Do you have a podcast that you’d like to make money from? Maybe you haven’t yet started your podcast and are just checking out your options. We’re here to help. You can make money with a podcast if you know how to do it. In this guide, we’re going to talk about:
- How to start a successful podcast you can make money from
- Different ways to monetize your podcast to earn an income
- How to earn money with very little work on your part
Ready to start broadcasting? Here’s everything you need to know about how to make money with your podcast.
1. Choose a niche that works for you
First things first – you’re going to have to choose the niche your podcast fits into. No one is going to listen to your podcast if you just ramble on about whatever strikes you that day. You’ll need to choose something to talk about, whether it’s pets, religion or sports – whatever you love and love to talk about.
If you’re good at something, you can use your podcast to share. For instance, if you’re great at knitting you can create a podcast about that. Love math? You can create a podcast. To put it simply, you’re going to need to choose a niche that you like because you’ll be stuck with it! So think of something you’d really like to talk to others about and make your podcast uniquely yours.
Don’t worry about doing research on the most popular podcast subjects. No matter what you’re interested in, you’ll find an audience who will be interested as well. Just as you fell in love with underwater basket weaving, others will as well.
- You’ll want to choose a niche for your podcast – no one is going to listen to random ramblings
- You can make money doing something you love if you choose a podcast niche you’re passionate about
- Don’t worry about what’s popular or trending – just choose something you love to do or talk about
2. Try affiliate marketing
Now that you’ve found a topic you love for your podcast, you can make money from it. You’ll obviously need a following, but once you have a fair number of listeners or subscribers you can begin to earn income from your podcast.
Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money from a podcast. And it’s actually pretty easy to do. Affiliate marketing is when you market a product or service on your podcast, then earn a commission when a listener buys it.
The risk to affiliate marketing is that you can’t always guarantee that a listener will buy a product or service through your unique link or through your website. For instance, if you’ve been talking up a certain brand of sunglasses, your listener could easily just go to Amazon and buy the glasses through the marketplace.
To minimize the instance of listeners shopping on your own, why not offer an incentive? Partner with a company to offer a discount or other incentive to encourage your listeners to buy through you. Most companies are happy to generate a coupon code for you – it takes just seconds – and the code can last indefinitely.
- You can make money from your podcast through affiliate marketing
- Consider offering an incentive so that your listeners buy through you
- Choose products you can stand behind, then earn a commission when your listeners buy
3. Create a course
Are you really good at something, and want to teach others how to do it, too? You can offer a paid course on your podcast – it’s a great way to make money from your service. To make money from your podcast, you’re going to have to do a little of preparation, but it’s very helpful if you already have an email list.
There are two ways you can set up your course. You can develop the course prior to marketing it, which is what we recommend. Or, you can “play it by ear” and develop the course as you go along. This isn’t necessarily recommended, but it does have the advantage of allowing you to answer your listeners’ questions as they come up.
Whichever you choose is up to you. What you charge for your course is also up to you. Look around at what others are charging and set your prices accordingly. Don’t be afraid to offer a 10% or so discount, too, to new subscribers. People love discounts!
- You can make money with your podcast by offering a course
- Teach others how to do something you know how to do well
- You’re going to need to do some marketing of your course, but if you have an email list that’s a great start
4. Offer your services on your podcast
What do you do for a living? Are you a painter? Voice artist? Freelance writer? You can make money with your podcast by offering your services through your podcast. Of course, it’s going to be important that you’re good at what you do. Selling services that are subpar is a great way to lose your following.
You don’t have to be aggressive with your marketing – often, word of mouth and social media shares will do just fine. But again, do be sure that you’re offering a valuable service that people are likely to recommend.
Your podcast will serve as your marketing, too. As you talk about your topic of choice, you’ll establish yourself as a leader in your industry. Your listeners will begin to realize that you’re absolutely in the know in your chosen field, and will be more likely to hire you. We can’t stress it enough, though – if you choose to offer your services, be sure you can deliver what you’re selling.
- You can sell your services through your podcast
- This is a good way to make money doing what you already do anyway
- Word of mouth and social media shares are a great way to market your business
5. Ask for money
If you’re using a hosted platform for your podcast, it’s going to cost you money to run your business. And whether your podcast is a full time job or a side gig, you’re going to have to find a way to cover those costs.
There’s a simple way to do this – just ask! Many listeners will be very willing to donate a dollar or five to your podcast if they feel you’re providing a valuable service. Consider signing up with a hosting company that will allow you to post a “donate” button. Read the terms and conditions, though, as some “donate” buttons are reserved just for non-profits.
You don’t have to set an amount that you’d like people to donate – just let them decide. Whether they want to give you a few cents or a few hundred is up to them. All you have to do is sit back and collect. Usually this is done through one of the major online payment portals, but choose one you feel comfortable with.
- Many of your listeners will be happy to help you support your business through a donation
- Don’t worry about setting the amount to donate – your listeners should be able to choose
- There’s nothing wrong with simply asking for donations if you’re providing a valuable service to your listeners
6. Offer premium content
You may need a bit of web savvy for this one, but you can make money with your podcast when you offer premium content. Premium content is content that only paid subscribers can access. For instance, if your podcast is related to, say, grooming and showing dogs, you can offer free content about the best ways to breed and register your pups.
