April 14, 2025 • 20 mins
Making Money in 2025 – What Works, What Doesn’t?
Monetizing a podcast in 2025 isn't as simple as slapping ads on your episodes and calling it a day. Some revenue streams are thriving, while others? Not so much.
Today, we’re breaking down what’s working, what’s fading, and what podcasters should focus on to actually make money in 2025.
Today's Hosts: Mike Dell and Todd Cochrane
Who is Making the Money Money in Podcasting in 2025?
1: The State of Podcast Monetization in 2025
Then vs. Now: How podcast monetization has evolved from basic ads to a mix of diversified income streams.
What’s Changed?
✅ More podcasters are using multi-platform revenue models (YouTube, social media, newsletters).
✅ Traditional ad sponsorships are shifting—brands want more ROI, leading to performance-based deals.
✅ The pay-to-play model (subscriptions, memberships) is rising, but does it work for every podcast?
Who’s Making the Most Money? – Big networks vs. independent creators vs. niche podcasters.
2: Sponsorships – Do They Still Work?
CPM-based ads vs. Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) – Is the traditional CPM model sustainable for indie podcasters?
Brands in 2025: What Are They Looking For?
✅ More niche-specific partnerships.
✅ Measurable engagement over download numbers.
✅ Long-term relationships vs. one-off ad placements.
How to Land Sponsors in 2025:
✅ Creating brand-friendly content.
✅ Negotiating value-based deals, not just CPM rates.
✅ Using listener data to showcase audience loyalty.
Pro Tip: Even small podcasts can land affiliate sponsorships or direct brand deals—it’s all about audience connection.
3: Premium Content & Subscriptions – The Big Shift?
Are listeners actually paying for premium content?
Subscription platforms in 2025: Apple Podcasts, Patreon, Spotify, Substack, and other direct-to-fan monetization.
What’s working?
✅ Bonus episodes, ad-free content, and exclusive interviews.
✅ Behind-the-scenes content & private community access.
✅ Bundling podcast subscriptions with other offerings (newsletters, live Q&As).
What’s NOT working?
❌ Generic paywalls with no real incentive.
❌ Subscription fatigue—too many platforms asking for money.
📢 Key Insight: The most successful subscription models are tied to strong community engagement—not just extra content.
4: Live Events – Worth the Effort?
The Rise of Hybrid Podcast Events – Live-streaming + in-person experiences.
Types of Monetizable Events:
✅ Ticketed live podcast tapings.
✅ Virtual workshops, AMAs, and Q&As.
✅ VIP meet-and-greets or networking events.
Why Some Podcast Events Flop:
❌ Overestimating audience size & demand.
❌ High production costs vs. actual revenue.
📢 Case Study: How podcasts like My Favorite Murder & The Last Podcast on the Left turned live shows into major revenue drivers.
5: Merch – Is It Still a Viable Income Stream?
The state of podcast merchandise in 2025:
✅ Branded items like shirts, mugs, and stickers still sell—if the fanbase is engaged.
✅ Niche, creative merch (custom journals, soundbite NFTs, digital downloads) is gaining traction.
✅ Print-on-demand services make it easier than ever to sell without high upfront costs.
What’s NOT working?
❌ Generic merch with no brand connection.
❌ Selling products to an audience that isn’t engaged.
Pro Tip: The best-selling podcast merch is inside-joke-driven—if your fans “get it,” they’ll buy it.
6: The Future of Podcast Monetization – What’s Next?
Are ad-supported podcasts sustainable?
What emerging revenue streams should podcasters experiment with?
✅ Paid podcast courses & coaching.
✅ AI-powered listener insights to create targeted premium content.
✅ Integrated commerce (shop while you listen).
Final Takeaway: The key to making money in 2025 is diversification—podcasters can’t rely on just one revenue stream anymore.
---------
What’s been your best (or worst) monetization strategy? Let us know on social or send us a voice memo,
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Podcast Insider. I'm Todd Cochran, CEO
of Blueberry. I'm Mike Dell, the VP of
customer relations.
Have you ever wondered who's raking in the
big bucks in podcasting?
Spoiler alert. It's not just the big networks
anymore.
Yep. From massive million dollar deals to indie
podcasters making a solid living, we're breaking down
(00:22):
who's cashing in and how.
So stick around as we dive into the
numbers, the strategies, and what's actually works for
making money in podcasting today.
You're You're listening to Podcast Insider hosted by
Mike Dell, Todd Cochran, and Mackenzie Bennett from
the Blueberry team,
bringing you weekly insights, advice, and insider tips
(00:43):
and tricks to help you start, grow, and
thrive through podcasting.
