I recently started producing a nature/travel hd video podcast. I have talked to other podcasters who say that they're making decent money, most are signed with a network (Mevio, On ).

Are there any producers of podcasts or web series here? If so could you share some tips?

Hi Luke,

Aside from the plethoria of social networking sites/technologies you'll want to stimulate your bottoms-up traffic, I'd recommend you start hanging out on the internet forums and podcasters actually making a living in the trade. This includes both those in nature/travel genre (there are several successful enterprises) and other successful business podcasters.

It's been a few years since I hung out in this domain - check out sites like:
PCA Forum (http://www.podcastalley.com/forum/index.php)
Podcast Academy Forums (http://podcastacademy.com/forum/)
Podcast Pickle Forums (Powered by Invision Power Board) (http://www.podcastpickle.com/forums/)

Listen to as many of the "Podcast Brothers" audiocasts as you can find. Even better, listen to all the relevant audiocast presentations by leading podcasters at the annual "New Media Expo" held each year in the fall (was Ontario, CA, now Las Vegas):

Podcast Brothers on PodcastAlley.com -- The place to find Podcasts (http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=844)

And for sure, plan to attend the expo October 15-17th:

Blog World Expo | The Original Blogger Conference (http://www.blogworldexpo.com/)

Of course, you should be spending not less than 50-100 hours learning every aspect of your competition. Not just the names of the nature/travel podcasts, but also their:

Website content, cross-links, advertisers
Blog content, context, feedback
Other social networking sites, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkIn, etc
Video media formats, accessibility, performance/resolution, audio-only, transcription, etc
Network, hardware/software gear, work processes, etc
Film locations, onsite people/business/government involved, etc
Interview format, length, style, episode progression, etc
Leading interview respondents
Videocast advertisers, number, turnover, etc
Billing rates, CPM, cost/show, contract duration/T&Cs, etc
Resale in other formats as DVD, CDs, digital (as GPS MP3 download), etc
How they measure performance, Feedburner, LibSyn, web-based, etc
Alliances, partnerships, associations, etc
Sales/marketing brochures/kits, promos, press releases, other PR/ads, etc
Speaking engagements, industry forums, trade-show talks/pitches, etc

I could go on and on but you get the idea - know thy competition, especially both their and your SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats).

Good luck, Michael

Excellent Info, Thank You very much!

I looked into Podcasting a nature/travel show a year ago. After looking at other podcaster's viewer numbers, I gave up on the idea. Looking back, I'm glad I did. There isn't that kind of demand for a nature/travel podcast. Let alone, a way to monetize it. Some of them invested a lot of money in their dream.

If you find a successful nature/travel podcast, let me know.

Alaska HDTV|Alaska’s best online video podcast and TV show (http://www.alaskahdtv.com/)

Beautiful Places in HD | ON Networks (http://www.onnetworks.com/videos/beautiful-places-in-hd)

How much was Alaska HDTV's initial capital investment?

How much of their own time is invested each day?

What is their return on their time and investment?

I do know that Alaska HDTV is involved in many other business ventures.(Tourism, Web Page Development, and others) Their Internet PodTV Show is only part of it's total operation.

If your planned PodTV Show is used to lead people to other more lucrative business ventures, then I would say go for it.

as a stand alone business model, a nature/travel video pod show is a losing proposition. The Internet is full of people who started video pod shows, and are now no longer in business.

Remember, Youtube is losing money. Fast!

Beautiful Places HD has a Youtube channel. YouTube - tonyfarley's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/tonyfarley)

It looks like the channel has had only 1067 visitors in over a year of operation. Is web page looks unkept.

I also see that the owner has a Day Job.

If you download "MIRO" you can do a complete research of any video on the Internet. Including who is hosting the video, and viewer numbers. I used MIRO when I researched Internet Pod TV Shows. Miro HD Video Player | Free internet tv and video podcast player. (http://www.getmiro.com)

Why not make a small TV show and shop it around the small TV stations, and cable outlets?
Then find sponsors, advertisers, and even grant money.

Then put the your show on the Internet as a extra?

If you can find a way to make money with Video on the Internet, just let Youtube know. I'm sure they will make you a instant millionaire.

