Steve's New Audio Program

[bigadam]

Steve,

Can you give a little more information on the audio program you're creating to come out this year?

Will it piggy back off of your book and be a deeper exploration of the book's themes?

I love your blog and podcast and was thrilled to hear you're coming out with an audio program. Audio courses are my favorite way to learn and PPII and the audio version of a New Earth had profound effects on me.

Finally, saw your twitter feed - are you listening to Canfield as preparation to create your course or is the timing coincidental?

Anything you can share would be great!

[Steve Pavlina]

The first audio program I'm doing is currently titled "Introduction to Conscious Growth." It's not a huge production -- 6 segments x about 40m each = 4 hours total.

I'll be sure to blog about it when the time is right, but I plan to release it before the book is out.

I might even release it semi-free ala Radiohead (pay what you think it's worth). Otherwise it will have very moderate pricing, probably sub-$20. I want everyone to be able to afford it, and I also want it to help generate enough income to cut Adsense ads from the site.

Canfield's program was just the next audio item in my review queue. I'm not doing a program like his. Personally I didn't think his LoA program was the best I've heard. Robert Anthony sells a better one for a fraction of the price.

[Dan.Linehan]

Don't make me pay what I think it's worth -- I'll end up having to spend way more.

[seeker5]

Hmmm, why the switch away from podcast to audiobook?

Is it to get rid of the adsense ads? Or you feel 4 hours is too long for several podcasts?

[Calculusaurus]

Sounds cool. So will it be similar to your first podcast, but longer, more organized, more details and ideas, etc?

I'm very frugal with my online spending, but I like the idea of pricing it, and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase it or donate radiohead-style.

I think a lot of people, for example, by the Zen Habits "zen to done" e-book not to just recieve a valuable product, but also to donate and contribute to ZH.

Likewise, I'm sure a large chunk of SP.com readers would love to purchase a low-cost audio product not only to receive more valuable information, but also to say thanks for all the great value this website has provided over the years.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by seeker5

Hmmm, why the switch away from podcast to audiobook?

Is it to get rid of the adsense ads? Or you feel 4 hours is too long for several podcasts?

The podcast format wouldn't be a good fit for this content. A podcast is something I can produce in an afternoon. This program is weeks of work. Four hours is way too long for a podcast IMO. This is something I want to call out as stronger, more organized material than what's in the podcasts or articles.

I plan to include a PDF guidebook too.

I've mentioned before that my goal is to transition to an ad-free site by the end of the year. I intend to create some downloadable info products with the best content I can (longer, more detailed, more organized), so I can justify going much deeper into certain topics than I can do with articles and podcasts.

Since I can keep my costs low with download-only products, I can afford to offer pricing that's ridiculously reasonable compared to what many others in this field charge. I want to make the material as accessible as possible while still generating sufficient income to fuel even more creative work.

[bigadam]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

I'll be sure to blog about it when the time is right, but I plan to release it before the book is out.

So now that the book is out, any additional details on the audio program Steve?

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by bigadam

So now that the book is out, any additional details on the audio program Steve?

Since the book launched unexpectedly early, I've had to shift gears and put the audio program on hold. I don't have the capacity to promote two products at once. I have to focus on the book launch for now and will return to the audio program when things settle down.

[bigadam]

Any updates on this Steve now that the bird has left the nest?

[Steve Pavlina]

Still intend to do it, but lately I've been focusing more on personal goals vs. professional ones.

[Ajit Odedra]

Steve, your message was posted at exactly 11:11 pm (GMT).

It could be a signal to you or a signal to me. Either way, I'm looking forward to your audio product

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Ajit Odedra

Steve, your message was posted exactly at 11:11 pm (GMT).

It could be a signal to you or a signal to me. Either way, I'm looking forward to your audio product

Lol. Definitely a signal to me.

[dwixi]

I know theres nothing wrong with getting money for products especially if they create as much value as you do. However Im having tubble understanding why you chose to charge. Yeah you would like the extra money in some ways but if it was free you could help more people than you would otherwise. You are making enough to earn a living as it is and if you wanted to you could make more money through other ways than charging people. Why led you to chooseing extra money over being able to help more people? Its not like your going to starve.

[Andrew Brunelle]

He can charge money for anything he wants. He said it will be very low-cost and he's got to support himself somehow now that he lost the Adsense revenue. He is putting a substantial amount of work into this program to create lasting value. And if you can't afford it, then read the blogs. They're free and helpful and if you get enough out of that, then you won't need his audio program. He's given us over 20 podcasts for free.

