Before Patreon and other such platforms existed, podcast sponsorship was how most creators monetised their content. It’s still a popular method to this day, and often how the bigger shows earn a crust.

Podcast sponsorship is an option for shows with numerically smaller audiences, too, providing their topic and niche is a good fit. In this guide, we’ll take a look at the various ways podcast sponsorship can work. We’ll also cover how to reach out to potential sponsors – should you decide that it sounds like the right path for you and your show.

Find me a podcast sponsor right now.

And, if you run a business and have been approached about potentially doing podcast sponsorship, check out How to Sponsor a Podcast. That’s our guide for all the info you’ll need on that front!

Why Podcast Sponsorship?

Just like people have different motivations for podcasting, they also have different motivations for monetising their content.

For one podcaster, the thought of covering their web and hosting costs is enough. Maybe even to have enough left over to treat their other half to a nice meal every couple of months.

For another, it could be an essential income stream in their business, where they’re actually paying a team of freelancers and assistants to work on their show.

Ultimately, podcast sponsorship is a form of the age-old marketing tactic where someone has assembled a crowd, and someone else would like to advertise a product or service to that crowd.

The Strength of Podcasting

Most podcasts that “succeed” focus on a certain topic or niche. That means the audiences they build around them generally share a common interest. This could be anything, from losing weight to breeding gerbils to collecting stamps or brewing coffee.

Straight away, this gives podcasting the strength of targeting. Advertising on a podcast isn’t like putting up a billboard at the side of a road, where 90% of the folks who see it aren’t a company’s target audience.

Granted, targeting isn’t exclusive to podcasts. Things like trade magazines and blogs can be very niche and targeted, for example. But the other big strength of podcast sponsorship is in the delivery method.

Long-form audio content means listeners can spend lots of time listening to a presenter in a very intimate and regular way.

This builds a layer of trust and authority. It’s much harder to do this in the written word, where blog posts are Googled and skimmed for the one piece of info the reader wants.

How Do I Find a Sponsor?

Well, firstly, The Podcast Host and Alitu are always looking for shows to sponsor. If you’re interested in applying, just fill out this very short form to get the ball rolling.

Aside from that, some media ad agencies and podcast hosting platforms can help you set up a sponsorship agreement for your show. This is the “middleman” approach, which can be easier to get off the ground but less fruitful in the long run.

Typically, these services look for a certain number of downloads. Commonly, this is 5000 US-based downloads per new episode within the first month of its release.

Most podcasts have significantly lower numbers than this, though. Having a smaller audience doesn’t necessarily make it any less valuable. But if your audience is in the low hundreds, you’ll likely be better off seeking out your ideal sponsor and attempting to negotiate a deal with them directly.

To identify potential sponsors, think of products or services you use that would also improve the lives of your listeners. This is totally topic-dependent, but a few examples might be

1. A running podcast where the presenter uses a particular piece of tech to measure her performance.
2. A gardening podcast where the presenter uses a particular type of feed on his lawn.
3. A show about miniature wargaming where the presenter uses a particular company to buy paints and models.

Each of these podcasters could reach out to the companies behind the products they use and make a pitch.

Our How to Sponsor a Podcast article was designed as a guide for business owners who’ve been approached about advertising on podcasts. You can use this resource either as a template for your own pitch or just link them to it directly. It’ll answer all the questions they’ll ask about how sponsoring your podcast will not only work but also benefit them.

Creating a Media Kit

If you want to find a podcast sponsor, creating a media kit is good practice.

Podcast Media Kit Examples, Tips, & Resources: Amplify & Attract

Read article called: Podcast Media Kit Examples, Tips, & Resources: Amplify & Attract

A media kit is the essential information about sponsoring your show, packaged up in an easy-to-read manner. You might create it as a designed and illustrated PDF, either available on request, or via direct download from your site.

In a media kit, you’ll want to include things like:

• Information about your audience. Their needs, wants, and pain points
• The role your podcast plays in your niche or topic
• Download and/or engagement statistics
• Episode pricing & slot availability
• Links to samples of your audio – make it easy for them to hear you
• Some examples of listener reviews you’ve had

Also, make sure it’s easy for potential sponsors to contact you. Create a ‘Contact’ page on your website, and in there, list and link to every way someone can interact with you.

How Podcast Sponsorship Works

Let’s get into the nuts and bolts of podcast sponsorship, then. At the most basic level, the advertiser pays to promote their product or service on one or more podcast episodes.

Commonly, podcasts deliver ads in one of two ways.

‘Host Read’ Ads

The most effective way is for the host to talk about the product or service. They’ll tend to mention why they recommend it, some examples about how they themselves use it, how they benefit from it, and why the listener would, too.

Done well (and legitimately!), a host-read ad can act as another part of the episode content, instead of sounding like an interruption.

‘Radio Style’ Ads

An alternative is for a third party to create adverts. This way, the podcaster simply has to play them on their episodes. This is a lot less effective because the audience listens to hear the presenter’s thoughts and opinions. Having a random Voice-Over interrupt the content to quickly give you a sales pitch can be jarring and even annoying. Listeners can fast-forward or tune out as soon as they hear the change in cadence or background sound.

Placing of Ads

An advert might appear at the very beginning of an episode, the very end, or somewhere in between. These slots are known as:

1. Pre-Roll – Before the content starts
2. Mid-Roll – during the main content of the episode
3. Post-Roll – After the content has finished

Mid-roll is the most desired spot (and, thus, the most expensive). Listeners are less likely to skip this content. Post-roll is the least optimal position for an ad, but it’s also the cheapest.

How Do I Create a Good Podcast Advert or Sponsorship Slot?

Doing the ads yourself will make them more effective. After all, your audience turns up to hear you.

You can do the ad during your recording, or you can record and mix one separately and stitch it into the finished episode. Let’s talk a bit about both approaches.

Sponsorship Slots as Part of Your Content

Here, you’ll talk about a product or service while recording your episode.

Pros

1. Minimal interruption to your content. When done well, these are really just another aspect of your content offering and can blend in seamlessly.
2. Minimal editing and production – you don’t need to add any segments in the editing phase.

Cons

1. Can be difficult to transition to during a podcast interview.
2. Can be more difficult for the inexperienced presenter to “get right” first time.

Pre-Producing Your Podcast Ad

The alternative is that you script up your ad, record it as its own segment, and edit it into the episode. Or, use a dynamic ad insertion tool to place it there.

Pros

1. You don’t need to think or worry about doing your ad reads during the recording session. This lets you focus entirely on your episode topic.
2. You can take a bit more time to craft your ad and feel like the finished product sounds just right.
3. Pre-recorded ads are easier to run a ‘Mid-Roll’ ad during a podcast interview.

Cons

1. This type of ad – although delivered by you – can still be seen as an interruption by some of your listeners.
2. If you’re playing the same one on every episode, it can train your listeners to hit the skip button.
3. It can begin to grate on those bingeing through your back catalogue.

Podcast Sponsorship Best Practices

If you plan on using podcast sponsorship in your content, there are a few things to be aware of, either to optimise your efforts or to keep you out of trouble.

Declare Them

If you’re taking money to advertise anything, you must make that clear to your listeners. A quick “thanks to Jim’s Underpants Emporium for sponsoring this content” will do the trick. Adverts need to be clearly marked as such, and not sound like you just so happen to be waxing lyrical about Jim’s Y-fronts as part of your episode.

Create Special Links

A tool like Pretty Links is a great way to send your listeners to your sponsors. Here, you can make memorable links that are easy to read and remember. You can also track the clicks to measure the effectiveness of your ads, too.

Some sponsors will even create discount coupon codes, which also help track effectiveness.

Create a Space

Another good practice is to send your listeners to a bespoke landing page. This page would contain all the info about your Call to Action, as well as any discounts or special offers. Having a page like this makes it easier to track engagement, and encourage more conversions and sales, too.

Sponsoring Fiction Podcasts

What if you run a fiction podcast or audio drama? You might think this would make it harder to run podcast sponsorship. But some of the best sponsor collaborations I’ve heard have come via storytelling shows.

In Wooden Overcoats (a sitcom following the antics of two rival funeral directors) you’ll hear some outstanding examples of their Bruno Mattress commercials. Check out the opening few minutes in Season 2, episodes 2, 3, and 4.

How Much Does Podcast Sponsorship Pay?

There’s certainly no one-size-fits-all answer here and lots of variables to consider.

There’s the “CPM model” (or cost per thousand listeners), a method of measuring advertising based on audience numbers.

Typically, podcasters stand to earn around $20 per ad, per 1000 downloads, within 30 days of an episode’s release.

CPM can work well for podcasts with thousands of downloads, but many have much smaller audiences.

A smaller audience doesn’t make it any less valuable, though. In fact, the opposite can be true, the more hyper-targeted it is.

Imagine you ran a podcast about building rockets capable of flying humans to Mars, and you only had one listener – but that listener was the director of NASA. How much could you charge for an ad slot on that show? Basically, you could name your price.

A very niche show with around 200 listeners might charge $150 per episode, whilst a podcast with 5000 listeners based around a much more general topic might struggle to get a better deal than $20 CPM.

The good news is that if you own your podcast – as most do – then it’s entirely up to you what you charge. That doesn’t necessarily mean someone will be willing to pay it. However, it does mean that there’s no need to run ads if you’re unhappy with the amount they offer.

Affiliate “Sponsorship”

Another model of podcast sponsorship is the affiliate commission route. Here, you run ads in the same manner as above. Instead of being paid per episode or 1000 downloads, payment is based on how many people actually buy the product or service.

Many early-stage podcasters take this route because it can be difficult to negotiate a good deal with a brand-new show and a fledgling audience.

The downside is that there’s no guarantee of any commission at all. On the flip side, there’s no cap on what you could potentially earn if your ads resonate with your audience.

You usually don’t need permission to sign up for affiliate schemes either, so you can run ads on your podcast from episode one if you want to. Check out our post on affiliates for podcasters where you can choose “sponsors” based on your content, your audience, and which ones are a good fit for both.

Dynamic Ads

Some media hosts and agencies can set you up to run ‘dynamic’ ads on your podcast. This means you can earn from running ever-updating radio-style ads on all your episodes.

An argument for this could be that any ‘baked-in’ ads you ran 100 episodes ago or five years ago are still being played in your back catalogue, but you’re no longer earning from them.

Whilst this is true, the rates in dynamic advertising are pretty low. I’ve seen examples of podcasters earning a whopping two cents (literally, two cents) for an entire month of running dynamic ads.

On top of that, the ads risk being irrelevant to your audience, breaking up your content in a jarring manner, and generally annoying your listeners.

As a side note, the fact that non-dynamic, ‘baked-in’ ads continue to play in your back catalogue “forever” can be sold as a benefit to potential sponsors.

Some hosting providers have dynamic ad tools that enable you to create your own, so you don’t need a third-party agency to run and play them for you, either.

Downsides of Podcast Sponsorship

Things change the minute there’s money involved. And your podcast is no exception.

If you’re taking payment from anyone, you have an obligation to them. They’re paying you for a service, and you need to deliver and try to keep them happy.

Up until now, if your podcast has been a hobby, you might’ve been able to miss the odd week if you were too busy, or just didn’t feel like hitting record.

That changes when someone has paid to advertise on your show, though, especially if those ads are time-sensitive.

Additionally, you have a duty to your audience. You’ve slowly built up a level of trust with them. What if they begin to question whether your latest episode was only released because you were getting paid to run an ad?

Take this all into consideration before deciding for sure that you want to go down the podcast sponsorship route. Remember, too, that if you’re looking to earn from your content but don’t like the idea of running ads, then other podcast monetisation avenues are available.

Podcast Sponsorship: Next Steps

1. Planning to approach a business about sponsoring your podcast? Use our How to Sponsor a Podcast guide to create your pitch.
2. Create a Media Kit for your show. Consider creating an audio trailer to present your work succinctly.
3. Not fully bought into the sponsorship route, but want to explore monetisation? There are other options available.

Finally, if you’d like to find a podcast sponsor right now, then fill out this short form to get the ball rolling!

If you can relate to that goal, you may ask: How much money do podcasters make?

Podcasting might seem like money for nothing, as Dire Straits once sang. It takes time and commitment to generate income from your podcast. But it is possible, and you can make good money from your podcast if you get the formula right.

How Much Do Celebrity Podcasters Make?

Let’s get this out of the way first. When you hear people talking money in podcasting, it’s often in eye-watering numbers. This is because it’s rare. The popular podcasters whose paychecks make the news do so because scarcity makes it newsworthy. 

For example: 

• Joe Rogan renewed his contract with Spotify in 2024 for $250 million. 
•  Tim Ferris charges $43,200 per episode sponsorship (as of this writing).
• Crime Junkie may make as much as 5.6 million per month from podcast sponsorships alone. 

