How and When to Monetize Your Podcast.

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With more and more podcasts being published every day, the ad revenue for podcasting is through the roof and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Monetizing can be a little bit of a tricky subject if you’re new to podcasting. You want to make good quality content but if you’re not bringing any money in from your podcast, it can be a little tough to keep it going. Deciding when you want to advertise on your show can be difficult enough, but once you finally decide to, how do you even go about finding someone to sponsor your show?

 

When Should I Run Ads?

 

Whenever you decide to run ads on your podcast, just make sure that you are comfortable with your decision. It’s always going to be your final choice. You should also keep your listeners in mind, keep an open discussion with them and allow them to be apart of the decision, ask for feedback. There’s a few things to consider before you run any ads, is it going to be worth it for you? Are you going to feel ok with selling ads on your podcast even if you know you aren’t getting a ton of downloads?

 

The General Rule of Thumb Before Advertising is 500-1000 Downloads per Episode

 

If you are still on the fence about if you want to run ads, just try it for a while and see how your listeners react. I think you would be surprised about just how easy they take having to listen to your ads (especially if you make them entertaining).

 

How do I Find Advertisers?

 

Finding companies to sponsor your podcast can be a little bit difficult and filled with rejection if you’re not careful. Most of the time, advertisers are the ones finding the podcasts, so keep that in mind, if you have a decent following, then advertisers will find you. However, if you want to go out and find companies to advertise on your podcast, there’s really only one way to do it. Email.

 

Find companies who are not only already advertising on podcasts, but advertising on similar shows to yours, and email their marketing/PR departments. That way you know you are getting in front of the right audience, and the company will be more likely to agree to sponsor you. That’s all you can really do, just keep emailing people, and eventually you might find someone that wants to sponsor your show.

 

Of course ads aren’t the only way to monetize your show.

 

Other Monetization Options

 

Sell Merch

 

Selling t-shirts is a tried and true way of getting your brand out there and making a few extra bucks in the process. You need a decent sized audience to make this a viable option, not everyone will want to buy merch from you, but if you have a large dedicated following, there will be people who want to represent your brand.

 

Setting up a store isn’t too difficult now, with options like Shopify, SquareSpace, and Wix, it’s easier than ever to set up a home on the web and sell your products.

 

Sponsoring Yourself

 

There’s also the option of sponsoring your own business or product that you are trying to sell. If you can get the word out for your business, then it might be worth the interruption during your show, especially if it’s related to whatever your show is about, again, then you know the audience would be right for the product or business.

 

Making money from your podcast shouldn’t be the goal when starting your podcast. If you are looking to make a profit, it’s going to take a lot longer than you think, and it might not ever happen. I’m not saying this to discourage anyone, I’m saying this because it’s the truth. First, you should be passionate about the topics you are discussing, and be able to do it week after week without getting paid from it.

 

Enjoy the process and the rest will come.