There’s no way around it: Asking listeners for money is an anxious process. Jennifer Tribe, Head of Marketing at Supercast, collected actionable reality checks from Alie Ward (Ologies), Jesse Brown (Canadaland), and other audience-supported creators who started small and gained confidence over time.
“I was terrified that it would be one of those crowdfunding campaigns where you ask for a thousand bucks and you get 12 and it's that person's uncle who did it,” Brown says. “It's very embarrassing to fail, and I was really afraid of that failure.” Since then, he’s built an entire listener-supported network and news site.
Subscriptions have become more accessible this year, but the framework doesn’t make the initial ask any less awkward. The ‘why’ is key, Tribe explains: “Paint a picture for listeners of what their money will make possible.” If a few dollars will help you improve audio, add video, or publish more often, share the goal.
To function better from the outset, “social audio needs to leverage the same strategies used by major news organizations.” Writing for TechCrunch, Wingwoman founder Adonica Shaw points out opportunities to solve problems before they begin. Among them, speaker incidents and content controversy.
Regrettable statements are bound to happen when an app recruits content creators. “If they are targeted in the marketing, there should be a strategy to retain them as active participants on the platform, even after mistakes come up,” Shaw says. She advocates for a system similar to defensive driving class for traffic violations.
To handle specific hot-button areas, Shaw recommends content councils “in the same way that startups have advisory boards.” This holds the company accountable and takes the pressure off of internal employees. (Unrelated side note: We learned that a horizontal-bar menu icon is called a ‘hamburger stack.’)
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