Again, these numbers are rare among podcasters. And, these cases don’t account for income streams outside of their podcast. 

But what about the other podcasters who monetize their shows? How much money are they making? Let’s take a look at some examples before diving into exactly how they make it.

How Much Does An Average Podcaster Make?

Podcast celebrities aside, how much money can your average independent podcaster expect to make?

Well, the answer is “it depends”. But, based on our own experiences of well over a decade in the medium, here are some fictionalised but realistic case studies.

The Hobbyist – $60 per month

The hobbyist could be running a fiction podcast or creating content around their passion (think knitting, miniature painting, or retro video games).

In this example, our hobbyist’s enthusiasm is infectious, and they build a dedicated community around it. They use a site like Patreon for regular listener donations, release premium episodes behind a paywall, and sell the odd t-shirt, sticker, or mug.

After a couple of years of delivering consistently great value, they can cover their hosting costs and treat themselves to a pizza every now and then. 

How much does a hobbyist podcaster make?

• Crowdfunding $30 per month
• Premium content $20 per month
• Merch $10 per month

In this case, the podcaster is in it for intellectual and emotional stimulation, rather than profit. 

The Side Hustle – $240 per month

The side-gigger enjoys talking about their passion, too. But it’s more likely that their topic will address some sort of audience pain point. That could be anything from weight loss or fitness goals to learning a language or passing a particular type of exam.

This type of podcaster offers solutions for their listeners, approaching it with more of a business mindset. A consistent episode publishing schedule makes their show a good fit for advertisers and affiliate links. Plus, they’ve distilled their knowledge into an eBook, which is sold as a product.

Maybe they can eventually grow this into a full-time income. But for now, it’s a nice extra earner for doing something they enjoy. 

How much does the side hustle podcaster make?

• Sponsorship $150 per month
• Ebook Sales $20 per month
• Affiliates $70 per month

The Business Owner – $2600 per month

The business owner might’ve once been a side hustler, or, their business might pre-date their podcast. In either case, this podcaster offers something their listeners are willing to invest in.

This podcaster has grown such a strong authority and personal brand that people will pay a lot of money for an hour-long coaching session with them.

There are detailed courses for sale for those who can’t afford private coaching. The business podcaster has also created a product for their audience’s particular pain point, another solid income source.

Though the top line here seems (and is!) impressive, effort and time demands are also much higher. 

How much does the business-owner podcaster make?

• Course sales: $600 per month
• Coaching: $1200 per month
• Product sales: $800 per month

Choosing a Money-Making Niche

Our fictional podcasters all have one thing in common: a clearly defined niche.

To make a substantial income stream from your podcast, you must choose a niche to help you do that. Either that or you’ll need to be an already-known figure or brand.

For example, if you want to make money through podcast ad revenue, there are a lot of tv-recap podcasts. Sponsors pay for ad reads on those shows, plus it’s easier to make many episodes (or, as ad buyers call them, “inventory”) in a short time. 

But, the more unique your value proposition, the more your podcast will stand out. It’ll be memorable, and your audience will likely share it with their friends. The community it creates may be smaller but more engaged.

Some podcasters dig into a social need, what marketers call “pain points,” to create content. Tim Ferriss tapped into white-collar workers’ need to feel fulfilled and gain control over their lives. Crime Junkie satisfies their audience’s need for compelling mystery and validates their desire for justice. 

Can you make lots of money by simply recording yourself talking? Probably not. Can you make money by sharing knowledge and expertise with a combination of excellent sound design, unique and useful ideas, careful research, and interesting guests? Much more likely.

The main takeaway here is that in no way is podcasting passive income. It’s a lot of work.

6 Core Podcast Monetization Methods (and How Much YOU Can Make)

Now, let’s look at a few of the core ways podcasters make money and how much you can expect to make if you go down that route with your podcast.

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate sales are probably the easiest way to start monetizing your podcast if you’re new to the game.

Running an affiliate program is when you agree to provide an affiliate link somewhere on your website or show notes promoting a brand, product, or service. You can read about how it works in our affiliate marketing for podcasters guide.

Essentially, you generate a small income every time a listener buys through your custom affiliate link. How much you make per click depends on the affiliate sales agreement you have with the brand, but normally, it’s between 5-50% of the sale. So, if it’s a link to a book that costs $20, you could earn between $1-10 for every click.

Amazon affiliate commission ranges from 1% to 20%, depending on the product category (fashion 10%, home improvement 7%, etc.), and you can earn 1.5% on any unrelated products a customer buys on the platform after arriving there via one of your links.

2. Advertising and Sponsorship

While advertising is often the go-to monetization strategy, it’s not the easiest way to make money podcasting. To make decent money from advertising and sponsorships in podcasting, you need one of two things: Impressive download numbers or an extremely niche topic with a hardcore audience (or both!).

In the right circumstances, ads and sponsorships are a win for everyone involved. Businesses like podcast advertising because it offers a unique way of reaching audiences. Studies show that podcasts can strongly influence listener brand perception by building intimacy and trust over time. Recently, podcasts have overtaken TV and radio as the most effective medium for advertising.

How Much Ad Revenue Do Podcasters Make Per Episode?

CPM (cost per mile) in podcast advertising is around $25 per 1000 downloads per episode. Note that this only includes downloads within the first 30 days of the episode’s release date.

But if you have a popular podcast with a very loyal niche audience, you theoretically could earn the same amount for around half the number of downloads per month. Ultimately, it depends on your niche and how valuable your audience is to the advertiser.

3. Exclusive Content

Offering exclusive content is a monetization method that will only work with a hardcore loyal audience who need your content. That, or you’ll need to provide very niche content where listeners see value in paying for your expertise.

Normally, podcasters will charge for access to their back catalog or high-value episodes in addition to their free content. You can expect to earn between $3-6 per series with this strategy, depending on how popular your podcast is. Check out this guide on how to sell podcast episodes if you’re interested in pursuing this.

To generate income from a private podcast, you’ll also need to pay for a hosting provider that offers membership capabilities. You can expect to pay around $20 per month for this software.

4. Selling a Product or Service

Creating your own physical products or consulting services to sell through your podcast (rather than advertising someone else’s) is a popular way to make money through your podcast.

For example, maybe you run a bodybuilding podcast and decide to start selling health shakes that include a new ingredient you’ve been raving about to your listeners. Or, you might start offering online training sessions with listeners.

How much money podcasters can make here depends on a few factors:

• If it’s a digital product, any cuts to partners will likely be minimal, and there will be no manufacturing or shipping costs.
• If it’s a physical product, it’s likely you will need to pay partners to create and distribute your goods.
• If it’s a service, you probably get to keep all of the profits, unless you employ a team to help run it.

5. Paid Subscriptions (Crowdfunding)

Paid subscriptions might include exclusive content as part of the package, but not always. To start making money from paid subscriptions, you’ll need to be popular with your audience or offer a really attractive subscription package. This might even link up with selling exclusive content or a service or product through your podcast.

The Tennis Podcast, for example, is available on all major platforms. Their website has merchandise for sale. However, the podcast also makes money by asking listeners to “Become a Friend” of the show. This membership includes ad-free listening (via Supporting Cast), bonus content, and access to live shows via YouTube. Friends of The Tennis Podcast also get access to The Barge, their online community for the show’s fans. And, Friends get a presale code to buy tickets for live shows (yet another income stream).

With an audience “in excess of 100,000,” if 5% of their audience joined the Friends community at the £6 level, that would be £30,000 per month. 

Bear in mind, this excludes any amount The Tennis Podcast pays to use Supporting Cast and their Friends membership platform. Producing a live show isn’t cheap, either. The point remains that The Tennis Podcast’s income stream is more like a cable of threads spun together. 

The most popular way to run paid subscriptions is via Patreon, but there are many good Patreon alternatives out there, too.

6. Donations

Donations can tie in with paid subscriptions, as many of the tools are the same (e.g., Ko-Fi, Buy Me a Coffee, etc.).

Accepting listener donations is a monetization method many creators use to keep their podcasts independent.

Asking listeners to commit to a regular monthly donation frees you from relying on other podcast monetization strategies like sponsorship, which might influence the content of your show.

Donation buttons can be set up for voluntary amounts (starting at $1 per month), or you can have fixed tiers that ask for a higher donation in exchange for something (for example, bonus content or merchandise). 

Key Takeaway: Use Multiple Income Streams

If you ask any podcaster who makes a decent income from their show how they do it, they’ll likely say, “multiple income streams.”  Combine some, if not all, of the above monetization methods. That’s how most podcasters make their money.

While no single option from the list above will be your golden ticket to quitting your day job, a combination could bring in a decent monthly package.

The Price of Admission in Podcasting

Although the price of admission in podcasting is low, it’s not a free-for-all. So, while you can easily make money with your podcast, you’ll need to spend at least a little cash first to make some later. This means you’ll likely be operating with negative cash flow when you start out.

New podcasters have some fixed costs (such as gear, hosting, branding) and variable costs (time, energy, enthusiasm). But you can definitely start with a low budget. Libraries, for example, sometimes offer courses, equipment, and quiet space to record.

However much it costs you to make your podcast, your content and niche have to be interesting, unique, well-crafted, and necessary, otherwise, you can forget breaking even, let alone making a profit.

There are many different ways to monetize a podcast – but they all require one thing: an audience. And to build an audience from scratch, you must create content that people actually want to listen to.

Case Study: Sarah Rhea Werner, Write Now and Girl In Space

Sarah Rhea Werner is one of the biggest success stories in independent podcasting. She began making solo shows (Write Now and Girl In Space), and now she is able to say, “I make a full-time living podcasting (including paying for healthcare, if not saving for emergencies) because I include both direct AND indirect podcast income.”

She diversifies her podcasts’ revenue streams with “avenues like Patreon, tip jars, in-episode advertising, etc.” As a result of her podcasts, she can also make money indirectly, “speaking engagements, product & merchandise sales, course sales, freelance opportunities, coaching, IP/rights licensing/sales, and more.”

She points out that the key is to set realistic goals, and build your audience first:

“Unless something magical (or illegal) happens, you’re probably not going to make $1 million podcasting overnight. But you can begin to make money and increase it incrementally over time, scaling it like a business.

It comes down to setting and attaining realistic goals. So perhaps your first goal is to cover your podcasting costs — your microphone and other equipment, your website, your hosting company, paying actors, and maybe a few other things. What does that money look like on a per-month basis? How will you obtain it, dollar by dollar? That’s your first goal.”

So, How Much Money Do Podcasters Make?

In summary, there are many ways to monetize a podcast, and generating multiple income streams from a combination is the way to make a decent packet.

In the Podcraft Academy, our Monetization Mastery course is dedicated to helping you set up and grow those streams, walking you through everything from affiliates and merch to premium content and sponsorship. You’ll find loads more in the Academy, too, from podcast feedback tools to downloadable checklists and resources. We’d love to work with you in there!

You’ve probably seen creators who seem to monetize their work across multiple channels effortlessly. The reality? Behind every thriving creator business is a clear strategy that aligns their content with specific revenue streams.

In this guide, you’ll discover proven business models that today’s top creators use, plus practical strategies to match these models with your financial goals.

By Haley Trinh, Sage

Haley is an SEO Market Strategist for Sage, managing projects and supporting performance marketing activities for the North American region. She has over 5 years of experience across Media Planning, Digital PR, and SEO.

An Overview of Business Models for Content Creators

There are several business models available that content creators can use. Some, like subscription platforms, provide a steady monthly income. Others, such as brand partnerships, might bring larger but less frequent payouts.

The most successful creators typically combine two or more. Think of a YouTuber who makes money from video-editing software while also running membership programs and selling merchandise.

Let’s explore each model in detail to see which aligns best with your goals and content style.

Subscription-based Models (e.g., Patreon, Substack)

Subscription models transform your most engaged followers into reliable monthly income. Platforms like Substack, Patreon, and alternatives have made this easier than ever.

The magic of subscriptions lies in their predictability. Once you build a loyal subscriber base, you can forecast your income and plan your content calendar with confidence.

Most creators offer different membership tiers. Your entry level might give subscribers exclusive posts or early access to content. Higher tiers could include personal coaching calls or custom merchandise.

Take newsletter creators on Substack. Many start with free content to build an audience, then introduce premium newsletters that dive deeper into their expertise. Some earn thousands monthly from just a few hundred passionate subscribers.

Advertisement Revenue Streams (e.g., YouTube, Podcasts)

Ad revenue can turn your content views into a steady income. The math is simple: more views typically mean more earnings.

YouTube creators earn through pre-roll, mid-roll, and end-screen ads. The platform handles all the tech work — you focus on creating content that keeps viewers watching.

