BusinessRnD · draft v2 · built 2026-10-21 06:15 UTC
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Best buyers: companies that already film a show and have no editor.
How big the lead pool is. Numbers come from the Podcast Index database (17 Oct) and a live sample of 59 business feeds:
| Step | Shows |
|---|---|
| English, episode in the last 30 days, episodes 20+ min, 10+ episodes | 146,194 |
| …in Business or Technology | ~28,000 |
| …with a company-domain email in the feed (47% of sample) | ~13,000 |
| …that also link to YouTube (46% of sample) | ~6,000 |
| …in the US, or UK companies | ~3,000–6,000 (est.) |
Enough for 2–3 months of sending. Webinar-only companies are extra (not measured).
Signals of need: 2+ long uploads in 30 days; at most 1 upload under 3 minutes (YouTube's Shorts limit); 2+ week gaps between clips; titles like "Clip from Ep. 12".
| Source | We use it for | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Podcast Index (daily dump and free API) | The show list, categories, activity | Descriptive user-agent; documented endpoints only |
| The show's own RSS feed | Email, website, YouTube link, transcript, audio file | Public by design |
| YouTube Data API | Checking one show at a time: long uploads vs Shorts | ~2–3 units per show out of 10,000/day. Keep only a yes/no flag, for at most 30 days. Its policy bans pooling data across channels and building "derived metrics", so no ranked lead database |
| Apple Search API | Looking up feed links only | ~20 calls/min; it is meant for store search, not lead lists |
| Spotify | Nothing | Terms ban building databases of Spotify content |
| YouTube pages, YouTube RSS, About-page emails | Never | The terms ban bots; robots.txt blocks the feeds |
The RSS owner email. Legal for US recipients, individuals included, if the email follows CAN-SPAM (marked as an ad, postal address, opt-out). Legal for UK companies, not UK sole traders, Germany or Poland. Ethically it is a last resort: Spotify says it exists so directories can verify ownership, and Apple's current feed guide no longer lists it. Use the website or company address first; if the RSS email is the only route, send 2 emails at most and say where you found it.
flowchart TD
subgraph S1["1 · Before they pay"]
direction LR
A["Detect a B2B show with no Shorts"] --> B["3 captioned clips from its RSS audio"]
B --> C["Private page with titles and calendar, plus a short email"]
C --> D{"Reply or chat"}
D -->|"Sends the video"| E["Video versions in 24 h"]
end
subgraph S2["2 · They buy"]
direction LR
F["Payoneer link or wire"] --> G["2-minute intake"]
end
subgraph S3["3 · Every month"]
direction LR
H["Each episode: clips in 48 h"] --> I["Approve in the portal"]
I --> J["Folder, or we post"]
J --> K["Monthly note and invoice"]
K --> H
end
S1 --> S2
S2 --> S3
The sample rule. Use only files the show publishes for download: its RSS audio or a direct MP4. YouTube forbids downloads, even for a private sample. Almost no business feed carries video (0 of 59 sampled; 0.9% of the pool), so the default sample is 3 captioned clips on the episode audio (cover art, animated captions, waveform) plus timestamps for the video cuts. Video versions follow within a day once they send the file. The test measures whether this sells.
| Platform | How we post | Rule that shapes it |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube Shorts | "Editor (Limited)" role, or their permission for our upload app | Can upload and publish; can't see revenue or delete published videos. 100 uploads/day per app. No bots clicking through YouTube Studio |
| TikTok | Their account connected to Buffer or Metricool | TikTok rejects apps built only to "upload contents to the account(s) you or your team manages", and posts from unapproved apps stay private. No logo of ours on clips |
| LinkedIn page | "Content admin" role, or the scheduler | That role can create and manage posts |
Consent and copyright: they own the content; our terms grant a licence to edit and, only with per-platform opt-in, to post. Batches are approved, or auto-post after 48 h unless they object. Guest consent stays with them (we offer a guest-approval link). Sources are deleted after 60 days, samples after 14.
| Plan | Price | What's in it | Per clip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $400/mo | 10 clips from 1–2 episodes, branded captions, titles, calendar, folder and portal | $40 |
| Growth | $650/mo | 20 clips from up to 4 episodes, cover frames, titles, calendar | $32.50 |
| Done-for-you | $900/mo | 30 clips, posted to YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn and TikTok, 4 episode thumbnails, monthly note | $30 |
| One-off packs and add-ons | Price |
|---|---|
| Back-catalogue pack: 10 clips from 3 past episodes | $350 |
| Launch or webinar pack: 30 clips from up to 10 recordings, plus 5 LinkedIn carousels | $900 |
| Episode thumbnails | $25 each, 4 for $90 |
| Newsletter or blog post from the transcript | $150 per episode |
| LinkedIn carousel from an episode | $60 |
Where the price sits:
| Option | Price | What it really costs the buyer |
|---|---|---|
| DIY tools (OpusClip, Klap, quso, Descript) | $14–65/mo | Their own hours picking, fixing captions, titling, posting |
| Us | $400–900/mo | 10 minutes approving a batch |
| Human editing subscriptions (Vidchops, Vidpros) | $495–1,000/mo | Vidchops: 16 shorts for $495, plus $95 for subtitles |
| Podcast editing agency | $980–1,800/mo | Full episodes, not clips |
Why done-for-you wins. Tools pick clips; they don't decide, brand, title or post. B2B marketers and founder-hosts pay to make the chore disappear. You lose people who enjoy editing, shows with an editor, and per-clip shoppers (Klap: ~$0.10 a clip). Sell "finished, on-brand, posted weekly"; mention AI in the terms, not the headline.
