Not many people podcast just for the fun of it – most podcasters are looking to get some sort of return from it. Whether this is free advertising for a website they are trying to monetize, or commission for a product or service they’re attempting to promote, getting some form of monetary return is important. Other people start podcasts just to experiment and then realize they can earn money from it and start trying to utilize this as much as possible. Here are some of the ways you can earn money from podcasting.
Sponsorships and ads
If you’re getting a couple of thousand downloads per episode of your podcast, people will be interested in paying to advertise their product or service during the video or audio. You can decide how much you want to charge for advertising space on your podcasts, but the more downloads you have, the more you’ll be able to charge.
Build a mailing list
If you’re not sure what you’re going to do with your podcast or online business yet, you can use it for now to build a good mailing list. You can either ask people to submit their names and email addresses before watching the podcast, or offer some sort of incentive during the podcast. For example, if you’ve started a new business, offer a free sample of a product of service to each person who signs up. With this data, you can then promote your website and podcasts in the future to people you know are genuinely interested.
Sell books or movies through reviews
You can review books and movies in your podcasts and leave your personal affiliate link in the description. When people click on this and buy any products, you’ll receive a percentage of the sale. If you’re good at promoting and reviewing, you could find this method bringing in a steady source of income each month.
Ask for donations
If you’re podcasting for fun and giving people your expertise for free, don’t be afraid of asking your listening to donate a couple of dollars. Regular listeners will be only too happy to give you some money to help with the running of the podcasts, and you can appeal to them for donations even if you’re making money already from your website and podcasts.
Sell your own products and/or services
Many businesses create a podcast to go alongside their website and help to promote their products and/or services. Video podcasts are particularly good for this, since you can show your customers how things work without having to write out a simple explanation for them to decipher. Demonstrations are often the best way to sell a product or service, and there’s no better way to do this than regular podcasting.