With all the support of your team here
at Blueberry Podcasting, welcome. Let's dive in.
Mike, as you well know, monetizing
a podcast
in 2025
isn't
as simple as slapping
ads on your episode and calling it a
(01:04):
day. Some revenue streams today
are thriving while others, well,
not so much. And today, we're breaking down
what's working,
what's fading,
what podcasters focus on to actually make money
in 2025.
And, again,
this is a moving target. So Oh, yeah.
It changes all the time.
And there's kind of a then versus
(01:25):
now.
You know? And, you know, podcast monetization is
evolved from basic ads to mix of diversified
income streams. And I think more podcasters are
using multiplatform
revenue models, social media, newsletters,
value for value,
regular ads, pre rolls. It just kinda goes
(01:46):
on and on. Traditional sponsorships,
just not really happening as much as it
used to. Now in certain niches, they'll have
a a
sponsor that really aligns with the show, but,
you know, that's getting harder and harder to
do,
these days.
And sometimes you have to run
(02:06):
eight different ads during a month if you're
doing eight different episodes. You don't have the
same sponsor
for the whole for the whole month. And,
of course,
the pay to play model subscriptions and membership
is rising, but
it doesn't really work for every podcast
and there's a lot of reasons for that.
But I guess we should talk about who's
making the most money. Big networks versus independent
(02:27):
creators versus
niche
podcasters, and
I think the networks probably still have
an advantage.
Yeah. Of course. The bigger shows are gonna
attract the the advertisers,
but, you know, there's more to making money
than than advertising too, which we'll talk about
later on. Yeah. I think it's important
(02:48):
that we all realize that that the
end goal of a show may not be,
you know,
dollars, yen, 1, whatever your currency may be.
There's a variety of ways to
but if we go down and look at
the basics,
you know, at CPM based ads versus dynamic
(03:09):
ad insertion,
they're kinda tied together now, you
know, because
CPM based ads mostly
are DAI,
our digital audio inserted
so that the
when the ad hits its volume,
in other words, if you've contracted for x
thousands or tens of thousands or hundreds of
(03:29):
thousands of deliveries once you've hit that number,
the d e I tool can pull the
ad out and stick a new one in.
So or
restitch it back together so there's no ad
there whatsoever.
But simple fact still applies that 90%
and all and maybe we haven't talked about
this a long time, but
(03:51):
90% of podcasts globally deliver
90% of their lifetime downloads
within the first ninety six hours.
So not everyone
needs to use d a I because, you
know, you're not gonna deliver that many
downloads after that first month.
Some do. Those 10% are really truly,
(04:12):
you know, in a great position. But
Yeah. There are some long tail shows that,
you know,
I
can I can think of one that, you
know, she started way back when, and, you
know, her older shows are getting darn near
as many downloads as her newer shows? Yeah.
Yeah. And, again, if you have that long
tail
and you have that ability then DAI is
(04:35):
definitely for you. But you can run CPM
based ads without DAI
if you have a show that, you know,
kind of looks like a hockey stick that
is
laid tip up and, you know, if your
downloads kinda do, we go up and then
go down and be pretty flat. Why use
DAI? Just bake the ad in and and
let it run. But
(04:55):
brands in 2025
are looking for more niche specific partnerships.
They're obviously looking for measurable engagement over download
numbers, you know,
the response rate. How many people are engaging?
How many likes? How many,
comments? These types of things
And they're definitely looking for long term relationships
(05:16):
versus
one off ad placement. But at the same
time, that one off ad placement may be
only once a month.
You might only get one ad from
advertiser x y z.
Mhmm. So,
but the landing of sponsor hasn't changed much.
No. You you you definitely need to try
(05:38):
to be brand friendly, whatever that means.
You know?
It depends on the brand too. You know?
A a a show that,
is explicit content, there are advertisers
that that do want that. So it's not
like one size fits all
for brand advertising. It's it's all about, you
know, does the brand align with the type
(06:00):
of show?
You can also,
you know, negotiate value based deals, not just
CPM. So, you know, you can
you can negotiate. You know, if I bring
you x number of sales, then I get
this much money or something like that. It's
the deal is completely
up to the advertiser and the, you know,
(06:21):
podcaster.
And when it comes to those brand buys,
in other words, if a brand buy would
be like a Ford or a GEICO or
someone like that,
they're looking for that engagement because they're not
necessarily
able to determine if you drove someone in
to buy a new vehicle or an insurance
policy,
but they're looking for engagement within the content,
(06:42):
to see that they actually, you know, guarantee
that they heard the ads. So that's looking
at your social media engagement.