Margins (est.). A $650 client nets ~$575–595 after ~6% tax, 1–4% payment fees and ~$5–10 compute (transcription $0.15–0.21 per audio hour, or free on your local faster-whisper; moment-picking on your subscription in the pilot, per-use non-Anthropic models at volume). Bill monthly by Payoneer payment request; offer a prepaid quarter at 2.75 months.
| Input | Minimal path (default) | Full path (2-minute form) |
|---|---|---|
| Source | RSS or YouTube link | Shared folder or Zoom/Riverside link for video originals |
| Brand | Colours taken from the cover art | Logo, colours, fonts, 1 of 3 caption styles from the sample page |
| Banned topics | Standard brand-safety filter | Their list: pricing, roadmap, legal matters, competitors, swearing |
| Guests | Host approves the batch | Each guest gets a preview link; unanswered after 3 days means the clip is swapped |
| Posting | Calendar only, 3 a week | Platforms, days, call to action, sponsor tags |
| Access | None | YouTube Editor (Limited), LinkedIn Content admin, scheduler connection |
Email only: plain text, one link, no tracking pixel, 20–49 sends per inbox a day from separate domains. No YouTube comments, no LinkedIn automation.
Day 0 · "3 clips from {episode}"
Hi {name}, I cut three clips from your episode with {guest}, with captions, titles and a 4-week posting plan: {link}. Yours either way. Weekly plans start at $400/month.
{you}, {brand} · {postal address} · Commercial offer. Reply "stop" and I won't write again.
Day 3 · "Re: 3 clips"
Post the {mm:ss} clip first; it works without context. You posted {n} episodes this month and no Shorts. Send the video file and I'll make video versions within 24 hours.
Day 8 · "Taking the page down Friday" (company addresses only)
Your sample page comes down on {date}. Reply "later" and I'll check back next quarter.
The sample page: 3 clips with "why this moment" and title options, a calendar, caption styles, plan cards with Payoneer buttons, AI chat, video upload and "delete my sample". No login, hidden from search, gone after 14 days.
Replies. A disclosed AI agent sorts replies, answers from a playbook, sends the pay link and applies "stop" everywhere within a minute. Voice is optional. You see only refunds, copyright questions, deals over $1,000 and angry replies.
Illustrative requests, not real quotes.
B2B marketing manager, no time for another login.
How we answer: Intake asks for YouTube Editor (Limited) and a scheduler connection for LinkedIn and TikTok. Weekly batches auto-post 48 h after landing in the portal unless rejected.
What it costs them: Done-for-you, $900/month.
Interview-show host.
How we answer: Each guest gets a preview link to approve or swap. No answer in 3 days means a host-only moment instead; the calendar shifts 2–5 days.
What it costs them: Included in every plan.
Founder: "Why pay you $650?"
How we answer: Their tool's top 3 picks next to ours, with titles and calendar, and the hours they still spend fixing and posting. Then a small first step.
What it costs them: $350 back-catalogue pack, then Starter at $400/month.
B2B demand-gen lead: 10 webinars, launch on the 15th.
How we answer: Zoom links in a folder, banned topics marked (pricing, roadmap). 30 clips and 5 LinkedIn carousels in 5 working days, scheduled around the launch.
What it costs them: Launch pack, $900 one-off.
Church volunteer; the sermon goes up Sunday.
How we answer: We pull the feed Sunday night (video where their platform publishes it) and deliver captioned clips with scripture references by Monday 9:00 local time.
What it costs them: Starter, $400/month.
gantt title S5 kill test from 21 Oct 2026 dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD axisFormat %d %b tickInterval 1week section Build Detector and RSS reader :a1, 2026-10-21, 4d Sample builder and sample page :a2, 2026-10-21, 5d Measure no-Shorts share on 300 shows :a3, 2026-10-24, 3d 30 internal samples through QA :a4, 2026-10-25, 3d Inbox warm-up :a5, 2026-10-21, 14d section Send 200 US B2B contacts :b1, 2026-10-28, 7d 400 more incl coaches and churches :b2, 2026-11-04, 7d AI replies and pay links :b3, 2026-10-28, 21d section Deliver and decide First paid batches :c1, 2026-11-06, 11d Go or kill :milestone, m1, 2026-11-17, 0d
| Checkpoint | Go | Fix and extend 2 weeks | Kill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internal samples shipping as-is | ≥70% | 50–69% | <50% |
| B2B video shows with no or irregular Shorts | ≥30% | 15–29% (retarget) | <15% |
| Replies out of 600 contacts | ≥3% | 1–3% | <1% |
| Paid by Nov 17 (plan or pack) | ≥2, at least 1 monthly | 1 | 0 |
| First batch accepted without revision | ≥70% | 50–69% | <50% |
| Opt-outs | <2% | 2–4% | >4% or any consent complaint |
| Your time, weeks 2–4 | ≤5 h | 5–10 h | >10 h |
Also track: share of shows that need clips, cost per sample (≤$1), sales by segment and sample type, monthly vs one-off buyers, your minutes per client. Month-2 retention is read at the first renewal (~Dec 15). Hard rule: zero emails to blocked countries.
research_notes/Round 3 GTM/s5_podcast_gtm.md (includes our own Podcast Index database analysis and a sample of 89 RSS feeds)Nothing yet.
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