Evolving Business Models for Content Producers

This is the sixth and likely final post in a continuing series from a technology seminar by Creative Strategies at Thomas Nelson on October 23, 2009.

The connected world is driving new business models. Here’s a few we publishers need to consider:

Free/Freemium
The consumer tests a chapter or two of our product. If they like it, they buy the whole thing. Amazon has pioneered this through its Look-Inside-The-Book feature.

Ala Carte Micro Transactions
This involves taking our content, breaking it into smaller bits and selling to the consumer just what they want. Apple pioneered this with iTunes; just buy the song you want for $0.99 instead of the whole album at $13.99 for a bunch songs you are never going to listen to anyway.

Many have argued against this as unhealthy for the music industry, but it will continue to be successful because it is a better solution for the consumer. Yes, it is convenient for the very small percentage of the US population that’s employed by the music industry, but many more benefit from this new model and thus it can’t be stopped.

We need to pioneer this in publishing. It is especially relevant to our reference and self-help books. Could we piece meal fiction with cliff hangers so the consumer can’t wait to buy the next scene?

Subscription
This business model has been talked about so much, and has been around for so long, I think some don’t give it enough credit as a viable model in the connected world. Subscriptions are most likely for the “Tribe” that is really passionate about your content and just wants to keep the facet flowing.

The beauty of the model is that it’s an annuity. It is the opposite of the Ala Carte Micro Transactions model where you only pay for exactly what you want. This is for the person who can’t get enough of our content and this is a better deal. We will take that annuity all day, but we have to keep offering enough new interesting content that they want to keep paying us that subscription.

I can see this working for nearly all of our clearly defined specific genres, including Bible, Reference, Self-Help and Fiction.

These models will take on more relevance as our online communities grow. What do you think?

3 Billion People – From Listeners to Readers to Writers

This is the fifth post in a continuing series from a technology seminar by Creative Strategies at Thomas Nelson on October 23, 2009.

The printing press turned listeners to readers. Will the Internet turn readers to writers and/or participants? (Creative Strategies Technology Seminar - October 23, 2009)

As I posted earlier, we will have 3 billion consumers connected through smart phones, computers and web-enabled TV in 2010. This creates an unprecedented opportunity in history for people to quickly and inexpensively communicate. If you doubt this will happen, consider the numbers of bloggers today:

• Over 100,000,000 blogs
• 85% of 18-35 year-olds are active posters, commentators and uploaders

The critics will cite the Despair.com wall poster:

BLOGGING: Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few.

This blog may indeed fit that description. But still, never before has it been so easy for so many to say what’s on their mind and quickly send it around the world. We can’t ignore the power of the people, because they will be heard more than ever before; no way around it. It’s now a two-way relationship; not just publishers pushing out content.

The opportunity is to harness that powerful network. My next blog will discuss how we as content producers can harness that network.

3 Billion Connected Consumers

This is the forth post in a continuing series from a technology seminar by Creative Strategies at Thomas Nelson on October 23, 2009.

What does it mean to content producers like Thomas Nelson to have 3 billion connected consumers? The consumers will want access to information and entertainment anytime and anywhere they happen to be in the format they prefer. That format could be an e-book, audio book, author video, etc.

Folks will still read traditional print books. As I have posted previously, however, there will be three dominate screens all connected to the web where people spend their time more and more:

• TV
• Cell/Smart Phone
• Computer

What are we doing at Thomas Nelson to make sure we are producing content for 3 billion connected consumers? Is it better for the author to write a book, do an audio version, to make a video or create all three? More and more, these are important conversations to have internally, with our authors and with our customers.

What does the consumer of that author’s content want? It is easier today than ever through social networking to build that direct relationship with the content consumer and make sure our message is relevant.

Think how quickly those 3 billion connected consumers can spread the word if you have a great message and that message is provided in a format they want to share? This gets really exciting.
In my next blog, I will discuss how all of these 3 billion connected readers may turn in to writers and active participants in the content.

Analog to Digital Revolution – The Next 25 Years

This is the third post in a continuing series from a technology seminar by Creative Strategies at Thomas Nelson on October 23, 2009.

Creative Strategies’ observation concerning the analog to digital revolution:

• The first 25 years was bringing digital to businesses
• The next 25 years is bringing digital to the masses

If you think about the last 25 years, so much of the digital revolution was spent making businesses more productive – e-mail, spreadsheets, ERP systems, etc. The vast majority of the technology spend was in business.

Sure, there have been advances in personal cell phones and gadgets like the iPod and iPhone. These devices, however, are just the tip of the iceberg for what’s to come. Several things are acting as a catalyst to speed up the digital consumer world:

1. The power of semiconductors continue to increase dramatically, as the devices themselves get smaller. The equivalent 600 Mhz processor in a 1999 computer is now in an iPhone.
2. These same semiconductors are in relative terms less expensive for each unit of power and functionality.
3. Net Books, small laptops, are selling for less than $400 opening up computing and the Internet to millions that previously could not afford access. 28 million Net Books will be sold this year; 37 million in 2010.
4. Technology advantages we have learned at work will naturally continue to dovetail into our personal lives.
5. The Internet is prevalent worldwide through cell phone providers, 80% of the world’s population has cell coverage.
6. Today 3.3 billion people have cell phones and it’s growing.
7. Smart phones are exploding globally; all connected to the Internet.
8. Growth in business technology spend has slowed, and it’s refocusing on the consumer.

As indicated in an earlier post, there will be 3 billion Internet-connected consumers on planet Earth next year. Think about that - 3 billion people connected. The implications for content producers like us will be huge. My next blog will discuss how this changes consumer behavior.