How to Make Money From Your Podcast

Podcasts will generate roughly $2.55 billion in revenue this year in the US alone. 

Looking to score your slice of the pie? You’ve come to the right place.

But having a podcast alone doesn’t automatically translate to dollars. You need to actively take steps to monetize your podcast and generate revenue—which is exactly what I’ll show you how to do in this guide.

Whether you currently have a podcast and you’re trying to monetize it, or you’re a prospective podcaster who’s just curious about the market, you can use this guide to learn how to make money from a podcast.

What Types of Podcasts Make Money?

Any type of podcast can make money. If we look at the top of the charts, we can see that podcasters earning the highest revenue come from all different categories.

But to help you set realistic expectations, most podcasts don’t start making real money right away. 

In fact, studies show that 69% of podcasters successfully monetize their shows after two years. 

This doesn’t mean that you can’t start earning money sooner (you likely will). It just means that you shouldn’t plan on quitting your day job just yet. Two years gives you plenty of time to publish episodes, master your craft, build a following, and fine-tune your monetization strategy. 

7 Best Ways to Monetize Your Podcast

To make money from your podcast, the first thing you need to do is determine which monetization method (or methods) works best for your show. There are seven main approaches that you can consider—with plenty of variations within each one.

1. Advertisements and Sponsorships

Ads are by far the most common way to make money from podcasts, and for good reasons. 

That’s because 64% of people say they pay attention to podcast ads, and up to 95% of listeners take action after hearing one. These numbers are incredible, especially in an era where so many people are sick of seeing ads and have become somewhat numb to them on other channels. But podcast advertising is still thriving. 

Here’s something else to consider, the average podcast episode in the United States is 9.1% ads. This translates to roughly 15 minutes of ads run during a 60-minute show.  

There are a few different ways that you can use ads to monetize your podcast, and it all depends on your sponsorship partners or the ad networks you’re going through. 

Examples include:

• Pre-recording ads yourself and inserting them into your episodes.
• Reading ads live during your episodes.
• Letting your sponsors record their own ads for you to play during episodes. 
• Dynamic ad insertion via a podcast advertising network.

The industry standard for podcast ads is typically based on CPM (cost per mile), which means the podcaster gets paid a set rate for every 1,000 listeners. Rates vary depending on your show’s popularity and what the advertiser is willing to pay, but most CPM rates start around $15 to $25 per 1,000 listeners. 

2. Affiliate Programs

Affiliate marketing programs are similar to ads. But rather than getting paid a fixed rate based on listeners, you can earn commissions based on referrals.

This can be extremely lucrative, especially if you’re just getting started and don’t have a ton of listeners yet. 

One of your first episodes may only have 1,000 or 2,000 listeners. Earning $50 for a traditional ad probably isn’t going to do much for you revenue-wise. But depending on your affiliate agreements, you could earn hundreds or potentially thousands for a single referral. 

Here’s an example of how most affiliate programs work for podcasts:

Chirs Williamson is promoting Maui Nui Venison during his show, Modern Wisdom. 

Now, he may or may not be getting a fixed rate from this advertiser for promoting this product to his millions of subscribers. But this type of promotion usually screams an affiliate deal. 

The advertiser provides the podcaster with a unique link or promo code, which accomplishes two things—gives customers a discount on their first order and allows them to track sales made using that link. 

In most cases, the podcaster will get a commission on each sale and potentially a commission on all purchases coming from that customer in the future. 

This is one of four different affiliate links that Chirs pitches during the episode and then includes in the description of this YouTube video. 

Let’s do some quick math here to see how lucrative this can be. 

In just five days, this episode racked up over 82,000 listeners. We’ll assume that 1% of those listeners used the Maui Nui Venison promo code, each spending an average of $150 per order. That totals $123,000 in sales or $24,600 in affiliate commissions for Chris (assuming he gets 20% of the sales). 

That’s nearly $25,000 for a single affiliate deal on one episode, and it doesn’t even account for the other three products he’s pitching in this same episode. 

3. Selling Premium Subscriptions

You can also sell subscriptions to your podcast.

