How to Monetize a Podcast: Top Tactics for Getting Paid
With an estimated 505 million people tuning into podcasts in 2024, it’s a great time to get your voice out to the masses. But even with listeners in ample supply, making money isn’t guaranteed. You have to use the right strategies to learn how to monetize a podcast into a money-making machine.
In this article, we reveal how to monetize a podcast regardless of the audience or niche. Learn about running ads, scoring sponsorships, setting up premium membership tiers, and other methods successful podcasters use to increase revenue. With these tactics, you can develop a steady revenue stream while podcasting to your target market.
Podcast monetization strategies discussed in this article:
- Podcast Ads
- Partnered Sponsors
- Youtube
- Membership Tiers
- Supplemental Content
- Sell Merchandise
- Promote Affiliate Products
- Live Shows and Events
- Monetize Your Email List
How to Monetize a Podcast: Ads, Sponsors and Memberships
Run Podcast Ads
Selling airtime to brands in your niche is an excellent way to earn money with your podcast. With podcast ad revenue expected to surge to around $2.6 billion in 2026 from $1.9 billion, it’s evident that brands are willing to spend the money—but first, you must learn how to monetize a podcast with ads.
Finding available advertisers to partner with is straightforward when using a podcast ad network. These networks match podcasters with brands and third-party advertisers in exchange for a portion of the advertising fee.
Once you partner with an advertiser, you can select from the following ad formats:
- Live ads read by the host
- Pre-recorded ads read by the host
- Pre-recorded ads read by a third-party
Live host-read ads are the most authentic. Because the host reads the ad, it feels like part of the podcast instead of an advertisement. That doesn’t mean you should ignore pre-recorded ads, though. Many podcasters have had success with a mixture of pre-recorded and live ads.
Optimize Your Ad Campaign
You can increase ad revenue by optimizing your campaign, starting with the ad placement. You can choose to put ads at the beginning, middle, or end of the episode. These are referred to as pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll ads. Track the results for all three to see which slot works best for your target audience. How to place the ads is next on the list. For this step, you must choose between integrated and dynamically inserted ads.
Integrated ads are commonly called “baked in” since they are a permanent part of the recording. This means that every listener will hear the same ads, whether they download the episode the day it’s launched or years later.
Integrated ads tend to lose their relevancy as time passes. Products become unavailable, and discounts expire, which can lead to frustrated listeners. You can ensure your messaging is always relevant by using dynamically inserted podcast ads instead of integrated advertisements.
Dynamically inserted ads are selected based on your available campaigns, the target market, the listener’s location, and other factors. Since the ads are selected when the episode is downloaded, you know that listeners are hearing timely and relevant marketing messages.
Partner With Sponsors
You can cut out the intermediary and keep all the ad revenue for yourself by approaching sponsors directly. Sponsors pay a predetermined fee to have the podcaster promote their products or services during an episode. These partnerships are often long-term, with a single sponsor supporting the podcast all season. Some sponsors even stay with the podcast during its entire run, even if it lasts multiple seasons.
Sponsorships are more challenging to obtain than regular advertising agreements. Without a middleman to find partners for you, you’ll need to approach brands yourself.
First, you have to find out which brands in your niche are paying to advertise. Start by looking at websites, blogs, and magazines in your niche. Which brands advertise in those places? Also, have you noticed any brands advertising on social media? They might be interested in sponsorship.
You can also search your network for sponsorship ideas. For instance, someone in your niche might know of a brand that pays top dollar for sponsorships. Also, review message boards and other online forums in your niche to find potential sponsors.
After creating a list of potential sponsors, you’ll be ready to make a pitch. Craft a pitch outlining the sponsorship’s benefits, including the value you’ll provide. You also need to provide information related to your podcast, such as the number of downloads and engagement rate.
Finally, provide the details of the partnership. How much will it cost the company? How many ads will you run for that price? Do you want to receive additional benefits, such as a percentage of the sales made from your ads? Be sure to add that to your pitch.
The brand might not accept your original terms, so be prepared to negotiate. Then, you can enter into a contract with your new sponsor.
Add Your Podcast to YouTube
Since your podcast is in an audio format, you might think it’s not a good fit for YouTube. However, avoiding YouTube would be a mistake since it provides yet another way to make money with your podcast.
If you record yourself when creating the podcast, you can upload the video and audio. However, most B2B podcasters only have audio recordings. If you’re in that category, choose an image to display when people listen on YouTube. The static image will appear in the search results and fill the screen while people listen to your podcast.
After uploading your podcast, enable ads to run on your video. Then, you’ll earn money when people hear the ads while listening to your podcast. As a little bonus, you might acquire new listeners, too, since some people use YouTube exclusively.
Create Membership Tiers
For many people, the answer to “how to monetize a podcast” is as simple as creating membership tiers. You can create free and premium membership tiers, much like the Now Playing podcast. Now Playing’s free membership includes the podcast’s standard episodes. In contrast, premium memberships offer access to exclusive content and other perks.
While the Now Playing podcast is a good resource when developing membership tiers, you’ll want to create packages based on your audience, niche, and offerings. Some possibilities include:
- Ad-free episodes
- Early access to new episodes
- Bonus content
- Videos
- Message boards and live chat
Brainstorm for ideas before creating membership tiers. Then, advertise the packages on your website, clearly detailing what each tier offers.