Podcast advertising works differently. Instead of automatic placements, you’ll negotiate directly with brands for host-read ads. This personal touch often leads to higher rates, especially if you’ve built trust with your audience.

Sponsored Content & Brand Partnerships

Brand deals can become your biggest revenue source once you’ve built a dedicated audience. You’ll earn by creating content that naturally showcases products your followers already want.

The sweet spot? When a brand’s values match yours perfectly. Your audience can tell when you genuinely love a product and that authenticity drives better results for everyone.

Payment structures vary widely. Some brands offer flat rates per post, while others might pay based on performance metrics. Top creators often negotiate packages that include multiple deliverables across different platforms.

Digital Products & Services (e.g., Courses, E-books)

Creating your own digital products puts you in complete control of your income potential. Your expertise becomes a 24/7 revenue stream through courses, e-books, templates, or coaching programs.

The upfront work is intense — you’ll spend weeks or months creating high-quality materials. However, once launched, these products can earn while you focus on creating new content.

Online courses often bring the highest returns. 

Many creators start with a small workshop to test their teaching style, then expand into comprehensive programs based on student feedback.

E-books and templates work well for solving specific problems. A food blogger might sell meal-planning templates, while a finance creator could offer budget spreadsheets.

How to Set Content Creator Financial Goals

Setting clear financial goals starts with understanding your current income and expenses. Track every revenue stream meticulously, from sponsorship deals to merchandise sales.

Smart creators running their small businesses use accounts receivable software to monitor incoming payments and maintain a healthy cash flow. This gives you accurate data to plan your financial future and spot growth opportunities.

Break down your goals into three categories: short-term (monthly income targets), medium-term (business expansion), and long-term (wealth building). Each goal should be specific and measurable.

Factor in the seasonal nature of creator income. Some months might bring in significant brand deals, while others remain quiet. Build a financial buffer to smooth out these fluctuations.

3 Strategies to Align Your Financial Goals

Success as a creator isn’t about copying what others do. It’s about matching your unique content style with the right revenue streams to hit your financial targets. Let’s explore three proven approaches that top creators use to build sustainable businesses.

1. Tailor your content creator business models to financial objectives

Understanding your income targets shapes which business models you prioritize. For high monthly targets, combine revenue streams that complement each other.

An easy win? Pair passive income from social media with active revenue like coaching. Your automated content keeps earning while you focus on high-value clients.

The timing matters, too. Build your subscription base first to create a steady income. Then, layer on sponsored content and digital products. This approach provides stability while you explore bigger opportunities.

2. Diversify your income streams to stabilize revenue

Smart creators never rely on a single platform or revenue source, such as making money from a podcast on only one platform. Build your presence across multiple channels to protect against algorithm changes or platform shifts.

Start with two core revenue streams you can manage well. Once those are stable, experiment with a third. Many successful creators earn from four to five different sources.

Watch your metrics closely. If one stream consistently underperforms, redirect that energy to better-performing channels.

3. Reinvest your profits to scale your business

Set aside 20-30% of your earnings for business growth. Invest in tools, team members, or skills that multiply your impact.

Consider outsourcing tasks that don’t directly generate revenue. This frees up time to focus on high-impact activities like creating premium content or nurturing brand partnerships.

Test new business models with small investments first. Scale up what works, and be quick to step back from what doesn’t.

Tools & Resources to Manage Finances and Track Goals

Every successful creator needs the right financial tools in their arsenal. The key is picking solutions that match your business model.

If sponsored content and brand partnerships drive your revenue, invoicing software helps you maintain professional relationships and secure timely payments. This becomes crucial as you juggle multiple brand deals and content deadlines.

Beyond core financial tools, successful creators rely on productivity apps to manage deadlines and project management platforms to coordinate with their teams. These tools keep you focused on content creation while automating business operations.

Consider investing in an analytics tool to track your content’s performance across your own platforms. Understanding which content performs well helps you make data-driven decisions about where to focus your efforts.

Remember: your tools should grow with your business. Start with the essentials and add more as your needs evolve.

Final Thoughts: Business Models for Content Creators

Building a profitable creator business takes more than just great content. It requires smart financial planning and the right mix of business models for your goals.

Many creators feel overwhelmed by the number of options available. Don’t be. Start by choosing one primary revenue stream and master it completely. Then, gradually expand using the strategies we’ve discussed.

The key is staying flexible and adjusting your approach based on what works for you and your audience. Your creator journey is unique, and your business model should reflect that.

Ready to level up your creator business? Start mapping out your financial goals today.

How Do You Make Money From a Podcast? 12 Monetization Tips

Read article called: How Do You Make Money From a Podcast? 12 Monetization Tips

In August of 2024, Patreon announced, “Apple is requiring us to switch over to their in-app purchase system for all iOS transactions or else risk being kicked out of the App Store altogether.”

What’s the big deal?  Starting in November of 2024, “Apple will be applying their 30% App Store fee to all new memberships purchased in the Patreon iOS app, in addition to anything bought in your Patreon shop.” Patreon says they’re switching all creators to a subscription-only model to avoid creators getting hit with these charges.

My opinion on Patreon is as ambivalent as snow on a fence rail in April. It could come down on either side. Patreon has benefits and risks, depending on how you manage your monetization.

Patreon for Podcasters: Best Practices & Who’s Doing it Well

Read article called: Patreon for Podcasters: Best Practices & Who’s Doing it Well

While Jack Conte’s big digital diva may be a household word, it’s not the only crowdfunding platform that can help you sustain and grow your podcast.

Far from it, in fact.

Here, I want to show you some Patreon alternative crowdfunding platforms, so you can make an informed choice. By the end, we’ll have narrowed it down to the best crowdfunding platform for you!

Some of these crowdfunding platforms work on a time-based approach. Others are a per-project or per-month funding option. Just like everything else in podcasting, there are pros and cons. Let’s take a look at these alternatives to Patreon.

Deadline-Based Patreon Alternative Crowdfunding Platforms

If you want to raise funds over a finite period and devote your full attention to the campaign, then a deadline-based approach is a good choice.

Fundraising is a project in and of itself. If you separate your fundraising project from other parts of your podcast, you can take time and effort to promote the fundraiser and reward your supporters. Then, once the campaign is complete, you can focus on other aspects of your podcast.

This is good for producers who podcast in seasons or favor batch processing. It helps to separate crowdfunding from the rest of your workflow. But, the deadline-based approach can subject a campaign to binary judgment: it’s either a “success” or a “failure.” This is not a great way to think about creative projects.

As you’ll see, there’s more than one way to make a crowdfunding program effective. 

Kickstarter

Kickstarter set the standard for crowdfunding in 2009. It’s favored by designers and people who make tangible things. Small businesses that compete on the TV show Shark Tank often raise their initial capital via Kickstarter. 

As the first online crowdfunding platform to have major visibility, it built the expectation that backers receive something specific and tangible in exchange for their support. The result is a mentality that Kickstarter is a way to pre-order a creator’s merchandise at a discount. Nothing wrong with that. For podcasters, competing with tangible objects is hard, and there’s pressure to create extra rewards.

Kickstarter depends on an all-or-nothing approach. Either you meet your funding goal, or you don’t. If your project receives enough pledges of support to meet your fundraising goal, Kickstarter charges the credit cards of all the supporters. Kickstarter doesn’t charge anyone if the project doesn’t gather enough pledges to meet the goal.

If you want to test the waters and determine if your idea is strong and planned properly enough that people would be willing to support it financially, Kickstarter is a good testing ground. If your Kickstarter campaign doesn’t meet its goal, you can figure out what to do to strengthen your plan.

Fees: “If a project is successfully funded, Kickstarter applies a 5% fee to the funds collected.” Stripe, Kickstarter’s payment processor, charges a 3-5% processing fee (which varies depending on the country).

Education: Kickstarter Creator Resources is a blog hub with articles about making a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Community: If the campaign succeeds, Kickstarter provides the campaign creator with a list of supporters’ names and e-mail addresses.

Creators can then ask supporters for contact information so they can send them their reward. After that, the community depends on respecting supporters’ privacy. You can ask them to opt-in to an email newsletter, for example. 

Crowdfunding by BackerKit

If you’ve backed Kickstarter projects that reached their pledge goals, you may have received a reward email with “Backerkit” in its URLs. This crowdfunding campaign pledge manager specializes in ad campaigns, customer relationship management, fulfillment, shipping, and strategy.

In 2022, Backerkit chose to stop being Kickstarter’s support toolbox and start its own crowdfunding platform, due to Kickstarter’s investment in blockchain. Though Backerkit first specialized in tabletop games, there’s plenty of room to expand. 

Fees: 5% of total funds raised, plus payment processing fees (2.9% + $0.30 per pledge in the US, and the fees vary by country). Just like Kickstarter. 

Education: Besides their Help Center, Backerkit has an online community, guides, webinars, a blog, and a Crowdfunding Roadmap. This last resource is meant for people who make tabletop roleplaying games, but still, it has useful information for any crowdfunder. 

Community: When you see a podcast similar to yours, it’s not competition; it’s an opportunity for cross-promotion. And now, Backerkit has Collab-Funding. Partner with another creator to give your audience and theirs an extra benefit, or get multiple creators together to share promotion and benefits.

Backerkit’s pilot program, Pintopia, raised over $68.5K for a cohort of 20 enamel pin creators.

IndieGoGo

Similar to Kickstarter, Indiegogo offers a time-based goal. But It’s not an all-or-nothing approach. If you don’t reach your goal, you can still get to keep what funds you raise. Also, you can leave your campaign open after the deadline. If someone finds out about your podcast crowdfunding campaign after the fact, they can contribute.

Indiegogo has a marketplace called IndieShop, so creators with funded products can sell merchandise from their campaigns. Like Kickstarter, this platform seems oriented toward tech and designers, so tangible rewards thrive.

Fees: Indiegogo charges a 5% fee, and additional payment processing fees.

Since this article’s last update, Indiegogo made its fees and pricing less transparent. Most crowdfunding websites’ home pages show a link to a Pricing page. Indiegogo shows pricing in their Support articles, where a chart shows how fees vary by nation and currency. Then, this fee can vary for creators receiving international pledges.

Like all online tools, you should always check the pricing structure.

Education: Indiegogo’s education center has articles and guides on all aspects of crowdfunding. Prefer to listen? Go Time, the Indiegogo podcast, is their audio version of the latest and best practices for crowdfunding. And, Indiegogo’s list of case studies can help you see what works and what hasn’t.

Community: The Experts Directory helps Indiegogo users find (you guessed it) experts on any part of the crowdfunding process. At first, I thought this was a way to ask other Indiegogo creators about their experience. But this directory is a list of recommended corporate partners for services that crowd funders need.

Crowdfundr

This certified B Corporation appears to be a response to the crowdfunding industry. The first thing Crowdfundr will tell you is that their service is free. Did they mention it’s free? Don’t worry. They’ll tell you soon enough. 

Creators can choose All-Or-Nothing (like Kickstarter) or Keep It All (like Indiegogo). And when your campaign meets its completion date, you can roll your campaign over into a merchandise store.

Crowdfundr excludes shipping costs from the amount your campaign earns, so you don’t have to calculate that or puff up your crowdfunding goal to cover shipping costs. 

Fees: Unlike the aforementioned time-based crowdfunding platforms, Crowdfundr has pricing tiers. They are: 

• Free: You pay Crowdfundr nothing but the credit card processing fees. Crowdfundr says, “You only pay for your Stripe/PayPal fees, and we ask your supporters for a tip. If they tip, we get paid. If they don’t tip, we still charge you nothing.” 
• Fee Recovery: Crowdfundr charges you 5% of your earnings and the credit card processing fee. But, Crowdfundr asks each supporter if they want to cover the 5% and credit card fees for this transaction on your behalf. 
• Flat Rate: Creators pay 5% of their earnings and the credit card processing fees. 

Education: Crowdfundr has videos to walk you through campaign creation, promotion, and fulfillment. There are also blog posts, tool kits, and templates for people like me who prefer reading. And, Crowdfundr has free printable workbooks. 

Community: In Crowdfundr’s case, community is twofold. 

The Crowdfundr Creator Hub is a behind-the-scenes community where Crowdfundr users can get help with their projects. Crowdfundr hosts their support chats and creator interaction on Discord and also has webinars and Ask Me Anything sessions on its website. 

To promote projects to the public, Crowdfundr hosts Spotlight events, with projects grouped by theme. For example, Crowdfundr’s Media in Motion event focuses on films, television, web series, cinematography, and video projects. These virtual events help creators support each other while promoting their own projects.

