By Sam Fowler
The podcast currently has 7 episodes available.
Welcome to episode 7 of the Smart Marketing Outdoors podcast.
Today, we'll hear interviews from two former combat veterans and a Gold Star mom that I conducted when filming the Warrior Pursuits TV show. This past Monday was Pearl Harbor Day and I wanted to honor those veterans who served, and their families by sharing these stories of sacrifice, coping, and recovery.
First, we'll hear from Retired US Army Special Forces Warrant Officer Dan Carlton who was injured on his third deployment to Afghanistan. I filmed this interview at the Warrior Ranch in Graham, Tx for Freedom Care Warrior Project on a weekend of helicopter hog hunting.
Up next is Kaye Jordan, a Gold Star Mom - Kaye describes how she lost her son, Austin, in Afghanistan and how she copes with that loss. She was a contributor and major force in the creation of the Parker County Veterans Memorial Park.
After this interview, the Parker County Veterans Memorial Park was dedicated and opened in 2018, thanks to Kaye and the Parker County Gold Star Families.
Lastly, we'll hear from a man who was born to be a Marine. Rick Muston, USMC describes his experience in Operation Phantom Fury, the Battle of Fallujah. Rick was injured and had to leave his platoon. Being separated from his brothers in arms was the toughest part of his journey. He describes the recovery and coping with the transition when he returned home.
My guest today is combat veteran Denny Katona, founder and CEO of O.P. Veteran.
O.P. Veteran is a nonprofit organization serving the veteran community. Denny served in the U.S. Army for 19 years, including the invasion of Iraq and Operation Iraqi Freedom. After an honorable discharge in 2012, Denny founded O.P. Veteran.
Denny discusses the reason for starting O.P. Veteran and ways of connecting to the veteran community.
We also discuss marketing challenges for both nonprofit and veteran-owned businesses.
You can connect with Denny at https://opveteran.org/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/opveteran/
Jody Blackwelder is the founder and CEO of G7 Life Media, which includes Gen7 Outdoors TV on streaming TV platforms such as Roku and Amazon Fire. In this episode, I interview Jody as he discusses additional platforms he has created for content producers and influencers to share their content to grow their audience.
Jody begins the interview by discussing the reason traditional distribution outlets for outdoor TV can prove difficult for some content producers. With his latest Crusade platform, content producers can share their Youtube and Vimeo content online to grow their audience without the cost of broadcast airtime or content restrictions set by streaming TV.
Another challenge from the streaming TV side is the inability to get accurate viewership numbers to use in negotiation with sponsors.
Jody's platforms - Camo Crusade, Gun Crusade, Fish Crusade, Outdoor Crusade, Bowhunter Syndicate, Doe Diaries and Camo League allow content producers to upload content, share and grow their audience without a fee or time restriction.
Today's Guest:
Jody Blackwelder
Founder and CEO of G7 Life Media, Gen7 Outdoors TV, Camo Crusade platform
g7lifemedia.com/
In this episode, we continue the discussion of how to produce an outdoor TV show.
Step 5. Decide on Network, Airtime, Sign Contract
- Once you have secured a few pre-production sponsors it is time to take the leap and get an airtime contract. Make the commitment.
- If they like your pilot..they accept your show,..agree on timeslots and number of commercial spots and SIGN a contract for a HUGE amount of financial responsibility. Send in the first payment. No turning back!
- Online options are less of financial risk. Can air a shorter time online to get social proof.
- Contact a network/producer (Hunt Chan, Pursuit Ch, Sportsman Ch)
- You speak to the programming director as to available airtimes , time-slots, and pricing.
- Airtimes are PURCHASED by the Producer from the channel, usually giving you 3 slots per week (usually get a prime, sub-prime, one more)
- Prices per week (based on viewership if Neison rated)
- Pricing (Outdoor, Sportsman, Pursuit, Hunt) - online (CarbonTV, Gen7Outdoors, HuntChannelOnline)
- 26-week contract can cost from $65,000 to $260,000 just for the airtime.
