podcast monetization can seem like a daunting task. But it doesn’t have to be.
No matter the size of your podcast audience, you can likely start monetizing it. The difference will be how much money you make along the way.
I’ve split the different podcast monetization methods into beginner, intermediate, and advanced so you can find a strategy that works for you.
Read my 21 tips for growing your podcast audience here.
Photo by Karolina Kaboompics
How to Know When It’s Time to Monetize a Podcast
If you’ve got a smaller podcast, I’m sure you’re desperate to start monetizing your show.
Patience.
The more you focus on monetization the less you focus on growth. If you focus all your attention on growing your show, the money will follow.
The number of downloads doesn’t necessarily matter (except with podcast advertising). It’s about the quality of the audience. loyal audience of 500 will likely earn you more than 5000 anonymous listeners. Let’s dive in.
Or you can read the 26 ways to promote your podcast if you want to grow your audience.
How To Monetize a Podcast For Beginners
You can make money podcasting with a small engaged audience. Here’s how:
1. Ask For Donations
The most direct podcast monetization strategy. When I have coaching calls with podcasters who aren’t yet making money, I tell them to ask for donations. It’s the perfect way to see if your audience is ready to be monetized.
This was the first $10 I ever made from podcasting. I set up a donation page on my podcast website and added a link to a PayPal donation button. We mentioned it at the end of a podcast episode and a bunch of people donated. We were raising money to buy new microphones, and half a dozen of our listeners donated.
You can also use a Stripe account, a Go Fund Me page or a site like Buy Me A Coffee. Set up the donation page, then post about it on your podcasts social media platforms and mention it in your next episode. It helps to say what the money’s for, just like Steven Bartlett from Diary of a CEO: “We want to make the podcast bigger and better for you”.
My podcast, Generally Spooky History, started with donations.
2. Paid Membership Tiers (Patreon, Ko-Fi)
Next up after donations are Patreon subscriptions. Not every podcast needs a Patreon account, but it’s a perfect way to connect with your target audience and monetize them effectively. You set up an account with them and can upload extra content.
- Early Access
- Bonus episodes
- Q&As
If you have an audience willing to donate to you, you will likely have an audience willing to subscribe.
I’ve used Patreon in the past, but you can also offer a membership with Ko-Fi. I like offering exclusive content for Patreon members. This is what big successful podcasts do because it works.
Extra episodes, behind the scenes, follow up discussions of how episodes went, new episodes released early. Know your audience and you’ll know what podcast content they want.
My friends at Haunted UK do an excellent job with their membership.
3. Merch
If you’ve got a logo, you can make merch. Set up with a third-party printing shop, like Printful, who can print your T-shirts on demand in exchange for a cut of revenue. You will make more money paying for blank shirts printed in bulk and sending them out yourself, but third parties are great for a low-hassle option.
Are you not sure what to put on your T-shirts? Ask your audience! Post an idea on social media platforms or come up with four ideas and see which one people like best. Podcast listeners love these sorts of interactions.
The last Podcast on the Left has some really original merch in their store. But most successful podcasts offer merch so you won’t have to look far.
4. Sell Affiliate Products
Affiliate marketing works when you partner with a company and promote their product on your podcast. When someone buys that product through your link, you get a commission.
This is great if your audience isn’t big enough to attract podcast sponsorship because you can still partner with big companies, and they won’t have to put money upfront.
There are big affiliate partners like Express VPN, but you can also find smaller partners that might be more suited to your target audience. Think about the types of things your audience loves, and then google search for that thing plus “affiliate program”.
The Productivity Show does a good job of integrating affiliate marketing
5. Sell Premium Podcast Episodes
Premium content great if you have a storytelling podcast. You can make miniseries and exclusive content of your show and then sell them to people as downloads. You can price these, usually in the $5-$20 region for a multiple-episode seasons or sought after exclusive episodes.
This is a great alternative to memberships like Patreon if you don’t want to endure the churn of producing extra content every week.
Dan Carlin does this extremely well with his Hardcore Histories Podcast episodes.