In my opinion, Crowdfundr is an excellent choice for podcasters as an alternative to Patreon. The only negative aspect is that Crowdfundr doesn’t appear to know what to do with podcasts. They have 13 project categories, from “Art” to “Writing,” with a “Music and Audio” category in the middle. Why not have a podcast category, too? 

Project-Based Crowdfunding Patreon Alternative Platforms

A disadvantage of some online crowdfunding platforms is that supporters can change their minds before their card is charged or contest a credit card charge. Buyer’s remorse is a legitimate concern.

Project-based support reduces that by focusing on the completed project, rather than a number and date. When funders see the person making the project that has an impact, they’re less likely to pull their funding. Abstract campaigns are easy to ignore and forget. Specific and clear campaigns are memorable.

Which donation would you rather make, five dollars toward a ten-thousand-dollar fundraiser or the same amount for a podcast of relaxing stories for kids recuperating in hospitals? Details matter when it comes to crowdfunding, whether Patreon or an alternative.

Many of these project-based crowdfunding platforms provide the option to donate once or give a recurring donation. This means you don’t have to start a new crowdfunding campaign whenever your funding runs out.

Ko-Fi

An alternate spelling of “coffee,” Ko-fi uses the idea of buying someone a cup of coffee in exchange for their creative work. The free version is, essentially, an online tip jar. It uses short links, so it’s easy to share. It’s straightforward and avoids buyer’s remorse. If someone likes what you do, this is a simple way for them to pay for it. It’s the simplest possible Patreon alternative.

Of course, there is a more committed option: Ko-Fi Gold. This lets you set up memberships, create patron-only posts, customize your page and username, sell merchandise, and more, for one monthly flat rate instead of a percentage.

Fees: Ko-Fi doesn’t charge a platform fee for the tip jar version. When you sell memberships, merchandise, or commissions, Ko-Fi takes a 5% platform fee. Ko-Fi Gold is $6 per month.

As I understand it, Stripe and PayPal take their processing fees on the donor’s end of the transaction (for example, if you give a creator $3, what comes out of your pocket is $3 plus the processing fee).

Education: Ko-Fi has a blog and a knowledge base.

Community: Ko-Fi’s Discord integration lets you chat with your most supportive fans. This is a great way to communicate with your audience. For example, you can have live Q&A sessions or talk about topics related to your podcast.

Ko-Fi vs Buy Me a Coffee: Where to Make a Latte Loot?

Read article called: Ko-Fi vs Buy Me a Coffee: Where to Make a Latte Loot?

Buy Me A Coffee

Buy Me A Coffee lets supporters give a one-time amount or join with a membership to view members-only content. The emphasis here is on community. Patreon emphasized community initially, but this Patreon alternative continues to prioritize it.

In a nutshell, it looks like Patreon, acts like Patreon, but allows one-time gifts, and it’s significantly less expensive for creators. Plus, they have more transparency and a set of values to be proud of.

Fees: 5% transaction fee. Creators can choose how they manage the credit card processing fee: whether to deduct the total from their earnings or “cover the credit card fee from your supporters.” In that case, if a supporter contributes $25, they pay $26.03.

Education: They have a clear FAQ and support articles, plus a Discord server.

Community: Supporters can leave a comment every time they give you money or comment on every membership post. Not only is the support per project, but so is the interaction.

Sponsus

Sponsus looks and acts like Patreon, simplified, emphasizing control, SEO, and privacy. Creators can sell memberships or make a Sponsus Storefront to sell merchandise. If a supporter wants to give you money without logging in, you can give them a gift code to let backers use membership benefits without sacrificing their privacy.

Fees: 7%, “excluding payment processing fees.” Considering how much they prioritize security and SEO, there seems to be more architecture behind this crowdfunding platform, which is probably what that extra 2% provides.

Education: A knowledge base and a Discord server. They ask users to submit feature requests and appear to be responsive communicators.

Community: Again, supporters can comment on individual posts, so they can respond to the project directly.

Supporting Cast

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed when you open a podcast listening app, Supporting Cast can help. This platform is meant to remove obstacles between audiences and the podcasts they love, while helping creators get paid for the shows they create.

Simplicity makes Supporting Cast work. The audience pays to subscribe to a private RSS feed for your show. You can add premium or bonus content to the RSS feed. Plus, you can share blog posts, email newsletters, Q&A sessions, and discussions with your audience.

Fees: 10%. This doesn’t include the credit card processing fees, about 2.9%+ thirty cents per transaction.

While this is expensive for a Patreon alternative, it’s on par with direct-to-consumer platforms like Substack. However, Supporting Cast offers flexibility with payments. You can sell a lot of content with one price for a whole season, or charge your audience more frequently.

Education: Supporting Cast provides comprehensive customer support, such as white-glove onboarding. To try Supporting Cast, you need to request a demo. This is great, but it doesn’t let people learn how the platform works or why: users have to trust that “this is where the magic happens.”

Supporting Cast: An Alternative to Patreon or Apple Subscriptions?

Read article called: Supporting Cast: An Alternative to Patreon or Apple Subscriptions?

Community: Supporting Cast’s myriad integrations include Discord, but you can communicate with your audience through blog posts and discussion sessions as well.

Patreon Alternatives: What Do Podcasters Need In a Crowdfunding Platform?

Have you ever noticed that restaurants with small menus specializing in a few items tend to have tastier food than those with huge menus and dozens of dishes? It’s simpler to make three different kinds of soup (and make that soup excellent) than to master all Mediterranean cuisine.

It benefits crowdfunding platforms to provide a wide variety of features and options so that creators of any craft, from fursuits to sestinas, can sell their work. More users, more inventory, more sales. However, having more options can also mean more maintenance and more problems for Patreon or an alternative to Patreon.

What if there were a crowdfunding platform specifically for podcasters? Podcasters need:

• a private RSS feed to share early and bonus content
• interaction with their backers: not only comments on project posts but also threaded discussions (such as Discord)
• options to post text, images, embedded video, and audio
• a storefront that can sell physical and non-tangible goods, from stickers to consultation sessions
• platform architecture that provides privacy and security
• a cost-effective price point that helps creators without gouging supporters.

There are book-oriented platforms for authors, music-oriented platforms for musicians, etc. Why not a crowdfunding platform for podcasters?

Why Do Podcasters Need a Patreon Alternative?

Patreon swings with market whims. One day, they love podcasters. The next day, they love original content from celebrities. Who knows what they’ll love next?  

Often, when a crowdfunding platform becomes close to remunerative, its leadership sells it to a larger platform. Remember, despite using charitable feelings as a marketing tool, crowdfunding platforms are not charities. They’re businesses, and they’re interested in their stability and expansion. The best crowdfunding platform for podcasters helps producers share their content and ideas with their fans, with minimal maintenance, whether Patreon or a Patreon alternative.

Podcasters are great customers for Patreon and other crowdfunding platforms. The backer benefits tend to be intangible (and easier to deliver), plus podcasts bring enthusiastic audiences who may be interested in other creators on the same platform. How crowdfunding platforms benefit podcasters, specifically, remains to be seen.

Crowdfunding, whether deadline-based or project-based, is just one part of an overall monetization strategy. In our Monetization Mastery course inside the Podcraft Academy, we leave no stone unturned when it comes to nurturing income streams for your content.

In the Podcraft Academy, you’ll also find all our other courses, from planning and launching to growth and beyond. There are also loads of downloadable checklists and resources, and you get access to weekly live Q&A sessions, too!

• You might sell original podcast episodes as premium content if you already have an existing audience.
• Or, you might choose to sell your back catalogue, whilst keeping your most recent episodes free on your main feed.
• You can even put your entire show behind a paywall, but this comes with the huge risk of dismantling your audience.
• There are plenty of ways to sell podcast episodes. Patreon is a popular platform, and many hosting providers now offer private podcast features.
• And, you call sell podcast episodes on apps like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, too.
• Read on for the full range of options…

Podcast episodes are generally free of charge. They ‘live’ on a podcast hosting platform and can be found everywhere podcasts are consumed (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and hundreds more listening platforms). Listeners can subscribe to them on their app of choice.

This is an overwhelmingly positive thing, because:

• From a listener’s point of view, podcasts are accessible to almost anyone.
• From a podcaster’s point of view, this means that your content has the potential to reach the maximum number of people.

It’s a win-win.

However, you might be thinking about how to sell podcast episodes as additional ‘premium’ content alongside your main series.

Or, you might just want to run a 100% ‘premium’ podcast, as opposed to creating free content available to everyone.

In this guide, I’ll run you through some options.

But first, a word of caution…

Who Can (or Should) Sell Podcast Episodes?

If you’re going to sell anything, you need an audience. One thing most aspiring and new podcasters have in common is that they’re starting out without one.

Podcasting is one of the best ways to build a loyal audience, but this takes time.

Coming right out of the gate, without any existing fans, and announcing that your new podcast is behind a paywall (however low) will kill it before it begins.

Even if you’re an established podcaster with a dedicated following, you should consider going premium carefully.

If you move your entire podcast over to a paid model, you’ll likely lose most of your audience.

You might continue to release the main podcast for free but create additional premium episodes. If this is your plan, be sure that you can take on this extra work without sacrificing the quality of your content (or your mental health).

Selling Your Back Catalogue

A tried-and-tested approach for podcasters who’ve been in the game a while is to sell their back catalogue. This is a strategy Mur Lafferty talked about in Podcast Income Stream Lessons From Top Indie Creators.

In this situation, you might always have your most recent 50 episodes available free on your feed. This means you’re still bringing in new listeners and turning them into dedicated fans.

But then you can sell access to your full back catalogue or blocks of episodes, which means listeners can pay to binge through the entirety of your content.

So, there are middle-ground options that aren’t all or nothing. Your podcast can be freemium and premium at the same time.

A more pressing matter for you right now might be wondering how you will take payments for your podcast episodes and ensure that they’re only available to your paying customers. Let’s look at eight great options.

How to Sell Podcast Episodes

If you’re looking to sell your podcast episodes, then you’ll find the perfect fit right here.

1. Patreon (or Ongoing Crowdfund Platforms)

Patreon means “ongoing crowdfunding model” in the same way that Google means “internet search.” As far as I know, Patreon is the original and biggest platform in this space. However, popular alternatives exist, such as Buy Me a Coffe, & Ko-Fi.

The bottom line is that these platforms allow your listeners or fans to give you money on a regular (usually monthly) or “per piece of content” basis.

If you go down this route to sell your podcast episodes, you’d likely have your main podcast as well as the behind-a-paywall content you release to your backers.

2. Supporting Cast

Supporting Cast is a platform created by The Slate Group to manage its podcasts. The platform provides audio for the audience on demand and a distraction-free relationship between the audience and podcasters.

The principles of Supporting Cast are similar to those of Patreon and the others mentioned above. The key difference is that Supporting Cast specialises in audio content.

Supporting Cast also integrates with MailChimp, WordPress, and many other platforms to help your show grow.

3. Memberful

Memberful is a platform designed for people who want to run a membership site. This is overkill for the average podcaster, but it is often an attractive option for people who run service-based businesses.

With Memberful, you can run a members-only podcast and other premium content offerings, such as blog posts and videos.

Memberful integrates with compatible podcast hosting platforms, so you would still host the audio on a separate platform. For some podcasters, Memberful would be an unnecessary middleman. But, others can build an entire business around their podcast with Memberful’s additional integrations.

4. Podcast Hosting Providers

Some podcast hosting providers offer private podcasting tools. These tools allow you to set up protected feeds that aren’t available to the general public.

Private doesn’t necessarily mean “paid”. But access to any private podcast feed can be granted by using a third-party e-commerce tool.

Hosting providers Captivate, Podbean, and Castos have integrated approaches that allow you to take payments directly. If premium podcasting will be a big part of your monetization strategy, then publishing on one of these platforms makes a lot of sense.

5. DIY Options

An effective (if a little clunky) route is to link to your premium episodes in the cloud on a platform like Dropbox or Google Drive.

You’d still need an e-commerce platform like Gumroad or E-Junkie to take payments. In addition, your listeners won’t be able to access your “podcast” in their listening app because there won’t be an RSS feed. However, this might be a simple way of testing the water when figuring out how to sell your podcast episodes.

It’s worth moving to one of the other options listed here, though, if you want to keep going in the long run.

6. How to Sell a Podcast on Apple Podcasts

Podcasters can create ‘channels’, grouping multiple shows together, and create freemium or fully paid tiers around their content in Apple Podcasts.

With Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, “you receive 70% of the subscription price at each billing cycle, minus applicable taxes. After a subscriber accumulates one year of paid service, your net revenue increases to 85% of the subscription price, minus applicable taxes. Your other podcast revenue — including any ads — will stay 100% yours.”

