How to make money with a podcast?

How to make money with a podcast? To be honest, most podcasts make $0. In fact, many podcasts have negative cash flow because they spend money on equipment and hosting fees before they make a single dollar.

Creative work like podcasting doesn't make money until people choose to watch you. It takes time for listeners to decide you have value. So if you're looking to start a podcast because you need a paycheck this week, you should find another way to earn income.

In this article, we'll explain how podcasts make money, we'll look at how the highest-earning podcasters make their income, and then we'll talk about what the average podcaster makes. But first, I would like to introduce you to this premium training that gives you skills.tips for business success.

What is a podcast

The first question for someone who has never listened to a podcast is: "what is a podcast?" Its name doesn't immediately tell you what it is, or what it does, so the simplest answer is a basic definition. For simplicity, A podcast is an audio program, just like Talk Radio, but you subscribe on your smartphone and listen to it whenever you want.

In a little more detail, a podcast is a series of spoken word, audio episodes, all focused on a particular subject or theme, such as cycling or startups. You can subscribe to the show with an app on your phone and listen to episodes whenever you want on your headphones, in the car, or through speakers.

Here is an example of a Podcast

One of the great things about podcasts is that there are many ways to describe them. But a few key words define the basics of podcasting. Namely, podcasts cover almost any topic, are usually free, and are on-demand. That means anyone can access them, at any time, about anything, and on a variety of platforms, all for free. To put it in context, these simple definitions do the trick:

• Podcasts are audio content similar to radio shows or e-books.
• They are about anything and everything, exactly how radio, books, television, or movies explore every topic under the sun.
• Podcasts can be accessed for free on desktop computers and mobile devices. Anyone can listen to a podcast with an internet connection and a pair of headphones.

How do podcasts make money?

There are actually many ways to monetize a podcast. The most successful podcasts use multiple monetization strategies, so money comes from many different places.

Why diversify your income? For the safety. Imagine if all your income came from publishing your podcast on YouTube, but one day YouTube bans your channel. You would lose everything! It is therefore preferable to create several sources of income. In this article I show you how you can monetize your Podcasts.

1. Sponsorships

The first way to make money with a podcast is sponsorship. Sponsorships are the most common way for podcasters to make money. This is when the podcast promotes the sponsor during the show. You probably hear your favorite shows plug their announcers multiple times in each episode. The amount you earn from a sponsor depends on the number of downloads of your episodes. Sponsors pay on a cost per thousand (CPM) basis. Rates range from $18 to $50 CPM, although extremely popular podcasts can earn much more.

You can price your ads differently depending on where you place them in your episode. Pre-roll ads air at the start of the show, usually for about 15-30 seconds. Post-roll ads are broadcast at the end of the show, also for 15 to 30 seconds. They are worth the same to advertisers.

Mid-roll ads are more interesting because the audience is captive at that moment. Sometimes the sponsor will give you a script to read. Other times, the sponsor will give you more flexibility. When you start advertising, we recommend that you charge $15 for pre-roll and post-roll ads and $20 for mid-roll ads. Check out the podcast sponsorship calculator to find out how much you can charge for ads.

2. Direct support, including premium content

The second way to make money with a podcast is support. Direct support is when you simply ask your fans to send you money to support your show. If your content and personality are good, there are plenty of people who will gladly give you a few bucks so you can keep producing episodes.

This is one of the first solutions we recommend to podcasters looking to monetize their show because it's easy to set up. The best method is to create a Patreon account and create a page explaining why you deserve help and raise money. If you don't want to use Patreon, you can add a PayPal button or open a Stripe account and add a form donation on your site.

A great way to get your audience to support you is to reward them with premium content. You can charge them for early access to episodes, bonus episodes, downloadable resources, live chats, or access to newsletters and Facebook groups.

3. Affiliate sales

The third way to make money with a podcast is the affiliation. Affiliate sales are similar to referrals, but instead of getting paid per download, you get paid based on what you sell for another business. Learn more about membership.

Audible has a popular affiliate program that many podcasters and YouTubers take advantage of. Audible gives you a special affiliate link to promote. When someone uses your link, you get credit for the sale and earn $15. If you monetize with affiliate sales, make sure the company gives you a simple link that is easy for you to say and for your listeners to understand.

• Good Affiliate URL : www.sponsor.com/your-name
• Bad Affiliate URL: www.sponsor.com/63hgh22?=3mbo6

However, here affiliate accelerator which allows you to implement and sell very easily with affiliation.

