Monetize This! Where Podcasting Best Practices Come to Die

David Beckemeyer | Podcasting's Friendly Skeptic

Monetize This! challenges traditional podcasting rules with a skeptical and creative spirit. Hosted by David Beckemeyer, this show explores podcast conversations and alternative podcasting through honest, often irreverent discussions about creator culture, podcast advice, and the stories we tell ourselves about success. For skeptical podcasters who care more about craft, ideas, and impact than guru formulas, this is a place to question the rules—and maybe even have some fun breaking them. Whether you monetize or not, you're welcome here. The industry keeps saying “monetize your podcast.” And sometimes the response is: “Monetize this!” Monetize This! serves podcasters who: • care about the craft of the show • care about ideas and conversations • care about impact • are skeptical of guru advice • may monetize someday… or may not monetizethispodcast.com

  1. Aug 3

    Comedy Is Way More Engineered Than You Think with Matt Evans

    Stand-up comedy looks effortless until you realize every laugh has been engineered. This week, comedian, veterinarian, and author Matt Evans joins Monetize This! to talk about what actually goes into writing comedy. We get into joke structure, storytelling, callbacks, and why making people laugh is a lot more like learning a craft than waiting for inspiration to strike. Along the way, we accidentally wander into some surprisingly useful advice about creativity, overcoming resistance, and why the hardest part of making something is often just sitting down and starting. Don’t worry—we make fun of ourselves for it. If you’ve ever wondered why some podcasts feel effortless, why some stories stick with you, or why every creative project seems to begin with procrastination, this episode is for you. Guest: Matt Evans — stand-up comedian, equine veterinarian, and author of Chomping at the Bit. Find Matt at: mattevanscomic.com Learn more and follow us at: monetizethispodcast.com Monetize This! is the podcast where podcasting best practices come to die. Host David Beckemeyer takes a lighthearted, contrarian look at podcasting, creator culture, and the endless stream of advice telling you you’re doing it wrong. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monetizethispodcast.com

    Comedy Is Way More Engineered Than You Think with Matt Evans

  2. Jul 20

    The Guru Promise vs. Real Change with Kathy Hadizadeh

    Everyone wants to sell transformation. In podcasting, it’s “Launch in 30 days.” “Grow your audience.” “Build a six-figure business.” In leadership coaching, the promises aren’t all that different. This week, I sat down with executive coach Kathy Hadizadeh to talk about something that quietly challenges both industries: the idea that real change can be packaged into a weekend workshop, a seven-step framework, or a single blueprint. Kathy doesn’t coach podcasters, and she isn’t trying to sell you the latest podcast growth strategy. Instead, she works with engineering and technology leaders, helping teams navigate change in the real world. Along the way, we discovered that leadership coaching and podcast guru culture have more in common than either of us expected. We talk about why one-size-fits-all frameworks fall short, why “transformation” is often oversold, why ambition can become a runaway train, and why the best coaches ask better questions instead of pretending to have all the answers. If you’ve ever felt like every creator newsletter is telling you to post more, hustle harder, and optimize everything... this one’s for you. Guest Kathy Hadizadeh is an executive coach who works with engineering, product, and technology leaders to build stronger teams and more thoughtful leadership practices. Rather than offering cookie-cutter solutions, her work focuses on understanding people first and designing approaches that fit the challenges they’re actually facing. Connect with Kathy on LinkedIn and let her know you heard her on Monetize This! Also Discussed * Bill Monty - Tales From South Florida Podcast * Dave Campbell’s Meetup Community Monetize This! is the podcast where podcasting best practices come to die. Every episode takes a lighthearted look at podcasting gurus, creator advice, and the strange pressure to optimize everything—because sometimes the best thing you can do is ignore the blueprint and just make something worth listening to. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monetizethispodcast.com

    The Guru Promise vs. Real Change with Kathy Hadizadeh

  3. Jul 6

    The Power Shift: From Gatekeepers to Creators with Alan Katz

    What happens when a Hollywood storyteller discovers podcasting? Alan Katz spent decades working in film and television, including creating and writing for Tales from the Crypt, where getting a story from an idea to the screen could take years, endless approvals, and giving up a lot of control along the way. Podcasting changed that. In this episode of Monetize This!, Alan talks about why the microphone might be the ultimate storytelling tool, why authenticity matters more than formulas, and why the best podcasts come from creators who understand the story they’re actually trying to tell. Alan also shares the story behind his podcast How Not to Make a Movie, his approach to honest storytelling, and why some of the most interesting stories are the ones traditional media might never have let through. Maybe the thing worth optimizing isn’t your downloads. Maybe it’s making something worth listening to. About Alan Katz Alan Katz is a writer, producer, and storyteller who has worked across film, television, and podcasting. He is the founder of Costard and Touchstone, a storytelling company built around the idea of using stories to make the world a better place. Learn more about Alan: https://costardandtouchstone.com Monetize This! is the podcast where podcasting best practices come to die. A skeptical, slightly ridiculous look at the advice, rules, and “growth hacks” surrounding podcasting — especially the ones that deserve a little roasting. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monetizethispodcast.com