As one of the biggest podcast listening platforms in the world, this will be a low-hanging fruit and an appealing option for many. However, some podcasters have raised concerns that your paying audience will be locked into Apple’s ecosystem, and you’ll have no way to reach them outside of the platform.

If you’d like to dive in and start selling Apple Podcasts subscriptions, you just need to fill out this Apple Podcasters Program Agreement.

7. How to Sell a Podcast on Spotify

If you host your show with Spotify for Podcasters, you can sell episodes on Spotify with their ‘podcast subscriptions’ feature.

Aside from the hosting criteria, you must have at least two published episodes and at least 100 listeners in the last 60 days.

Once you’re set up, you can mark any episodes (existing and future) as ‘subscription only’, putting them behind a paywall.

With Spotify subscriptions, you keep 100% of your earnings, excluding payment processing fees.

You can also download your subscriber list to get the emails of the subscribers who’ve opted to hear from you.

If you use Patreon to sell podcast episodes, you can also integrate it with Spotify to give supporters the option to listen on the platform.

8. Bandcamp

Bandcamp is the website that gives artists control over what they sell, how, and to whom they sell it. You can use Bandcamp to sell podcast episodes. You can even use it to sell merchandise, such as t-shirts or physical copies of your audio. And you keep ownership of all your content.

Uploading your podcast files on Bandcamp costs you nothing but a little bit of time. You can also choose how many times each audio file will stream for free.

With Bandcamp, you upload your podcast in a lossless (WAV or FLAC) format, which makes it particularly appealing for fiction podcasters and audio dramatists. Here’s our full guide on how to sell your podcast with Bandcamp.

So… Should I Sell Podcast Episodes?

Surprise, surprise… it depends.

Are you just starting out in podcasting with no existing listenership? If so, then probably not. Focus all your time and attention on consistently creating quality content that resonates with your target audience.

On the other hand, if you’ve been podcasting for a while and already have an engaged following, it might be a tactic worth exploring. Just be mindful that creating extra content will require extra time and mental bandwidth.

Can you afford either?

Selling your back catalogue is a handy way of making premium content available without much extra work. This is a “best of both worlds” approach, as you’re still releasing your show as free and available to all. You can still pick up new listeners along the way; maybe they’ll go premium further down the line.

Remember that there are many other ways to monetise a podcast. Check out our ultimate guide for a list of different strategies and techniques. You’re guaranteed to find something that fits your situation, your podcast, and your audience.

We can also work with you inside Podcraft Academy to help you with every aspect of podcasting, from launching and editing to interview skills and promotion. In there, you’ll find all of our courses, resources, checklists, and templates. We run weekly live Q&A sessions, too, so you’ll always get the help, support, and guidance you need to keep on going!

Most podcasters know to make their shows available wherever their audience is. However, a dedicated app removes obstacles to the navigation of your content. Supporting Cast provides this kind of platform to help podcasters own their relationship with their audience. When podcasters use Supporting Cast, they get the exclusivity of private podcasting, the community and regular income of crowdfunding platforms, and ease of use for both the podcaster and the audience so both can focus on their relationship. 

What is Supporting Cast? 

Supporting Cast is a platform created by The Slate Group to manage its podcasts. As podcasters, they know what to prioritize. The platform provides audio for the audience on demand and a relationship between the audience and podcasters that’s free of distractions.

Whether you use the WordPress plugin on your site, manage a private RSS feed, or run a private app, Supporting Cast manages your billing, provides a community for discussion, and keeps your audience relationship free of distractions (like algorithms, ads, or trolls). Your audience can use their favorite podcast listening app or go to your app or website to enjoy your show and discuss it with you. 

Supporting Cast provides the technology behind podcast networks such as NPR, Pushkin Media, Pinna, and many more. 

How Does Supporting Cast Work? 

You upload your episodes to your host and create a private RSS feed. Supporting Cast uses the RSS feed to send your episodes to subscribers and works with you to make that relationship as effective as possible.

For example, you can: 

• Provide regular episodes early, send out premium content, and send out special audio clips, such as welcome messages or billing reminders.
• Interact with your audience on your website or your Supporting Cast community.
• Sell merchandise through a Supporting Cast storefront. 

Essentially, with Supporting Cast, you and your audience have more flexibility at a more affordable price than other platforms. 

What’s the Difference Between Apple Subscriptions and Supporting Cast?

Comparing Apple Subscriptions and Supporting Cast isn’t a better/worse comparison. It’s more like apples and oranges. Supporting Cast helps you share more than audio, maintain your relationship with your audience, and make money.

Supporting Cast Offers More Media Variety

Even podcasters who say their podcast is “audio-only” know there’s much more to maintaining a relationship with your audience and sharing your podcast’s topic than audio alone. Both Apple Podcasts and Supporting Cast help you share video files. However, Supporting Cast also helps you share blog posts and email newsletters with your audience. 

Supporting Cast integrates with MailChimp, WordPress, and many other platforms to help your show grow. Many people subscribe to shows without checking for new episodes, and Supporting Cast helps you invite them back for new installments. Everybody needs a nudge now and then.

Your Audience Is Free to Choose How They Listen

Apple Subscriptions are attractive when your audience reaches you through Apple Podcasts. But once they subscribe, they are locked into that app. With Supporting Cast, your audience receives your subscription content however they prefer. Whether it’s their favorite listening app, newsletter, or blog, your fans can listen to your audio, watch your video, and read your posts.

Supporting Cast’s Community lets you have question-and-answer sessions and discussions with your audience. Your audience gets a forum, you can add blog posts, and new episodes appear automatically. Though Apple Subscriptions has reviews, their communication system isn’t a two-way street. When your audience knows their voice matters to you, they’re more likely to keep coming back and recommend your show to others.

Keep More of Your Money

Since Apple was the first major platform to offer an ad-free monetization system for podcasters, their terms seemed generous. But, with what we now know about podcast monetization, we know that Apple could price its services more competitively.

Apple Podcasts Subscriptions charges 30% of the first year’s revenue and 15% per year afterward. By contrast, Supporting Cast takes 10% of your annual revenue, on par with Substack.

Since Supporting Cast launched, they’ve tracked how much their customers convert potential audiences into paying subscribers. Their internal data shows how podcasters can improve their investment with Supporting Cast. For example:

• Ad-free podcast feeds could convert as much as 1% of the show’s total audience in a year and 1.75% in three years.
• Podcasters who used Supporting Cast for early access or archive access could convert up to 1.5% of their total audience in a year and 2.5% in three years.
• Bonus content can convert as much as 6% of the total audience in a year or 8% in three years. It makes you want to make more bonus content, doesn’t it?
• When podcasters paywalled the majority of their show with Supporting Cast, they could expect to convert up to 20% of their total audience in a year and as much as 35% in three.

Many podcasters lean toward setting up their subscription program on Apple Podcasts since it’s the default podcast app on most phones. It may seem like the path of least resistance. That’s fine if you want to succeed by making Apple Podcasts more successful. Supporting Cast wants your podcast to grow beyond one directory. Again, it’s a question of what works best for you, your audience, and your podcast niche.

What’s the Difference Between Patreon and Supporting Cast?

Patreon and Supporting Cast are similar in that supporters provide recurring revenue in exchange for content. However, Supporting Cast is explicitly meant for audio, while Patreon is for any creator and audience. Patreon is like a portal to a world of creative people making exciting things for different audiences. If you don’t want your audience to take side quests but go straight to your show, Supporting Cast may prove a better option.

With Supporting Cast:

• You promote your show on a platform made for podcasts.
• Your audience gets its benefits in the app of their choice.
• Integrations allow podcasters to use the software or services they want to use, not the platform’s. 
• White Glove Onboarding means a dedicated manager works with you to set up your Supporting Cast system.
• Your audience’s onboarding is a two-click process.

Between Patreon and Supporting Cast, the feature that grabbed my attention is Supporting Cast’s pay-what-you-can subscription tier. Podcasters allow their subscribers to lock in their preferred subscription price.

Pay What You Can Subscriptions With Supporting Cast

Pay What You Can price strategies work because they convey confidence in the product, human decency, and reciprocity. But, these strategies work best when:

• an emotional relationship drives the purchase
• the earnings are given to charity
• you’re selling the last of something to use up the inventory.

For example, pay-what-you-can sales have been a helpful strategy for regional theatres for decades. Audiences know they’re gambling with what kind of seat they get at the last minute. But they care about the show, it’s for a good cause, and a full house is always more fun than a half-empty house.

But you’re not producing live nonprofit theatre; you’re podcasting. How can you make pay-what-you-can subscriptions work for your podcast?

• Give your audience plenty of leeway to enjoy the free content they’d get wherever they find their podcasts.
• Let that enjoyment build trust over time.
• Remind the audience that premium, ad-free content is just a few clicks away. And make sure that premium content is unique.
• Explain how their financial support improves the quality of your show, such as buying better sound equipment or taking more time to make a high-quality podcast.
• A pay-what-you-can podcast subscription isn’t charity (unless you’re podcasting to promote a nonprofit organization or running a charity drive). But clearly showing where your supporters’ money goes can make them more likely to give it to you.

Over time, your audience will decide they’re ready to level up and support your show.

On August 19, 2024, Podnews reported, “Patreon, which said recently that podcasters earn over $350mn a year on the platform, is saying that Apple will take 30% of all creator payments made on its iOS app by November. Apple is already taking 30% of all creator payments for Apple Podcasts paid subscriptions – and these payments, like Patreon’s, are not subject to Apple’s Small Business Program, which lowers the commission to 15%.”

What About Analytics?

Again, with Supporting Cast, you upload your audio files to the media host of your choice. You can always see how the show’s faring through your media host’s analytics. But, once the RSS feed runs through Supporting Cast, there’s more information to gather. Supporting Cast provides analytics about:

• Downloads per podcast, per episode, and user
• Revenue
• Signups
• Subscribers
• Cancellations

These analytics help you understand how your subscribers consume your content. For example, if you’re teaching a course with your podcast and one user stops after a few episodes, you may want to contact them and check on them.

You can export the analytic data and take it with you. If you move to another platform and someday need to check how well your third episode did when it was first published, the information is yours to work with.

When you know what your audience is doing, keeping that relationship happy and healthy is easier.

Does Supporting Cast Own My Email List?

Nope! The names and email addresses of anyone who joins your subscriber pool are yours. You can transfer them to another email marketing platform, send carrier pigeons or Morse-code telegrams, or whatever you like. With other podcast subscription platforms, you might not have this option.

How Much Does Supporting Cast Really Cost? 

Again, Supporting Cast charges 10% of podcasters’ revenue, plus credit card processing fees. They integrate with Stripe and WooCommerce, who charge 2.9%+ thirty cents per transaction.

With volume discounts, you can save money on credit card processing fees. For example, you can sell a whole season at once or an entire audiobook. Providing a volume discount incentivizes your audience to buy more of your content at one time.

Supporting Cast Puts You in the Spotlight

Today, 4 in 10 Americans surveyed say they’re “online almost constantly,” yet podcast discovery is tough. If I open Apple Podcasts on my phone, the app displays dozens of recommendations. At least five options are immediately available without scrolling. You work hard to earn your audience. Why should your podcast have to compete for attention? Supporting Cast makes it easy for your audience to enjoy your podcast, support you, and share in the conversation.

Of course, offering subscriptions isn’t the only way to monetize your podcast. Have a look at our guide to making money with your show, and come over to our Indiepod Community to chat about audience engagement or monetization strategies. We’d love to hear from you.

Our recent survey suggested that only 1 in 4 indies monetize their content, despite the majority of them wanting to build some income streams.

So, on this episode of Podcraft, we’re going to dig into the monetization methods and strategies that have actually worked for our IndiePod Legends, as well as the many that haven’t!

Transcription: Podcast Income Stream Lessons

The aim here is to show that while some revenue streams are a good fit for some, they don’t work so well for others. We’ll also answer questions like:

• WHEN should you try to monetize?
• What are some great on-ramps for smaller podcasts?
• Can monetizing your content hamper your creativity?

Workflow, Content & Longevity Lessons From 14 Top Indie Podcasters | Podcraft Season 20

Read article called: Workflow, Content & Longevity Lessons From 14 Top Indie Podcasters | Podcraft Season 20

Meet Our Indiepod Legends

“Download numbers don’t matter when it comes to trying to sell ad space. There’s that podcast industry standard of, like, you have to have 10,000 downloads to even think about getting partnerships. Well, we dispelled that myth pretty quickly, and I think more people are catching on to it.”

Alana & Samra – She Well Read

“I’ve been going all the years on Patreon, and I’ve never cashed the money in. I thought it was going into my bank account, but because it’s only small amounts, I didn’t really keep track of it. And then a couple of weeks ago, Patreon wrote to me saying I’d got $2,000 stacked up in the account, and I thought Christmas had come early.”

