Profit from Your Podcast

Proven Strategies to Turn Listeners into a Livelihood

Dave Jackson

• Publisher: Allworth
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781621537731
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Digital Marketing
• Index: Business

Methods and Advice for Making the Most of Your Podcast—Pricing, Sponsors, Crowdfunding, and More Pick up any book on podcast monetization, and you will find 90 percent of it only covers how to launch a podcast. If you already have a podcast, you have that information; you're ready for the next step. Profit from Your Podcast provides top strategies and real-life examples of podcast monetization. This book is more than what to do. It also tells you how to do it. Chapters cover such topics as:

• How to Grow Your Audience
• How to Set Your Pricing
• Understanding Advertising Jargon
• How to Find Sponsors
• Best Strategies for Making Money as an Affiliate
• Master Strategies for Crowdfunding
• Harnessing the Power of Webinars and Events
• The Top Tools to Make Your Job Easy

Built on the author's fifteen years of experience in podcasting, this action-packed guide will benefit new and veteran podcasters. Get clear on who your audience is and what they want, deliver value, and build an engaged audience that wants to give you money. Leverage your relationships and the integrity you have built through your podcast to create multiple streams of income. Profit from Your Podcast gives you the tools to do it all.

1

The Power of Podcasting

If you learn nothing else from the book, learn this. It starts with relationships, and those relationships exist when you deliver a podcast of value. If you picked up this book to get rich quick, put it down now. If you picked up this book because you just had to create a podcast about your subject and would talk about it for free—but would prefer not to—then read on. It all boils down to delivering value, serving your audience, and developing relationships. I’m going to say that again.

It all boils down to delivering value, serving your audience, and developing relationships.

This book is about making money with your podcast. Well, that’s not entirely true. Your podcast is how you distribute your message. What will motive people into action is the relationship you build with your audience. You build that relationship by delivering phenomenal content (via your podcast) and by responding to emails, voice mails, and comments.

Relationships built on interaction are nothing new. Marketing has always involved knowing your target market and developing relationships. This book is about making money with your relationship that grows by delivering valuable podcasts episodes that inspire the listener to tell their friends.

PODCASTING BENEFITS

Podcasting’s benefits come in different forms. Here are just a few:

• You will be an expert (if you feel like one or not).

• You can keep your name/brand in front of potential customers.

• You can increase sales of products or services.

• You gain an understanding of your market (through feedback).

• You gain trust in the eyes of potential customers.

• You reach a global audience.

These are just a handful of benefits. Here are some examples of how engaged audiences have been moved to action by their relationships with podcasters:

1. Hall of Fame podcaster Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak produce the No Agenda Show (noagendashow.com). They have people join their “Knight” program by donating $1,000 or more. They are adding more and more Knights (and Dames for females) daily. Their show delivers (in an entertaining way) information that is missing in the mainstream media (but should be included).

2. Hall of Fame podcasters Keith Malley and Chemda from Keith and The Girl (www.katg.com) have such rabid fans that they have gone from having the Keith and The Girl logo tattooed on their bodies to having the logo branded on their bodies. These fans also purchase their comedy books and CDs. Their book, What Do We Do Now?: Keith and The Girl’s Smart Answers to Your Stupid Relationship Questions, made it to #35 in their category on Amazon.com. Keith is a comedian who sells out his shows and is featured on SiriusXM satellite radio. The duo has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and many other publications.

3. Hall of Fame podcaster Scott Sigler (www.scottsigler.com) could not get a publisher to take a chance on his books featuring a mix of sci-fi and horror. He decided to give away his entire book for free via his podcast. His listeners had already consumed his book and loved it. When he published a print version of his book Infected, his fans showed their support by buying the book (that they had previously received free) and it shot up to #2 on Amazon.com. The book would have been #1 on all of Amazon except for a book about a kid named Harry Potter. See https://youtu.be/Yg-EMvPhh9A.

4. Dr. Emily Morse started the Sex with Emily podcast in 2005 and was featured in the Apple Podcasts directory (sexwithemily.com). Her endless popularity in the Apple directory caught the attention of radio executives in San Francisco and led to her taking her podcast to the FM airwaves (until they changed their format). She hosted the Miss Advised show on the Bravo Network on television. She frequently contributes to major publications, such as Cosmopolitan, Glamour, New York Magazine, Bustle, Ask Men, Elite Daily, Men’s Health, and Harper’s Bazaar. Emily can be seen as a guest on TV programs like The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight, E! and The Doctors. Networks including NBC, CBS, ABC, and HLN have turned to Emily to serve as their sex and relationship expert on a variety of segments and specials. While radio and TV shows have come and gone, one thing has stayed consistent: she continues to do her podcast and maintain that relationship with her audience. She is currently featured on SiriusXM.

5. John Dennis created the Smart Time Online show that still brings him leads. He had to pause the podcast as it brought him too many clients. When I interviewed him, he said, “I got a Fortune 500 multibillion-dollar client out of my podcast. One of the digital heads for this company heard my show and then heard me speak about a subject where they needed help. She came to listen to me speak as a result of hearing my show.” A conversation ensued, which led to a contract.

