Ways to make money through your podcast most heavily rely on sponsorship's, whether that be traditional or referral those appear to be the most common podcast money making ways. Here are some ways that your podcast can make money that leave out those common sponsorship's.
Think of this as using your podcast as a direct extension of your brand and kind of like a marketing tool for services. A lot of people use podcasting as a way of advertising for their brand and help grow their influence, so why not use this as a way to sell your own service through your podcast?
Including your service within the intro of a podcast makes the most sense for that is the initial point of listening where the listener is most attentive. With that being said, sounding too much like an add can turn off your audience and do the exact opposite of what you're looking for.
Consulting services really have taken over the internet market for new technology and it makes complete sense why. In an age where technology allows individuals to do many different tasks without direct training, consulting is a great way to basically pay for advice or a service but be helped individually along the way. Having that personal touch is really what makes the consultation effective, but this is incredibly easy to address through podcasting.
Bring on guests that have products they are selling and after engaging the audience in the show allow the guest to then invite the audience to check out or buy their product and you receive revenue just for being the hosting podcast that message was displayed on. These are great because the work level on the host podcast end is very minimal with solid gain potential depending on the podcasts already established viewership.
Of course, the risk in pushing this strategy too far is your show becomes a thinly veiled pitch-fest with everyone just looking for a new audience to sell to. Be sure to disclose your affiliate relationship if you have one.
Several of my guests haven’t had any product to sell, but did have a service business the audience found compelling. Whether it be content writing or something within your industry only, being able to advertise a service on your podcast can be very effective for the affiliate with generating traffic. Overall, a similar approach would be taken here just like you would take with a guest on your podcast selling a podcast.
One fascinating way to monetize your show is from your listeners themselves. Set up a pledge or patron page for your podcast and literally look for donations through that page from your loyal audience. You'd be surprised how many loyal listeners will help and donate just to make sure the podcast stays going and successful.
These donations can range from weekly or even just monthly donations. Either way give your audience donation options to allow all forms of donations at any time.
Patreon takes a 5% fee on top of any credit card payment processing fees. Theoretically you could accomplish the same thing with fewer fees by hosting the donation campaign yourself, although their platform takes a lot of the work and stress of handling donations out of it so it is recommended.
It’s essentially a model. The content will still be available for free, but if you find value in it, there’s at least an avenue to collect on that goodwill. Jen Briney ofearns several thousand dollars a month from her show, which is entirely listener-supported. She accepts donations via Patreon, PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, and even paper checks in the mail!
So far all of these podcast monetizing strategies have relied on at least some listeners tuning in. This content re-purposing strategy can earn you money even if no one ever listens to your show.
How it works is you take the information from your episodes and turn it into other products like books or courses.
For example, The Side Hustle Path is almost entirely derived from podcast content. And despite the first book being in digital form, over 400 people have ordered the paperback version, earning over $1100 in the last 3 years.
