11 ways to make money from podcasts

Starting a podcast is a great idea if you are passionate about a certain topic. Luckily, we know of some ways to make money from podcasts.

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Podcasts are great to listen to, whether you’re on the bus to college, while you’re cleaning your dorm, or when you need to write an important essay.

Since you can create a podcast on almost any topic, it’s a great way to combine your passions with a way to make money online. Whether it’s a subject you’ve graduated from, a hobby you’ve had since childhood, or a special topic you know too much about, there will be an audience.

How to start one? And most importantly, how do podcasts make money? We’ll show you the best ways below.

What is a podcast?

Basically, a podcast is an audio program. It’s similar to a radio show, but it’s all online and usually not live – so people can listen to it whenever they want or even listen to old episodes.

Most of the time, a podcast series is focused on a specific topic or niche. However, it can also be a way of sharing news or entertainment.

How to start a podcast

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Here’s how to make a podcast:

Choose a topic – For the best chance of creating a successful podcast, choose a niche or topic. That way, listeners will know what to expect when they tune in and will be more inclined to subscribe if they like it.
Choose a name – Make sure it’s a catchy name and shows what the podcast is about. You want people to click on it when they see it in a long list of other podcasts. It’s also a good idea to check if the name is available on other social media platforms if you want to create a bigger brand around your podcast.
Create a format – From deciding how long your episodes will be to how you populate your podcast, creating a format is key. For example, think about whether it will be more of an interview, a news summary, or a discussion. Of course, you can deviate from that a bit, but having a format will help you set expectations for your audience.
Choose your podcast equipment – You don’t need to spend thousands of pounds on equipment, especially when you’re just starting out. But if you get a good microphone, your podcast will sound much more professional compared to recording on your phone.
Download audio software – In order to record and edit your podcast, you will need to download certain software. Again, you don’t have to spend money here – there are free, easy-to-use audio software available. For example, you can use Audacity without spending a penny.
Draw and record your first episode – Before you start recording, make a rough outline of what you plan to talk about. You don’t have to write everything out (you want it to sound natural!), but a few guidelines will help you when recording.
Edit your podcast episode – You can cut long pauses or mistakes in the editing process, as well as add music – choose songs that are free. It’s also a good idea to stabilize the volume where possible. The better the audio sounds, the easier it will be for your listeners to enjoy your content and subscribe for more.
Upload your podcast – Instead of uploading podcasts to individual platforms (such as Apple Podcasts or Spotify), use a podcast hosting platform. Some of the most popular include Buzzsprout, Transistor, Acast, and PodBean.
Advertise your podcast – Once your podcast is live, it’s time to market it. There are limitless ways to do this, from posting on social media to appearing on other podcasts. And once you start getting listeners, you can use our tips on how to make money from podcasts below.

How much do podcasters earn?

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While there is good potential to make money from podcasts, the amount varies widely. Your earning potential depends on your niche, the number of downloads your podcast gets, and the different ways you monetize it.

There are people who have turned podcasting into a full-time business and are making millions. However, this is not something that happens overnight! Building a large and engaged audience takes time and effort – but it can definitely pay off.

In terms of advertising, you can potentially charge around £20 for 1000 downloads. But depending on your niche, audience retention and ad length, you may be able to charge more.

Since there are many other ways to monetize your podcast outside of advertising, you can earn a lot more per 1000 downloads.

How to make money podcasting

Here are the best ways to make money from podcasts:

Podcast sponsorship deals

One of the best ways to make money with a podcast is to sign sponsorship deals with brands. You’ll need a steady stream of downloads for your podcasts before brands start paying for the privilege.

To get started, you can sign up for Podcorn. This is a marketplace where brands and podcasters can find each other. It’s free to sign up, but Podcorn will take 10% cut on any money you earn through their platform.

While it can be exciting when a brand reaches out for sponsorship, don’t just accept every one that arrives in your inbox. It’s best to only accept collaborations from brands that fit your audience and niche. You don’t want sponsorships to feel like a cash grab, and when the product fits well with your podcast, you build trust with your listeners.

And don’t forget that you can contact the brands yourself. If there is a brand that you think would be great for your show, please email them. Or if you notice that another podcast in your niche is getting sponsorships with certain brands, it sure doesn’t hurt to check them out.
Advertisements

The more people listen to your podcast, the more you can earn from advertising. Instead of having to set up something with a specific brand and record the sponsorship yourself, adding ads is much easier.