    The Power Shift: From Gatekeepers to Creators with Alan Katz

  4. Jun 22

    Everybody Has a Podcast. Almost Nobody Feels Valued. | Rory Paquette

    Podcasting exists in this strange space where creators are told the medium is exploding, the opportunities are endless, and success is right around the corner — usually after buying one more course, one more microphone, one more strategy, one more growth framework. Meanwhile, most podcasters are making little to no money, fighting discouragement, staring at download numbers, and wondering whether anybody actually cares. This week on Monetize This, I talk with Rory Paquette — podcaster, coach, self-described “podcaster advocate,” and someone with very strong opinions about how the industry treats creators. This conversation moves between satire, frustration, philosophy, and practical reality — which honestly feels pretty true to podcasting itself. About Rory Rory Paquette hosts multiple podcasts including: * Power of Man * The Podcaster Nation * Wake Up the Lions He works with podcasters on monetization, growth, and creator mindset, while advocating for what he sees as a more creator-respecting podcast ecosystem. Find him on Facebook: @rory.paquette Final Thought One of the recurring themes on Monetize This is that the internet loves success stories because they sound clean and repeatable. Real creative work usually isn’t. Most creators live somewhere in the middle:building things,questioning themselves,trying ideas,working side jobs,figuring it out as they go. Podcasting may be one of the clearest examples of that. And maybe that’s part of why people keep doing it anyway. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monetizethispodcast.com

    Everybody Has a Podcast. Almost Nobody Feels Valued. | Rory Paquette

  5. Jun 8

    Podcasting Culture Has Lost Its Mind with Jonathan Marsh

    Podcasting used to be relatively simple. You recorded some audio, uploaded it somewhere, and hoped another human being voluntarily listened to it. Now podcasting apparently includes Netflix shows, vertical video clips, content funnels, algorithm strategy, six-camera YouTube setups, and at least one person online insisting you need a specific microphone before you’re allowed to speak publicly. This week on Monetize This!, David talks with audio fiction creator Jonathan Marsh about the strange modern universe surrounding podcasting — a place where nobody can fully agree on what a podcast even is anymore, but everyone still seems very confident about the rules. The conversation wanders through expensive microphones, Netflix “podcasts,” RSS evangelism, Reddit legal advice, creator economy panic, and one surprisingly intense reaction to the phrase “fair use.” Somewhere underneath all the chaos is a quieter question: What if podcasting was never supposed to become this complicated? Jonathan Marsh is the creator of Afterlight Fictions, an audio storytelling podcast featuring original fiction and public domain adaptations. Follow Monetize This! Monetize This! is a lighthearted, contrarian podcast about podcasting culture, creator advice, guru nonsense, and the increasingly bizarre economy surrounding “content creation.” Subscribe at monetizethispodcast.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monetizethispodcast.com

    Podcasting Culture Has Lost Its Mind with Jonathan Marsh

  6. May 25

    Why Podcast Gurus Don’t Understand Shows Like This with Andrew Lewin

    What happens when a podcast isn’t a funnel for a business… and the podcast itself is the thing? In this episode of Monetize This!, David Beckemeyer talks with Andrew Lewin, host of How to Protect the Ocean, a podcast with nearly 1,900 episodes built around ocean conservation, science communication, and helping people care about the ocean a little more than they did yesterday. No mastermind.No “high-ticket offer.”No podcast growth empire. And yet, somehow, the show changes lives. Andrew talks about: * why most podcast advice doesn’t apply to mission-driven shows * the problem with podcast guru culture and fake metrics * why podcasting is a long game * trying (and failing) to force traditional monetization models onto a niche show * building an audience around impact instead of scale * the strange reality of being “successful” in ways the industry doesn’t really measure Along the way, we hear stories about listeners changing careers, starting environmental organizations, pursuing PhDs, and even influencing institutional policy after hearing episodes of the show. This conversation is ultimately about a kind of podcaster that rarely gets represented in podcasting discourse:people making shows because the subject itself matters to them. Guest Andrew LewinHost of How to Protect the OceanSpeak Up For Blue Mentioned in This Episode * How to Protect the Ocean * Beyond Jaws * Podcast SEO * “Top 1%” podcast rankings * Mission-driven podcasting * The long game of podcasting Follow Monetize This! If you’ve ever felt like podcasting advice assumes you’re secretly trying to become a business coach, this show is for you. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts. More essays and episodes at:Monetize This! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monetizethispodcast.com

