How to Monetize Your Podcast with a Small Audience
This article is on the paid version of medium
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Its made free here for pod chum members
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This article is on the paid version of medium 〰️ Its made free here for pod chum members 〰️
Yes, we podcast because we enjoy it. Podcasts are a great way to get your voice out there and share your thoughts, opinions, and ideas with the world. Podcasts can be a method for promoting your brand. They can be a way to get a message across to the public. Or, a podcast can simply be a way to spend some time each week having fun and recording it. The reason for podcasting might differ from person to person, however one thing is the same for everyone and that is they take time. And as the old saying goes, time is money. So, if you can make a little money from your podcast, it is a win-win situation.
It is not unreasonable to want to fund your show to cover the hosting fees and occasionally buy a cup of coffee. For those who have a large enough following, it is possible to make a decent income and work full time as a podcaster. However, most do it on the side.
Many podcasts have monetizing strategies in place to generate revenue from their listenership. This can range from offering additional products or services for a cost, or sponsored ads that run during the show.
Paid Ads
Having paid ads during a show is probably one of the most common methods that podcasters can use to earn revenue. If you are reading this article, that most likely means you have listened to a podcast or two in your life, which also means you have heard pre-roll, mid-roll, or end-roll ads during that show. This is usually a host read ad, but it can also be a recorded ad provided by the sponsor.
According to PodcastHosting.org, there are over 2 million podcasts globally, with over 104 million people in the US who listen to podcasts at least every month. Of those millions of podcasts, only a small portion are large enough to make a living from for the hosts. Most are smaller podcasts with audiences in the hundreds to thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands to millions. Advertisers want to get the most return on their investment as possible. That means placing ad dollars with podcasts that have a large audience, leaving smaller podcasts ad-less.
When looking at 2021 Global Podcast Statistics, Demographics & Habits, 81% of podcast listeners pay attention to podcast ads. Compare that to other advertising methods, such as TV or radio, were audiences only pay attention 40% to 50% of the time. Think about how often you look at an ad in your social media feed. As a population, we have partially trained ourselves to tune out social media ads. With the low cost of advertising to podcast listeners, it makes good sense to market a product or service on a podcast.
Ad Marketplaces
Platforms such as Podcorn or AdvertiseCast offer a marketplace that puts sponsors together with podcasters. The catch to these and other similar services is they have minimum listener requirements, ruling out a lot of smaller podcasts. Even if you reach the minimum requirement of episode downloads per month, you will still need to submit your podcast to sponsors, competing against everyone else who is trying to get their ad revenue.
If you pursue this method, there are a few things to take into consideration before submitting to a potential sponsor through the platform. The first is when submitting an offer, think about the type of audience that you are catering to. If your show is aimed at a specific demographic, then it will be easier for you to find advertisers and sponsors if they advertise to that demographic. If you do a sport related podcast, submit to sponsors that are marketing to the health conscious or sport enthusiast, for example. Alternatively, if you have a religiously themed podcast, it probably is not a good idea to submit to a sponsor for a sexy singles booze cruise. Or then again, maybe that is the best audience. You decide.
It is also possible, depending on your hosting platform, to get advertisers through the platform. For example, Anchor and Podbean offer dynamic ad inserts. This gives podcasters the opportunity to have ads automatically inserted into episodes at the beginning, middle, or end. The same issue applies here as to the ad marketplaces and that is that with so many to select from, sponsors are not likely to place ads into smaller podcasts. Also, as a podcaster, you have limited control over the ads that are placed in your show, meaning you might have an ad placed for a product you do not actually support.
Contacting Sponsors
Sponsors rarely come to you — you might have to go to them. This can be done through emailing a potential organization or calling them to see if they would be interested in sponsoring your podcast. A good way to find potential advertisers is by searching for podcasts with similar topics and listener demographics as yours. Make note of who is sponsoring that podcast to see if they might be a good fit for you.
Email marketing is probably the most popular form of reaching out to potential sponsors. This involves finding a contact email and sending them an email with your pitch. The pitch should include why you think they would be a good fit for your show and the benefit to them. When emailing potential sponsors, don’t be surprised if you do not get many responses. Your email can get flagged as junk in email filters, or people delete them, not finding the offer worthwhile. Please don’t spam people. If you do not get a response, move on to the next business.
Since businesses make their phone numbers public, you can look up the phone number and call them with your pitch to ask them if they would be interested in sponsoring your podcast. Again, keep in mind that your response rate will be low, and don’t be offended if they hang up on you 15 seconds into your pitch.