But, of course, they're always fall back to
your listener data to showcase audience loyalty.
And, again, you know, for small shows, you
can land affiliate sponsorships or direct brand deals.
It's all about the audience connection. You know,
we're working with code ADX,
(07:02):
and there's some great deals there that align
specifically with shows
that you you can find an affiliate sponsorship
that you can do very well on.
So, you know, don't forget if you're a
smaller podcast, don't forget about those affiliate sponsorships
or, again, even those direct brand deals. If
you are a car show
or you are a show on a specific
(07:24):
topic, you you would make a good candidate
for a
direct brand deal.
Sure. You know, I yeah. Especially car shows.
Again, you know, any niche that, you know,
that would align with a big brand might
be the perfect candidate for that. Another way
people are, making money these days are,
premium content subscriptions.
Apple has this subscription
(07:46):
model that you can do just through Apple.
We, of course, have premium podcasting, which you
can run through everybody else or most everybody
else. That may be a way to go.
You know?
One of the questions
is our listeners actually paying for premium content.
Well, you know, I I just look at
my TV watching. I
pay for the stuff I want, and I
(08:08):
don't pay for cable. I don't pay for
you know? So I have a, you know,
Netflix account, a YouTube premium account, and a
couple other things. And throwing a couple podcasts
in there that you really, really like might
be, the way to go. You know, Apple
has it. Patreon, Spotify, Substack,
you know, Blueberry,
all that direct monetization. And it could be
(08:30):
just to support your show, but, you know,
you could give them premium content like bonus
episodes. You know? So, say, you have you
do your four episodes a month,
and you give them a fifth episode that
is exclusive to the premium. Or
if you're doing ads in your show, you
could do a
ad free version of your show for the
(08:52):
people that pay you. All kinds of, different
ways of incentivizing
people to subscribe.
And I think too, if you offer a
subscription with an another offering, whether it be
a newsletter,
a live q and a, something special,
that really incentivizes
people to do that. But definitely what's not
(09:14):
working is generic paywalls with no real incentive.
You have to have an incentive for people
to subscribe.
And also there's subscription fatigue out there. Too
many platforms are asking for money. But in
this case, it's really not a platform asking
for money. It's an individual. So there's a
few podcasters that I know that are on
Patreon that I support,
(09:35):
specifically on Patreon. There's a couple that are
on Apple premium that I support. And again,
this is content that I listen to on
a glee basis
that's a not miss for me. If it's
a not miss and they are looking for
support, I'm more than willing to get up
and and support the show because I want
the content to continue. Why? Because I'm getting
(09:56):
value.
You know, I'm getting value out of that.
And the most successful part of the value
for value model. You know? It doesn't necessarily
mean streaming Bitcoin. It could be Right. Anything
PayPal donation. Sports a show. Yeah.
The most successful scripture models are tied to
strong community engagement and and not just extra
(10:16):
comment, but our live events, are they worth
the worth the effort?
You know, the rise of the hybrid podcast
events, live streaming and in person experience
is that, you know, made a bit of
an impact.
So I think if you have something fun
and you're it's it's an event where they're
paying for that, you know, there's an option
(10:38):
there. Of course, there's there's different type of
monetizable
events too. There's ticketed live podcast tapings, and
I think you have to have a very
big show. Yeah. Yeah.
And you have to have a pretty big
audience to get people to travel because, you
know, they're not all gonna be, you know,
right in your area. Yeah. And if you
have a, you know, kind this is why
comedians have done so well. They've been able
(10:59):
to go to,
comedy venues all across the country
and what ends up happening then is, you
know, a smattering of their fans come in
and buy tickets
to to the comedy show or more often
now I see individuals doing virtual workshops,
AMAs and q and a's.
And, of course, if you have an event
(11:19):
where your fans are gonna go to, it
might be all have a shared interest. In
other words, I I just go back to
the analogy of a car show again.
If you have the ability to have a
a meetup at a trade show or car
event or something like that where you have
a separate meet and greet and have a
small fee for the tenants, I I think
you might do do well here. But some
(11:41):
podcast events flop. Yeah. For sure. You know,
you you overestimate how many people are gonna
show up. And so you rent this
big venue and, you know, 12 people show
up. That's not gonna work out well. And,
again, high production costs versus actual revenue. So,
you know, start small.
Merch. Here's another, thing. And this is real
(12:02):
popular with YouTubers, but, podcasters
as well.
