New Year's Plea
Hi everyone. This is my first annual state of the podcast message and a plea for help.
Litreading ended 2021 with 100 published episodes, and my goal for 2022 is to add between 40 and 50 more classic short stories. I also want you to know that I read and take to heart all of your reviews and comments. I try to find a way to do all I can to do what I am able in response.
One of the biggest areas of complaint is about the ads in the podcast. I know you hate commercials. I do, too. That’s why I pay extra for all of my TV services. I realize that there is no way to enjoy great programming without some cost to me. There are only two choices for most media, listener paid, or advertiser paid.
I paid all of the costs associated with these podcasts for a while. Last year I decided that the podcast needed to stand on its own, so I weighed the options. I soon realized that it was unlikely that I could get 100 people to consistently pay $5 a month for a podcast (which is about breakeven). My logic was based on the fact that I have only received 45 Apple Podcast reviews over 3 years, and they cost nothing more than a little time.
The only other option, advertising. The only way to get advertisers is through a placement service that targets ads to listeners and, over which, I have little control. I did, however, specifically ask that no ads interrupt the story.
I know this is far from a perfect solution, but I’m fresh out of ideas. The only eventual hope for ad elimination is for Litreading to grow more popular. There are only two ways to accomplish that: I can either spend more money to buy commercials or implore you to help.
Here is what you can do:
Share a link to your favorite podcasts with friends and on your social media channels.
Here is the link to share: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/litreading-classic-short-stories/id1438044265
If you don’t already, please subscribe (particularly through Apple podcasts, they’re the biggest)
If you previously subscribed on Apple podcasts, please unsubscribe and subscribe again. I have moved to the Fiction category, which means my ranking has been reset. Litreading needs to crack the top 100.
Leave a review (again, on Apple podcasts, as they are the place for podcast reviews).
Finally, if you want to help me buy some advertising, consider a small donation at litreading.com.
Thanks for listening. That’s it for my annoying pledge drive.