How To Monetize a Podcast For Intermediates
6. Become a Freelance Podcast Producer/Editor
There are a ton of different skills you learn as a podcast creator. You can sell those skills to people who are short on time.
- Editing
- Production
- Guest Booking
- Episode Research
All of these are valuable skills you can use to indirectly make money from your podcast. Maybe your podcast won’t pay the bills, but the skills it will teach you can. If you’re multiple years into your podcast journey, don’t underestimate how much you’ve learned. While an indirect podcast monetization method it’s a valid one all the same.
I’m an example of this where I ran my podcast for three years and have combined that with my ten years of digital marketing experience to become a podcast marketing coach.
7. Sell Sponsorships or Podcast Ads
Podcast advertising can typically earn you $20-$40 per 1000 downloads , but I’ve heard of it going as high as $100 when it was a niche audience and specific companies who desperately wanted to be in front of that audience.
If you’ve got a smaller audience, check your podcast host to see if they offer “automatic ads’. These are ads that the company reads, similar to radio or TV advertisements. They will automatically be placed in your show.
Once your audience is bigger, you’ll be better able to approach individual companies for sponsorship opportunities. Going to events in your niche and talking to people is likely the best way to make this happen.
But cold calls and emails can also do the trick. Podcast networks can also be a good choice to help you earn more.
Need more podcast downloads?
Having ads on your show requires a minimum amount of downloads. Usually somewhere from 2,000 per month to 20,000 per month.
That’s why I created the ebook – How to get your first 100,000 downloads.
Click the image to check it out on Gumroad
It will take you step by step through the process of gaining more podcast listeners. Don’t feel confused anymore. Learn exactly what it takes to market a popular show. Click here to check out the launch deals currently running.
8. Post Your Show on YouTube
This is a good idea, even if you’re an audio-only podcast. People like listening to podcasts however they can, and for some people, that involves YouTube. It’s great because it gives you an extra discovery engine where people can search and find your show. But it also means you can join Adsense and monetize your videos.
According to tubebuddy.com, it involves getting 4,000 hours of watch time and 1,000 subscribers.
My friend at the Mad Fientist podcast suggested I do this when I started my podcast.
9. Host an Event
With a small audience, you can do live events. You can even do them at no cost initially by finding free event space near you and then offering free tickets. Once you know people are willing to show up to see you do your thing live, you can scale up and start charging tickets for entry.
This will have the double whammy that you will deepen your relationship with your podcast listeners by talking to them in person, and you’ll give them something to talk about so they’ll spread the word about your podcast.
Wine and Crime have effectively been doing this for years.
10. Sell Content Upgrades
There are lots of ways you can reuse the content you’ve already got to make money. Sure, the episode can be available for free, but you can do what film studios have been doing for years to make money. Sell it with “special features”
- Directors Commentary
- Behind the scenes
- Uncut versions
If you have an audio drama of some kind, you could sell Q&As with the cast. The limit is your imagination. Get creative and see what you can make.
The Adventure Zone podcast has a whole catalog of extra content available for purchase.
11. Paywall Older Episodes
Once you have enough episodes (preferably 300+), you can consider removing older episodes and making them available for sale.
Hardcore History sells its first 55 episodes for $109.95 at full price.
12. Create an Email List
Having a newsletter alongside your podcast is a great idea if you want to monetize. It gives you quick, direct access to your listeners so you can email them to announce sales, merch releases, and special episodes.
I like Convertkit because it’s free for up to 10,000 subscribers, easy to set up, and you can create a call to action in your podcast telling people to sign up. If your newsletter grows, you can also sell newsletter sponsorships. It’s a long-game tactic, but it’s easy enough to implement.
All The Hacks has effectively created an Email List alongside their podcast. They then use it to promote sponsors and affiliate links.
13. Sell Informational Products
Depending on what sort of podcast you have, it might be prime for selling info products, like ebooks.
You can turn your podcasts into eBooks by using the transcripts and compiling different takes and stories from your podcast into ebook form. Canva has a load of great ebook templates you can use if you’re looking for somewhere to get started.
14. Sell a Course
The next step is to sell a course. If your podcast helps people in some way, you can turn that into a course. For instance, I see a lot of podcasts about “helping you achieve success by interviewing high performers.” You could turn that into a course about “leveling up your career in 30 days.”