You can
sell branded items and shirts, mugs, stickers, all
that kind of stuff. And,
and that works if your fan base is
very engaged.
You could, do some creative merch, custom
journals,
(12:23):
soundbite NFTs.
NFTs still a thing? Yeah. A little bit.
Yeah. I think it's it's kinda come and
went a little bit in itself.
Right. Right. So, but what's not working is,
you know, general merch with no brand connection,
you know, selling products
to an audience that really isn't engaged.
(12:44):
You know, you
don't yeah. You you have to judge your
audience. So, again, know your audience.
But I do think that the print on
demand services make it easier than ever to
sell without high upfront cost.
So, you know, that that way you don't
have to put in inventory.
There are companies out there that will, handle
all your merch sales too if you're you're
(13:04):
up a certain volume.
You know? And they run contests. You know?
This this one big outfit I know of,
if you're,
doing merch through them, what they'll do is,
every once in a while, for every $5,
you get an entry to win something, and
it's usually something rather big, you know, like
a a vehicle in the case of the
one I know.
(13:24):
Wow.
And, yeah. So, you know, they'll they'll give
away I think the last giveaway was a
a Corvette z r one or something. You
know? It was it was a big deal.
And so every you know, that sells a
lot of merch. That definitely sells a lot
of merch.
First, the some of the best selling
podcast merch is inside joke driven. In other
(13:45):
words, if there's something your fans get
that maybe someone else won't that will drive
conversation,
you know, that that does really, really,
really well.
And, of course, the future podcast monetization, you
know, I still believe that your audience, if
they value your content,
can be the source of the biggest revenue
for smaller shows and maybe even bigger shows.
(14:07):
So don't discount
having your your fans support your show with
direct donations. But, you know, the question is,
are ad supported podcast sustainable?
And what emerging revenue streams
should podcasters
experiment with? I think on the ad supported
side,
it's gonna continue.
But it's been a weird kind of a
(14:28):
weird time over the last
couple of years where, you know, a a
small number shows get a high percentage of
the ads and everyone else
is ignored and or
the platform,
YouTube and or Spotify is monetizing around your
content and you're getting nothing.
So, you know, you if you get to
(14:48):
pick wisely,
where you want your show to be and
how you monetize. But the emerging revenue streams
the podcasters
could experiment with is consulting within your own
niche
and stuff that you that you are discussing.
A book. Write your own book, you know,
(15:09):
from the content.
And I think,
maybe even integrated commerce, shop while you listen,
have some sort of like Code ADX, have
some sort of offer in the show that
people will will go support.
Yeah. I you know, think about this one,
and it's not listed in our notes here.
But,
(15:30):
you know, what about if you're in business
doing something else
and your show could be sponsored
by that business. So it could be around
that business. You know, our friend Gary, he
really, took that to the to the higher
level on a couple shows, a couple businesses
he runs. And and,
you know, that that's you know, he didn't
(15:52):
make money because of his pod or he
didn't make money from talking on the microphone.
He made money
by, you know, talking about the topic and
promoting his business in that field.
Yeah. He was,
at the beginning, he was selling, girls
softball bats.
Yeah. And his show was all about
(16:14):
girls softball. Softball. Yeah. And,
and he and he sold literally tens of
thousands
of Beryl softball bats because he was
the man. You know, he was the one
that he was talking about all the different
bats and you know and actually covering,
the games and industry
where those bats are being used. So it
(16:36):
was brilliant move on his part. So I
think the key to making money is diversification.
You can't rely on just one revenue stream.
What is in today maybe out tomorrow. There's
content that,
people have built wonderful businesses with and then
a little bit of changing of the tide
(16:57):
in the way people think and all of
a sudden that content is much much harder
to monetize. So having that diversification
is really really critical.
I think that,
that is the biggest takeaway here.
But again, I I go back to what
I said earlier.
The value of your podcast is more than
monetization.
The value is the people you connect with,
(17:19):
the opportunities that are afforded you because of
your podcast.
Maybe that maybe all of a sudden you're
on a speaking circuit.
Maybe,
you have written,
a best selling book.
Maybe you have now become the authority on,
you know, category
x y z. Maybe it's increased your people
(17:39):
walking through the door or calling you for
business.
These are the ongoing bigger values of podcasting,
I think,
beyond monetization because I think, Mike, you'll agree
that when people get so
focused on just
advertising,
They forget about all these other opportunities and
what
(17:59):
podcasting is making available to them. You might
just get a new career out of it
like I did. Right.
