Business
If selling podcast sponsorships is not your thing, the power to make money from your podcast is in your control with these options. Affiliate Advertising This is where you direct your listeners to a company that you love using, by offering a link or special discount code. You earn a percentage of the sale for every sale the company gets from those who have used your link. Run these just like you would a normal ad campaign. Create audio that includes the affiliate link, do a host live read, and put links in your show notes. And you do have to do this. You have to disclose on your website that they are affiliate links. There are numerous, reputable affiliate networks that can help facilitate this process. They make it nice and easy to get started. https://www.rakuten.com/signUp.do?login=yes (Rakuten), https://www.cj.com/ (CJ Affiliate) and https://www.shareasale.com/newsignup.cfm (Share A Sale) are some great examples. Premium Content This is a type of digital content that may be accessed for a fee, and is usually of higher quality or more desirable than free content. Creating premium content is a great way to make money by offering content – any kind of content – that your listeners can’t get unless they pay for it. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/06/apple-podcasts-subscriptions-and-channels-are-now-available-worldwide/ (Apple Podcasts Subscriptions) and channels are a new way to monetize. When listeners purchase a subscription to a show, they automatically follow the show and the page is updated with a Subscriber Edition label so they know they have access to the premium experience. You, as the content creator, can set the price for subscription. You’ll have to share a percentage of your subscription price with Apple. That percentage decreases over time. Patreon may be a better option. Content creators have more control of their subscriber contact information, compared to Apple. Patreon has a really simple way of helping content creators, by allowing different payment tiers access to different content. PDFs, transcripts, ebooks, photos, or even video. But, as with all premium content, you have to ask yourself: “Is it premium enough? Would I pay for this?” Another way to offer premium content is to limit the amount of shows that you offer for free. Then, if your followers want anything past that, they have to pay a monthly fee. A number of podcast hosting platforms offer premium access to content. https://www.captivate.fm/signup/?ref=circle270media (CaptivateFM) allows a private podcast feed and, if you want to monetize, a way to collect and manage payments. Private podcast feeds are perfect for hosting premium content because they are designed to keep it secure and gated. A few popular options for payment are Patreon, Glow, Supercast or, if you use WordPress, MemberPress. Products You can create t-shirts, tote bags, anything you like with your logo, art, sayings, and sell this to your audience. https://www.teepublic.com/ (TeePublic) are very podcaster friendly! You could sell physical courses, ebooks or webinars if you have knowledge about a certain subject. Or https://gumroad.com/ (write a book) if you’re an author. Gumroad makes it easy for you to sell digital products, memberships and more. You’ll need payment services like PayPal or Stripe so you can get paid. Services Coaching and consulting are really common ways that podcasters monetize their shows. You could have group coaching, masterminding, monthly packages and VIP days that you offer to listeners. You will need a way to book your time in a digital calendar. https://www.booklikeaboss.com/?idev_id=531 (Book Like A Boss) is a great resource. As well as Calendly, Picktime, YouCanBook.me. Letting your potential clients have easy access to your calendar is key. Last, but not least, you’ll need to decide on some structure for your offering. How are you going to offer what it is you’re offering?...