Marc Guberti: 3 ways to make money with your podcast
Podcasting is one of the best ways to create content. Focusing on this form of content is the only reason I”™ve had the privilege of interviewing over 400 people through Breakthrough Success and my virtual summits. I”™ve learned a lot from this experience and got to talk with many podcasters along the way.
All of these conversations allowed me to discover the big problems most podcasters face: making money from their shows.
Podcasts require a big investment of your time. Some podcasters pay over $20 for each episode to get published after they hire an editor and show notes writer. Other podcasters do that additional work themselves to save the money and just commit more time to their backend.
Either way, podcasting is a big investment. Getting the return from podcasting requires creative thinking. In this article, I”™ll outline three ways you can make money with your podcast.
#1: Sponsorships
The majority of podcasters believe that sponsorships are the only way to make money from their shows. The top podcasters make five and six figures each month just from sponsorships. However, your podcast needs to attract a massive listener base before you approach potential sponsors.
In the meantime, you can look for products and services that offer affiliate programs. You can then promote these products and services on your podcast and make a commission for each sale you make with your link. This approach allows you to make revenue from other people”™s offers before attracting sponsors.
#2: Promote Your Own Offer
Promoting other people”™s offers is a great starting point for people just beginning their brands. Eventually, you should shift to promoting more of your offers and less of other people”™s offers on your podcast.
As you publish more episodes, your listeners will become loyal. They will want to learn more about you and hear what you”™re working on next. These are warm leads and they”™re the right people to promote your offers to. You can mention one of your products at the beginning, middle and end of each episode.
As you mention your offer more often, your listeners will get more comfortable with it. The best kinds of offers to promote are free or inexpensive ones. If you are a coach, offer the free strategy call. If you have an audiobook, mention that audiobook. Podcast listeners love listening to audio content, so an audiobook will strongly resonate with them.
Most importantly, promote offers that grow your email list. One of the offers I promote is the Content Marketing Success Summit, an evergreen virtual event with over 50 speakers. This offer is designed to grow my email list. Your email list is your most valuable asset. If you”™re not growing it, you”™re limiting your growth as a business.
#3: Turn Your Guests Into Clients
How would you feel if you had a prospect”™s full attention for a 30- to 45-minute call and there”™s much synergy between the two of you? This is the business owner”™s dream, one that podcasting makes ridiculously easy to achieve.
It”™s no secret that people love talking about themselves. It”™s also no secret that podcast hosts allow the guests to talk about themselves in a way that provides value to the listeners.
The secret is booking prospects on your show. Start reaching out to potential customers and invite them to be on your podcast. During the show, you mention your offer to the listeners, which, during your promotion, also includes the guest. Guests who enjoy being on your show may inquire about your product or service. At that point, you can talk about it and potentially make the sale on the spot.
Marc Guberti is a digital marketing expert, entrepreneur, author with over 80,000 online students and host of the “Breakthrough Success” podcast. His latest book “Content Marketing Secrets” teaches people how they can create, promote, and optimize their content for growth and revenue. Guberti coaches business owners on how to grow and monetize their online businesses. You can contact him at Marc@MarcGuberti.com.