Dan Blank: Publishing, Innovation & the Web - Latest Comments

Re: Diversifying Media Revenue Streams

DanBlank — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:01:17 -0000

Good point. Working in B2B media as I do, I tend to focus in on the niches, and then within them, the best of the best. Therein lies the magic!
Thanks.
-Dan

Re: Diversifying Media Revenue Streams

DanBlank — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:00:42 -0000

Victoria,
Wow - thanks for such a thought-provoking and detailed comment! I like to think of this issue less of "free vs paid," and more of "solutions vs the merely interesting." For any content creator or product manager to make money, they have to consider how they are delivering on the needs of their audience and potential customer base. Likewise, to your point, the revenue model is not as straightforward as it seems, where a content creator can expect to easily earn a living by selling content.

Thanks again - have a great night!
-Dan

Re: Diversifying Media Revenue Streams

ladywriter — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:55:16 -0000

Interesting stuff. But there are so many 'experts' out there, and I only have so much money!

Re: Diversifying Media Revenue Streams

Victoria Mixon — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:35:53 -0000

I put a price on my blog about a month ago after one of my posts was lifted by a competitor without my permission. It's a small price---$20 for six months or more of essays posted several times a week. I write essays exploring, in-depth, different aspects of the craft of fiction, for serious writers. I'd been doing it for awhile already and had a small but enthusiastic following.

I didn't have any illusions about making a lot of money off a paid blog. I just didn't intend to deal with sticky-finger b.s.

I got some intense resistance when I first started talking about it---readers incensed at the idea of having to pay for anything at all, no matter how valuable (I suspect the hottest resistance came from some folks who valued it rather highly), out here on the wonderful freebie world of the web. It's phenomenon my geek husband and I have seen emerging in recent years: a staggering sense of entitlement, a sense that "they" owe "us" everything anyone could possibly want. . .and for FREE.

But I didn't worry about it. We've been on the Internet in our house since the '80s. I co-authored a book on the emerging role of the Internet in family life (Children and the Art of the Internet, Prentice Hall) in 1996. My husband's a leading figure in online Linux communities, which are all about open software. We knew the issues, we have friends working in online copyright law, we understood the situation (well, as well as anything changing this fast can be understood).

We've seen the shake-ups come and go over the decades on the Internet, and we knew we were on the cutting edge of something that simply has to be dealt with.

The brou-haha died down after I made the switch. I still have followers on my public blog. I have paid subscribers on my private blog. And---most importantly---I got my forum back where I can, indiscriminately and without fuss, do the work I love best: writing about fiction. I can share what I've learned in thirty years as a professional writer with folks standing my where I stood long ago and carry on a community-type dialog with them all about every aspect of the life of creating fiction. They love it. I love it. Win-win.

I wouldn't advise the average blogger to think they're going to turn a paid blog into a salaried position. Pipe-dreams, people.

But I do believe paying for sites is the direction the blogosphere is going. The Wild West model is not self-sustaining.

At some point, in some way, the web has to grow up.

Victoria

Re: Editorial ROI: Going from Good to Great

DanBlank — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:26:13 -0000

Guy,
Thanks... B2B is where its at!
-Dan

Re: Editorial ROI: Going from Good to Great

glecharles — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:48:38 -0000

Whether you're B2B or B2C, I think this part nails it: "Understanding and serving the needs of the markets that one is focused on, and always willing to rethink what those needs are and how audience behavior evolves and changes."

As consumer publishers look at strategies to serve niche communities, there's a lot they can learn from the B2B brands that are, for the most part, years ahead of the digital curve.

Re: Editorial ROI: Maximizing Performance With Few Resources

DanBlank — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:20:05 -0000

Guy - Thanks. I have another post or two coming up about this same topic. Have a nice evening.
-Dan

Re: Editorial ROI: Maximizing Performance With Few Resources

glecharles — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:05:00 -0000

Great post, Dan. I've been pushing for this kind of analysis at my job, too, and just forwarded the link to several colleagues. Thanks for making the case so clearly!

Re: Editorial ROI: Maximizing Performance With Few Resources

Steve — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:33:33 -0000

Really interesting article!

Re: How We Pay for Content

DanBlank — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:22:33 -0000

Good points, and clearly, there are no simple solutions that are applicable across all media. What's interesting is considering the cable system model compared to the internet system model. But once you enter the infinite channel universe, all previous models seem to be irrelevant.