Ramit Sethi is an excellent example of a podcaster who makes money through his courses.
Advanced Podcast Monetization Strategies
15. Public Speaking
If you’re a podcaster, there’s one thing you’re good at… Talking.
And you can use that skill to build up a reputation as a public speaker. Usually, you will get hired to speak at organizations and events, but I don’t see why there wouldn’t be other options for those feeling creative.
The Minimalists are a great example of podcasters who do public speaking.
16. Write a Book
This is not the easy option you might think it is. Yes, you could bang all your transcripts into Chat GPT, and it could spit out a book. But it won’t be any good. You’ve got to get an agent and an editor, at the very least, to help you launch a book from your podcast.
Redhanded is a great example of a podcast that got turned into a book.
17. Sell a Product
Not for every podcast, but there might be products you can sell beyond merch that your audience will love. This is essentially setting up a shop that will complement your niche. For instance, if you had a coffee podcast, you could set up an online shop selling Aeropress, V60s, coffee beans, and stuff like that.
The Sleep With Me Podcast released branded sleep headphones.
18. Sell a Service
If you have a podcast all about writing fiction, you could monetize your podcast by offering book editing services. Again, this is starting a business around your podcast. You have the audience, and even if it’s a small one, you can start a business from it.
Zac Garside does a wonderful job with this. He helps brands make more money from emails, with his podcast offering advice on how to do this. Create a landing page and you’re off to the races.
19. Sell Consulting or Coaching
As a podcast host, you can position yourself and be seen as an expert in your field. You can then use that expertise to help others through coaching or consulting. Life coaches all start somewhere!
My Friend Joe Ferraro did a wonderful job with this when he started Damn Good Conversations. He turned his podcast into a chance to coach people on presenting and speaking.
20. Generate Business Leads
Your podcast monetization strategy doesn’t have to come from your podcast directly. Both of the above are different ways of generating business leads. Whatever your business, potentially even if it isn’t related to your podcast, you have that connection, and people will want to work with you.
Andy Kohen runs a Jewellery business, and hosts Buy Like A Guy – a podcast for men about buying cool things like bourbons, beers, watches, and more from experts who know their sh*t. His podcast regularly turns listeners into customers.
21. Sell Mastermind Slots
These are typically applicable to business podcasts where there is already some group coaching on offer. From that, you can organize “mastermind sessions,” which are essentially group coaching sessions focussed around one topic.
This is not applicable to every podcast, but if you are in the space of teaching something to your listeners, then this could be a good call.
22. Sell an App
Did you know that the popular app Headspace actually started as a podcast? I didn’t, but it shows how far you can take a podcast if you’ve got the drive to see it through. Not the way most people will monetize a podcast but it’s interesting non the less.
23. Start a Podcast Network
What do you do when you have a successful podcast? Start 10 more! At least that’s what the ladies at My Favorite Murder did. Exactly Right currently hosts 18 different podcasts that are all growing and earning together.
I advise focusing on making your own podcast successful before trying to replicate it and earn money from multiple shows.
Final Thoughts on Podcast Monetization
Podcast monetization seems more complicated than it is. Although I’ve shared 23 different podacst monetization methods here, it all boils down to knowing your audience and giving them something they’d like, whether it’s more from you, a product, or a service. If you are new to monetizing, pick one thing from the list and try it out.
Feel free to book a call if you’d like help with podcast monetization. We can work together to maximize your podcast revenue.
How I Can Help You
1) Free 5-day Podcast Marketing Fundamentals Course – Learn the basics of what it takes to grow a popular show, get more listeners, and earn more money from your podcast. The five day email course is totally free
2) The Template Vault – Learn how to grow your podcast on autopilot. Get fill-in-the-blank templates to set up your podcast’s foundation for growth, success, and making money.
3) Podcast Marketing Coaching– I am an experienced podcast coach, and I want to help you master your podcast marketing. Check out my full list of services and discover how we can work together.
4) Recommended Tools– These are the tools I use to grow my podcast. I focus on tools that improve quality and save time.
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