- That gives you anywhere from 6-10 commercial spots..depending on the network ( you want to pay the least you can,..and get the most commercial spots that you can!)
- 13 episodes run 2X - or just air for a qtr (13 episodes) - WP created 7 episodes and ran 6 of them 2x
Step 6: Schedule Hunts / Pay for Hunts
- 50% deposit up-front
- exchange promotion for discounted hunts
- Connect with outfitters, find MLD or culls for WT
- Some outfitters/ranches have a product or service - trade commercial spots on the show for a hunt
- Consider taking veterans on hunts
Step 7: Build a website
- or use existing site (expense?)
- Build a WP site yourself (Episode 2)
- Capture leads for marketing and social proof
- Display sponsor page, products, etc
- Create short promos of the show
- List show times per week
Step 8: Film the Hunts
How much work is it? Listen to these examples:
Turkey - you hunt from march 6 to May 31 for turkeys..following the seasons. starting in Florida...we ended in Maine. You travel thousands of miles and are away from home most of the time.
Your days start at an hour before daylight and end an hour after dark.
The elk/bear/deer seasons are brutal. You start in august and end in January 31st. 5 months of traveling thousands of miles and your days start an hour before light and end real late!
Example - You have to haul cameras and gear up and down the Rockies chasing elk..the air so thin your sucking air trying to breathe. Spending all day hunts in treestands 25 feet above the ground for the whole month of November during the rut?
Someone has to bring all the cameras, tripods, swing arms, blinds, and treestand sets.It gets to be totally exhausting. and you have to unload them every night on those 3 day drives into your hotel..and then back down in the am, so they don't get ripped off from your truck. Then a hunt can fo bust and you have to do it again.
Warrior Pursuits TV - for me, it was a one-man show to video. Can be done but I was worn out.
Then it was time to edit all the shows. The first few were airing I was hammered in October editing shows, day and night. Didn't think I would make it.
What did I learn? Plan better and space out the work.
Step 9: Edit Shows - Tech requirements for Producer / Channel
Get familiar with network/producer requirements in the planning stage.
Step 10: Send to Producer
Continuation of Step 9
Step 11: Promote the Show
Promote on social media, website, etc.
Step 12: Watch Party
Celebrate! Then continue working on the rest of the episodes.
Today, we will dive into the world of Outdoor TV and discuss what it takes to produce, finance, and distribute an Outdoor TV show, using hunting shows as an example. In this podcast, I will reveal the financial details of my experience producing Warrior Pursuits TV on the Hunt Channel a few years back. Will give you the step-by-step process to produce your own show.
I’ll also show you a way to cut the total cost in half when producing a show along with other cost-cutting tips.
Who is this podcast for?
1. Outfitters (add revenue, promote ranch), pro-staff (wanna be on TV), guides, non-profits, veterans.
2. Product Owners - create a hunting/fishing show to highlight your product
3. Service-oriented business - create a hunting/fishing show to highlight your service
What’s the landscape of Hunting TV look like today? There are probably over 1000 shows when you consider Outdoor Ch, Sportsman Ch, Pursuit Ch, Hunt Ch. Regional OTA shows, online shows include Hunting Channel Online, CarbonTV, Gen7Outdoors, All Warriors Network and GONE TV (Great Outdoor Network Ent)- streaming apps, Roku includes MyOutdoor TV, Pursuit ON-demand and channels created by individuals.
So, with 1000’s of shows from very high end, to a guy with a camera in a tree stand, the first thing you need to ask and answer is WHY?
From time to time I’ll reference the show I produced with Freedom Care Warrior Project called Warrior Pursuits TV.
Step 1: Idea Stage (Before I start asking questions, Warrior Pursuits TV was done basically by 2 people, mostly me. A small team can do this,)
1. Idea - What is the show about? Why? You need a purpose to commit to because lots of work is required.
Questions to ask in regard to how to get started:
1) Become a prostaff for a major company by winning archery, competitive calling contests etc.