Paul – Fighting Through

“It’s very rare that I reach out to someone and say, hi, this is what I do, and I want you to spend money on my podcast. It’s a little bit more organic. It’s more about relationship building.”

Susan – Lush Life

“Be patient. Don’t quit your day job. Wait. Give value until you can’t give any more. Then ask. Because when you do that, the amount of money, the amount of people that want to provide value back to you is so much exponentially greater. And so just be patient.”

Gabe – Board Game Design Lab

“…and she had sent over a package of candles because I’d been spending money with her. So I made her the sponsor, and so she ended up working with me. She gave me a really nice promo code for listeners, so when they buy from her they can get 20% off their candles. And so I feel like that’s probably a direction that I would prefer to go.”

dCarrie – Travel N Sh!t

“I look at it as monetization will come, because I’m building a following. I’m now in the position where my host enables me to carry ads on my podcast, which really just kind of lowers my hosting bill each month. So I don’t get much monetization that way, but it’ll come. Little things are starting to happen.”

Paul – The Joy of Cruising

“It’s not that I wanted to put all my eggs in the Patreon basket, but it’s really that I’ve not found anything better than Patreon. I’m fine to stay with it. In theory, I’d love to have multiple revenue streams along those subscription lines, but it just hasn’t happened.”

Mur – I Should Be Writing

“But so far, brands have come to me and said, hey, we have this product, we’d love to get it in front of new people, can we sponsor your podcast? And so that’s usually how the conversation has gone so far. I’m very mindful of it, though, because I don’t particularly enjoy, like listening to ads, and I especially don’t enjoy the shows that have a ton of ads. I want it to be beneficial for my sponsors, so keep them very, very minimal. And so that has worked well for me in the past. It really just covers the cost of producing the show.”

Andrea – The Mindful Marketing Podcast

“It’s been interesting to be approached by businesses who just want to explore producing new types of content. And it isn’t just about social media. People are starting to realize that social media moves so quickly and algorithms are so volatile and temperamental that investing time and effort into more in depth and high quality content is something they really want to do. And podcasts, I think, are just at the cusp of being that medium that offers that as a marketing message, which is really, really exciting.”

Kathi – Wild for Scotland

Plenty of showrunners are earning a living from their content right now. Others are happy to cover their hosting costs, or pay for a takeaway every few weeks.

Whatever your goal, let’s take a look at how to earn a bit of a crust from this show of yours. Where else can you get paid to talk about your favourite things, after all?

Bear in mind, as with nearly any way you can make a living, this is a long game. You’ve probably heard a lot about big-name podcasters earning chunks of cash. In the vast majority of cases, though, they’ve been at this a long time.

Don’t let that put you off, though. With the right approach, it’s totally possible to start making a bit of income within the first six months and build that to something greater over a year and beyond.

More on that? Try:

Why Playing the Long Game is the Key to Podcasting
How Much do Podcasters Make?

Let’s get to it! Read on, or watch the video version below.

What to Have in Place BEFORE Trying to Make Money From a Podcast

I know, I know, you want to get to the cash. But you’ll only get there if you think of these first. Here are the three big factors we came up with which determine whether you’ll be able to make money from your podcast:

• Content
• Presentation, Delivery, & Performance
• Building Relationships & Community

1. Content

Are you being “the best you?” Is your content and your podcast sustainable?

Do you podcast on the topic that best resonates with you, which, in turn, resonates with your listeners?

Get this right, and you’ll have the opportunity to profit, not just financially, but from relationships and by making a difference in people’s lives.

2. Presentation, Delivery, & Performance

How do you come across when you are behind the microphone? You can have the best topic and message in the world, but if the listener is bored, they either won’t care or won’t listen.

This doesn’t mean you should act like someone else, but be aware that in audio, your body language is channelled through your voice and your vocal inflexions. Audiences are drawn to passion and enthusiasm, so make sure that comes across in your presentation, and always strive to improve your performance.

3. Building Relationships & Community

It’s often said that if you don’t have time to build a community, then you don’t have time to do a podcast.

Audiences are galvanised by interactions and conversations, not only with you as the podcast host, but with other listeners who share a passion for your topic. If you have no community and no interactions, then it isn’t a conversation, and you are just talking at your audience and not with them.

People want to feel involved, and if you give them that, they will like you all the more for it. They will trust you more, and they will strive to support you.

Alright, now that we’ve got some solid foundations in place, how do we build a nice little podcast income generator on top of them? There is no shortage of ways to monetize a podcast, so here’s a question that can help narrow them down…

How to Choose a Method of Podcast Monetization

Firstly, ask yourself what your strengths are.

Are you:

• a teacher?
• a coach?
• a thought leader?
• a performer?
• a creator?

Then, have a think about…

• What kind of podcast do you do?
• What is your topic, and who is your audience?

These are all relevant questions to the various podcast monetization options available to you. Once you know where you excel, you’ll be much better placed to choose the method that suits you below.

How to Make Money From a Podcast: Options

Let’s assume you’ve satisfied the requirements above – you know you’re creating something great, and you’ve thought about your strengths.

There are a few different options available to you. You can try as few or as many of them as you like, though it’s arguably better to focus on fewer and do them well rather than spread yourself too thin.

Besides, some of these methods will suit your show and your content much more than others.

So let’s dive into these 12 tried and tested ways to make money from a podcast…

So you know, this post contains a few affiliate links to products and services we think you’ll find interesting. It helps support our free content, at no extra cost to yourself. Thanks for the help!

1. Creating Courses

If you like to teach others the nuts and bolts of your subject matter, then this could be the method for you.

Here, you’ll break things down and explain them simply in course form. This could be in video, audio, or text. There’s a wide range of platforms out there that can help you do it, too.

Two of my favourite course platforms are Teachable and Thinkific, both of which help you create a course in a super-simple and great-looking way.

Courses – Pros

These high-value products can bring in three (even four) figure sums.

Courses – Cons

They can take a lot of time to put together, which can eat heavily into your podcast creation time. Depending on your topic, they might also need to be updated regularly.

2. One-on-One Coaching

If you’d like to get on calls and talk people through processes, teaching them live, then this could be a great way to monetize your podcast. It’s an easier start than creating a full course since you don’t have to build anything. All you need is a booking form to take payment, and schedule a time!

For this, I use Book Like a Boss. It lets you set up times in your calendar, tie that to different types of appointments, and manage the whole process easily.

Coaching – Pros

This route can create deep, meaningful relationships with high-value clients over many years. These relationships can lead to other opportunities, too.

Coaching – Cons

One-on-one coaching relies on you being available. This can mean less flexibility and freedom regarding holidays and time off. With one-on-one coaching, you can’t “take yourself out of it”.

3. Sponsors & Sponsorship

Sponsorship and advertising are often seen as the “default” method when it comes to making money from a podcast.

One problem with sponsorship, though, is that many advertisers are still fixated on numbers rather than interaction and engagement. You and I know that 500 engaged listeners are far more valuable than 5000 casual listeners.

So, if you’d like to get a sponsor for your show, choose someone that fits your topic and your audience and approach them with real stories of your generated engagement. Explain how well this can turn into conversions for their sponsorship.

Try smaller or local companies, and talk to them about how they can benefit by supporting your podcast. Be sure to create a media kit for this, too.

As well as our full article on how to do podcast sponsorship, we also have one from the advertiser’s point of view titled should I sponsor a podcast?

We’ve been known to sponsor the odd podcast ourselves, too. If you’re interested in being sponsored by The Podcast Host or Alitu, then fill out this short form to get the ball rolling.

Sponsorship – Pros

If you can find a sponsor that’s highly relevant to your audience and topic, then there’s the potential to create a long-term, lucrative, and valuable partnership for both parties.

Sponsorship – Cons

Unless you’re getting thousands of downloads or have a hyper-niche topic, sponsorship deals often don’t pay all that well. You need to ask yourself if what you’d stand to earn is worth potentially interrupting your audience for.

4. Write a Book or eBook Based on Your Podcast Content

This is a popular method for making money from your podcast. A good book can be short and sweet, and pretty easy to create if you know your stuff.

You can print or self-publish an eBook on virtually anything. Find something that’s hot in your topic and write about it, but make sure the benefit for the reader is really, really clear. Can you identify a problem and solve it?

Or, take a lead out of Tim Ferriss’ book (pun intended…) and write a book that simply summarises the ‘best bits’ from your podcast, like Tools of Titans!

Books – Pros

You can use your episodes as a framework for the book, especially if you podcast in focused seasons.

Books – Cons

Books are ridiculously low-value. A book that costs $20 will be seen as expensive – even if it contains the bulk of the author’s lifetime expertise. On the flip side, a course containing 20% of the info on the book can sell for 20 times the price, and nobody bats an eyelid!

5. Sell a Product

Again, with this podcast monetization method, you need to think hard about the problems your listeners face. Or better still, set up a survey and ask them. Can you create a product that will make life easier for them?

An example of this is Alitu: the Podcast Maker. We kept hearing that you – our readers – were struggling a lot with podcast editing and production. For some, they could do it, but they didn’t have the time. For others, they just weren’t interested in learning about normalisation, bitrates, compression, file formats, and on, and on….

Either way, we create a product called Alitu that’s essentially an all-in-one ‘Podcast Maker’ tool. With it, you can record your audio, edit it, and publish it all within one easy-to-use interface. It’ll also automatically handle things like noise reduction, volume levelling, transcription, shownotes, and a whole lot more.

Because we solve these problems directly for readers of this site, and listeners of Podcraft, many people sign up and use Alitu: the Podcast Maker every month!

Selling a Product – Pros

You’re 100% in control. Everything is on your own terms, and you’ll generally receive the biggest percentage of income generated as compared to all other monetisation methods.

Selling a Product – Cons

It can be a heavy workload. Creating a product of value will take time and effort.

If it’s physical products, you’ll also need to think about the manufacturing and distribution side of things. Are you prepared to ship around the globe?

6. Sell a Service

This is a step beyond the coaching we talked about earlier. Instead of teaching them how, you can do it for them and call it a service!

A classic example is our very own Podcraft Podcast – a show that teaches people everything they need to know about running a podcast. But, inevitably, there are plenty of people who heard our advice and realise they just don’t have the time or the inclination to do it themselves. So, instead, who do they ask to do it? The person they’ve just gotten to know on the podcast, of course – us! We used to get a lot of production work that way, back when we offered it. These days, though, many listeners like to work with us inside the Podcast Host Academy.

Selling a Service – Pros

A service can have all the benefits of one-on-one coaching, but this time, you can hire staff to work alongside you. Building a team means your business can keep on scaling.

Selling a Service – Cons

Growth and scaling aren’t without their challenges. You can spend all your time working on the business instead of creating content on the topic you love. This route can grow arms and legs and go way beyond just how to monetize a podcast.

7. Affiliate Marketing & Income

Every podcaster talks about the stuff they love, and in many cases, that includes products or services. On Podcraft, we talk about microphones, hosting services, podcasting tools, and a tonne more. That’s just because we’re interested, and we know our listeners are too.

Now, every time you mention these products, your listeners might wonder about buying them, too. This is your chance to start earning some affiliate income.

Think of the products or services you love most and see if they have an affiliate programme. If they’re on Amazon, that makes things easy—you can sign up for their affiliate programme in just a few minutes. If your beloved brand does sell on there, though, it’s still worth approaching the company directly and requesting to become an affiliate partner.

You can take this a step further, and combine it with the other methods too. There’s no reason not to create a free (or paid!) course or eBook with affiliate links.

Here’s our full guide on affiliates for podcasters. There, you’ll find programs you can sign up for and start making money with your podcast right away!

I also mentioned our ‘Podcast Maker’ tool, Alitu, earlier on. Alitu has a competitive affiliate scheme offering a recurring 20% commission for each person who signs up. That means you’ll get a percentage of their membership fee, monthly, throughout their first year as an Alitu user.

Affiliate Marketing – Pros

You don’t need to create the products or run the services. Your income isn’t quite work-free, but it’s definitely lower maintenance.

Affiliate Marketing – Cons

You don’t own or ultimately control affiliate programs. If you begin to rely on them as your main source of income, be aware that they could all be cut off tomorrow.

8. Premium & Exclusive Content

Here’s a simple podcast monetization strategy – sell the podcast itself!

For the average indie podcaster, selling the entire thing isn’t a good idea. You need enough people to listen for free, so they’ll like it enough to pay.

To solve that, some podcasters sell their back catalogue. For example, keep the most recent 50 episodes free, but you have to pay to access the older ones.

Other podcasters create extra episodes which are for sale above and beyond their free content.

