9 min
How to Make Money from Podcasting Just One Tip from Your Podcast Performance Coach
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- Marketing
I’ve met my fair share of podcasters with dollar signs in their eyes. And fair enough - podcasting takes a lot of time and energy … when you do it right. So, why shouldn’t you get paid? Why shouldn’t you want some podcast ROI?
Want to know how to make money from podcasting? There are two main ways to earn money from your podcast so you first need to figure out which camp you’re in.
2 Ways to Make Money Podcasting
When it comes to making money from your podcast you should think about it from two perspectives. Either you are selling to your audience or selling your audience. In other words, you are either podcasting as a business or you’re podcasting FOR your business.
Did you catch the difference? Let me break it down for you.
Selling Your Audience
When you have a good size audience, advertisers and sponsors will pay money to get their message to them. Just like in radio or television, the bigger your audience, the bigger the check from advertisers. The Super Bowl is famous for the cost of a 30-second ad spot but Sunday Night Football consistently ranks as one of the most expensive places to advertise too. Why? Because they have a massive audience.
In radio, it’s usually the drive times (morning and afternoon) where ad costs are the highest because that is when most people are listening to their radio. At least, before the world switched to podcasts.
The point is, radio, television and print publications have been selling their audience to advertisers since the beginning of media. And this is the model that advertisers have adopted for putting dollars in podcaster pockets.
The good news is that there are a lot of advertisers keen to pay money to access podcast audiences. It’s estimated that in 2024, podcast advertisers will spend more than $2.5 billion. The potentially bad news is that you need to have a proven audience to get your hands on those ad dollars.
The minimum audience size to attract advertiser interest is usually around 5000 downloads per episode per month, consistently. However, if you are dealing with a defined audience or a super engaged audience (and you can prove it) then you might attract a sponsor or advertiser with less.
And, the more niche and under-represented your audience is, the more likely you can grab some ad cash while you’re still growing. For example, if you have a podcast for left handed artists and there’s a left handed paint-brush kit for sale, well the manufacturer just might see the value in advertising to you hundreds of listeners since they are a direct hit on potential customers.
Who Should Sell their Audience to Make Money Podcasting?
This approach to monetizing your podcast is ideal if your podcast is unrelated to a business and is primarily for entertainment purposes. The formula for monetizing your podcast in this camp is to create an entertaining show, market it, have an awesome show that people love, grow (and keep) your audience, so you can sell your audience to sponsors or advertisers.
Keys to Success for Podcasters Looking for Advertisers
Create an entertaining show Market your show Be consistent Track your audience growth and engagement Show your audience loyalty (advertisers love influencers) Pick an ad or sponsorship strategy that suits your show and business savvy Stay on top of it and remember to raise your prices as your audience grows Podcasters using this path to profits may also monetize their show by selling merchandise to their audience, asking for donations on a platform like patreon, or creating a membership for superfans. But, this is when you start to slip into the next camp of selling TO your audience.
Selling To Your Podcast Audience aka Podcasting for Your Business
Full disclosure, I’m a bit biased toward this approach to making money from your podcast. Primarily because:
I personally know more people who make money using their podcast to promote their business than from selling ad
I’ve met my fair share of podcasters with dollar signs in their eyes. And fair enough - podcasting takes a lot of time and energy … when you do it right. So, why shouldn’t you get paid? Why shouldn’t you want some podcast ROI?
Want to know how to make money from podcasting? There are two main ways to earn money from your podcast so you first need to figure out which camp you’re in.
2 Ways to Make Money Podcasting
When it comes to making money from your podcast you should think about it from two perspectives. Either you are selling to your audience or selling your audience. In other words, you are either podcasting as a business or you’re podcasting FOR your business.
Did you catch the difference? Let me break it down for you.
Selling Your Audience
When you have a good size audience, advertisers and sponsors will pay money to get their message to them. Just like in radio or television, the bigger your audience, the bigger the check from advertisers. The Super Bowl is famous for the cost of a 30-second ad spot but Sunday Night Football consistently ranks as one of the most expensive places to advertise too. Why? Because they have a massive audience.
In radio, it’s usually the drive times (morning and afternoon) where ad costs are the highest because that is when most people are listening to their radio. At least, before the world switched to podcasts.
The point is, radio, television and print publications have been selling their audience to advertisers since the beginning of media. And this is the model that advertisers have adopted for putting dollars in podcaster pockets.
The good news is that there are a lot of advertisers keen to pay money to access podcast audiences. It’s estimated that in 2024, podcast advertisers will spend more than $2.5 billion. The potentially bad news is that you need to have a proven audience to get your hands on those ad dollars.
The minimum audience size to attract advertiser interest is usually around 5000 downloads per episode per month, consistently. However, if you are dealing with a defined audience or a super engaged audience (and you can prove it) then you might attract a sponsor or advertiser with less.
And, the more niche and under-represented your audience is, the more likely you can grab some ad cash while you’re still growing. For example, if you have a podcast for left handed artists and there’s a left handed paint-brush kit for sale, well the manufacturer just might see the value in advertising to you hundreds of listeners since they are a direct hit on potential customers.
Who Should Sell their Audience to Make Money Podcasting?
This approach to monetizing your podcast is ideal if your podcast is unrelated to a business and is primarily for entertainment purposes. The formula for monetizing your podcast in this camp is to create an entertaining show, market it, have an awesome show that people love, grow (and keep) your audience, so you can sell your audience to sponsors or advertisers.
Keys to Success for Podcasters Looking for Advertisers
Create an entertaining show Market your show Be consistent Track your audience growth and engagement Show your audience loyalty (advertisers love influencers) Pick an ad or sponsorship strategy that suits your show and business savvy Stay on top of it and remember to raise your prices as your audience grows Podcasters using this path to profits may also monetize their show by selling merchandise to their audience, asking for donations on a platform like patreon, or creating a membership for superfans. But, this is when you start to slip into the next camp of selling TO your audience.
Selling To Your Podcast Audience aka Podcasting for Your Business
Full disclosure, I’m a bit biased toward this approach to making money from your podcast. Primarily because:
I personally know more people who make money using their podcast to promote their business than from selling ad
9 min