I see 2 things ahead:
- monetizing the blog and other digital pubs
- becoming a publishing company
The former is to create cash flow for the latter. If I can secure decent cash flow then I can get the mobility and leverage to get some stuff done. In the mean time, I need to work both top down and bottom up:
- Writers = customers
- Readers = customers
- Industry people who believe in me = promotional allies
According to Seth Godin’s interview, as a publishing company I ought to focus on building the channel (not the technology — that is taking care of itself just fine).
The channel as I see it is the conduit between writers and readers. I need to make it easy for them to connect between each other and themselves. So, reader-reader and writer-reader.
Unanswered questions:
- Where do I get readers from? Is this the purpose my blog is serving? Am I trying to groom writers?
- Where will writers get their readers? Is this another function of the blog? To train writers how and where to cultivate readers?
- Am I talking about books or blogs or both? Deeper question: what is content?
How will I make money at this?
What is a channel? Say for example, an adventure travel. I have someone in mind. He’s great writer but with no audience and no income from his writing. Ideally, I would approach Writer with offer to:
- help him write a book: conceptualize the angle, research the angle
- promote him: across my platform
- sell his book: as a Kindle / ePub / iPad book? Or proprietary app?
What I don’t get about Godin’s talk is his mention that “all publishers are are choosers…no editing, chopping down trees, etc.” Doesn’t someone need to do those things though?
I think I need to write this down in a notebook because I need to make a diagram.