I'm only here at Blueberry because I started
a podcast way back when and, you know,
those kind of opportunities do come up. They
do all the time. And, again, I go
back to the story. We never know who's
listening.
You could have someone that's very influential
(18:21):
in your category space listening to
love your content.
And the next thing you do is you're
getting a call saying, hey. I'd love to
have your resume.
I think you'd make a great member for
our team. That happens
all the time.
So I think this is the
the biggest takeaway for me
is
from a monetization
(18:42):
strategy. It's not just the money.
It's the opportunities.
And,
I think we lose A lot of people
just do this for a hobby.
You know, they you know, so don't forget
that. I mean, it it's it can be
fun, and it can be informative,
you know, to you. You know? The best
way to learn about something is do a
(19:02):
podcast about it because
you're gonna engage an audience, and they're gonna
train you know, teach you about it and
all the research you're gonna do. So, you
know,
sometimes, again, it's not about the money. Yeah.
So what's been your
best or worst monetization strategy? How have you
used your show
to either one monetize or to, like I
(19:23):
referred to, improve
your life,
business, standing, whatever it may be,
let us know on social or send us
a memo
or send us an email and we might
feature your story in a future episode. I
think, we wanna hear from you on your
various ways. I'm astounded many times when people
tell us what what their podcast has done
or how it's changed their life.
(19:46):
There's literally thousands and thousands of stories and
I'm sure you have one. Let us know
or maybe you're developing one and we'd like
to know that. You got
something? Let us know. Thanks for listening to
Podcast Insider. You can, find the show notes
over at podcastinsider.com.
We'll see you next week.
Thanks for joining us. Come back next week.
(20:07):
And in the meantime, head to podcastinsider.com
for more information,
to subscribe,
share, and read our show notes.
To check out our latest suite of services
and learn how Blueberry
can help you leverage your podcast. Visit blueberry.com.
That's Blueberry without the e's.
We couldn't afford the e's.
Welcome to Podcast Insider. I'm Todd Cochran, CEO
of Blueberry. I'm Mike Dell, the VP of
customer relations.
Have you ever wondered who's raking in the
big bucks in podcasting?
Spoiler alert. It's not just the big networks
anymore.
Yep. From massive million dollar deals to indie
podcasters making a solid living, we're breaking down
(00:22):
who's cashing in and how.
So stick around as we dive into the
numbers, the strategies, and what's actually works for
making money in podcasting today.
You're You're listening to Podcast Insider hosted by
Mike Dell, Todd Cochran, and Mackenzie Bennett from
the Blueberry team,
bringing you weekly insights, advice, and insider tips
(00:43):
and tricks to help you start, grow, and
thrive through podcasting.
With all the support of your team here
at Blueberry Podcasting, welcome. Let's dive in.
Mike, as you well know, monetizing
a podcast
in 2025
isn't
as simple as slapping
ads on your episode and calling it a
(01:04):
day. Some revenue streams today
are thriving while others, well,
not so much. And today, we're breaking down
what's working,
what's fading,
what podcasters focus on to actually make money
in 2025.
And, again,
this is a moving target. So Oh, yeah.
It changes all the time.
And there's kind of a then versus
(01:25):
now.
You know? And, you know, podcast monetization is
evolved from basic ads to mix of diversified
income streams. And I think more podcasters are
using multiplatform
revenue models, social media, newsletters,
value for value,
regular ads, pre rolls. It just kinda goes
(01:46):
on and on. Traditional sponsorships,
just not really happening as much as it
used to. Now in certain niches, they'll have
a a
sponsor that really aligns with the show, but,
you know, that's getting harder and harder to
do,
these days.
And sometimes you have to run
(02:06):
eight different ads during a month if you're
doing eight different episodes. You don't have the
same sponsor
for the whole for the whole month. And,
of course,
the pay to play model subscriptions and membership
is rising, but
it doesn't really work for every podcast
and there's a lot of reasons for that.
But I guess we should talk about who's
making the most money. Big networks versus independent
(02:27):
creators versus
niche
podcasters, and
I think the networks probably still have
an advantage.
Yeah. Of course. The bigger shows are gonna
attract the the advertisers,
but, you know, there's more to making money
than than advertising too, which we'll talk about
later on. Yeah. I think it's important
(02:48):
that we all realize that that the
end goal of a show may not be,
you know,
dollars, yen, 1, whatever your currency may be.
