I need your advice and help?
I have always wondered if advertising was the right model for supporting podcasting and other new media projects, but I hadn’t really seen any other viable alternatives. So I haven’t had advertising on Career Opportunities for a variety of reasons. Recently a system called Patreon appeared and I have been watching how other new media producers have begun using it to fund their shows and reduce their dependency on advertising. I will explain Patreon — and the work required to produce Career Opportunities — and then ask you as always for your advice and guidance.
Patreon is similar to crowdsourcing sites like Kickstarter, but instead of a one time pledge of support to develop a physical product, Patreon focuses on on-going, monthly pledges to support the development of continuous content. It also allows for fundraising milestones to unlock expansion of content to new shows, services and areas as funding increases.
I have recently been contemplating starting a Patreon page for Career Opportunities to help support its on-going production and also open up my time and energy to new services and content.
A bit of backstory
In 1997, I was asked to write Career Opportunities as a weekly column for the print publication, ComputorEdge in San Diego, California. I was paid weekly for each column and at the time the magazine closed in 2007, I was receiving $125/column (between $500-$625 per month). After the publication folded, I continued writing and podcasting Career Opportunities, subsidizing the time and money needed to create it from my ‘day’ job. I produced about 2/3 of the usual number of columns, but I could not justify dedicating the same amount of time to the writing and production of the show.
Fast forward to 2014. I have left my computer consulting work to forge a new career focusing on new media — including podcast training, consulting and promotion. As you might image, it takes a long time to build a new career. I continue to produce the show, as I believe, from reading the letters I receive, that it has helped many people over the years and I want to continue helping. I need more time to continue this work, though, and this is why I am turning to you — the faithful and long term listeners of Career Opportunities — for first, advice and then perhaps, support.
Please feel free to post comments here on this blog post or, if you prefer, email me directly at douglas@welchwrite.com.
Thank you so much for your advice!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Questions on how to fund the on-going and expanded production of the Career Opportunities Podcast using Patreon or similar systems.
(Don’t feel limited to my possible responses here. Feel free and encouraged to think as widely (and wildly) as you like. Sometimes the best ideas are crazy ideas — Douglas)
- Would you be open to becoming a patron of Career Opportunities on a monthly basis?
- What level would you consider appropriate?
- $1/month
- $2/month
- $8/month
- $12/month
- $16/month
- Other
- What new projects would you like to see as milestones for this fundraiser?
- Dedicated Career Opportunities Forum/Discussion Group/Networking Site
- Weekly video Q&A chat live stream
- Expanded interview series with a variety of careerists
- Online Speaker Series with career speakers of all types
- Others (I am open to almost anything that would make Career-Op better)
- At what overall monthly earning levels should these milestones be unlocked?
- $500/month
- $1000/monthly
- Higher?
- What rewards would you consider fun/useful for your patronage?
- Exclusive content only for patrons
- Career Opportunities would remain free for everyone. This would be additional content
- Books
- One-to-One Career Consulting
- Coffee Mugs
- Early access to columns and podcasts
- Personalized career presentation to your group or business on-site (if local) or via video conferencing.