    Why Podcast Gurus Don’t Understand Shows Like This with Andrew Lewin

  7. May 11

    Your Podcast Needs More Duck Sounds

    What happens when you take perfectly reasonable advice about “better audio” and follow it… way too far? This episode of Monetize This! features voice actor Jodi Krangle—whose thoughtful insights on sound, emotion, and listener connection are immediately (and aggressively) overproduced. We talk about why sound matters, how it shapes what people feel, and how quickly “good production” turns into… whatever this episode is. Along the way: * Duck sounds become a creative philosophy * Bacon replaces rain * Podcast gurus promise a million dollars (again) * And we test the limits of how many sound effects one conversation can survive Under the chaos, there’s a real point: Good audio enhances.Bad audio announces itself.And most podcasts don’t need more polish—they need more personality. Things We (Accidentally) Learned * Sound is emotional, whether you notice it or not * Great production disappears; bad production performs * Most “cinematic” podcast advice doesn’t survive contact with reality * Templates can help—but they can’t replace having a point of view * People come for information… but they stay for the host About the Guest Jodi Krangle is a professional voice actor who helps brands sound like themselves (without the duck effects). She’s also the host of the podcast Audio Branding, where she explores how sound influences perception, memory, and connection. Connect with Jodi * Podcast: Audio Branding * Website: voiceoversandvocals.com About Monetize This! Monetize This! is a lighthearted, contrarian podcast about podcasting—where growth is optional, monetization is suspicious, and “best practices” are treated as… suggestions at best. If it’s overhyped, oversold, or overproduced, we’re probably talking about it. Final Thought Your podcast does not need more duck sounds. (Probably.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monetizethispodcast.com

    Your Podcast Needs More Duck Sounds

  8. Apr 27

    Podcast Monetization Is Mostly a Lie with Donald Dunn

    Most podcasts don’t fail because people run out of things to say. They fail because people start chasing something they never clearly defined in the first place. In this episode of Monetize This, I talk with Donald Dunn—who runs multiple shows, built a podcast network… and makes exactly $0 from podcasting itself. Not as a failure. As a choice. We get into why monetization advice often misses the point, how burnout actually happens, and why the most important decision you can make about your podcast has nothing to do with downloads. A Few Takeaways 1. Most podcasts don’t fail—they driftThey start with one intention and slowly absorb expectations from the outside. 2. Burnout isn’t about talking—it’s everything elseEditing, promotion, distribution. That’s the real job. 3. Monetization comes later (if at all)Trying to force it early usually leads to disappointment—or worse, bad decisions. 4. The podcast might not be the businessFor some creators, it’s the portfolio, the proof, or the entry point—not the revenue stream. 5. You have to decide what this is upfrontBecause the work, expectations, and outcomes are completely different depending on that choice. About the Guest Donald Dunn is the founder of Barracks Media and host of multiple podcasts, including Spirits and Stories. His work focuses on storytelling, mental health, and helping others share their experiences—often outside of traditional monetization models. Mentioned in This Episode * Barracks Media Monetize This! is for podcasters who are tired of being treated like a funnel, a brand, or a growth chart. Sometimes the podcast is the thing. And that’s enough. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monetizethispodcast.com

    Podcast Monetization Is Mostly a Lie with Donald Dunn
See All (20)

Trailer

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Monetize This! challenges traditional podcasting rules with a skeptical and creative spirit. Hosted by David Beckemeyer, this show explores podcast conversations and alternative podcasting through honest, often irreverent discussions about creator culture, podcast advice, and the stories we tell ourselves about success. For skeptical podcasters who care more about craft, ideas, and impact than guru formulas, this is a place to question the rules—and maybe even have some fun breaking them. Whether you monetize or not, you're welcome here. The industry keeps saying “monetize your podcast.” And sometimes the response is: “Monetize this!” Monetize This! serves podcasters who: • care about the craft of the show • care about ideas and conversations • care about impact • are skeptical of guru advice • may monetize someday… or may not monetizethispodcast.com

Information