There's a variety of ways to
but if we go down and look at
the basics,
you know, at CPM based ads versus dynamic
(03:09):
ad insertion,
they're kinda tied together now, you
know, because
CPM based ads mostly
are DAI,
our digital audio inserted
so that the
when the ad hits its volume,
in other words, if you've contracted for x
thousands or tens of thousands or hundreds of
(03:29):
thousands of deliveries once you've hit that number,
the d e I tool can pull the
ad out and stick a new one in.
So or
restitch it back together so there's no ad
there whatsoever.
But simple fact still applies that 90%
and all and maybe we haven't talked about
this a long time, but
(03:51):
90% of podcasts globally deliver
90% of their lifetime downloads
within the first ninety six hours.
So not everyone
needs to use d a I because, you
know, you're not gonna deliver that many
downloads after that first month.
Some do. Those 10% are really truly,
(04:12):
you know, in a great position. But
Yeah. There are some long tail shows that,
you know,
I
can I can think of one that, you
know, she started way back when, and, you
know, her older shows are getting darn near
as many downloads as her newer shows? Yeah.
Yeah. And, again, if you have that long
tail
and you have that ability then DAI is
(04:35):
definitely for you. But you can run CPM
based ads without DAI
if you have a show that, you know,
kind of looks like a hockey stick that
is
laid tip up and, you know, if your
downloads kinda do, we go up and then
go down and be pretty flat. Why use
DAI? Just bake the ad in and and
let it run. But
(04:55):
brands in 2025
are looking for more niche specific partnerships.
They're obviously looking for measurable engagement over download
numbers, you know,
the response rate. How many people are engaging?
How many likes? How many,
comments? These types of things
And they're definitely looking for long term relationships
(05:16):
versus
one off ad placement. But at the same
time, that one off ad placement may be
only once a month.
You might only get one ad from
advertiser x y z.
Mhmm. So,
but the landing of sponsor hasn't changed much.
No. You you you definitely need to try
(05:38):
to be brand friendly, whatever that means.
You know?
It depends on the brand too. You know?
A a a show that,
is explicit content, there are advertisers
that that do want that. So it's not
like one size fits all
for brand advertising. It's it's all about, you
know, does the brand align with the type
(06:00):
of show?
You can also,
you know, negotiate value based deals, not just
CPM. So, you know, you can
you can negotiate. You know, if I bring
you x number of sales, then I get
this much money or something like that. It's
the deal is completely
up to the advertiser and the, you know,
(06:21):
podcaster.
And when it comes to those brand buys,
in other words, if a brand buy would
be like a Ford or a GEICO or
someone like that,
they're looking for that engagement because they're not
necessarily
able to determine if you drove someone in
to buy a new vehicle or an insurance
policy,
but they're looking for engagement within the content,
(06:42):
to see that they actually, you know, guarantee
that they heard the ads. So that's looking
at your social media engagement.
But, of course, they're always fall back to
your listener data to showcase audience loyalty.
And, again, you know, for small shows, you
can land affiliate sponsorships or direct brand deals.
It's all about the audience connection. You know,
we're working with code ADX,
(07:02):
and there's some great deals there that align
specifically with shows
that you you can find an affiliate sponsorship
that you can do very well on.
So, you know, don't forget if you're a
smaller podcast, don't forget about those affiliate sponsorships
or, again, even those direct brand deals. If
you are a car show
or you are a show on a specific
(07:24):
topic, you you would make a good candidate
for a
direct brand deal.
Sure. You know, I yeah. Especially car shows.
Again, you know, any niche that, you know,
that would align with a big brand might
be the perfect candidate for that. Another way
people are, making money these days are,
premium content subscriptions.
Apple has this subscription
(07:46):
model that you can do just through Apple.
We, of course, have premium podcasting, which you
can run through everybody else or most everybody
else. That may be a way to go.
You know?
One of the questions
is our listeners actually paying for premium content.
Well, you know, I I just look at
my TV watching. I
pay for the stuff I want, and I
(08:08):
don't pay for cable. I don't pay for
you know? So I have a, you know,
Netflix account, a YouTube premium account, and a
couple other things. And throwing a couple podcasts
in there that you really, really like might
be, the way to go. You know, Apple
has it. Patreon, Spotify, Substack,
you know, Blueberry,
all that direct monetization. And it could be
(08:30):
just to support your show, but, you know,
you could give them premium content like bonus
episodes. You know? So, say, you have you
do your four episodes a month,
and you give them a fifth episode that
is exclusive to the premium. Or
if you're doing ads in your show, you
could do a
ad free version of your show for the
(08:52):
people that pay you. All kinds of, different
ways of incentivizing
people to subscribe.
