-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Pearce KN4AQ <kn...@arvideonews.com>
To: kn...@arvideonews.com
Sent: Wed, Aug 26, 2009 2:07 pm
Subject: New DVDs from ARVN: The Dayton Collection 2009
Hello, ARVN Customers!
First, the news:
We've just released a new 3-DVD set of videos from the Dayton Hamvention® 2009.
Details - and some fun preview video - are on the ARVN web site
(www.arvideonews.com), so I'll be brief here.
DVD-1 has our annual TOUR (well, I guess it's bi-annual, since I didn't get
around to editing last year's TOUR. Jeff gives me grief for that, but the
footage we shot then is included this year. Also on DVD-1 are the FCC Forums
from 2008 (good-bye Riley) and 2009 (hello, Laura). And the ARRL Forum for
2009, with a good review of the newly UN-redacted FCC staff information on BPL
interference.
DVD-2 has the TAPR and SDR (Software Defined Radio) Forums.
DVD-3 is all D-STAR, the Friday Forum and Friday Night Event.
That's all for the news. The rest is just me rambling... I won't be offended if
you skip it...
And now, a request of ARVN customers: many of you have told me how much you
like our videos, and that you hope we keep making more. Well, here's the deal
with that. With four years experience in20making and marketing our DVDs, I can
now tell you that it's just barely worth it, at least financially. The
emotional payback is huge, but Burger King won't take that in payment for a
double-Whopper.
In cash terms, the programs are mostly paying their expenses (travel,
tape-stock, duplication), and they've paid off some of the equipment (camera,
audio, editing system and software). But they haven't made a dent in my time.
I've put in nearly eight weeks full-time editing the Dayton 3-DVD set. How much
do you make in eight weeks? How much should I? (I'll give you some sales facts
and figures below that you might find interesting.)
Enough whining. What can you do to help?
Get the word out!
Here's why: most hams have never heard of ARVN, aside from a few (very nice)
reviews and New Product announcements in QST, CQ and a few other publications.
We need to reach more hams. I've seen that a small, but significant enough
number of hams become customers after they see what we've got. It's very
satisfying to see that at a hamfest booth! But getting hams to take a first or
second look at ARVN videos is very difficult. We're all busy, and we've all got
a lot built-in sales resistance. Most advertising is prohibitively expensive
for this small operation.
Word of mouth (or word-of-keyboard) has been our most effective "advertising."
It's your personal endorsement, and it's heard by people who know you. Now and
then I'll see sales spike for one DVD or another a few weeks after the initial
release and "rush." When that happens, a little investigation shows that
someone placed a message on a mailing list somewhere, and BOOM, DVD sales take
off again (relatively).
Here's how: Actually, I think you know it already. If you like ARVN videos and
want to help us grow to sustainability (and make me rich... kidding), just use
your "circle of influence" to tell people about us. Clubs, mailing lists,
on-air discussion (OK as long as you don't work for me). Whatever.
Be gentle. Nobody likes a pushy salesman. You know the product. It doesn't take
persuasion, just exposure. Point them to the demos on the web site, or show a
DVD if it's convenient. You can make a "cold" announcement ("Hey, everybody -
I've just seen this cool video I think you might like"). Or tie it in to a
discussion that you come across ("I found this video that's great for
introducing your club to D-STAR").
When I started ARVN, the chorus echoed the mantra: hams are cheap, you can't
succeed. There's too much free video on the web. I didn't argue. I couldn't,
because I more or less agreed. But I had to try. Now, I see the possibility of
success. I see your notes of encouragement, and a certain level of actual sales
(and repeat business) that tells me that it's worth trying a little longer and
harder.
And... asking for help.
Some hard numbers for those interested:
My biggest seller is D igital Voice for Amateur Radio. No surprise there, it's
an awesome program, if I do say so myself. I've sold 224 copies so far,
grossing not quite $6000. Expenses ran around $3000 (travel to Dallas,
Alabama, Chicago, St. Louis, 300 copies at about $2 each, 30 DVCam tapes at $12
each). Editing took 13 weeks full-time. Have you ever looked at the list of
credits after a movie or TV show? I did this all by myself! Hmmm, no catering
budget... No Best Boy, whatever they do.
Next on the hit parade are the TAPR 2008 DCC DVDs. That's sold 53 6-DVD sets,
and 110 individual disks (428 total DVDs). Gross is $5900, also after about 12
weeks of editing. Travel expenses were lower, since it was a single trip to
Chicago, but duplication and tape costs were higher.
The 2008 D-STAR meetings at Dayton: 102 copies. The Charlotte D-STAR seminar:
158 copies. The SWR seminar: 116 copies. The ARDF Fox Hunt documentary: 70
copies (hey, it deserves better than that!).
My conclusions: the "blockbuster" documentaries and "how-to" seminars are where
most of the audience is, but not by so much that's it's a no-brainer to
concentrate on them. And the "blockbusters" (I'll keep that in quotes - 224
copies doesn't make most blockbuster lists) are also the most expensive to
produce.
Publicity is still the missing link. Maybe everyone who would want a D-STAR
Forum DVD already has one - my access to that market is pretty good. And TAPR's
2008 DCC might be tapped out, after=2 0sitting on their home page since
February.
But you don't have to want to buy a digital radio to get something out of the
"Digital Voice" DVD. I think every radio club in the country (in the world?)
should play that DVD. That would be maybe 500 copies at least. It could get
there, if they knew about it.
I'll stop now, as I'm reminding myself of Wayne Green! Bottom line - your help
will be very much appreciated. Your reward will be having more ARVN videos...
and if this is even reasonably successful, we'll get some competition with more
professionally produced videos to enjoy and learn from. This is America!
73,
Gary KN4AQ
ARVN: Amateur Radio//Video News
Gary Pearce KN4AQ
508 Spencer Crest Ct.
Cary, NC 27513
kn...@arvideonews.com
919-380-9944
www.ARVideoNews.com