I have no qualms about dropping $20 or so on an audio program if its value will surpass the $20 I paid for it. Not to mention the value of the help Steve gives away freely. How much are all those blog posts worth?

[dwixi]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

He can charge money for anything he wants. He said it will be very low-cost and he's got to support himself somehow now that he lost the Adsense revenue. He is putting a substantial amount of work into this program to create lasting value. And if you can't afford it, then read the blogs. They're free and helpful and if you get enough out of that, then you won't need his audio program. He's given us over 20 podcasts for free.

I have no qualms about dropping $20 or so on an audio program if its value will surpass the $20 I paid for it. Not to mention the value of the help Steve gives away freely. How much are all those blog posts worth?

Im not saying theres anything wrong with getting money for value.
I just mean if you are already meeting the specifics like earning a living and stuff, theres no need to take away from how well the purpose is implemented.

[DerekH]

Originally Posted by dwixi

I know theres nothing wrong with getting money for products especially if they create as much value as you do. However Im having tubble understanding why you chose to charge. Yeah you would like the extra money in some ways but if it was free you could help more people than you would otherwise. You are making enough to earn a living as it is and if you wanted to you could make more money through other ways than charging people. Why led you to chooseing extra money over being able to help more people? Its not like your going to starve.

Uh huh.

That's like me going to work for a day each week and not receiving pay. I'll get paid for the other 4 but since I don't need that last day of pay... I don't want it.

If no one supported Steve then he'd have to get a job

[dwixi]

Originally Posted by DerekH

Uh huh.

That's like me going to work for a day each week and not receiving pay. I'll get paid for the other 4 but since I don't need that last day of pay... I don't want it.

If no one supported Steve then he'd have to get a job

If he got a job he would still be relying on the support of people that pay him? yes? just to comment that last bit.
Now for the main bit.
Steve doesnt aim to squeeze every penny out of the website. Im sure if he wanted to he could put more ads on it and do more posts that are clearly affiliate base, like his site build it deal ones.
Surely when you have a purpose it comes over anything unless those other things prevent you from implementing that puepose.

[DerekH]

Originally Posted by dwixi

If he got a job he would still be relying on the support of people that pay him? yes? just to comment that last bit.
Now for the main bit.
Steve doesnt aim to squeeze every penny out of the website. Im sure if he wanted to he could put more ads on it and do more posts that are clearly affiliate base, like his site build it deal ones.
Surely when you have a purpose it comes over anything unless those other things prevent you from implementing that puepose.

I realize he doesn't do that.

Should he start giving his book away for free to anyone who wants it?

To question him about a $20 audio program is odd. Steve is really sticking it to us.

[dwixi]

Originally Posted by DerekH

I realize he doesn't do that.

Should he start giving his book away for free to anyone who wants it?

To question him about a $20 audio program is odd. Steve is really sticking it to us.

Obviusly you can't give a book away because you would lose money, maybe you could give it away in ebook version, but yeah remember radioheads most recent album they gave away for free. And people that did find it valueble and could afford it paid for it anyway, some even donated £100 just from getting the album. For someone that's already abondant with money this should be the right path.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by dwixi

Obviusly you can't give a book away because you would lose money, maybe you could give it away in ebook version, but yeah remember radioheads most recent album they gave away for free. And people that did find it valueble and could afford it paid for it anyway, some even donated £100 just from getting the album. For someone that's already abondant with money this should be the right path.

It's funny because I'm doing a research paper in marketing about the concept of "Pay what you want" which is relatively new. When the fixed costs are high, and the variable cost are low, then in some tests including restaurants, the concept of "Pay what you want" has worked in that the restaurant ended getting a higher revenue and higher overall profit when they implemented this compared to before when their items was at a fixed price. One interesting thing about the restaurant is that even though people had the option to pay $0, not a single person ever did. The study was so successful, that the restaurant owner decided to keep on offering lunch buffet for "Pay what you want" price even after the study was over.

The funny thing for me, among many is that one of my research paper I'm starting off on my research (from which I learned about the study with the restaurant), actually even briefly mentioned the Radiohead, and how Radiohead managed to make a lot of money from letting people pay what they want to download their albums..

Now, that's not to say that it'll work in all cases (the same study showed a movie theater generated less income with the Pay What You Want concept, though that may have involved the fact there was no advertisement/notice about the new temporary concept for the theater), but I find the concept very interesting to allow people to pay what they want, which is why I'm studying it now and researching marketing theories associated with it.

Nevertheless, I'm not saying Steve should do this at all. I just find it a very interesting topic, this "Pay what you want".