4. Complementary Products

The fourth common way to monetize a podcast is to sell add-on products. This may include merchandise, courses, consulting services, books, or access to live events.

When it comes to selling your own products, you don't need to run your own distribution center. You can use a drop-shipping service or a print-on-demand service to send orders to your customers. You just need a spot on your website for them to order.

Popular ad networks

There's no doubt that podcast sponsorships are the most lucrative way for shows to make money. They are also one of the easiest sources of income once you have an agreement with the sponsor. All you have to do is play your ads on your podcast recording as per your agreement.

In fact, sponsorships are the most lucrative way to make money from your podcast. According to the IAB and PwC, advertisers spent $678 million in 2019 and will spend more than $2020 billion in XNUMX. Where do you find sponsorship deals? You can negotiate a deal with any sponsor, but most new podcasters start with sponsorships through a broker. Here are some places to find sponsorship deals:

• Adresultsmedia
• AdvertiseCast
• Midroll
• Podcorn

At first, you won't have the power to charge your own rates. Once you really start performing, sponsors will start contacting you and you will have more control over what you get.

Highest earning podcasts

It's important to keep in mind that we'll never know for sure what a podcast does, because its earnings aren't publicly available. We only know what they tell us and what we can deduce from it. Only podcast owners know exactly what their show earns.

Also, like any business, podcasts have expenses. We don't know what podcast owners pay just to air their show, so it's hard to calculate the figure that holds us. really at heart: profit. If you podcast A earns $10/month with $000/month of expenses and the podcast B earns $12/month with $000/month in expenses, shows that A technically makes more money.

But these are very different financial situations. We'd like to break down their profits (what hosts actually take home), but we simply don't have that information. With that in mind, here are some data points on some of the highest-earning podcasters to help you understand what's possible.

• The Joe Rogan Experience earns around $800 per episode. At three episodes per week, his show brings in $000 million per month. He still earns $9,6 to $16 per month from YouTube.
• Chapo Trap House has 32 customers, which equates to $874 per month.
• Smart Passive Income by Pat Flynn has two podcasts. Its most popular podcast doesn't sell ads, but together they generate over $100 per month in affiliate income.
• The last podcast on the left has 11, which works out to $290 per month.
• Tiny Meat Gang has 10 customers, which is equivalent to 51 199 $ per month.
• Between ads, YouTube revenue, and Twitch revenue, The H3 Podcast brings in just under $500 per month.
• The Ringer makes over $15 million from podcast ads.

How Much Money Do the Average Podcasts Make?

Whenever someone asks us, “How much money can podcasters make?” what they really mean is, “How much can the average podcaster make?” Maybe you’re planning on running a popular show with 10 000 millions downloads, but it will take some time. So let's talk about some practical numbers. First, let's make some reasonable assumptions.

Hypothesis 1

• You put three ads in each episode: a pre-roll ad, a mid-roll ad, and a post-roll ad.
• 2% of your audience supports you on Patreon. They donate $ 5 / month (the most common donation amount).
• 1% of your audience will buy products using your affiliate link every month. The value of each commission is $ 15.
• 0,05% of your audience buys an online course every month. The course costs $ 99.
• You publish four episodes per month. There are technically 4,3 weeks in a month, but we use round numbers to keep things simple.

Based on these assumptions if you have 1000 downloads per episode, sponsors are not interested in your show yet, but you can still make some money.

• 100/month in Patreon support
• $150/month affiliate sales
• $495/month in course sales
• Total = $745/month

Hypothesis 2

If you have 5 downloads per episode, you will start getting referrals. You will be able to charge around $000 CPM for ads.

• $1/month in ads
• $500/month Patreon support
• $750/month in affiliate sales
• $2/month in course sales
• Total = $4/month

Hypothesis 3

If you have 10 downloads per episode, people will really start noticing your show. You will be able to charge around $000 CPM for ads.

• $6/month in ads
• $1/month in Patreon support
• $1/month in affiliate sales
• $4/month in course sales
• Total = $13/month

Keep in mind that these numbers are based on the assumptions we listed above. The amount you make from podcasting from each revenue stream may be different. You can’t start podcasting with a ready-made online course. You might find a sponsor to pay you a higher CPM because your audience overlaps with theirs. Or you might have an audience with deeper pockets who don’t mind supporting you on Patreon.

In short

We hear the question all the time “how to make money with a podcast?” As you can see there is a wide range of ways. While most podcasters earn very little at first, podcasting can be a lucrative career if you stick with it, engage your audience, and consistently create quality content.