6. Michael Butler is the host of the Rock and Roll Geek show (rockandrollgeek.com). He was able to interview one of his all-time favorite musicians on his podcast. Later, this musician asked him to play bass in his band at a special event in London. Michael’s audience paid for his trip from the United States to London, where Michael stayed for free with listeners (and played bass with one of his favorite musicians).

7. When Oprah Winfrey wanted to do a show about grammar, the name that came up was Grammar Girl, who is better known as Mignon Fogarty. Oprah’s producers were aware of Mignon due to her Grammar Girl podcast. She quickly took some of her episodes and turned it into a book. She went on to form the Quick and Dirty Tips network (quickanddirtytips.com), and if you search for her name in Amazon, you will see she has many books and calendars, with some of them translated into different languages.

8. Chris Christensen produces the Amateur Traveler podcast, where he occasionally receives free trips to exotic locations so he can review them for his audience. Chris also sells photographs that he takes at these locations.

9. John Lee Dumas produces the Entrepreneurs on Fire podcast (eofire.com). John lists his income reports on his website (www.eofire.com/income). In January 2018, John’s show made $205,842. We will talk more about John a little later. Just be clear, that amount is what he made in a month. (Source: www.eofire.com/income53)

10. Gary Leland previously spent $100,000 on Google AdWords when he first started his podcast. Gary has a sporting goods store and created a podcast around women’s fast pitch softball (fastpitchradio.com). He is the sponsor of his show and creates the podcast his target audience wants to hear. Now Gary no longer needs to advertise on Google, and that $100,000 goes right to the bottom line.

11. Pat Flynn started a blog in 2008. It was hugely successful and helped launch his first business. In 2010 he started the Smart Passive Income podcast. When I met him at an event, he told me how everyone at the podcasting event was saying, “Pat, I love your podcast,” but nobody seemed to comment on his blog. He already had a very engaged audience from his blog, but that engagement increased with his podcast. Pat has been making five- and six-figure monthly incomes ever since (I consider him the king of affiliate marketing), and like every other successful podcaster he created products after learning the needs of his audience. When I went to smartpassiveincome.com in 2019, it showed his income for the previous twelve months was $2,171,652.55.

These are just a few examples of podcast success. As you can see, you don’t always get paid in cash, but there are many benefits from podcasting. I have twice achieved full-time employment because of my knowledge of podcasting. I have received products for free and been asked to speak at conventions. I have been on the radio and television. I have interviewed my heroes. I have received donations from listeners. Seventy percent of the people who sign up for my membership site (schoolofpodcasting.com) use a coupon that is only available by listening to the podcast. The point is, you can make money with a podcast. With the right combination of determination mixed with phenomenal content, promotion, and production, you can build a successful podcast.

WHAT THIS BOOK IS AND WHAT THIS BOOK IS NOT

This book assumes that you have a podcast. I assume that you are using WordPress to manage your website. Why WordPress? It is free, powerful, and easy to use. When I go to podcast conferences, everyone I talk to is using WordPress. According to venturebeat.com, currently, about 30 percent of the Internet runs on WordPress. Please note, I said managing your website with WordPress. I recommend that you manage your podcast feed with your media host. You can use Squarespace and other platforms, but I will be mentioning many things that are WordPress specific.

This book will not show you how to record a podcast. What this book is about are the tips and tricks podcasters have used to make money with podcasting. I will also give you some tips and useful resources. I’m also assuming your show is good, and by this, I mean someone not named Mom has told you it’s good.

THE POWER OF THE NICHE EXPLAINED

When I say “Never underestimate the power of the niche,” what do I mean? Let’s look at an example. Let’s say you do a podcast for triathletes. Someone who has a product for that niche can advertise on the radio, but only 5 percent of the radio audience is their target market. Now your podcast comes along, and your audience is 100 percent triathletes. Where would you spend your advertising dollars if you were that company? The radio station may have a larger audience, but the podcast has a higher quality of listener.

THE PROFIT FROM YOUR PODCAST COMPANION COURSE

I know what you’re thinking: Oh, I knew there would be a catch! But this isn’t an “AHA!” moment. I’m not trying to sell you some additional course. In fact, it is free (for you) as my way of saying thank you for buying the book. I’m a teacher at heart, and some things are easier to understand via audio and video, instead of words on a page. If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you making the effort and I will have bonus content, resources, etc. at www.profitfromyourpodcast.com/bonu...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface: Did You Have a Lemonade Stand?
• Introduction: Meet Your Author
• Chapter 1 | The Power of Podcasting
• Chapter 2 | Get an Audience
• Chapter 3 | Presentation Is Queen
• Chapter 4 | How to Make Money with a Podcast
• Chapter 5 | Selling Your Products
• Chapter 6 | Sponsorship
• Chapter 7 | Affiliate Marketing
• Chapter 8 | Crowdfunding
• Chapter 9 | Live Events
• Chapter 10 | Opportunities
• Chapter 11 | Free Stuff
• Chapter 12 | Should I Start a Podcast Network?
• Chapter 13 | How Much Money Do You Want to Make?
• Chapter 14 | One Last Way Podcasters Generate Income
• Chapter 15 | So You Want to Quit Your Day Job?
• Conclusion
• Appendix | Tools
• About the Author
• Index