Most hosts offer special ad implementations. Acast, Buzzspout, and Transistor, for example, let you automatically add commercials to the beginning, middle, and end of your show.
Affiliate marketing

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Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make money online. The way it works is pretty simple: you promote a product or service and if someone buys or registers through your unique link, you earn a small commission.

The best way to start implementing affiliate marketing is to promote products or services that you already talk about in your podcast. If you know that it is in line with your brand and audience, it will be much easier to make sales.

Think about a specific product or brand that your audience would be interested in and see if they have an individual affiliate program. Alternatively, you can sign up to affiliate networks (Awin and impact.com, for example). They allow you to sign up for hundreds of affiliate programs within their network.

Read our full guide to affiliate marketing for more information on how it works and how to get started.
Membership plans

Adding a membership level to your podcast takes extra time, but the earning potential can be great. This works best if you already have an engaged audience that is very interested in what you have to say.

The easiest way to set up a membership plan is to create a Patreon for your podcast listeners. This is a membership site that gives subscribers access to exclusive or additional content. For a monthly fee, your fans can listen to extended podcast episodes or even additional full-lengths.

Creating all this additional content for Patreon subscribers is a lot of work, but since it’s a monthly subscription, you can generate a pretty reliable income through it.
Sale of digital products/services

Depending on the topics you discuss on your podcast, creating and selling digital products could be a real money maker. The best thing about digital products is that they are relatively low risk. You don’t have to buy inventory and once you’ve made it once, you can sell it as many times as you want.

Consider what products might be useful to your audience. You have the best chance of selling something related to your podcast because it will already be of interest to your listeners. For example, if your podcast is about self-improvement, you can create downloadable habit trackers or journals.

If you can’t think of anything that fits your niche, you can also offer services. Your experience in editing audio files or creating banners in Photoshop can be very useful to other podcasters. List your services on sites like Fiverr and start promoting them.
Donations

Most of the time, podcasts are completely free to listen to. So if you are providing value, you can ask the audience to donate some money to show their support.

To start collecting donations, you can sign up on websites like Ko-Fi or Buy Me a Coffee. These sites make it easy for creators to collect donations from fans. It is also possible to create a PayPal donation link so people can donate directly to your PayPal account.
Repurpose your podcast content

By using your podcast content on other platforms, you can start earning through multiple channels.

For example, if you’re recording a video at the same time you’re recording your podcast, you can upload it to YouTube. Since there are many ways to make money on YouTube, diversify your income. You can also upload clips of your video to other social media sites like TikTok and Instagram to grow your audience even faster.

If your podcast episodes are quite long or you want to add audience interaction, you can even stream them live on Twitch. We have a separate guide on how to make money on Twitch for more tips.
Sell goods

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To successfully market your podcast, you’ll need a large and engaged audience. No one wants to buy items with your logo, podcast name, or catchphrase you use a lot on your show unless they really like it.

It is also important to produce quality products. If people are supporting your podcast by buying your merchandise, make sure you don’t disappoint them.
Offer a podcast consultation

Planning, recording, editing and promoting a podcast takes a lot of time and effort. So, once you’ve gotten to the point where you’re confident in your abilities to create amazing podcast episodes, you can start marketing your skills.

Whether it’s people who have just started a podcast or those who want to outsource certain tasks, you can market yourself as the best person to hire. As most of this will be on a freelance basis, it should be relatively easy to fit it in with your university work.
Create a podcast course or e-book

With all these skills you can help new podcasters start their journey. What things have you learned along the way? What do you wish you had known when you were starting out? What do you think are the best ways to monetize your podcast?

Writing an eBook or podcasting course can be a lot of work, but this is where real money can be made. And since it’s a passive source of income, you can earn while you sleep! Once the course and eBook are created, you can sell them indefinitely.

Be sure to update your course or eBook accordingly if things change in the industry – you want your customers to get good value out of it.
Become a full-time podcast producer

Starting a college podcast can be a fun hobby to make money with, but did you know that it can lead to even bigger opportunities in the future? Not only will it look great on your resume, but there are companies actively looking for podcast producers.

According to Glassdoor, the average salary for podcast producers is around £36,000. While the starting salary will likely be lower than that, it’s a good goal to work towards.