For the past couple of weeks, this poll has been hiding on the sidelines, but today we’ve decided to bring it to the forefront of your attention. We’d love for you to take a second to help guide us where to go from here, because we’re always looking to improve, grow, and find better ways for interaction amongst our listeners and readers.
First and foremost, we want to make it clear that we have no plans to put The Cinefessions Podcast behind a paywall. We understand that we do the podcast because we enjoy doing it, not to make a living off it or anything radical like that That said, there are costs associated with running any podcast in the way that we do, and we’ve been doing The Cinefessions Podcast on a weekly basis now for over 80 episodes. We love doing it, and we want you guys to be able to listen to us in the same way you do now with no charge to you.
However, I’m a firm believer that we should always be striving to be better, and to push ourselves harder. That’s how The Cinefessions Podcast became the weekly show that it is, instead of the monthly plan we started with. We wanted to do more, and we wanted to be better, and that came with consistency. So in that spirit, we’ve decided to reach out to you guys to see if there would be any interest at all in having us expand what we’re doing here at Cinefessions.
As someone who personally contributes to multiple Patreon pages every month, I understand that what makes that service appealing – or, in other words, why I give them my hard earned money every month – is that they’re offering me more access to things I enjoy. Of course I found their Patreon pages because I enjoy their free content, but I pay to get more because what they have as an extra appeals to me, and I know I’ll enjoy it as much, if not more, than the free content they offer. So that’s why it’s important for us, if we do decide to turn to Patreon for help in the future, to offer you something extra – something you can’t otherwise get from us – for your donation.
The poll asks, simply, “which of the following exclusive, bonus shows would be worth your $3 per month, if any”? We just wanted to give a quick rundown of what each selection might look like to help see if anything like this would be of worth to you. Note that the options are listed in alphabetical order.
Option 1 – Goosebumps Book Series Podcast (2 eps/mo)
This would be a podcast where I drag one of our old co-hosts, Chris, back into the podcasting game, and we review through the entire Goosebumps book series that we all loved as kids, starting with #1, and going through to the end of the original series. We’d likely focus on a couple books each episode, and do about two episodes each month.
Option 2 – New Release Movie Podcast (1-2 eps/mo)
This option would involve the three of us heading to the theatre once a month to review a new release, which we generally shy away from on the main show. This option would likely start at one a month until we reached a certain donation amount, and then would move to two from there.
Option 3 – Pro Wrestling Podcast (1-2 eps/mo)
This is more of a niche option, but Marc and I would attempt to tackle something pro wrestling related. Though we likely wouldn’t follow the current WWE product for multiple reasons, we could look at, for example, Lucha Underground, and podcast through the first full season of that, or take a look at the Monday Night Wars, watching each week and debating which product was better. Or perhaps do something completely different, looking at a specific independent promotion. Really, the options are vast in this one, but it would likely be a show that we attempt to release once to twice each month, depending on what we decide to podcast about in the zany world of professional wrestling.
Option 4 – Specific Television Series Podcast (2-4 eps/mo)
This option would be us looking at a specific television series, one episode at a time, and working our way through a whole season, or even an entire series, depending on what we think would be best. For example, we would review through the entire Twin Peaks series, or season one of Game of Thrones. The options are almost endless for what we could do here, but it would involve taking a specific show and podcasting through it weekly. We would try to release two to four episodes per month with this option, but would want to shoot closer to four per month for a really long series.
Option 5 – Video Game Based YouTube Show (2-4 eps/mo)
This would likely be a solo show, at least at the start, where I try to play through a certain game on stream, and then post it to YouTube. I’d do my best to post these on a weekly basis, but they may end up being a longer, bi-weekly show instead. This one will be pretty free range as well because my gaming tastes change on a dime!
Option 6 – Not Interested in a $3/mo Donation for Exclusive Content
This option is pretty self-explanatory. If none of these sound worth your $3/month, let us know. Won’t hurt our feelings at all, but just lets us know to keep searching for something that would be worth your time and support.
So, please, give the poll a quick response and let us know how you would like to see Cinefessions grow from where we are today. Even better, if you have any other ideas for us, please let us know in the comments below, or by contacting us on twitter @Cinefessions, or emailing us at contact[at]cinefessions[dot]com.
Thanks for helping us take Cinefessions to the next level!
Branden has been a film fan since he was young, roaming the halls of Blockbuster Video, trying to find the grossest, scariest looking VHS covers to rent and watch alone in the basement. It wasn’t until recently, though, that Branden started seeking out the classics of cinema, and began to develop his true passion for the art form. Branden approaches each film with the unique perspective of having studied the art from the inside, having both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in acting. He has been a film critic since 2010, and has previously written for Inside Pulse Movies, We Love Cult, and Diehard Gamefan. His biggest achievement as a film critic, to date, has been founding Cinefessions and turning it from a personal blog to a true film website, housing hundreds of film and television reviews, and dozens of podcasts.
