Ways You Can Monetize Your Podcast
A question that we regularly hear is “How can I make money with my podcast?” We get it, you are putting a lot of time and energy into your show, it’d be nice to know that you can eventually make something in return for your hard work.
Luckily there is no “right way” to monetize and you can even have a few revenue streams going that work for your show. Here are some suggestions to get you started!
Ways you can monetize
Sponsorships
Starting with sponsorships, what is this and how does it work? According to The Podcast Host, it’s where “an advertiser pays to have their product or service promoted on one or more podcast episodes.”
And to go a little further, there are “host-read” ads which are ads written and recorded by you, the host. And then ads produced by the advertiser themselves which they write and record themselves. We recommend host-read as it makes it more personal and fun!
Now, where exactly do these go in your show and how do you get them there? There are 3 common places they can go…
Pre-roll: placed towards/at the beginning of an episode
Mid-roll: placed towards the middle of an episode
Post-roll: placed towards/at the end of an episode
You can either “bake” them in or use dynamic insertion if your hosting platforms offer this. For baked-in, you will add these in during editing, and will live in your episode forever. Whereas dynamic insertion you add them in once you’ve uploaded to your hosting platform. You can choose where it goes and for how long it lives there. For example, if you want an ad just for a month, you can select that time period and what episodes it goes in (including your back catalog!)
If sponsorships sound like something you are interested in here are a few blogs to help get you started:
Our final note on sponsorships is to remember to balance your sponsor’s content. We would recommend no more than 10% of your total episode being ads (Example: 3 minutes max for 30-minute episodes) and make sure you are picking sponsors that you would use - you want to maintain your listener trust not push them away!
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is where podcasters can earn “a commission by promoting a product or service using an ‘affiliate link’.” (Shopify) So, not exactly a sponsored ad but you can still make money promoting the product in your show.
How exactly does this work? You can again, make an ad in your episode (but you won’t use the term “sponsored” in it like above). Or you can just mention the product/service in your episode, this is great especially if you have a way to do this organically and seamlessly. Then link the affiliate link or code in your show notes/episode description to make it easily accessible for the listener. Once a listener has used your code or link, you’ll get paid for the commission of promoting it!
Similar to ads, you’ll want to look for affiliate programs that you use or know your listeners will use as this will make it easier to promote it.
If you are on the fence about where to start when it comes to making money for your podcast, this is a great low-risk way to start getting your foot in the door and testing out ads/selling products within your show.
Listener Support
Listener support or “crowdfunding” is another great way to start bringing in some income, especially if you have a listener base that is growing and engaged with your content.
The best way to describe listener support is you gather donations or subscription-based pay from your listeners!
Note: the reason I say it like this is you can set up a way to just gather donations from your listeners and not give anything in return. It’s more of a nice gesture from your audience. Or set up channels like Patreon on Apple Subscriptions for example, where listeners sign up for a fee to receive additional exclusive content or episodes without ads from you - so it’s more work but you’ll be making an income off of it vs just putting out more free content.
Some programs to set up donations:
Add a “buy me a coffee” option
Set up a virtual tip jar on your website or in your show notes
Some subscription-based options:
Patreon
Apple Subscriptions
Captivate offers subscriptions + one-time donations
Buzzsprout also has an option for subscriptions
Both these options are worth considering but depending on how much extra time you have, starting with setting up donations is a good way to go. But if you have the time to make exclusive content, make episodes ad-free, or even get episodes up earlier then adding a subscription option could be right for you.
Remember, especially with donations to express your gratitude and acknowledge your donors. Some podcasts even do shoutouts within the episodes to show their love!
Your Products + Services
If you already have a business, another option is to sell your products and services in your podcast.
Basically, you will promote your products and services in your episodes similarly to ads. So, write and record your ads for your products, services, or even podcast merchandise and insert them in. I would try and make them fun and interesting to keep your listeners intrigued.
Events
Finally, the last way I will be discussing today is doing events - these could be online or in-person. These can take a lot more time and effort in planning but it can be a great way to connect on a deeper level with your listeners and make some income.
Some examples of events you could put on -
Live shows
Online shows
Webinars
But something to consider is that these could have some costs upfront and challenges such as promoting the events, figuring out our ticket pricing, and where the event will take place (whether online or in person).
Conclusion
Whether you are ready to start monetizing today or in the future there are a lot of different avenues to explore from sponsorships to events.
Whatever you choose get creative and experiment! What works for another show just might not work for yours. So, figure out what the best fit for your content and audience is and roll with it.
If you need help getting started making money with your podcast, reach out to us today, and let’s chat!
Aleea
