How to Start Making More Money from Your Podcasts

Podcasters don't usually start podcasts to make money. Normally, it's a passion project that ends up turning into a viable business opportunity. Typically, you first start making money by getting adverts on your podcasts. If you upload your podcasts to YouTube, you get paid via Google Ads if your content is monetised. Then, you can also receive requests from companies asking you to read an ad for them. They'll give you a set rate based on how many viewers you have, etc. 

For some podcasters, this is enough to earn a decent bit of money on the side. But, if you're keen to turn this into a thriving business that generates a lot of income, you need to consider other ways of making money. Here are some ideas that a lot of people have had success with in the past:

Selling merchandise

Creating and selling merchandise relating to your podcast is business 101. When you have an audience that keeps coming back every week, it makes sense to take advantage of this. Create products that they will like, letting them buy a piece of the podcast – so to speak. The beauty of a podcast is that your audience can be spread all over the world, giving you so many markets to tap into with your merch. Use some fast customs brokerage services to keep the shipping costs low, and you can earn a lot of money from product sales. Merch ideas include apparel, mugs, coasters, keyrings, etc. 

Writing a book

Similarly, you can write and sell a book to your listeners! This is a brilliant way of bringing the things you talk about in your podcast into a book. It lets you expand on ideas that you typically speak about, giving listeners new content to engage in. Secondly, a book is a universal product that anyone can buy and read. So, you may even generate sales from people who haven't listened to your podcast before. Ironically, the book now turns into a great marketing opportunity as non-listeners can realise you have a podcast and become regular listeners. Naturally, this benefits your podcast with regards to ad revenue – the more listeners, the more money!

Seek out sponsorships

Lastly, one of the best ways to ensure a steady stream of income from your podcast is to get sponsorship. Effectively, this is like guaranteeing you have adverts on every single podcast. A brand will pay to sponsor your podcast, and all you usually have to do is read a bit about them every episode. It's a few minutes of work, but it helps to pay the bills. This is where uploading podcasts to YouTube is really beneficial as you can still get money from YouTube ads while also having your sponsorship. 

If you're passionate about podcasting and want to do it all the time, there's no reason you can't turn it into a full-time job. Ads are a good way to make money, but these other three options will help you take your income to the next level.