037 Cash In 🤑 On Your Podcast
Take a look at simple, practical ways that you can start monetising your podcast without selling your soul or your sanity.
Ideas Discussed This Episode + Episode Timecodes:
00:00 - Setting the stage: when you can start monetising and what you need in place
01:33 - Sponsors and ad reads + Dynamic ads explained
02:53 - Affiliate links: building trust and earning passively
04:10 - Selling your own stuff: merch, workshops, and services
05:40 - Ko-fi and Patreon: community support and bonus content
Cash In 🤑 On Your Podcast
Discover how to turn your podcasting passion into a profitable project with basic strategies for on-air sponsorship, affiliate links, and listener support. We break down real-world ways to start earning from your episodes, no matter your download size.
This is Part 2 of our Monetizing Your Podcast Mini-Series. So make sure to check out Parts 1 + 3 here. Many podcasters think you need a massive audience to earn any money, but that’s not the full story 👀 Monetisation can start from episode 12 or earlier depending on how you've engaged your audience and what you're offering. Whether you're pitching to sponsors, or listing your own affiliate links, the goal is to meet your audience where they already trust you. And offer things that help them, not you.
📝 Related Blog Posts from VIC Podcasters
EP30: 30 Blunders That Kill Your Podcast – Learn what not to do before you chase money
EP29: Oops! Podcasting Mistakes – Avoiding rookie errors that could block your monetisation
EP28: Why Podcasting Alone Sucks – Leverage community and collaboration to build a monetisable brand
Podcasters get a full buffet of monetisation options, from classic ad reads to dynamic ads (and what the difference is), and affiliate links that can run quietly in the background. More importantly, this specific episode dives into lanuching your own services and products too. All these options give podcasters like you greater control over your income streams and help build a healthy community around your work, not just passive listeners.
If you're not ready for big sponsorships yet, don't stress 😌 Starting a basic Patreon or Ko-fi gives your biggest fans the opportunity to show their support and get perks in return. Of course that may take some resources on your part, but it can be something as simple as 24-hour early access or oppourinites to choose upcoming episode topics. Activities you were going to do anyway, but now that can help you grow 🌱 And yes, reminding your audience that you'd love their support in each episode can genuinely work. Ready to start making bank with your podcast? Reach out to work with me at Video Confidence Coach and we’ll map out your monetisation game plan together.
TIME FOR A QUICK QUIZ 🤓
Which method gives you the most control over how you earn from your podcast?
A) Selling your own products
B) Dynamic ad insertions
C) Affiliate links
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Answer: A) Selling your own products - If it’s yours, you control the whole process. Your choice 🌐
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(0:00 - 1:32)
Mics, money, and the strategy behind it. How do podcasters actually get paid? And how can you do the same? You're listening to the Victorian Podcasters Podcast, your bite-sized slice of podcasting know-how. We're all about connecting Victorian podcasters, newbies, pros, and the I'm gonna crowd.
Well, put your money where your mouth is and join our emailing list and Facebook and LinkedIn groups for exclusive updates, resources, and our community Q&A because podcasting doesn't have to be a solo gig. The Podcasters is proudly produced on Waterrun land. In our previous episode, we talked about how you even start making money through podcasting, and now we're going to talk about some actual strategies to go about monetization in your podcast.
So as you can imagine, you have to have a podcast first to start monetising it. I recommend from my personal experience, you can start monetising as little as say episode 12 or depending on the audience and community that you've brought. Also making sure that you're able to provide your sponsors and potential ad reads of the companies and communities that you work with.
You're able to show that you're reaching enough listeners for them to actually invest in you first. If you're unsure of what numbers you actually need to be pulling in your downloads or analytics, make sure you check out our previous episodes about insights and analytics. And we're also checking out our low stress guide to podcasting to make sure and see if your numbers align before you start go about monetising your podcast.
(1:33 - 2:18)
All right, let's get down to the strategies. First of all, we start with what you can probably think off the top of your head when it comes to monetising your podcast is ads and sponsors. These are direct opportunities for messages provided by networks or provided by companies or provided by pretty much anyone who wants to reach out to you.
