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View Full Version : How does your podcast generate revenue?



RichardCleveland
08-27-2012, 07:10 PM
The title of this post says it all.

How does your podcast generate revenue?

ChaseShumway
08-27-2012, 09:03 PM
We generate revenue... for Guitar Center when we need gear.

I have a few affiliations with funny shirt makers, I'm a member of Project Wonderful and I'm an Amazon associate. We've made some money here and there. Won't be able to quit the day job just yet though.

William Thomas
08-28-2012, 07:32 AM
This is a very important thread in this forum and i bet it doesnt get many responses.. Seems like its a touchy topic. I am guessing most dont make money and probably have few if any ads. Obviously the full timers have ads or sponsers.

I will be watching this thread as i want to know as well.

Thanks for posting question

Bill

RichardCleveland
08-28-2012, 08:17 AM
The IAIB and this forum in particular was formed to share ideas and promote the hobby or for some of us a business model that is ever changing. I didn't pose this question to pry into any ones revenue streams, I asked to to promote ideas and help everyone.

I have heard it said many times that you can't make money by podcasting. I don't believe that is true. Granted many of us do this for the hobby. However there are many examples of successes in this new medium, our own Andrew Zarian for one. He started out doing this as a hobby and now has a very lucrative business all from podcasting. It takes some work but the payoff is worth the time.

I currently use Google Ad Sense, and small business advertisers on Between The Pages. I am exploring the possibility of using a service like PodTrac. Am I setting the world on fire with my sponsorship? NO, but I am thinking of new ways to monetize my shows and if nothing else pay for my bandwidth and electric bill.

andrewzarian
08-28-2012, 08:28 AM
We generally make our revenue by live reads. Very similar to how radio has been doing it. With that said that is not the only way to generate revenue.

Donovan
08-28-2012, 08:32 AM
Unfortunately, my audience hasn't grown large enough to actually make any money yet. I've had one donation in the history of my shows. Some small Adsense revenue from my sites, but that's about it.

But, I'm a patient person. I think. LOL

BradShoemaker
08-28-2012, 08:48 AM
There are a few models and methods... the most obvious is ad revenue.

(what I am about to say is all based on observations btw).

Mostly Unobtrusive
- Pre-roll
- Quick Live Mentions
- A couple of small banners on the site
(TWiT & GFQ seem to follow this method).
It doesn't distract too much, content during the show is mostly unharmed in this process. It doesn't feel like you are being bombarded.

Radio Style Commercial Breaks
- 3-4 minutes of commercials in between show segments
- Live Reads
- Banners galore on the website
(Tom Lyekis)
This method is what you are used to hearing in radio and seems to be working well with Tom Lyekis, but (in my opinion) is the worst of the options to go. If you want to compete with traditional radio then go for it. You can get the most ad dollar out of this method, but in the end you are missing out on what can make an Internet Broadcast different from traditional broadcasting. Plus you are annoying the listener.

Outside of the Ad Model you have the Subscription Method

I have seen this done two ways...

Pay for Episode (or Season).
Several comics make you pay for the season of episodes, or a monthly fee, etc. They may give out a free show every now and then for promotional purposes, but overall you can't listen unless you pay something.
(can't think of anyone off the top of my head, but when they come to me I'll update)

Extra Content Sections (aka Freemium)
The show is free, but certain features are blocked after a certain time and extra features are blocked unless you pay a weekly/monthly/or yearly subscription.
(Mike David with Red Bar Radio)
As Mike David does it, he does his free show live on Ustream (Video and Audio). He then posts the audio for anyone to listen, but if you missed the video portion, you have to pay a $10 monthly charge to see it. He also posts extra videos, etc that only the subscribers can see.

There are other variations of those 4 methods and even mixtures of them (I think Lyekis does ad and subscription).

If going with ads, you need to find the right clients for your show. If you are small, but niche focus on your audience demographics and find the sponsor who will benefit most from them. If you are a larger show then you are delivering more people and can get clients who care more about quantity, getting their message out to as many as possible. Radio, TV, Newspapers sell on this (most people for the demo the client wants).

