Growing TWiT Beyond Leo Laporte

The number one reason I took a job at TWiT was because Leo Laporte wanted to grow TWiT beyond Leo Laporte.  Leo wanted to serve the tech community and planned to see the tech community taken care of long after he was gone.  In 2010 TWiT was Leo Laporte, at least all of the income generated by TWiT was from Leo's shows.

It is 2013 and based on the first nine months of this year Leo's shows are still responsible for 85% of the income generated at TWiT.  It was my professional goal to have Leo's shows responsible for less than half of the income generated by TWiT by the end of 2013 and to provide Leo with a more balanced life.  I have clearly missed both of these goals.  As CEO I am responsible for the business direction of TWiT and I own my work, my victories, my mistakes, and my missed goals.

Currently I am planning 2014 and it is essential I take time to reflect on my work, the direction of TWiT, and what I need to do to make TWiT successful.  In January of 2014 TWiT is launching two new shows and without Leo hosting them.  The first is a programming show starring Father Robert Ballecer and Shannon Morse.  The second is an evening news show starring Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar, Jason Howell, Father Robert Ballecer, and Shannon Morse.  I have also modified TWiT's programming schedule to provide Leo with two days off in a row and shifted his hosting duties on The Giz Wiz to Chad Johnson and Before You Buy to Father Robert Ballecer.

We will see what 2014 holds for TWiT and what realistic goals I can set to move Leo's company forward and transform it into a network.

  

Advertising Sales at TWiT - Has TWiT Turned Down New Advertisers?

TWiT has and will continue to turn down advertisers.  Why?  Because Leo and I do not believe in their products/services OR their products/services do not fit our audience OR we have current advertising partners with similar or the same products/services.


Content drives TWiT, not money.  Money allows us to hire exceptional hosts, build sets, improve our website and push our network out to every possible platform available but sales is not our number one focus.  I actually drive my sales team crazy because I say no more often than I say yes to new advertisers.  

TWiT has been selective about advertisers since it's very first netcast.  Leo did not want to consider advertisers for TWiT and wanted to create content and have it solely supported by audience contributions.  When Leo decided to allow minimal advertisers on his network he was selective from day one.  Why?  Because he only wants to consider advertisers who his audience would be passionate about and because he did not want to annoy them with too many ads.


My best advice when considering ads on your network is to make sure it makes sense for your audience.  If not, walk away and find another way to make money.  Put your content first and serve your audience first.  Money will follow.

Advertising Sales at TWiT Part Three - Why it Works

In addition to our advertising format, our sales team works carefully with our partners on messaging, show selection, offers/discounts and marketing campaigns.  It's imperative that the billboard grabs our audience and entices them to hear more about our partner's product/service.  We believe in full disclosure.  If a partner requires our audience to provide information about themselves before revealing pricing, plans, etc. then we require our partner to build a custom landing page for our audience and fully disclose pricing.  Transparency is critical.  The interstitial ad includes details about the product/service, why our audience should consider it, pricing, and what our audience receives if they buy/use their product/service.  We work closely with our partners on offer codes and urls and ask our partners to consider free trials on services and discounts on products.  We request they keep all offers intact for the duration of their ad campaign.  Consistent offers show our audience that our partners care about our network and stand behind their own product/service.

Advertising Sales at TWiT Part Two - TWiT's Recipe

Here is the TWiT recipe for ad format on a show.  Each partner receives two ads and the first ad position is also called a billboard.  The billboard is read at the top of the show and tends to be 10-15 seconds long which provides our audience with a brief overview of our partner's product/service.  The second ad position is also know as the interstitial ad and we position these ads to be 1 - 2 minutes long.  However most interstitial ads are a lot longer because hosts have personal experiences with the product/service and other hosts on the show contribute their experiences too.  Our advertising recipe works on our network and it takes a lot of our time educating partners on our format and how messaging works with our audience.

Petaluma River, photo by Lisa Kentzell

Advertising Sales at TWiT Part One - How Does it Work?

I am constantly asked about TWiT's advertising sales and the number one question I am asked is how does it work?  Before I can dive into how, we have to start with who we work with and why.

First, we only works with quality partners who have integrity and products/services we believe in.  Our goal at TWiT is to find partners who are interested in establishing long-term relationships with us.  Leo and I review all potential partners which includes researching the company and its founders.  We both have to be 100% satisfied with a new partner before we will do business with them. Why?  Because our integrity means everything to us.

Second, we are extremely selective in how many ads we are willing to place on our shows.  Our advertising strategy consists of two partner ads on a show, we do not exceed four partners on any given show, and we spend a lot of time on the messaging with our partners to critique it for our audience. Why do we do this?  Because it works!  We have tested advertising campaigns and audience recall.  We discovered there was an 80% increase in ad recall if we had two ads for each partner on a show.  Our two ad process combined with fewer ads on a show increase the effectiveness of our ads.  It's our goal at TWiT to deliver quality products/services that our audience wants while limiting the number of ads in a show.

Wisdom is the Best Advice

Early in my career, when I was building my very first team I was challenged with growing pains, multiple personalities and felt I was faced with more challenges than I thought I was capable of handling.  One of my strongest players on my team saw me stressed out in my office and gave me the best advice that I still use today when faced with obstacles and she said "Don't pray for solutions, pray for wisdom".  She did not elaborate but I stopped being overwhelmed and reached out to my mentors who helped mold me and my professional career and bounced ideas off them.  I quickly learned that I needed to gain perspective and experience by running my new team and trying new ideas, testing proven ones and learning how to become a successful manager.  Did I make mistakes?  Absolutely!  Did I learn? Yes, this is wisdom.

How I Work with Leo Laporte

I was inspired to write about my business perspective as I am today, and how I work with Leo Laporte.  If you work with me then you already know that I am a leader who is type A, blunt, precise, passionate, loud, fearless, positive, aggressive, and I tend to be a top-down person.  I like to see the big picture, understand the goal/vision and then work down through the details.  I also operate in one of two speeds, fast or faster.  When I wake up in the morning I make a cup of coffee, grab my laptop, iPad, cell phone and TV remove and sit on my stationary bike and go to work.  My goal is to bike ten miles while I answer my emails, finalize my project list, reflect, read the paper, catch up on social media, watch TV, and play a few games with friends online.  This is my only private and uninterrupted time that I get and it's my time to think and focus.

How do I work with Leo Laporte?  With passion, commitment and respect for his vision.  I am a force, I drive, I produce and I like to move quickly.  Leo operates differently than me and he moves at a slower pace, reflects, considers and looks for organic solutions which is completely opposite of how I work.  It frustrates me yet intrigues me.  I still marvel at Leo's wisdom and brilliance and he has opened my eyes to new perspectives and approaches that were missing in my arsenal of experience.  However I opened Leo's eyes to the realm of running and growing a vital business, specifically a start-up in uncharted territory.  We quickly realized that we complement each other and that we are a powerful team.

Do we debate, argue, disagree, battle?  Of course we do!  When I met Leo he was surrounded by "yes" people who either worshipped him or who did not speak up to him.  When I joined the team I challenged Leo.  It was his job to present his vision about TWiT and it was my job to paint it.  We don't always have the same opinion and there have been heated debates but we always maintain respect for each other and for the business.  We want quality shows and the best technology news we can provide our audience with while working towards our goal to be the next CNN in Tech!