And I think too, if you offer a
subscription with an another offering, whether it be
a newsletter,
a live q and a, something special,
that really incentivizes
people to do that. But definitely what's not
(09:14):
working is generic paywalls with no real incentive.
You have to have an incentive for people
to subscribe.
And also there's subscription fatigue out there. Too
many platforms are asking for money. But in
this case, it's really not a platform asking
for money. It's an individual. So there's a
few podcasters that I know that are on
Patreon that I support,
(09:35):
specifically on Patreon. There's a couple that are
on Apple premium that I support. And again,
this is content that I listen to on
a glee basis
that's a not miss for me. If it's
a not miss and they are looking for
support, I'm more than willing to get up
and and support the show because I want
the content to continue. Why? Because I'm getting
(09:56):
value.
You know, I'm getting value out of that.
And the most successful part of the value
for value model. You know? It doesn't necessarily
mean streaming Bitcoin. It could be Right. Anything
PayPal donation. Sports a show. Yeah.
The most successful scripture models are tied to
strong community engagement and and not just extra
(10:16):
comment, but our live events, are they worth
the worth the effort?
You know, the rise of the hybrid podcast
events, live streaming and in person experience
is that, you know, made a bit of
an impact.
So I think if you have something fun
and you're it's it's an event where they're
paying for that, you know, there's an option
(10:38):
there. Of course, there's there's different type of
monetizable
events too. There's ticketed live podcast tapings, and
I think you have to have a very
big show. Yeah. Yeah.
And you have to have a pretty big
audience to get people to travel because, you
know, they're not all gonna be, you know,
right in your area. Yeah. And if you
have a, you know, kind this is why
comedians have done so well. They've been able
(10:59):
to go to,
comedy venues all across the country
and what ends up happening then is, you
know, a smattering of their fans come in
and buy tickets
to to the comedy show or more often
now I see individuals doing virtual workshops,
AMAs and q and a's.
And, of course, if you have an event
(11:19):
where your fans are gonna go to, it
might be all have a shared interest. In
other words, I I just go back to
the analogy of a car show again.
If you have the ability to have a
a meetup at a trade show or car
event or something like that where you have
a separate meet and greet and have a
small fee for the tenants, I I think
you might do do well here. But some
(11:41):
podcast events flop. Yeah. For sure. You know,
you you overestimate how many people are gonna
show up. And so you rent this
big venue and, you know, 12 people show
up. That's not gonna work out well. And,
again, high production costs versus actual revenue. So,
you know, start small.
Merch. Here's another, thing. And this is real
(12:02):
popular with YouTubers, but, podcasters
as well.
You can
sell branded items and shirts, mugs, stickers, all
that kind of stuff. And,
and that works if your fan base is
very engaged.
You could, do some creative merch, custom
journals,
(12:23):
soundbite NFTs.
NFTs still a thing? Yeah. A little bit.
Yeah. I think it's it's kinda come and
went a little bit in itself.
Right. Right. So, but what's not working is,
you know, general merch with no brand connection,
you know, selling products
to an audience that really isn't engaged.
(12:44):
You know, you
don't yeah. You you have to judge your
audience. So, again, know your audience.
But I do think that the print on
demand services make it easier than ever to
sell without high upfront cost.
So, you know, that that way you don't
have to put in inventory.
There are companies out there that will, handle
all your merch sales too if you're you're
(13:04):
up a certain volume.
You know? And they run contests. You know?
This this one big outfit I know of,
if you're,
doing merch through them, what they'll do is,
every once in a while, for every $5,
you get an entry to win something, and
it's usually something rather big, you know, like
a a vehicle in the case of the
one I know.
(13:24):
Wow.
And, yeah. So, you know, they'll they'll give
away I think the last giveaway was a
a Corvette z r one or something. You
know? It was it was a big deal.
And so every you know, that sells a
lot of merch. That definitely sells a lot
of merch.
First, the some of the best selling
podcast merch is inside joke driven. In other
(13:45):
words, if there's something your fans get
that maybe someone else won't that will drive
conversation,
you know, that that does really, really,
really well.
And, of course, the future podcast monetization, you
know, I still believe that your audience, if
they value your content,
can be the source of the biggest revenue
for smaller shows and maybe even bigger shows.
(14:07):
So don't discount
having your your fans support your show with
direct donations. But, you know, the question is,
are ad supported podcast sustainable?
And what emerging revenue streams
should podcasters
experiment with? I think on the ad supported
side,
it's gonna continue.