But the premium content will dig a bit deeper. You may charge people to access information on “insider secrets” of dog shows, or even on how to style your doggy’s hair so that it meets dog show guidelines.
What you choose to offer as premium content is up to you, and will depend on what you know about. Some more examples may include a woodworking podcast that offers premium plans for building planter boxes, or a podcast about couponing that offer premium content to shoppers at specific stores.
Whatever you choose to include in your premium content, it’s best to ensure you can’t find the info elsewhere. So if you have insider information in your niche, you can certainly make money from your podcast – just make sure you’re not one of a thousand people offering the same information.
- You can earn money from your podcast by offering premium content
- Your premium content is paid content that offers listeners an inside look at your trade
- Do your research – no one is going to pay for content they can get for free elsewhere
7. Create an ebook
If you’re a writer, you can absolutely make money from your podcast by offering an ebook for sale. You don’t have to charge much – just a .99 download will do just fine. You can earn a steady stream of coffee money each month when you sell your ebook to your listeners. So it may not pay the rent, but it’ll pay for your coffee!
There are some great examples out there of people who have done just this. For instance, there are bloggers and podcasters who talk about travel to specific destinations – say, Disney World or Paris. They’ll release daily or weekly podcasts about tips and tricks for travel, but that information is compiled into a book which they sell to listeners.
You can charge premium prices for your ebooks if the book contains valuable information. And today, publishing platforms like Kindle, Apple and Barnes and Noble offer solutions to you where you can actually publish your books in a hard copy format, whether it be paperback or hardcover.
If you do decide to publish an ebook, do yourself a favor and take our advice: hire an editor or a proofreader. There’s nothing that will turn a reader off more than a shoddily edited work. It will quickly discredit you as a leader in your field, and the negative reviews you get will almost instantly kill your business.
- If you know a lot about your subject matter, why not write an ebook?
- You can charge listeners – and others – to download your book and most people can find a platform to convert it into a physical work as well
- Please be sure to hire an editor – your shoddily edited work isn’t going to sell, and will just garner negative reviews
8. Sponsored ads
If you already have an established podcast, you can make money with sponsored ads. They’re similar to what you’ll hear on the radio (if you still listen to the radio). Your favorite broadcaster will sing the praises of a plumbing company, a roofing business or a HVAC service. Probably nothing to do with the actual broadcast, but yes, they’re getting paid for it.
If your podcast is popular, you can reach out to local businesses and ask for a sponsorship agreement. If you’re super lucky, those businesses will reach out to you! You’ll be paid in one of a number of ways, from a per-mention rate to a monthly stipend. You’ll just have to agree to a non-compete agreement as well as a particular number of times you talk about the business.
Sponsored ads aren’t easy to get, and you’ll need to have quite a following in most cases to get them. But if you’re lucky enough to land one or two, you’ll be in good shape for several months as these opportunities pay quite well.
- Sponsored ads aren’t easy to get, but they do pay well
- You’ll probably need to have an established podcast in order to land a sponsored ad
- You may need to sign a contract or two before you can be paid for sponsored ads
9. Consider hosting an event
What is your podcast about? We’ve seen just about every topic on the planet, from flint knapping (look it up, it’s pretty cool) to anime. Whatever you’ve chosen for your niche topic, there’s probably a whole slew of people who want to learn more and meet like minded people who are also interested.
Don’t be afraid to start small. Even if just a group of 10-15 … or smaller … attends your first conference that’s okay! We recommend you at first charge free admission and just see what the turnout looks like. As time goes on, you can charge a nominal fee for tickets, or even work with hotels to take a commission on the lodgers who stay in your area.
Whether you’re a flint knapper or an anime fan, your local convention could turn out to be something quite large. Start small then work your way up. Advertise your event on your podcast and be persistent! You’ll have attendees to bounce stories off of, and you’ll meet people who are interested in what you’re interested in. It’s a win-win, no matter how much money you make.
- Hosting an event can bring in a hefty amount of money
- It may take time to establish your even as a credible one
- Whether you make money or not, you can advertise on your podcast and network when you host an event that’s focused on your niche
10. Create a paywall
If you have a podcast that’s been around a while, you can create a paywall and sell your old episodes. This is particularly great for those of you who are very prolific podcasters. After all, if you only have a few that you’ve broadcast it’s going to be very difficult for you to sell additional content.
Paywalls can work in two ways. You can decide you’re going to create a regular podcast, then allow your listeners to buy additional content, like videos or even ebooks that you’ve put together.
The second way you can create a paywall is by offering a few “free” podcasts to your members, then giving them the option to subscribe to your most current content. You can occasionally offer free casts, for instance maybe once per month, but then require listeners to pay a monthly fee to access the rest of your content.
Building a paywall for your podcast is easily done, but you’re going to need a following first. Use your mailing list and social media to spread the word about your podcast, then watch the subscribers roll in.
- You can earn money from your podcast when you create a paywall
- Offer tons of content for a monthly fee or just “special additions” at a pay-per rate
- Your paid content doesn’t have to be podcasts – you can share videos, books and more instead
Conclusion
As you can see, there are quite a few common ways people can make money with a podcast. That’s especially true if you have a podcast that’s pretty well established with a lot of listeners. Whether you choose to sell your services, your content or your ad “space,” you, too can make money with your podcast!
