Influx

Delegates and speakers, like Influx, attending The Advertising and Marketing International Network’s (AMIN) annual conference, got the chance to learn about Rocketboom from its charismatic host and writer, Amanda Condon.

Amanda explained that the cult video blog now gets 350,000 downloads a day, double what its was two months back. She told us how founder Andrew Barron formed the company on a hunch that video blogs would become the next big thing, so he placed an ad on Craigslist for an actress/writer, Amanda got the job after several auditions.

Amanda believes there are several factors behind Rocketboom?s success.

1. Consistency — it’s important to be a daily show with a regular time slot
2. It breaks new stories — they know the audience will not tolerate a story if it has already appeared on Slashdot
3. It has it’s own distinctive style for fun, not fake news
4. It knows its target of early tech adopters
5. It grew by word of mouth, not advertising
6. Being part of the Yahoo vlogging community helped it grow

For an 18-month-old company, Rocketboom has achieved a great deal, but it is still focused on growth and would like to attract 1 million daily viewers. The quality of audience is starting to attract advertisers including Earthlink and some soon to be announced deal from a couple of very big name advertisers. Interestingly, Rocketboom created the ads for Earthlink, rather than simply running existing spots.

The brand has plans for international expansion and has already moved into the Japanese market simply by using subtitles. They now get an average of 20,000 daily downloads from that market. Advertisers are also interested in the brand’s international potential, Intel are working with them to help educate consumers in Latin America about blogs and vlogs.

As the brand expands internationally, it’s looking to hire more correspondents. It currently has 11, including one in Kenya. Amanda explained how they are looking for individuals with a unique voice who can write, edit, and shoot all their own material.

Aside from advertising, Rocketboom is also looking to generate revenue from a subscription model. They will shortly announce a premium service costing $4 /month.

Rocketboom’s success is a great example of how technology has allowed individuals to create their own media networks. With original content and a unique point of view, Rocketboom looks set to capitalize on its initial success, perhaps even becoming a real network with dozens of Amanda wannabes all giving us quirky perspectives from their worlds.