Oh well, perhaps we'll solve this one tomorrow!
Have a nice evening.
-Dan

Re: How We Pay for Content

lucianteo — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:27:51 -0000

Great, great writeup. I've been mulling over the future of content-creators myself, and how advertising indelibly changed the basic relationship of creator and consumer. I'm not certain things can be reversed, though I believe that we should all be willing to pay for things we consume.

Re: Editorial ROI: Maximizing Performance With Few Resources

DanBlank — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:01:28 -0000

Jeff,
Thanks so much for the reply, let me know if there is any way I can be of assistance.
Have a nice evening.
-Dan

Re: Editorial ROI: Maximizing Performance With Few Resources

jeffmiller — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:42:03 -0000

Very, very informative post. I am on the sales and marketing side of our B2B portfolio and consistently review/measure our digital product performance. Our VP of Content is a brilliant guy who is always looking for ways to teach his editors the importance looking at readership data. I certainly plan on forwarding him your post.

Keep up the excellent work.

Re: Group Hug: How to Build Community Using Forums & Social Media

megancharade — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:32:16 -0000

Hey, came over from ProBlogger. This is a lot to take in! But solid information. I'll definately popping back to refresh myself with the main points. Thanks Dan!

Re: Group Hug: How to Build Community Using Forums & Social Media

DanBlank — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:44:37 -0000

Thanks Brandon! Jeremiah has created something very special with his community, it was a real pleasure learning from them. So much about social media and the modern web is about "openness," and I think that it requires people to take down a lot of personal barriers they have put up. Overall, I think this is a positive thing for our culture, especially when you consider this from a worldwide perspective.

Have a great day!
-Dan

Re: Group Hug: How to Build Community Using Forums & Social Media

twitter-14178988 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:31:02 -0000

Wow - a very comprehensive kind of article. As I've devoured it, I think your point about not building silos is especially helpful. Thanks so much!

Re: The Future is Now

Ilene — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:09:50 -0000

Dan, Your efforts, which are clearly "a labor of love" inspire more people than you know. I've thanked you before and I am thanking you again!
In college I read Claude Brown's "Manchild in the Promised Land". That book inspired me to read more of that genre over the years. I don't think it's a coincidence that these non fiction books, written by individuals who can't get a break, navigate through all the disadvantages all the way to triumph. Love these types of stories. Just my 2¢.
Kudos to you, I know you have made a huge difference in the lives of your students.

Re: Are Bloggers and Marketers Really Evil?

canadian pharmacies online — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:50:17 -0000

Money hungry bloggers pretty much hits the nail on the head

Re: Diversifying Media Revenue Streams

scottgould — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:13:46 -0000

Very good - thanks for this. As I myself am trying to think far more about my 'mental asset' and create rolling income from materials like this, I'm in the position of having a dramatically smaller audience - by all be it, perhaps a more niche audience.

I'm going to re read this a few times...

Re: How We Pay for Content

DanBlank — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:56:08 -0000

Thanks Martin!

Re: How We Pay for Content

Martin Couzins — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:46:55 -0000

Great post, Dan. The last points about what people will pay for are key. These are all things that help people. For media organisations right now, this is the starting point. But, the difficulty is heritage and traditional revenue streams (that still pay the bills, just about). Start-ups don't have this so focus on what helps.
Strangely, and especially in the B2B space, brands were all about helping - putting suppliers and buyers together, connecting people at events, engaging through content. Brands that still have the audience have the potential to provide the things that help. Content might or might not be one of those things but engaging those readers and users with the things, people and services they need to do their jobs better will surely see them succeed. Membership looks like a useful way of doing this BUT you have to 1)motivate people to want to join and 2) give them the ability to (easily) interact with you, talk to others, buy services etc 3) provide them with real benefits

Re: How We Pay for Content

DanBlank — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:16:30 -0000

Re: How We Pay for Content

DanBlank — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:16:15 -0000

Agreed - I think many media companies are ready for a more sophisticated revenue mix.
Thanks.
-Dan

Re: How We Pay for Content

DeneneWrites — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:30:18 -0000

Dan,

Great post! I also love magazines and have since I was a kid. I am hopeful that beautiful, glossy magazines don't go away with all of the digital content. I had to laugh at your memories about music -- I was also a tape dubber!

Thanks for the interesting observations and trip down memory lane.

Re: How We Pay for Content

calebgalaraga — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:44:16 -0000

Very good point. I think the membership-based subscription model will prove to be a worthy means to monetize from content products. So far though the only dominant thing funding content creation online are advertising profits/revenues.