Can you really make money podcasting?
Absolutely. But let’s be clear, we’re not suggesting your podcast will be instantly profitable. As with anything, you’ll have to put in the work to see the results. Monetizing your podcast often goes hand in hand with leveraging your personal or podcasting brand, which will definitely benefit you in the long run anyway. As long as you’ve got a captive audience of some sort, you’ll be able to make money from podcasting in one way or another.
How Do Podcasts Make Money?
The most exciting thing about monetization is just how many different ways there are to make money from your podcast. Bear in mind, different money-making methods are more viable or effective at different stages of growth: what works for a popular, more established podcast may not be as accessible for a show that is just starting out, and that’s okay!
Expand Your Audience to Attract Advertisers
For podcasts with a well-established audience, including adverts in your podcast should be a no-brainer. Brands and companies will pay a premium for your listeners. Podcasters with a smaller listenership need to grow their audience first to attract advertisers. If you put in the work, this will happen organically through effective marketing, branding and word of mouth.
Making Money With Advertisements and Sponsorships During the Show
Sponsorships and advertising deals are extremely lucrative and require very little input from you (beyond securing the deal, of course). Since these brands and companies are paying you for exposure, the bigger your audience, the more they’ll be willing to pay. Anyone who listens to podcasts will be familiar with the classic tagline ‘brought to you by x,y and z.’ That’s all sponsorship. There are a number of podcasting ad agencies that help podcasters connect with advertisers. They handle all the logistics and administration, for a fee. If you’re a smaller podcast within a specific space, you could reach out to niche companies that target your kind of audience. You may just find a great partnership waiting for you.
When should I start thinking about monetizing my podcast?
This is down to you. You may start out casually with no immediate aspiration to make money out of your podcast. Or you may begin podcasting with monetization as a major priority. It also depends on what you mean by ‘making money from your podcast’ - are you simply aiming for a few extra dollars on the side or do you want to make up a substantial portion of your income? This question will determine when and how you think about making money from your podcast. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter when you start. Although, as we mentioned, depending on where your podcast is in terms of growth, different opportunities will be open to you.