This may not work if you’re someone who is relatively unknown, but it can be a great way to earn recurring revenue once you have a loyal audience that’s willing to pay for premium perks.

For example, this is something you can enable directly through Apple Podcasts. 

Simply set a monthly or annual price for access to your show—offering perks like ad-free listening, early access to episodes, exclusive content, and more. 

The first thing you need to do is get started with an Apple Podcasts Connect account. From there, you can apply to the Apple Podcasters Program to unlock this feature and set up your subscriptions.

What I love about this podcast monetization method is that it’s likely low-cost for your subscribers and an excellent opportunity to earn recurring revenue indefinitely. Most people who subscribe likely won’t cancel (as long as you continue delivering on your promise). 

$4.99 per month adds up pretty quickly—translating to nearly $60,000 in annual revenue for 1,000 premium subscribers. 

4. Selling Digital Products

Another simple way to make money with your podcast is by selling digital goods elsewhere. With this method, you leverage your podcast audience as a way to sell something else through your website.

Examples include:

• Online courses
• Ebooks
• Stock photos
• Templates
• Webinars
• Music
• Audiobooks
• Software and plugins

You get the idea.

I think this method works best for those of you who are already selling these types of products online. These things take time and effort to create, so it helps to already have them developed and in place. 

5. Selling Merchandise

This is the same concept as above but for physical goods. 

At any point during your episodes, you can direct your audience to your website to purchase a shirt, mug, hat, or whatever else you’re selling online. 

This strategy also works really well for podcasters who also have a strong following on social media. You can kill two birds with one stone by getting people to follow your social channels and then promoting your merchandise there as well.

One great example of this monetization method executed to perfection is the Pat McAfee Show. Pat is a former NFL punter and the video format of his daily podcast is broadcasted on ESPN. 

Pat is always wearing and promoting his merchandise during episodes, which can be purchased directly on his website.

Pat sells t-shirts, shorts, beanies, scarves, water bottles, polos, and more. 

This type of merchandise is easy to customize, buy in bulk, and even set up for dropshipping without ever having to touch the product yourself. 

6. Selling Services

You can also use your podcasts to sell services. 

Again, the idea here is pretty straightforward. You run your podcast like normal, but take to where it makes sense to promote yourself and any services you offer. 

• Online coaching
• SEO services
• Web development
• Meditation and breathwork classes
• Career coaching
• Digital marketing consulting
• Public speaking training
• Online personal trainer

Whatever it is that you specialize in, you can promote those services through your podcast to make money. 

7. Host Live Events

Another lucrative way to earn money from your podcast is by selling tickets to live events. 

It could be a professional conference, a live audience viewing of your current podcast, an online event, or a weekend retreat. 

This obviously takes quite a bit of planning and effort to pull off, but you’ll be compensated accordingly through your ticket sales. 

Here’s a hypothetical example.

Maybe your podcast focuses on health and wellness. You could sell tickets to a three-day yoga retreat that includes all meals, lodging, and full days of training. 

Let’s say you sell tickets for $1,500 and cap it at just 50 attendees per retreat. That’s $300,000 in revenue earned if you run four of these events in a year. I’m sure you could find a way to net six figures for this set up. 

Pro Tips and Best Practices to Ensure You Make the Most Money From Your Podcast

Keep these simple yet effective tips in mind as you’re getting started with podcast monetization:

• Leverage multiple monetization methods to earn revenue from different sources.
• Post new episodes on a regular basis, as each episode can be monetized.
• Take steps to grow your podcast audience and engage with your listeners. 
• Invest in the right podcast equipment to ensure you’re producing quality content.
• Join a podcast ad network to access thousands of advertisers with deep pockets.
• Publish your episodes on different channels (like Apple Podcasts and YouTube) to maximize your reach and earning potential.

Above all, don’t get discouraged if you’re not making money hand over fist right away. Like any other business venture, making money from podcasts takes some time.

Need help monetizing your podcast? Contact our team here at McDougall Interactive to learn more about our podcast marketing services.