BlogTalkRadio

Author SSI Category

If you haven’t heard of BlogTalkRadio, chances are, you soon will. BlogTalkRadio is a provider of thousands of internet talk radio shows and has been becoming quite popular. Their live and archived shows are produced by anyone that wants to be an internet radio host.

You don’t need your own radio station, website, or studio. You can record right on your own computer with a microphone and host your own live shows.

BlogTalkRadio is the social radio network that allows users to connect quickly and directly with their audience. Using an ordinary telephone and computer, hosts can create free, live, call-in talk shows with unlimited participants that are automatically archived and made available as podcasts. No software download is required. Listeners can subscribe to shows via RSS into iTunes and other feed readers.

You can listen to thousands of shows for free, live chat with other listeners, bookmark favorite shows, customize your own profile with videos and pictures, host your own live show with just a headset and your computer, schedule live shows, and upload on-demand shows. These are just a few of the many features BlogTalkRadio offers... and all for free!

Online Listener Habits

Author SSI Category , , , ,

Do you know what the daily online listener peak hours are vs. traditional morning/afternoon drive?

Did you realize that online listeners have a much higher ‘dwell time’?

That’s right. The online listener spends far more time listening than the traditional listener, as we spend much more time at the workplace than we do in the car . . and, they listen at a totally different time of the day as well. Peak hours for online listeners are late morning and early to mid-afternoon.

If you are not employing the proper tools to reach those listeners, you risk losing out on a lot of business from the fastest-growing segment of the listener population. As forecasted by the latest Arbitron Infinite Dial 2009 Report, the online listener population is slated to continue to grow through 2012.

You must learn how to:

    -Reach listeners with your media players
    -Expand your market reach
    -Create a value-added benefit to your terrestrial listeners
    -Create new ‘real estate’ for you to add to your sales arsenal
    -Develop additional revenue streams

Being able to expand market reach, along with the items above, requires that you consider streaming your station online. If the online listener population is projected to grow in the next few years it's important to get ahead of the game and establish your online streaming presence.

How to Price Your Online Replacement Ads and Banners

Author SSI Category

The prices that you can charge for online, Internet-only replacement ads and banners for your players is going to vary widely, depending on the reach and scope of your market coverage and terrestrial spot pricing.

This overview is intended to provide you some pricing examples and ideas and insights that you can use in your ongoing sales and marketing efforts.

The first step is to look at the various elements of the player in order to get an idea of which features command more of a premium than another.

Spots Are Divided Into 2 Categories:

1. Replacement ad spots

Replacement ads - online replacement spot prices should vary according to the length of the spot, or the time slot played, just as a normal spot would. Replacement ads can be synchronized with a banner to create additional impact, thereby commanding a premium over just a standalone replacement ad.

2. Pre-roll ads: Audio pre-roll and Video pre-roll
Pre-roll ads - Since pre-roll ads are played at the beginning of every single stream that a listener starts, these ads essentially play to a captive audience and have more impact, therefore commanding a premium over a regularly inserted spot. Also, since video pre-roll has more impact that just audio alone, it commands a premium yet over audio pre-roll.
Audio pre-roll can also be synchronized with a banner for added impact, so is once again, a higher-priced premium prospect.

Banner Ads and Player Buttons
Banner ads come in different sizes. On most local and regional websites, depending on where the banner is displayed, the cost will vary, with the homepage usually commanding a higher price. In many cases, the larger the banner, the higher the cost will be as well. In the case of banner display on a player, there is only one page, so cost will only be relevant to the size of the banner.

Banner ads that run in synchronization with a replacement ad for greater impact are going to command a higher premium as noted earlier.

Different banners from a theme-set can also be rotated with the same replacement ad.

Player buttons are going to be the least expensive ad space on your player, as they are the smallest space available.

Replacement ad spot: 10 – 15% of your terrestrial spot prices
Replacement ad spots w/ synchronized banner: 15 – 20 % of your terrestrial spot prices
Recommended spot lengths: :15 / :30 / :60. Campaigns run just like terrestrial

Video Pre-roll: $250 a month
Pre-roll is played before every stream starts. It cannot be closed, nor can it be fast-forwarded. The listener/viewer is a captive audience at this point. The video is displayed over the player with the background darkened for maximum effect.

Audio Pre-roll: $200 a month
Audio Pre-roll w/ banner: $250 a month

Banners can be billboard, small, large or extra-large and displayed at the same time as the pre-roll plays. Charge a 15% premium for billboard or extra large banner. Sell with the large banner as standard. Audio pre-roll is played before every stream starts. It cannot be closed, nor can it be fast-forwarded. The listener is a captive audience at this point.

Billboard: $250 a month unlimited impressions
Rotate up to 10 billboard banners. This spot is where most stations display their logo, market slogan, etc., but it can be sold as a premium banner placement. It is the largest ad space on the player and commands the most attention. It is to the right of the actual player controls and information display.

Extra-Large Banner: $75 a month unlimited impressions
Rotate up to 10 extra-large banners located on the lower, right-hand side of the player. This is the largest banner space on the player. Displays by itself.

Large Banner: $50 a month unlimited impressions
Rotate up to 10 large banners located on the lower, right-hand side of the player. This is the next largest banner space on the player. Displays with a small banner, or if no small banners are available, it displays by itself just as the extra large banner does in the above example.