for their entrance and exit stamp.
It is possible to check with the country you will be visiting to find out how many blank sheets you will need. However, it might be easier just to go ahead and request a refill when you find you are down to the last four. Being prepared will avoid any problems when traveling.
To add extra sheets to your travel document, you will be required to complete a form requesting the extra visa sheets. Once you have completed the form, it is to be mailed along with your valid travel document to the Department of State. The additional blank sheets will be attached to your travel document and it will be returned to you. Check to see what the current fee for refills is before sending off the request.
There are only three page refills allowed for each passport issued. Since refills are limited, individuals who travel often use them up before the document’s expiration date. Many people who travel abroad frequently will often find that they must renew the travel document earlier than the date of expiration because they have used their refills.
When renewing a travel document, it is necessary to fill in a renewal application. The old passport must be sent with the application and a fee for renewal. Many people will ask to have their old document cancelled and sent back to them along with the new document. Lots of folks like to hold on to the old travel document as a type of souvenir.
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Recording From The Road
In this special episode of Podcast Answer Man, I am joined by Anne-Sophie Reinhardt from FightingAnorexia.com and MyInterContinentalLife.com. Together, while driving from Petaluma to Oakland California, we give you our review of BlogWorld LA and share our amazing journey of visiting the TWiT Studio.
Meeting Leo Laporte
There is no doubt that you will hear the excitement in my voice when you hear me share what it was like to finally get to meet Leo Laporte. You’ll have to listen to the episode to hear just how amazing this visit was.
Long, long ago when Studio1A was nestled in the “rolling hills”, I was searching for a sound. As a former radio guy, that compression-wars sound was still hauntingly familiar and comfortable. New media was an infant and podcasting began changing what used to be traditional media. During this time, I remember listening to dozens of high-profile shows that simply didn’t utilize processing of any kind. Now there’s an aural contrast; over-the-air radio vs. the wild West days of podcasting.
I knew what had to be done in building a new media studio …and did it. A microphone processor (or vocal strip) was needed for each microphone to level the host and guests up front. Then, run everything, including music, sound effects and mic audio through a console, eventually blended together as program output. That output needed a true broadcast processor for the final audio massage, before being encoded.
I tried several different brands of voice processors but one of them stood out. The Aphex 230 was my Voice Channel of choice, and remains so to this day. After thousands of podcasts, our bank of Aphex 230s continue to hum (not literally) along every day, working harder than I.
Time does march on and there’s a new strip in town, simply called “Channel”. Channel appears to be a tweaked 230, but it’s dangerous to judge a book by its cover. I say appears, because we have not checked one of these new pieces out …yet. I have spoken with the folks at Aphex and a test drive is in the works. For now, simply know that the legend continues.
Until then, the question looms: has the “Channel” changed?
My Interview With Leo Laporte