But it's been a weird kind of a
(14:28):
weird time over the last
couple of years where, you know, a a
small number shows get a high percentage of
the ads and everyone else
is ignored and or
the platform,
YouTube and or Spotify is monetizing around your
content and you're getting nothing.
So, you know, you if you get to
(14:48):
pick wisely,
where you want your show to be and
how you monetize. But the emerging revenue streams
the podcasters
could experiment with is consulting within your own
niche
and stuff that you that you are discussing.
A book. Write your own book, you know,
(15:09):
from the content.
And I think,
maybe even integrated commerce, shop while you listen,
have some sort of like Code ADX, have
some sort of offer in the show that
people will will go support.
Yeah. I you know, think about this one,
and it's not listed in our notes here.
But,
(15:30):
you know, what about if you're in business
doing something else
and your show could be sponsored
by that business. So it could be around
that business. You know, our friend Gary, he
really, took that to the to the higher
level on a couple shows, a couple businesses
he runs. And and,
you know, that that's you know, he didn't
(15:52):
make money because of his pod or he
didn't make money from talking on the microphone.
He made money
by, you know, talking about the topic and
promoting his business in that field.
Yeah. He was,
at the beginning, he was selling, girls
softball bats.
Yeah. And his show was all about
(16:14):
girls softball. Softball. Yeah. And,
and he and he sold literally tens of
thousands
of Beryl softball bats because he was
the man. You know, he was the one
that he was talking about all the different
bats and you know and actually covering,
the games and industry
where those bats are being used. So it
(16:36):
was brilliant move on his part. So I
think the key to making money is diversification.
You can't rely on just one revenue stream.
What is in today maybe out tomorrow. There's
content that,
people have built wonderful businesses with and then
a little bit of changing of the tide
(16:57):
in the way people think and all of
a sudden that content is much much harder
to monetize. So having that diversification
is really really critical.
I think that,
that is the biggest takeaway here.
But again, I I go back to what
I said earlier.
The value of your podcast is more than
monetization.
The value is the people you connect with,
(17:19):
the opportunities that are afforded you because of
your podcast.
Maybe that maybe all of a sudden you're
on a speaking circuit.
Maybe,
you have written,
a best selling book.
Maybe you have now become the authority on,
you know, category
x y z. Maybe it's increased your people
(17:39):
walking through the door or calling you for
business.
These are the ongoing bigger values of podcasting,
I think,
beyond monetization because I think, Mike, you'll agree
that when people get so
focused on just
advertising,
They forget about all these other opportunities and
what
(17:59):
podcasting is making available to them. You might
just get a new career out of it
like I did. Right.
I'm only here at Blueberry because I started
a podcast way back when and, you know,
those kind of opportunities do come up. They
do all the time. And, again, I go
back to the story. We never know who's
listening.
You could have someone that's very influential
(18:21):
in your category space listening to
love your content.
And the next thing you do is you're
getting a call saying, hey. I'd love to
have your resume.
I think you'd make a great member for
our team. That happens
all the time.
So I think this is the
the biggest takeaway for me
is
from a monetization
(18:42):
strategy. It's not just the money.
It's the opportunities.
And,
I think we lose A lot of people
just do this for a hobby.
You know, they you know, so don't forget
that. I mean, it it's it can be
fun, and it can be informative,
you know, to you. You know? The best
way to learn about something is do a
(19:02):
podcast about it because
you're gonna engage an audience, and they're gonna
train you know, teach you about it and
all the research you're gonna do. So, you
know,
sometimes, again, it's not about the money. Yeah.
So what's been your
best or worst monetization strategy? How have you
used your show
to either one monetize or to, like I
(19:23):
referred to, improve
your life,
business, standing, whatever it may be,
let us know on social or send us
a memo
or send us an email and we might
feature your story in a future episode. I
think, we wanna hear from you on your
various ways. I'm astounded many times when people
tell us what what their podcast has done
or how it's changed their life.
(19:46):
There's literally thousands and thousands of stories and
I'm sure you have one. Let us know
or maybe you're developing one and we'd like
to know that. You got
something? Let us know. Thanks for listening to
Podcast Insider. You can, find the show notes
over at podcastinsider.com.
We'll see you next week.
Thanks for joining us. Come back next week.
(20:07):
And in the meantime, head to podcastinsider.com
for more information,
to subscribe,
share, and read our show notes.
To check out our latest suite of services
and learn how Blueberry
can help you leverage your podcast. Visit blueberry.com.
That's Blueberry without the e's.
We couldn't afford the e's.
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