How to Begin Making Money With Your Podcast
Even With a Small Show
I love podcasting. The problem with podcasting and doing it well is that it’s very time intensive. Even if you have someone else helping with editing your show. There are so many moving parts ranging from designing an editorial calendar, reaching out to guests, administrative tasks and the the marketing. With all of the front end labor needed to record a podcast, it’s hardly surprising that many podcasters eventually make the decision to monetize their work.
There are a number of concerns that podcasters have voiced to me and to others as they work their way to deciding if they should monetize their work.
Will monetizing my show upset my audience?
Is my work valuable?
Who am I to believe that someone will pay me something associated with my podcast content.
I often come back with the following “Your show is currently free for your audience. Eggs are $12 dollars in my town-they can’t be surprised that you’re needing to be compensated in some way?”
Affiliate Disclosure
“In order for me to support this newsletter, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note: As an Amazon Associate I may earn income from qualifying purchases that you may make if you interact with an Amazon Affiliate link associated with Creators Getting Paid”
Podcast Tool: Castmagic
I love using Castmagic for podcast editing. I run a number of different shows so having a tool like this is so helpful. It helps me to do the following:
Get rid of filler words (the AI is smart)
Create transcripts for episodes where I have a guest
Audio editing. Video transcript creation.
Need an AI assistant for your podcast? Castmagic may just be it for you and your show! Do you need video editing too? Make sure to check out Descript as well.
Listening Corner 🎧
I love listening to podcasts and so I thought it would be interesting to share podcast episodes that I’ve recently listened to and think you would enjoy.
The Tech Jawn-
and his co-hosts are Black Tech Enthusiasts Covering the Week’s Tech NewsGrowth in Reverse
Mindful Marketing
April Workshop Poll
Each month I run one or two workshops for paying subscribers. I need your help to decide which one I should run in April. Thanks for voting!
How to Make Money Podcasting 💵
A General Conversation
Once you’ve gone through all of the mental gymnastics associated with deciding to monetize certain aspects of your work you’ll need to take some additional steps.
Decide you want to bring in income for your show-This is a huge mindset shift.
Grow your email list!!!
Design a Media Kit and a One Pager-Watch the following conversation that I had with Steven M. Hughes, he was kind enough to share his media kit and one pager with paying subscribers of Creators Getting Paid.
Brainstorm all of the ways you imagine earning money with your podcast.
Research and decide on 3-5 affiliates-These must make sense for your project and the audience of your show. Affiliate marketing should compliment the content that you’re publishing (audio fiction or non-fiction)
Make it easy for would be partners to KNOW that you are open to being hired or paid for a resource or tool that you’ve developed.
Share how to connect with your podcast in your “Call to Action” (CTA) and in your show description
Celebrate the small wins-They help you work towards the big wins.
How to Make Money Affiliate Marketing
I LOVE affiliate marketing. When I’m focused on building consistent income with affiliate marketing, it’s a wonderful way to bring income into your brand. I’m going to work through how affiliate marketing shows up in my brand(s)
Caution: You must always share an “Affiliate Disclosure” sharing that affiliate links are being shared and that you may earn income as a result. Amazon’s affiliate disclosure can be very particular so keep an eye on that program.
Growing my list
Understand how “Cookies” work
First person attribution
The number of days that an interaction is cookied for. I typically prefer working with affiliate programs that have a minimum of a 30 day or more cookie. One program I work with has a “Forever” cookie.
Understanding that the more clicks on a link-the more likely those links will convert to a sell
Content design-Do you have an Editorial Calendar that helps you plan out when and where you’re adding the appropriate affiliates?
Are you designing content that compliments, highlights and shares the affiliate that you’re sharing
You may have noticed in the free portion of the newsletter that I shared Castmagic and Descript-there are podcast tools that are used by many creators for different functions. Castmagic is more audio forward where as Descript is better suited for video focused podcasts.
Add affiliate links to your episode show notes
Add affiliate links to your episode description
What Makes a Great Affiliate?
Affiliate marketing is one of the most accessible ways that a podcaster can begin making money. Many podcasters struggle because they don’t have an effective strategy to help them make affiliate sales.
Most people quit affiliate marketing too soon because they aren’t getting the results that they’re hoping for (aren’t making money).
What you need to know about Affiliate Marketing:
It’s a long-term monetization strategy
Huge public personalities such as Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and well-known content creators such as Amy Porterfield are actively using affiliate marketing as a monetization strategy (they both have podcasts as well)
Most people WAY underestimate the importance of an affiliate strategy (I share my insights below)
Affiliate marketing should NOT be a “Hard Sell” You don’t have to be aggressive with it. In fact, you should do the opposite.
Once you start making money affiliate marketing, you’re going to love receiving payment notifications.
There is an upfront time investment. Spend the time to figure out the right strategy for your affiliate and the audience that you’re sharing it with.
Watch the Video
What Makes a Great Affiliate Continued…
It is a 100% match for the people that you’re placing the product/service in front of. If it doesn’t make sense, then it will come across way too salesy and weird.
Ideally, you’ve actively used the product OR have several trusted friends and colleagues who use the affiliate that you’re sharing.
The affiliate is ridiculously easy for you to share in a natural way.
A great affiliate has a payout structure that makes sense for you to do a lot of upfront free for in order to get affiliate conversions. Here’s how I make this assessment.
The majority of affiliates that I work with have a higher per product purchased affiliate payout. For example: one of my favorite programs has a higher cost product that typically generates a $78 dollar payout per product purchased.
I only work with affiliate programs that have a 30 day or more “Cookie” what does this mean? A “Cookie” is a digital recording/memory of someone clicking on your affiliate link. Here’s how this works:
30 Day Cookie-If someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase during that 30 day cookie duration-you will be attributed as the affiliate of that product.
60 Day Cookie-Same as above
90+ Day Cookie-Same as above
Some affiliate will “Pay-Per-Click” if someone just interacts with your link you could earn income.
I prioritize longer affiliate cookie durations because people take awhile to make a spending decision. They may also return to helpful content that you’ve designed and eventually make a purchase.
What About Affiliate Payouts?
Each program will approach payouts a little differently and I think it’s important to think about this before saying “Yes” to an affiliate program.
I thought it would be helpful to share what I think about when deciding which programs I’ll work with.
Net 60-That’s the maximum amount of time that I would agree to. Many programs like this time frame because it gives them time to process product returns or finalize customer payments. As you build conversions (sales) with an affiliate as time goes on you’ll end up getting paid monthly. Here’s what I mean…
Made an affiliate conversion in January-Affiliate payments are received in March
Made an affiliate conversion in February-Affiliate payments are received in April
Made an affiliate conversion in March-Affiliate payments are received in May
A Specific Earnings Threshold-I have some affiliates that pay once you reach a specific earnings threshold. Typically this threshold would be around $100 dollars.
Caution-”In-Kind” Affiliates
There are a number of affiliate programs that pay you “In-kind” For example-I was an affiliate for a clothing website called “ThredUp” (love it!) It’s similar to an online Thrift Store/Consignment store. It was great until it over performed. and I earned way more clothing credits than I could ever use in one lifetime. Not tax advice but in-kind earnings can be taxed depending on how much you end up using.
I’m of the feeling that a food “In-kind” affiliate would be the only type that I would spend a lot of time marketing because groceries are expensive.
Affiliate Marketing is Fun
I love that affiliate marketing relies on my own strategy and focus. Let me know if you’ve been inspired to add affiliate marketing to your monetization strategy.