If you want to go subscriptions, then you have to deliver content people want and it has to be worth their hard earned money.

podcastcoach
08-28-2012, 10:08 AM
Here is my breakdown from last month:

$988 in Affiliate Income
$683 in product sales and consulting
$30 in donations
This is with (more or less) 40,000 downloads over 8 podcasts. Which means I'm making a whopping .04 a download. If I removed the two podcasts I do for fun (that lose money each month), that number would be slightly better.

I would be missing an opportunity if I failed to mention that the strategies I use are in my book "More Podcast Money (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EZDVPO/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008EZDVPO&linkCode=as2&tag=sop-20)." (so forgive me for the plug). You CAN make money with a podcast - no matter the number. The issue is can you make a living.

Linuxcooldude
08-28-2012, 10:29 AM
I mainly started out as a serious hobby. I don't make money out of it as yet, but that was not really my goal. I do see it as a potential in other areas. Locally, I started to get noticed, with the news stories I've done here. Never know when job offers might come in due to that for instance.

podcastcoach
08-28-2012, 10:32 AM
I actually got a job at a college because I knew how to podcast. It was weird. It got me in the door, and then they didn't use that skill.

andrewzarian
08-29-2012, 05:25 AM
Funny you say that Dave. I just got an email from an old High School friend wanting to hire me as a consultant for a company that is looking to create Podcasts every week for their clients.

jamesdelfresco
08-31-2012, 09:15 PM
I dont plan on looking for sponsors forlong time . baby steps!!!!!!

JenKurian
11-27-2012, 04:46 PM
Last week Andrew Zarian suggested I join this forum during a call he and I had. Today is my first day on the forum and I'm in awe of all the thoughtful responses I've been reading! I'm particularly interested in this thread about generating podcast revenue.

For the last couple months I've been working for a Boulder, CO based startup that is innovating in the New Media space.

Right now I'm tasked with learning about the problems podcasters face when trying to generate ad revenue. And I'm seeking feedback on a (free) service we think might help podcasters re-monetize their on demand content. I'd say that our service falls under the "Mostly Unobtrusive" category listed below.

If anyone is interested in speaking with me for 10 to 15 minutes I'd be very grateful. (I don't bite, I promise!) My email address is: jennifer@epicplayground.com




There are a few models and methods... the most obvious is ad revenue.

(what I am about to say is all based on observations btw).

Mostly Unobtrusive
- Pre-roll
- Quick Live Mentions
- A couple of small banners on the site
(TWiT & GFQ seem to follow this method).
It doesn't distract too much, content during the show is mostly unharmed in this process. It doesn't feel like you are being bombarded.

Radio Style Commercial Breaks
- 3-4 minutes of commercials in between show segments
- Live Reads
- Banners galore on the website
(Tom Lyekis)
This method is what you are used to hearing in radio and seems to be working well with Tom Lyekis, but (in my opinion) is the worst of the options to go. If you want to compete with traditional radio then go for it. You can get the most ad dollar out of this method, but in the end you are missing out on what can make an Internet Broadcast different from traditional broadcasting. Plus you are annoying the listener.

Outside of the Ad Model you have the Subscription Method

I have seen this done two ways...

Pay for Episode (or Season).
Several comics make you pay for the season of episodes, or a monthly fee, etc. They may give out a free show every now and then for promotional purposes, but overall you can't listen unless you pay something.
(can't think of anyone off the top of my head, but when they come to me I'll update)

Extra Content Sections (aka Freemium)
The show is free, but certain features are blocked after a certain time and extra features are blocked unless you pay a weekly/monthly/or yearly subscription.
(Mike David with Red Bar Radio)
As Mike David does it, he does his free show live on Ustream (Video and Audio). He then posts the audio for anyone to listen, but if you missed the video portion, you have to pay a $10 monthly charge to see it. He also posts extra videos, etc that only the subscribers can see.

There are other variations of those 4 methods and even mixtures of them (I think Lyekis does ad and subscription).

If going with ads, you need to find the right clients for your show. If you are small, but niche focus on your audience demographics and find the sponsor who will benefit most from them. If you are a larger show then you are delivering more people and can get clients who care more about quantity, getting their message out to as many as possible. Radio, TV, Newspapers sell on this (most people for the demo the client wants).

If you want to go subscriptions, then you have to deliver content people want and it has to be worth their hard earned money.