For some additional resources on this front, check out How to Create a Private Podcast, and How to Sell Podcast Episodes.

Premium Content – Pros

You created a product that you own 100%. And you create it by doing what you were already doing anyway.

Premium Content – Cons

This strategy will hamper your growth because not even the most popular podcast (Joe Rogan, for example) will get 100% of its listeners to pay for content.

Is it doing you more harm than good by limiting your free content to your loyal audience? If you’re in a position to do this, you’re also in a position to try any of the other podcast monetization methods. Is this really the best fit?

With all that said, this doesn’t need to be about limiting any free content. You could just sell some additional bonus episodes instead.

9. Make Money From Your Podcast Skills

It could be that the answer to the question “How to make money from a podcast?” is staring back at you when you look in the mirror.

Do you ever have clients, friends, or family asking how all this podcasting stuff actually works?

Or, are there any businesses in your niche that don’t have a podcast already? If you have the expertise, offer to make one for them.

If you’re a great host, you can tell a good story. And if you have the production chops to make it sound good, you can generate a living that way. In fact, we’ve written on how to get a job in podcasting before.

In this case, your own podcast acts as a portfolio piece, showing others your creative audio skillset and capabilities.

Monetize Your Podcast Skills – Pros

This is a great way to get paid to podcast. Whether you love to get behind the mic or spend hours crafting great-sounding audio in your DAW, there are folks out there who’ll pay you to do that for them.

Monetize Your Podcast Skills – Cons

If someone else hires you, will you still have time to run your own podcast? And will you enjoy it as much if it isn’t your own content or topic?

10. Patreon, Crowdfunding & Donations

This podcast monetization method is well suited to content creators and hobbyist podcasts. If you’ve built up a loyal listening community, why not ask them to help support you by pledging a small amount of money to the show on a regular basis? We’ve written about how to use Patreon in Podcasting here, as well as some great Patreon alternatives.

Crowdfunding – Pros

The work needed to get donations is the work you’re already doing – trying to create a brilliant podcast. That said, you can go a little further and create rewards and incentives to encourage listeners to support you, too.

Crowdfunding – Cons

They can be fickle and hard to build any solid foundations around. You’re also relying on third-party platforms that you don’t own or control.

11. Create an Email List

Many a seasoned podcaster will tell you this is the most important thing you can do when figuring out how to monetize a podcast.

No matter what strategy you choose, make sure you have an email list. Not only do they help strengthen connections and interactions with your audience, they also help supplement each of the monetization methods we’ve mentioned above.

I use Convertkit for my email because it lets you set up automatic sequences easily. This can help you engage with and teach new subscribers, and it’s a great way to grow a loyal and action-taking list. Convertkit also makes it easy to offer paid placements in your emails.

You can see how it all works (as well as alternative options) in our email marketing for podcasters article, and be sure to check out this guide on the best email marketing software, too!

Email Marketing – Pros

Aside from podcast monetization, email marketing is one of the most tried and tested ways of keeping in touch with your audience and building relationships with them. Many other community and social media platforms have come and gone, but email is as old as the web itself.

Email Marketing – Cons

Building an email list takes time and work. You need to put out quality written content regularly for this to work, and that can potentially take time away from running your actual podcast.

12. Sell Podcast Merchandise

A middle ground between selling a product you 100% own, and affiliate or commission sales, is running a merch store on a third-party platform.

There are services out there that let you set up your own shop. You add your own designs, logos, or artwork to their products, then they handle the sales and shipping for you.

Many hobby, fiction, and entertainment podcasters go down this route, selling things like t-shirts, hoodies, stickers, posters, mugs, and phone cases. Find out how to run your own podcast merch store right here.

Selling Merch – Pros

It’s an “arms-length” way of making some money. You just need to promote and link to your merch store, and the rest will happen in the background. Podcast monetization aside, it can also be good for promotion and marketing. You have listeners walking around advertising your podcast.

Selling Merch – Cons

Commission rates for these services are typically very low. You’re unlikely to make much money this way, even if you have a large and engaged audience.

How Do You Make Money From a Podcast? FAQ

Now that we’ve run through the best ‘how to monetize a podcast’ options, let’s tackle a couple of frequently asked questions from our IndiePod Community.

WHEN Should I Think About Monetizing My Podcast?

There’s no “typical” example of someone monetizing their podcast. It can range from a hobbyist covering their hosting costs to someone earning enough to make podcasting their full-time job.

If you have a podcast with a captive audience, though, monetizing it on some level should be possible.

An “audience” could be anything from five people to five thousand. But there are too many variables in podcasting to put hard numbers on these things. Instead, it’s better to look at listener engagement.

So, how do you gauge that? Well, if you have more than, say, ten people get in touch each month to tell you how much they enjoyed your latest episode, then you’ve definitely built a captive audience.

To put harder numbers on it, many sponsorship agencies look for 3000 to 5000 listeners per episode before they take you on. But, if you’re doing it yourself, it’s perfectly possible to earn a decent sponsorship income once you pass the 200 to 300 mark, especially if you have a particularly niche audience. For more on this, of course, check out our main podcast sponsorship article.

SHOULD I Try to Make Money Podcasting?

There’s no shortage of ways to make money from a podcast. But should you try ANY of them? Not necessarily.

Few podcasters don’t like the idea of earning a little money back from their content. It definitely isn’t for everyone, though.

For starters, there’s an administrative cost. If you’re making money, you’re running a business, and that means cooperating with your country’s taxation system. Is this going to be a drain on your enjoyment and creativity?

Then, there’s the question of ownership and cost splitting if you run a show with others. Do you all earn the same share? And what happens to the income if you fall out? These are important conversations to have before you even think about making your first dollar.

Some podcasters just want to reach as many listeners as possible and never want to put any financial obstacles in the way.

Podcast monetization is an option, never a necessity. You don’t need to go down this route if it isn’t a good fit for you.

How to Make Money From a Podcast: Where Should I Start?

Most likely, in the early days, you’ll throw a lot at the wall to see what sticks. And you’ll likely run a few methods in parallel.

Here’s a common sequence which can work particularly well for podcasters who are teaching something.

A Common Podcast Monetization Path:

1. affiliate marketing – You can get started really quickly, recommending products and services that your audience might like
2. sponsorship – once the affiliate is working, you can use those conversion stats to justify charging sponsors a good rate
3. coaching – start this up once your audience knows you well and is willing to pay for your time
4. course – eventually, you’ll start to see the questions that come up again and again. Build a course to answer them
5. product – lastly, you might build a product to help your coaching and course students to solve their biggest problem

If you’re an entertainment, fiction, or news podcaster, then you might try some of the other methods, including Patreon and premium content.

So no shortage of options, eh? Whatever route you go down, be sure to join us in the IndiePod Community to share your updates, insights, and experiences. We’d love to follow along on your podcast monetization journey and chip in with some tips and advice whenever needed!

In print, it might seem crazy that anyone would mix up “ko-fi” and “buy me a coffee.” But for podcasters promoting these platforms during their show, the two brand names can get easily confused.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee so you can decide which is most likely to fuel and sustain your podcast. 

Ko-fi

When Nigel Pickles found a piece of code on Stack Overflow that saved him hours of work, he wanted to buy a cuppa for the fellow developer who came up with the code to say thank you.

This inspired him to create a solution where people could give each other a small monetary ‘gift’ to show their appreciation for something without having to exchange bank details. Nearly twelve years later, Ko-fi has paid over $200 million to creators. 

Ko-fi Features

There are a whole bunch of great Ko-fi features that help creators raise cash for their work. For example:

• Start by using Ko-fi’s tip jar for free and get paid directly via PayPal or Stripe.
• Send direct messages to your supporters.
• Post images or videos in a gallery.
• Write blog posts.
• Set public goals, such as “When our donations reach $X, I’ll produce an episode where I interview my socks.”
• Accept paid commissions or pre-paid sales.
• Offer recurring memberships, just like Acast Plus or Patreon.
• Create a storefront and sell physical merchandise or digital products.

Ko-fi offers a Gold tier that comes with more features. This premium tier lets you:

• Put your content behind a paywall, so it’s only available to supporters.
• Customize creator pages with options such as brand colors and removing the button to support Ko-fi.
• Schedule posts in advance.
• Change “coffee” to whatever you like: tea, cocktails, or simply financial support.
• Preview new features as Ko-fi develops them. 

Ko-fi Pricing

At the entry-level, Ko-fi doesn’t charge fees for donations. They do, however, charge a 5% fee on memberships, shop and commission sales. 

Ko-fi Gold is $8 per month (or $6 per month if you buy a year in advance). Fees on membership, commissions, or shop sales are 0% for Gold members.

Ko-fi’s Contributor level provides the same features as Gold in exchange for 5% of your earnings. 

Who is Ko-fi Good For? 

Ko-fi is good for creators who aren’t ready to make separate, paywalled content along with their regular podcast, and simply want a tip jar. After some time, Ko-fi lets you grow into options like membership, a shop, and more.

Buy Me a Coffee

Founders Jijo Sunny, Joseph Sunny, and Aleesha John came together in 2017 with a vision for freelancers to get compensated for their work. Their mission statement says,  “We believe almost everyone will work for themselves in the future – our mission is to empower individuals to achieve that.”

Buy Me a Coffee has the ease of a tip jar and the infrastructure of a global membership platform to help freelancers sustain their practice. 

Buy Me a Coffee Features

It’s easy to get these two services mixed up, since they offer many of the same features. Buy Me a Coffee offers:

• A donation button,
• E-mail broadcasts (messaging) to your supporters
• A gallery for your images
• Post text and audio posts from Soundcloud or Spotify
• Memberships,
• A storefront
• A wishlist (or, a list of goals to reach via funding)
• Commissions or pre-paid sales
• Integrations with WordPress, Giphy, Zapier, and Google Analytics
• Payment via Stripe, Stripe Express, Payoneer, or Wise
• A mobile app
• Live chat support twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Buy Me a Coffee Pricing

All users pay a flat 5%, and have access to the same features. No tiers, no decisions.

Who is Buy Me a Coffee Good For? 

This platform is good for podcasters who don’t need a service that’s 100% free, and need to use a mobile app to update and manage their Buy Me a Coffee account. 

What’s The Difference Between Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee? 

Other than branding and history, these two companies are very similar. There are only a few differences between Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee. On closer examination, these are only superficially different from each other.

Mobile Access

Buy Me a Coffee makes much of how they have a mobile app. Ko-fi’s website is optimized for mobile. It’s not hard to manage on a phone. You can park a link to Ko-fi.com on your phone’s home screen.

Payment Platforms for Creators

To pay creators, both Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee use Stripe. Ko-fi also uses PayPal. Buy Me a Coffee also uses Payoneer and Wise.

Not all of these payment platforms are available in all countries. Check the crowdfunding platform’s knowledge base or support articles for details, before you commit.

Price Differences Between Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee (How Mocha Money?)

The big difference is how much you pay for what you get. 

Let’s use a financial worst-case scenario. If you needed to use all of the features these platforms offer, and your podcast gets $120 a month in contributions, you would pay:

• $6 on Buy Me a Coffee
• $6 on Ko-fi as a Contributor
• $6 if you were in the Gold tier on Ko-fi and paid annually. 

What if your podcast’s contributions are more than $120 a month? Okay, Flash. Let’s say you make $1000 a month in contributions. In that case, you’d pay: 

• $50 a month on Buy Me a Coffee
• $50 on Ko-fi as a Contributor
• $6 if you were in the Gold tier on Ko-fi and paid annually. 

In order to get that $1000 per month in contributions, though, you’d probably need the additional integrations Buy Me a Coffee offers, such as Zapier or WordPress. You’d have to make this personal decision based on what you want to offer to your supporters.

If you solely want a donation button, some media podcast hosting services, such as Acast and Buzzsprout, have a donation button in their player window. So, you might not need to add another service to your podcast workflow. 

Ko-Fi vs Buy Me a Coffee: Summary

Philosophically, there’s one big difference. When you look at the companies’ origin stories:

• Ko-fi makes compensation easy for the payer.
• Buy Me a Coffee makes compensation easy for the payee.

Of course, crowdfunding isn’t the only way to monetize your podcast. Our full guide to making money with your podcast can show you other ways to sustain your show, from sponsorship and affiliates to selling products, services, or courses. Check it out if you want to start counting beans beyond the caffeinated type…

There’s less risk involved on the side of the company selling the product, which makes it more likely that they’ll take a chance on a newer outlet. This is great news for new podcasters because it means you don’t have to rack up thousands of listeners before you can start to make money.

But before you can start using affiliate marketing to make a little cash, you need to understand what it is, how to use it most effectively and what the best programs for beginner podcasts are. And we’ve got all of that information right here.

