The best way to monetize is by building thought leadership on a topic and providing your audience with valuable content. This will entice them to use their purchasing power to buy products and services that you promote.  

However, it’s important that the product or service you’re recommending will genuinely help them. Your audience trusts that you will steer them in the right direction so it’s crucial to prioritize high-quality offers or refer them to reputable brands.

Here are four ways to monetize your podcast:

1. Sell Sponsorships or Ads

Podcast ads deliver effective results for brands. Research shows that 65% of people make purchases after listening to a podcast episode with an ad for a product.

A podcast ad network is an online platform where podcasters can connect with brands that are looking for advertising partnerships. Use networks such as Midroll or Podcorn to start conversations with brands about giving them more visibility through your audience.

You can run ads at different times in your show, such as preroll, midroll, or post-roll. Brands are now more concerned with audience engagement and niche demographics rather than mass listeners.Advertisers will want to ensure that your audience is the right fit for your brand and that listeners actively engage with your show. Create a professional website and social media accounts to give your audience more ways to interact with you.

2. Affiliate Marketing

Podcasts can use affiliate marketing to monetize by referring people to companies and gaining a commission when they make a purchase. Amazon Associates or Partner Stack are two websites where you can find affiliate programs to easily get started.

There are various affiliate marketing programs to consider, from small brands to large. Determine how the company’s specific program works to see how you can leverage it in your show. Many brands will give you a unique link that will allow them to see how much traction your link is getting from your audience.

Ensure that you promote products/services that fit with your podcast brand and will appeal to your audience. Authenticity is a key part of affiliate marketing. For example, if you host a podcast about beauty tips, then ensure that any products you refer are ones that you have researched, tested and you think would genuinely help your audience.

3. Offer Services

Once you establish yourself as a thought leader in a vertical, people will be more inclined to purchase from you.Consider offering and promoting services that relate to your podcast genre such as:

●     Online courses

●     Consulting

●     Public speaking

You can create an online course to further expand on the topics you touch upon in your podcast. Provide people with additional assistance by teaching the content in a different format such as through video. If you host a show about finance consider creating a course about finance 101 for beginners or an advanced course on trading on the stock market.

Offering consulting services is another strategic way to monetize your podcast. Your audience already subscribes to your show to gain valuable information about the topic you discuss. Perhaps,they need in-depth advice to solve a specific challenge they are facing and want to chat with you one-on-one.  

Public speaking can give you the opportunity to share your story or knowledge on a topic. Different organizations would likely appreciate a guest speaker to teach their staff or members. If you host a podcast about wellness, offer to teach a workshop in person about how people can add more holistic health activities into their lifestyle.

Direct your audience to your website and further utilize content marketing such as email campaigns and blogs. This content will help push them down the sales funnel to purchase one of your services.

4. Events

Host an offline event such as a conference or workshop that relates to your podcast topic. Invite different guest speakers that would appeal to your audience. Promote the event to your target audience via your show.

You can take your event all over the world since podcasts allow you to have a global reach and you may have loyal fans abroad. Monetize the event by asking guests to pay an entry fee.

The Social Media Marketing Today podcast,hosted by Michael Stelzner, holds a conference every year called Social Media Marketing World.

Ready to get started?

Monetizing your podcast allows you to put money in your pocket and take your show to the next level. The best way to monetize is by providing your audience with even more value by offering referring products, services, and hosting events. Consider hiring a freelancer from Quill to help you build your podcast brand and online presence to attract more advertisers.

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