Seeing a genuinely great human being that happens to be incredibly talented succeed at making a living with podcasting is simply fantastic. Don McAllister is just that kind of human being. He is thorough, professional, personable and has a knack for great teaching.
He’s been podcasting since 2005, first as a hobby and as of 2006 it’s grown into one of the most high quality video podcasts around: ScreencastsOnline. If you have EVER had any questions about OSX or iOS I’m sure Don has covered it some way or another. You should subscribe to his free feed for some top-notch content, although being a premiums subscriber is truly worth it!
Fun, Fame or Profit? Why are you doing the show?
All three! I’m fortunate in that podcasting has been kind to me and I’ve been able to make a living from doing something I love. It’s hard work, but I get to use the latest Mac gadgets, have achieved a certain amount of recognition in the Mac community and am able to make a good living from my weekly show.
How has or has podcasting helped create opportunities for you?
The podcast has been an enabler in establishing myself as known figure in the Mac community. This has lead to many speaking engagements in Macworld and other leading Mac events, as well as international travel as a MacMania speaker. In recent years I’ve visited China, South Korea, Japan, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and many European countries, all as a result of my podcasting career.
Did you start off podcasting and that lead into a business or did you see podcasting as a necessary support for an existing business?
When I started, I was in full time employment and podcasting was my hobby. I eventually found a way to make the transition away from my 9 to 5 job and become a full time Podcaster.
If you charge for access to your podcasts or premium, how did your audience react when you started doing this? How did you handle this?
Initially, the podcast was completely free. In some respects, it was the audience that seeded the idea of converting to charging for premium content by offering donations. When I did launch the premium content, I kept the bulk of the content free, but over time, have transitioned to mainly premium content. I still have free content however. The audience reaction was overwhelmingly positive. In fact, I can only remember a single email from one disgruntled audience member who felt that everything should be free!
As well as subscribing to ScreencastsOnline, you should really check out Don’s FANTASTIC iOS apps geared to the newbie user: SCOTutor for the Mac, SCOTutor for Lion, SCOTutor for iPad If you have a family member or friend that’s a bit tentative about their new device, those are the apps to get them.
Interested in giving Don some feedback? You can do so by emailing Screencastsonline (at) gmail (dot) com.
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