2) Shoot a top 10 P&Y or B&C animal on film and open doors for sponsorship.
3) or like the rest of us, get a camera, film your hunts and chase down sponsorship money to pay for production and airtime.
- What's the purpose of creating a show?
- Can you commit 12-18 months to it?
- From a business plan to airtime. (You can film later episodes during air time).
- Do you have on-screen talent
- Do you have access to film crew/videographer w/ video/sound/lighting experience (or hire)
- If it's self-filmed, w/o video production experience, consult professionals for advice.
- Do you have a producer and director of photography?
- Do you have a website for the show?
- Have you researched all the distribution avenues - from online to high-end channels?
Step 1: Idea Stage (cont)
- Do you have access to ranches for the hunts?
- Do you have an idea of what type of game you’ll hunt?
- Have you negotiated prices for hunts - in return for outfitter recognition? Outfitter fatigue (for veterans, ask for discounts not free)
- Do you have a marketing plan?
- Do you know what format the show will have? Interview based, reality TV type (on-camera, speak to action), etc
- Do you have a plan to get funds for airing, distribution?
- Do you have connections with business owners for possible sponsors?
- Team members - need Sales/Promotion types, MOC talent, tech talent - Insurance?
Roles:
- Project Manager (schedule hunts, organize episodes, shows are completed on time, sent to TV show producer, handle finances)
- Sales (get sponsors, network at Hunting Shows, etc)
- Technical - film the hunts, shoot interviews, video editor, sound, prep files to send to the TV show
- Talent- good on-camera, ask interview questions
- What's the end goal? Raise awareness for a cause? Provide entertainment? Other?
Step 2: Planning (Pre-production) M
In this episode, we’ll be analyzing your website. And, take it from me, someone that’s created dozens of websites over the years, no website is perfect. But there are specific best practices we can follow to improve a website.
A successful website does three things:
If you’ll stick around to the end of the podcast, I’ll give you a bonus link to get a free website analysis that will point out some areas that can be improved on your site.
Before we dive in, you may be asking,
1, 2 - If you are planning to create a new site, you want to pick a good hosting platform. That decision depends on a couple of things. Do you want a web host that gives you more control, to create multiple sites, add domains, etc WP or custom.
If that’s the case, I recommend using Bluehost?
If you want a simpler WordPress install with less control but more simplified, I recommend WIX.
Check my site - smartmarketingoutdoors.com/resources
I am an affiliate for these companies and use both. Links can be found at smartmarketingoutdoors.com/resources
I want to categorize these tips in 2 ways.
First, it’s traffic, engagement and conversion. Secondly, I want to distinguish between content and technical changes.
Content vs Technical
I expect that some of you are fine with content changes, like articles with keywords or adding video.
Then there are others who may be fine if I talk about adding meta tags and links to google analytics.
One thing I will say is that Wordpress sites are much easier to configure (from a tech standpoint) without writing any code. If you write custom code, I can help in that way also, but I will focus this podcast from a WP site standpoint.
Approach: Continuous Improvement - each day, each week, each month work on improving your site.
Welcome to the first episode of Smart Marketing Outdoors. I’m Sam Fowler and in this episode, I will discuss, at a high level, some of the topics to be covered in this podcast. Whether you’re a hunting/fishing outfitter, guide, or have a service-related or product business in the outdoor industry, you’ll want to tune in each week to hear important topics related to marketing your business.
In each episode, I will give you practical steps you can take, to increase your audience, engage, and convert more customers.
I’ll start with who I am and give you some background and how I decided to start this podcast.
I am a video producer and software engineer living in Central Texas. I’m a native Texan, growing up in the Piney Woods of East Texas. Spent my early days hunting and fishing.
The approach I’ll take in this podcast is to combine my technology experience and my connections in the hunting/fishing industry, to provide insight to help you have more success in your business.
The podcast currently has 7 episodes available.