Do sailors download videos?

[Lin and Larry]

Larry and I are having fun looking at some of the many hours of video tape we took during our last 16 years of voyaging. Thinking of putting together a program somewhat like the slide show presentations we have made in the past, i.e. answering the questions folks ask us us about cruising. Several folks are trying to convince us to stream this and our previous programs on line for buyers to download. We are neophytes to this type of thing, reluctant to jump in until we know more. Question for anyone here who has info, do you or your friends actually buy and download complete programs? or do you prefer to order or purchase already in the box ones? How do people find programs on line? how much do folks pay on average? I know Tory Salvia at www.thesailingchannel.tv produced a very nice preview of our Storm tactics DVD and streamed it on line and got some hits and so did eyetube - but how does that translate to paying for our costs? Just looking for ideas and info.
Thanks in advance,
Lin
www.landlpardey.com

[k1vsk]

Lin
I think youre name recognition alone would produce alot of interest regardless of the medium you choose. Certainly there are lots of peolpe here on Sailnet who obviously are computer/internet savvy so as to avail themselves of that option and would pay for the privilege and learning experience. Frankly, I don't know why you wouldn't pitch this idea to the National Geographic channel or other cable network(s) from whom you could do better, get wider viewing and share more of your knowledge as others have done on a limited scale.
Whatever you do, you have my attention

[bestfriend]

I agree guys, think bigger, then make it available on DVD. Good luck, we will keep an eye out.

[xort]

Lin & Larry
I have a contact at A & E if you are interested. PM me.
But I have found that most of the major cable networks have taken a 'not invented here' attitude as of about 2 years ago. And the minor networks don't have much money.

[Sailormann]

Personally I will pay to download things but have never ordered a DVD from anyone, have only ever bought 2 or 3 in my life. It's a little time-consuming to go to the post office or courier office to pick it up, as it seems things always get delivered when we are out.

I would definitely pay to download your video presentations. I think a lot of other people would as well. Amazon.com may be a good portal to you to work through. They have the servers and e-commerce protocol established, and their site generates significant volume.

You should be able to come to a licensing agreement with them, whereby they pay you a certain amount per download. You would of course, retain copyright to everything. Be aware though that once you have made the digital product available, it will be copied and a certain amount of sharing will occur.

You have a lot of goodwill associated with your name though, and I think that if you try to keep the download fees as low as possible, people will do their best to support you rather than pirating your product.

Establishing a facility of your own would cost tens of thousands of dollars, and require constant routine maintenance and troubleshooting. You would receive 100% of the revenue from each download, but it might take a long time to turn a profit.

Good luck and post here to let us know if things should work out !

[sailaway21]

Lin and Larry,
I recently purchased and viewed a documentary called, "What Black Men Think", that I heard about on C-Span, from Amazon. Apparently the dvd was produced in limited quantities and marketed exclusively on Amazon. By the time I heard about it, it was sold out and I had to wait a few weeks for more dvd's to be produced. I suspect that the above poster's points are entirely correct and that the method I mention would reach your targeted audience better than almost any other. One of the huge advantages to amazon is that anyone purchasing anything sailing related would receive a "you may be interested in" e-mail regarding newly listed sailing literature/dvd. This would also allow you to pay for your efforts, with a small production run, see how it is received, and go from there. Me? I'm ready to buy now! (g)

[bestfriend]

What you don't say is what you are trying to accomplish. That would be helpful in determining what to do.

[Sailormann]

... faster and less expensive than ordering the DVD ...

http://www.amazon.com/Unbox-Video-Do...pf_rd_i=507846

[cockeyedbob]

Lin & Larry ... been reading your articles since the late '70s ... bought a few books and a couple of DVDs ... at 28000bps, Bob prefers DVD with USPS delivery.

[Valiente]

Lin/Larry:

I would suggest that you consider making streaming videos that are promotional in nature at the relatively low resolution appropriate for streaming. For instance, if you have a tip or technique that is now widely accepted in the sailing community (the buckets with the flap bottoms to reduce rolling comes to mind), you could digitize that "tip" in order to promote the DVD you wish to sell. Think of it as an incentive to learn more.

I would also suggest you stream them on YouTube.com rather than on your own site, because then you aren't paying for the bandwidth. A simple overlay of the website name on the "sample" video, or a card saying "for more, see our website" at the end of the "tip clip" might generate more hits for you and consequently more sales of the DVDs/books, which I presume is your goal.

Large corporations are frequently up in arms about music piracy and unauthorized videos, etc., but from personal experience I can say that the vast majority of my book, music and video purchases over the last five years have come from hearing a download, seeing a clip or reading an excerpt from a book I thought would meet my interests. In other words, the ostensible "giveaway" led directly to a purchase of an artist or writer I would otherwise have never heard of, or realized might be of interest to me.

This is why I can see that, particularly for the low-volume, special-interest content creator (in your case books and videos), what may seem like a freebie is actually just another marketing tool, and one with the potential to be particularly effective.