If you already feel clued up about affiliate marketing and want to jump straight to the recommendations, then have at it!

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is pretty simple. As a promoter, you get paid by a company whose product you advertise when someone purchases through your unique link.

It’s a win-win scenario for product makers and promoters alike. Products get more advertising, and you make money when you effectively share products and services you love. 

With affiliate links, your audience doesn’t pay any more for a product or service—in fact, in many cases, they get a discount. But you make a cut of the profit when a sale is completed. 

How to Use Affiliate Marketing for Your Podcast

Affiliate marketing is a lot easier to do than most people think. Usually, it is as easy as sharing a link with your audience. This is why it’s one of the simplest ways podcasters can start to monetize their show.

There are three main ways that podcasters can promote affiliates:

Promote Them on Your Show

The most obvious way to promote your affiliate links is to share them on your show. This is easiest to do when you have a special or unique link that people can easily go to, like affiliate.com/thepodcasthost, or yourwebsite.com/affiliateproductname—that way, your audience can easily type it into their browser. A great tool to create such links is Pretty Links. And, to get unbelievably meta, our link to Pretty Links is an affiliate link!

Include Them in Your Show Notes

Beyond telling your audience about a particular episode and sharing links on your topic or guest, your show notes can help you build revenue with affiliate marketing.

You can discuss an affiliate opportunity in your show, then include the link in your show notes so your audience can access them easily. While you might not be able to flash a link on the screen while they’re listening, you can make it easier for them to support you.

Add Them to Your Website, Blogs, or Emails

Websites are wildly underutilized tools by podcasters. Usually, they hold links to the latest episodes, maybe a bio for your hosts and a link to your Patreon page—that’s it. 

But there is much more you can do on your website to promote and build revenue for your podcast. And adding affiliate links is one of those things. Whether you add a banner, sidebar advertisement, and affiliate page or make a new blog post for each affiliate, there are tons of opportunities.

Keeping a “Resources” page on your website is good practice where you add any product, service, or tool you find interesting or useful. Some might be affiliates, but they don’t all need to be.

If you run an email list, affiliate links can be effective here, too, as they’re immediately clickable!

Declare Them!

If you’re using affiliate links on your show or site, give your audience a heads-up about them. Tell them you might earn a commission if they buy through these links. You might also want to assure your audience that you’d never use an affiliate link for a product or service you don’t recommend. Trust and integrity are priceless.

Best Affiliate Programs for New Podcasters

So now that we’ve got the basics laid out, you’re undoubtedly dying to start your affiliate marketing ventures. Here are eight types of affiliate program you can apply for today, even if your podcast is still in the planning stages.

1. Amazon Associates

Amazon gives everyone a chance to try their hand at affiliate marketing with Amazon Associates. You simply need to open an account and start sharing links—you’ll have 180 days to make three qualifying sales before your account is reviewed.

Unfortunately, Amazon affiliate links tend to be pretty messy and not that aesthetically pleasing. However, you can use a WordPress plugin like Thirsty Affiliates to make them easier to share during your show. You can also place the links on your podcast website and show notes to direct your listeners to relevant purchases.

With an Amazon affiliate account, you can link to almost any physical product, giving you many options. But you’ll want to be careful that you’re not just recommending things for the sake of making money and focus on things relevant to your audience. 

2. Audible

If you listened to a podcast, you’ve likely heard about Audible. It’s an online book and podcast program owned by Amazon and run through Amazon Associates. So, anyone with an account can promote it. Their regular program payout goes as follows:

• $0.50 per audiobook sale
• $5 for a free trial digital membership
• $10 for an Audible gold member purchase

However, they also have a specific creator program podcasters can use that gives you $15 per trial signup through a custom link, which is great for promoting on your show. It’s the ideal beginner affiliate program for podcasters because of the similarities between enjoying audiobooks and podcast episodes.

3. Skillshare

Skillshare is an online learning platform where you can learn more about things you’re passionate about—from graphic design and photography to running an online business or designing your space. It’s a wildly popular program that offers a great affiliate program that podcasters can participate in.

There are over 34,000 courses you can promote to your audience, and in exchange, you can earn 40% commission, up to $67, for every new customer you refer to Skillshare. This affiliate program pays out every month and accepts beginners into their program, so long as you can prove that you have a viable program that aligns with their mission. 

This is a particularly good beginner affiliate program for podcasters that are in the business of learning. If your podcast teaches something so someone (like entrepreneurship or marketing), you could make some genuine cash to support your show.

4. Alitu: The ‘Podcast Maker’ App

Alitu is our own product here at The Podcast Host. It’s a ‘podcast maker’ web app designed to make podcasting as quick and easy as humanly possible. It does this by automating most of it and offering podcast-specific tools for the rest. This makes Alitu perfect for beginners, non-techy folks, and time-strapped podcasters.

If you run your own podcast, it’s only a matter of time before you start getting some “How do you do this?” questions.

By partnering with us as an Alitu affiliate, you can point folks in our direction, safe in the knowledge that they’ll be in the best possible hands. On top of that, you’ll earn a recurring 20% commission for each person who signs up. That means you’ll get a percentage of their membership fee, monthly, for as long as they’re a member.

At Alitu, we have everything they need to help them get set up, not only to launch their podcast but to grow one that thrives.

Alitu is one single software for recording, editing, producing, and hosting podcasts. It’s designed with simplicity, automation, and efficiency in mind, making it perfect for newbies, non-techy folks, and people short on time.

Gone are the days of learning the ins and outs of Compression, EQ, and Noise Reduction. Alitu simply does it for you. Complex DAW editing interfaces are replaced by a clean and intuitive interface that makes cutting, editing, and arranging segments a breeze. There’s even a text-based editing option in Alitu now.

Alitu has a free music library, auto-generates transcriptions, and you can upload, publish, and distribute your podcast from directly within the interface, too.

We also have education, training, and support in place for our customers. We don’t just want folks to easily start their podcast; we want to enable them to keep going. And without the overwhelm and expense of multiple tools, logins, and subscriptions, we genuinely believe we’re the best place for new podcasters to create their future.

So, if you’d like to earn passive income whilst helping the next generation of podcasters find their voice, be sure to join us as an Alitu partner today.

Apply to become an Alitu affiliate.

5. BarkBox Subscription

Who doesn’t love dogs? Unless you run the “I really hate dogs podcast”, chances are your audience is full of dog lovers who would delight in supporting your show. Barkbox offers an affiliate program that pays out for purchases on their subscription programs and at their store.

With Barkbox, you need to apply for all of the different affiliate programs they offer—BarkBox, BarkShop and Super Chewer—individually. Each program pays out differently—$18, 10%, and $20, respectively.

If you sense that your audience contains more cat people than dog lovers, perhaps something like WhiskerBox might be more up your alley. They offer a 10% commission for subscriptions you bring in.

6. Podcast Hosting: Buzzsprout, Captivate, & Podbean Affiliates

We’ve already mentioned Alitu, our podcast-maker tool, which includes podcast hosting as one of its many features.

There are many other great podcast hosting providers out there, too, though. So if your audience is already clued-up on things like recording and editing, and is just looking for somewhere to publish their episodes, then you might become an affiliate for someone like Buzzsprout, Captivate, or Podbean.

With Buzzsprout Affiliates, you can earn $20 for every paid account you refer. Every person you refer to Buzzsprout will also receive a $20 credit in their account, too!

With Podbean Affiliates, you earn $25 for each referred user signing up for a Podbean Unlimited Plan, and each person you refer will receive a one-month free trial.

With Castos Affiliates, you can earn 25% recurring commissions on all of your referrals for the life of their accounts. You can also earn 10% commissions on their podcast production and launch services. 

And with Captivate Affiliates, you get a 25% recurring payout for the lifetime of every podcaster that you refer, based on their payment term. Payouts depend on whether referred customers choose to pay monthly or annually.

7. Moosend

Need a user-friendly tool to create amazing email campaigns without breaking the bank? Then Moosend is for you. The platform sports an array of features, including a drag-and-drop builder, landing page designer, forms, custom reports and automated workflows.

Moosend’s affiliate program can benefit both you and your audience. You can introduce your audience to a tool that will help them cut back on cost while increasing engagement and conversion, while you can earn a passive income through lifetime commission.

To make your affiliate marketing efforts easier, the program will equip you with ready-made resources like banners, logos, one-pagers and guides. You can find all these in your affiliate dashboard when you join the program.

The Moosend Affiliate program offers a tiered commission structure. More specifically:

• Bronze Group (0-5 paid accounts) with 30% recurring commission
• Silver Group (6-10 paid accounts) with 33% recurring commission
• Gold Group (11-25 paid accounts) with 35% recurring commission
• Platinum Group (26-35 paid accounts)  with 37% recurring commission
• Diamond Group (36 or more accounts) with 40% recurring commissions
• 90-day cookie duration
• $5 minimum threshold

Sign up to the Moosend Affiliate Program

8. Affiliate Marketplaces: Awin & ShareASale

Here, we get pretty Meta: an affiliate program within an affiliate program, a bit like that Leonardo Di Caprio film. This approach means you can refer publishers to an affiliate platform like Awin or ShareASale, earn if they sign up, then sign up to their new affiliate program and start earning via that, too!

You’re likely signing up to these platforms anyway, and you become an affiliate by default, so they’re a no-brainer.

Our links here are, unsurprisingly, affiliates…

• Awin – Refer a new revenue-driving publisher to Awin and earn $30.
• ShareASale – $150 referral fee for each qualifying merchant signed up through your referral links.

Affiliates for Podcasters: FAQ

We’re asked many podcast affiliate program-related questions in our IndiePod Community, so it made sense to answer a few of the most frequent right here!

What is Passive Income?

The term “passive income” essentially means earning money whilst not actively performing any job or task. The utopian idea of passive income is that you create some content, then go and lie in a hammock in the Bahamas whilst the money rolls in. In reality, any successful passive income needs regular maintenance and upkeep. However, the fact that you can earn whilst you sleep, take a holiday, or even lie in a hammock is still pretty cool.  

Can I Have More Than One Affiliate Partner?

It’s rare for an affiliate marketer to be limited to working with one single partner. Most creators have a handful of affiliate products or services they promote and earn from. Some affiliate partners will forbid you to do things like direct price comparisons between them and competing services, though. If you create content that puts two platforms head-to-head, it’s best to check the terms of your agreement to avoid any repercussions.  

Can Commission Rates Increase With My Conversion Rate?

Yes, it’s possible that if your conversion rates are high, a partner will increase your rate of affiliate commissions. Depending on the platform or partner, this might happen automatically. Or, if you have more of a direct relationship, you may be invited to talk with them. In these situations, the podcaster goes into negotiations in a strong position. Armed with this data, they’d be a candidate for a lucrative podcast sponsorship deal. They might decide to trade that for the uncertainty of affiliate marketing. Or, they might feel that there’s still plenty of money left on the table at this stage.

Popular Affiliate Networks & Platforms

There are a wide range of affiliate marketing program platforms out there. These third-party services mean that companies don’t need to build referral schemes from scratch. They also help businesses, products, and services by found by creators interested in promoting them.  

Some of the most popular include CJ Affiliate, Awin, Impact, and ShareASale (remember, these have their own affiliate programs, too!). There’s nothing to stop you from working with some or all of these affiliate platforms, so it isn’t a case of trying to settle on “the best” one.

Once you sign up to an affiliate marketing program, you can begin to applying to any schemes listed on the platform. It won’t be long before you’re up, running, and sharing your first affiliate links.

What Will I Find in My Affiliate Dashboard?

Your affiliate platform’s dashboard means you can easily manage multiple referral schemes in one place. You can create links to specific products or services, track clicks and conversions, and collect and withdraw your earnings.

You’re also likely to find promotional material, marketing assets, and other useful resources partners have created to help you create an impactful campaign. You might also find contact details for a company’s affiliate manager. It’s this person’s job to help optimise how they’re being promoted by partners, and most of them will be willing to chat with you any time you need help or advice.

Picking the Best Affiliate Program for You, Your Content, & Your Audience

While these seven affiliate programs are great for new podcasters, that doesn’t mean they’re the only options. The best affiliate for your podcast will be something that both you and your audience love. 

While some affiliate programs are better for beginners than others, applying for a program you know you want to talk about never hurts. There’s no better way to make money through affiliate marketing than to be confident in a product or service that you’re promoting.

And remember, we’d love to hear from anyone interested in becoming an Alitu affiliate. If you run your own podcast and have folks asking you how you go about it, Alitu is the perfect place to send them. As an Alitu affiliate, you’ll earn a recurring 20% commission for each person who signs up, which means a percentage of their membership fee, monthly, for as long as they’re a member!