David, all good points, though there are lots of podcasters making good money, they're just not nature podcasters.
You tube isn't making money for a number of reasons; who wants to advertise next to a video of someone getting kicked in the nuts.

I think we are still in the early days of internet video, advertising hasn't been standardized. It was the same for the early days of web advertising. If you want to advertise on internet video, where do you go?

I think if Hulu remains successful it will set some standards for the rest of internet video. Eventually cable channels will be internet video networks either way, that's my prediction.

What if google made an adsense/adwords-style video advertising division. Ads are generated that match your keywords, then you insert them in your videos. That could be awesome. Just like web ads.

Rehi Luke,

After a quick peek at the website URL in your sigfile, I was quite impressed - excellent job!

I also did a quick search on travel podcasts on iTunes and google. The top hits seem to be:

Amateur Traveler Travel Podcast - the best places to travel to (http://amateurtraveler.com/)

Indie Travel Podcast :: Sweet travel advice for independent travellers (http://indietravelpodcast.com/)

While neither have video, both seem fairly mature and indeed have a robust advertising-based sponsorship. Carefully compare these sites and you'll find numerous tips to help you from a business perspective. For instance, both of these site have the most important element that most websites and podcasters miss - asking the visiter for their EMAIL address! As a businessman, converting a potential customer from a SUSPECT to a PROSPECT is huge! Yes, you provide an opportunity for a visitor to comment on a post but that's secondary to gaining a loyal subscriber audience. Of course, you'll need to offer subscribers freebies of some value but your baseline content is a start and certainly you can creat some value-added extras from time to time.

Also, you'll want to make your site easier to navigate. You'll find your competition and good podcasters offer site search (text) functionality. Some podcast websites even allow text search of the actual podcast VOICE using services like EveryZing:

EveryZing, Inc ? Video SEO and Multimedia Search Solutions (http://www.everyzing.com/)

While not exactly a travel website, I've been very impressed by the professionalism of the "out-back podcast":

The WildeBeat: The audio journal about getting into the wilderness. (http://www.wildebeat.net/)

If I recall correctly, these guys come from NPR so they really know the techie side of podcasting. And I love how they have each podcast transcribed and they produce downloadable PDF - very nice! However, the site is a non-profit with modest viewer donation support so don't look there to emulate their business model.

Ditto with commercial TV entertainers like Rick Steves, who's producers offer podcasts as a secondary distribution channel - don't spend much time evaluating those business models.

Then there's hybrid podcast/videocasts like "Travel In 10":

Travel in 10: 10 Minute Travel Podcast (http://travelin10.libsyn.com/)

They seem to be more hobby guys than serious business folks but they do some things well. For instance, they are not afraid to use social media sites like YouTube as alternate distribution channels to bolster public awareness and market share:

YouTube - Travel in 10 Travel Podcast -Videocast 8 - Los Angeles ... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVD4Xer70CM)

Sorry I don't have more time to help more but hopefully this will give you some ideas. If you wish, I could offer you by the hour consulting services at reasonable rates.

Good luck, Michael

There are a number of excellent Nature/Wildlife Pod Shows being hosted at: Wildlife Podcasts: About Nature and Science (http://www.thewildclassroom.com/wildlifefilmmaking/home/podcasts.html)

The Terra Podcasts funded by Montana State University are exceptional. But, here's the kicker. All the Podcast shows are financed by Grant Money. The trick appears to be able to hook-up with the right people who have access to the grant money. I have a friend who owns a small TV Station. In this economy, he has given-up trying to operate on advertising sales income. He is having much better luck finding capital by creating collaborative agreements with organizations with access to Federal Grant Money. A good example are American Indian Organizations. They are loaded with Federal monies right now.

It would be nice to find a Video Web Hosting site that catered exclusively to the Wildlife/Nature crowd. One site where people like ourselves, could produce a quality Podcast, and also be able to sell our DVD's, Stock Video footage, or other video products "from the same Web Site".

Just a thought....If anyone out there knows how, or wants to do it.

man, I totally missed the last two post. Thanks Micheal and David for all the great info, I have a lot of research to do on marketing. I do have a few marketing ideas that I hope will be effective, we'll see.

Thanks for the support. The next podcaster that runs across this thread will benefit from it too.