When reaching out to businesses, make sure they are relevant to your audience. For example, if your podcast is about modern pop music and most of your audience is under 25, reaching out to advertisers that sell fashionable golf carts for retired golfers isn’t the strongest match. Also, keep in mind that it is best to reach out to businesses that offer services or products nationally or globally. Most podcast listeners are all over the place. But, if you know that most of your audience is regional, then reach out to potential advertisers in that region letting them know.
When reaching out to businesses, the response rate will be low. As mentioned previously, don’t spam and contact people repeatedly. Just move on to the next one.
What to Charge?
You can search the internet and find numerous articles telling you what to charge for an ad and the amounts will vary. The important thing to note is to charge fairly for your audience size and demographic. A few basic guidelines you can follow: include how long the host read ad will be and if it will be based on a script they provide, or one you will create. If they want you to create the script, then charge a little extra for your time.
Where the ad will be placed is important to note when deciding what to charge. Will it be a pre-roll ad? If so, that is the most valuable placement since it will receive the most listens. An end-roll ad will receive the fewest listens, so this would be the low-cost ad placement location, which could be a selling point if your sponsor is on a tight budget.
The key performance indicator (KPI) that sponsors are seeking is how many downloads each episode receives within the first month. Ads are then sold on a cost-per-thousand (CPM) basis. Side Hustle Nation recommends as a starting point of:
$18 per 1000 downloads for a 15-second “pre-roll” mention at the beginning of your show.
$25 per 1000 downloads for a 60-second “mid-roll” mention during the middle of your show.
Think about any other features you can offer to sweeten the deal besides an ad. For example, when you post the show notes to your website, offer to call them out along with a link that people can click on to get to their website or purchase their product. If you send a newsletter, offer to give them a shoutout in that as well. The key is to set yourself apart from what other podcasts offer.
Patreon
Patreon is a popular platform for creators in all areas, including podcasters. Patreon provides listeners the ability to support their favorite creators with monthly subscriptions, in exchange for perks, such as early access to episodes, exclusive content, or other rewards to subscribers.
With Patreon, there is no initial cost to sign up. You can create your account, set up the different levels of offers, and set the subscription rate for each level. After people become subscribers, Patreon charges a percentage of what you make. Something to keep in mind with this service is that a fair number of podcasters do it. So, again, you are competing against other podcasters asking listeners to subscribe to them on Patreon. The key is to have a quality podcast with a loyal fanbase before using Patreon. Also, offer something that motivates them to subscribe. What do they get to make it worth giving you, their money? Keep in mind that this then requires additional work from you to create content for your Patreon subscribers to keep them paying that monthly fee.
Branded Products
Do you have a cool-looking logo for your podcast? If so, stick it on a t-shirt or coffee mug and offer to sell that to people. In the past, this meant you would have needed to order a bunch of products, store them in your garage, and then go through the hassle of shipping everything yourself. Not anymore. Most websites, such as WordPress or Squarespace, allow you to connect your site to a large selection of print-on-demand services such as Printify or Printful. Customers can visit your website and look at your customized store and place an order through the site. Then the print-on-demand service will print and ship the item directly to the customer for you. Even if you do not have a website that allows the option of integration with this service, you can establish an account on Redbubble or Zazzle and send people there to place an order.
The catch to this is the amount of profit you make is going to be low. Since the print-on-demand sites are doing most of the work, they take most of the money, leaving a small percentage to you.
A Tip or Donation Option
Ask your listeners to give you a little cash to support the show. This is a simple method where you can place a link on your website or in the podcast notes, giving people the option to support your show through a financial donation. Some podcast hosting platforms have this as a service to place a link in your podcast show notes automatically or on the website where it is hosted. Alternatively, you can place a PayPal donate link in the notes or on your site. A nice thing about this is that you get most of the money, minus the fee of the service, and the listener can usually decide how much they want to donate. You can give them a shoutout on your podcast as a thank you, or offer something like a digital download of something. It is totally up to you.
Profitable?
It is possible to turn your podcast into a profitable business, or at least one that makes enough to cover your daily triple grande, sugar-free vanilla, no foam latte. The odds on your making a living out of podcasting are pretty small, however. With listenership, it is usually the celebrity hosted podcasts that make the most money because they have the largest audience, because… they are famous. However, there are advertisers who can’t afford to advertise with the big podcasters seeking ones with a smaller listenership to sponsor. If sponsorships don’t work for you, there are other options available. So, don’t give up hope that you will not make any money from your show. Just keep in mind if you are fortunate, you might make enough to cover hosting and more. But in all honesty, for the smaller podcasts, it is best to keep your day job just to be safe.
Note:
This post includes affiliate links for which I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you should you make a purchase.
This article was also published on Medium