Or in turn, you can find platforms where you can pitch to businesses where they can get access to your audience. So making sure that you're able to think about these direct deals with networks, but also think about how you would pitch your business to these people who may not have heard you or may not understand where your audience is coming from. Being able to practise both this pitch allows you to be able to get in front of these people who will help sponsor your podcast.
(2:18 - 2:50)
You can also use things like dynamic ads, which is a more flexible option. Essentially, you have companies who use the platforms that you host your podcast on, for example, like Spotify, Acast, Wooshka, all these other places that allow you to get monetization, not necessarily for ads that you have sponsored the podcast, they have paid to appear in ad segments. These ads are a little bit more on the generic side, but in turn allows you to get some income without necessarily having to negotiate these deals with these platforms and networks.
(2:53 - 7:02)
VicPodcasters was brought to you by the Video Confidence Coach, that's me, emboldening women and non-binary superstars with killer video marketing strategies, empowering them to show up, stand out, and smash their goals. Another tool that you can use is affiliate links, so make sure you don't sleep on them. Any gears, courses, or tools that you use that your audience would find helpful, make sure, of course, that you disclose these, and this helps build transparency and trust, as well as income for your podcast.
These affiliate links, for example, may not be as good as they were in the past, especially for, say, Amazon affiliate links, but you can still use this to supplement and diversify your podcasting income. Make sure you check out any platforms that provide affiliate links for any of the tools that you use, or any of the courses, or anything that you have found helpful in, say, gear that may be useful for the people who are listening and hopefully enjoying the podcast that you produce. Another way of monetising a podcast is to launch your own stuff, as in launching, for example, something like services with courses, coaching, and workshops, as well as physical branded products, so like hoodies, sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats, mugs.
Again, thinking of what your audience likes and wants and are willing to spend money, usually spending a premium on it, because it's going to obviously have your branding and they want to show the community that they're repping you proud, so in turn it's going to be a little bit higher, profit and money-wise. You can turn these episodes into little sign-ups to help promote the stuff that you have, and also allow people to have a bit of fun with the merch and fun branding. You can also do something really simple as using a site like Redbubble, which does individual printing.
Yes, it's a little bit more on the expensive side, but that's something that you can use to gain some additional income, again, to diversify yourself. And my last example here in this podcast, now of course there are plenty more, but we want to give you some ones that you're able to start off with if you're in the position to start monetising, is to start with a Ko-fi, a Patreon, or a Ko-fi. This is something I would recommend for people who maybe even aren't at a stage where they can start ad reads or sponsorships or monetising their podcast, using these platforms that allow you to offer behind-the-scenes or shout-outs to your listeners, who give you monetary incentive to help support the podcast.
And of course, you can make sure to mention at the end of every podcast to drive some incentive and some people to sign up, because your audience wants to support you. If they are listening to you and enjoying your content, they want to be able to support you, so give them a opportunity to do so. You don't have to be on all the platforms, you can choose one that suits your fancy, that suits your niche, that suits your audience, and is easy enough for them to sign up or in turn give you money.
And in turn, you can start reaping the rewards. It may not be a lot of money, but some money is better than none, and getting you into that habit of being able to provide for those people, for example, first, or maybe on top of what you already do for the podcast, will allow you to grow that audience and that community over time. If you're unsure about anything that we've mentioned in today's podcast, download the Low Stress Guide to Podcasting for Profit, and you can check that out in the description and the show notes.
And a simple action I would love for you to do is to choose one of these methods, my recommendation will be the last one if you're still starting out, and tag us when you do, because we want to be able to support you. For example, we may not be able to support everyone monetarily, but we can definitely share your accomplishments and maybe even facilitate some sponsor reads. That's it for this week's episode.
Tune in next week for more tips, updates, and the occasional pun. Good ideas, Buzzing? Excellent. Head to the show notes in this episode for details that you'll need to dive deeper into Victoria's podcasting community.
Vic podcasters would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the Wadawurrung people of the Kulin Nation, the traditional custodians on the land on which we work, live, and play. We pay our respects to our elders past and present. We stand with the traditional custodians in these lands in working towards a more equal future.
Always was, always will be Aboriginal land. And hey, don't forget, podcasting is better with mates.
The above episode description and transcript were generated with human knowledge + ai.
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