After setting everything up, make sure you deliver on your promises. Paying members expect high-quality episodes delivered on schedule. As long as you keep delivering the goods, your members will continue paying the subscription fee.
How to Monetize a Podcast: Merchandise, Consulting and Additional Services
Sell Supplemental Content
Your podcast episodes should provide a lot of meaningful content, but you don’t have to stop there. Sometimes, supplemental content is helpful, especially when covering in-depth topics.
For instance, assume that you create a podcast episode that examines industry trends in depth. Your episode could contain part of an interview you conducted with an industry leader. You could package the full interview as bonus content and charge people to access it.
Your listeners might get frustrated if you try to upsell additional content with each podcast episode. Instead, save this for the times when you have exceptional supplemental content to share. You want to make sure that your listeners feel like they got their money’s worth with the purchase. Otherwise, they’ll be less likely to buy additional content from you in the future.
Charge for Access to Older Episodes
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History provides a wonderful example of how to monetize a podcast. You can access recent episodes for free but have to pay to listen to episodes in the back catalog. Consider taking a page out of Dan Carlin’s book by selling past episodes individually or in bundles.
Before doing this, you need to accumulate a large back catalog. Then, it’s beneficial to announce your plan to start charging for past episodes at least a month early. This will give your devoted listeners time to go back through your catalog if they wish. You might miss out on charging them, but this strategy will help you maintain relationships.
Promote Existing Products and Services
People don’t want to listen to hour-long ads when tuning into podcasts, but that doesn’t mean you can’t mention your products and services. Just make sure you do so naturally so your podcast doesn’t sound like a long commercial.
For example, let’s say you run a store that sells golf equipment and hosts a golf podcast. During an episode, you can discuss how to choose golf clubs. Your store measures customers for free, so you can invite them to stop by during your podcast. That’s a great way to promote your offerings in a way that helps your listeners.
Sell Merchandise
Many of the biggest podcasters sell merchandise to their fans. Some poll their listeners to find out what type of merchandise they’re interested in first. Others select merchandise based on market research. Still, some podcasters have additional fun by incorporating fan-made designs into their merchandise.
Keep in mind that your listeners will judge you based on the quality of the merchandise. Selling T-shirts that fall apart after a single wash or cups that leak can hurt your brand.
If you see a third-party vendor to create merchandise, test it out yourself first. Then, you’ll know if the merchandise meets your quality standards before selling it to listeners.
Promote Affiliate Products
You can make money by promoting affiliate products on your podcast. Select products from an affiliate network or enter an agreement directly with the merchant. After selecting the products, try them out before promoting them to your audience.
Then, share your real experience and explain why you think the products or services could help your audience. Be sure to include the referral code for your listeners to enter when buying the product. That way, you’ll receive a commission for the sale.
Monetize a Podcast by Offering Consulting Services
If your podcast positions you as an expert in your field, you can parlay that into selling consulting or coaching services. First, set up a dedicated page on your website detailing the services and pricing structure. Then, mention the offer on your podcast and direct people to the webpage to sign up.
Keep in mind that coaching services are time-consuming, so you’ll want to limit the number of clients you take on at any given time. Thus, make sure you charge enough per client to make it worth the investment. Also, revisit the pricing structure from time to time and make adjustments as needed.
Repurpose Your Podcast Content
Your podcast contains valuable content you can repurpose and use in other places to make money. Transcribe your podcast episodes and edit them into articles or e-books. You can approach publishers to host the content or sell it yourself.
You can also repurpose content covering affiliate products. Then, publish the content on your affiliate marketing websites to drive traffic and make sales.
Host Live Shows and Events
Podcasting feels isolating when it’s just you, a microphone, and a faceless audience. However, you can connect with listeners and make money in the process by hosting live shows and events. Promote the show on your podcast and allow listeners to buy tickets leading up to the date.
You might not have the time or resources to scout out a venue to accommodate your event. Fortunately, many podcasters host virtual events. They still charge for tickets but connect over video instead of in person.
Monetize Your Email List
Do you want to know how to monetize a podcast for the long term? You can keep the money flowing by using your podcast to build an email list. Include an opt-in form on the podcast website so listeners can join your list. You can also incentivize them to sign up by offering a free whitepaper or e-book.
At a basic level, you can use your email list to remind people about newly launched episodes. Beyond that, you can promote products, services, and events through email marketing.
Request Support From Your Listeners
Listener support is a crucial component of running a successful podcast, and it can go beyond tuning in each week. Some listeners are willing to donate money to keep their favorite podcast running.
While you might feel awkward asking for donations, it’s a common monetization strategy for podcasters. You don’t have to be pushy, but explain the reason for the donations and how people can support you.
Remind people throughout the podcast, but especially at the end. That way, they can close out of the episode and make a donation.
How to Monetize a Podcast: Marketing Made Simple
These monetization strategies only work if you have a quality podcast and devoted, engaged listeners. That’s easy to accomplish when partnering with Channel V Media.
Our end-to-end podcast services cover everything from subject matter and scripts to marketing and PR. Contact us today to find out more about how to launch, grow and monetize your own podcast.