The majority of podcasters aren’t making as much money as they could, and to be honest, many smaller podcasts aren’t profitable at all. That’s one of the biggest reasons why so many podcasters quit within their first year.
The truth is,
monetizing a podcast takes more than just uploading episodes and hoping sponsors will come knocking. I’ve seen countless podcasters start with high energy, only to burn out when they realize that sponsorships alone won’t cover their costs, let alone generate a full-time income.
While sponsorships might seem like the most obvious way to monetize, depending solely on them is a risky strategy—especially for smaller podcasts.
Advertisers usually pay based on CPM (cost per thousand downloads), and for a podcast with less than 1,000 downloads per episode, expecting more than $100 per ad spot is often unrealistic.
In fact,
according to AdvertiseCast’s 2023 Podcast Advertising Rates, the average CPM for a 30-second ad is around $18, meaning a podcast with 500 downloads would only make $9 per ad—not exactly life-changing money. 😬
But here’s the good news:
there are multiple ways to make money from a podcast that go beyond sponsorships, and some of them can be even more lucrative and sustainable.
Some podcasters make six figures a year without ever running a single ad! Whether it’s offering premium content, creating digital products, or leveraging affiliate marketing, there are smarter monetization strategies that can actually turn a podcast into a profitable business rather than just a side hobby.
Today,
I want to share nine real ways to ACTUALLY make money from your podcast—methods that successful podcasters are using right now to generate consistent revenue.
If you’ve been struggling to monetize or feel stuck in the sponsorship cycle, this is for you. 🚀
- 9 ways to monetize a podcast in 2024
- 1. Brand Sponsorships
- 2. Quality Over Quantity: Why 200 Engaged Listeners Beat 2000 Social Media Followers
- 3. Build Relationships with Brands
- 4. Creating and Selling Intellectual Property
- 5. Affiliate Marketing
- 6. Premium Content, Subscriptions & Paid Memberships
- 7. Running Ads
- 8. Post your episodes on YouTube
- 9. Donations and Merch
- Conclusion
9 ways to monetize a podcast in 2024
1. Brand Sponsorships
I love this monetization method, but if I’m being honest, it’s not my absolute favorite way to make money from my show.
Here’s why: many podcasters—especially small business owners—have their own products or services to sell, yet they end up promoting someone else’s brand for just a few dollars per ad spot.
It’s a bit ironic, isn’t it?
Instead of being paid a fraction of what your audience is worth, wouldn’t it make more sense to advertise your own offerings?
Let’s talk numbers.
A sponsorship might pay you $25 to $50 per 1,000 downloads (depending on industry rates), but if you sell a course, coaching session, or premium membership, you could make hundreds per customer—even with a smaller audience.
In fact,
according to Podchaser’s 2023 Podcast Monetization Report, creators who sell their own products or services make 3-5x more revenue than those relying solely on sponsorships.
I’ve personally seen podcasters with just a few hundred dedicated listeners build thriving businesses by offering consulting, digital guides, or exclusive content.
That being said, sponsorships still have their place—especially if you don’t have a product yet or want passive income without extra effort.
From my experience,
sponsors come in two ways:
either you reach out to them and negotiate your own terms,
or they approach you with their own offers.
I’ve been in both situations, and honestly, each has its pros and cons.
If you pitch sponsors yourself, you have more control over pricing and brand alignment, but it takes a lot of outreach.
If sponsors come to you, it’s less work, but their terms might not always match your needs.
Whichever route you take, be strategic.
Don’t just say yes to any deal—
think about your goals, your audience, and whether the product truly aligns with your brand.
After all,
your listeners trust you, and a poorly chosen sponsorship can do more harm than good.
So, whether you’re building your own brand or looking for the right sponsor, choose wisely—because your podcast is more valuable than you think. 🚀
- What’s a Brand Sponsorship?: Think of it like – big and small companies pay you to talk about their stuff on your podcast.
- Why Are Brands Interested in You?: Because you have something special – a connection with your listeners that big ads can’t buy.
- The Power of Podcasting: Unlike social media, where people swipe ads faster than flash, your podcast keeps listeners hooked for the whole show.
2. Quality Over Quantity: Why 200 Engaged Listeners Beat 2000 Social Media Followers
A thousand podcast listeners can be far more valuable than having tens of thousands of social media followers when it comes to monetizing your audience.
Why?
Because, my friend, it all comes down to attention—and not just grabbing it, but keeping it.
Think about it.
Social media is a battlefield for eyeballs.
People endlessly scroll, jump between apps, and get distracted by notifications, viral videos, and trending posts.
The average attention span on platforms like Instagram or TikTok?
Less than 8 seconds (Microsoft Study, 2023).
Brands spend millions trying to hold their audience’s focus, yet most posts vanish from memory faster than you can double-tap.
But podcasters? We have something social media influencers would kill for—deep, sustained attention.
Unlike the quick-hit dopamine rush of social media dancers and viral memes, a podcast listener is fully engaged, often for 30 minutes to an hour per episode.
That’s an insane level of focus in today’s distraction-heavy world.
A study by Edison Research (2023) found that 80% of podcast listeners finish most or all of an episode, making podcasts one of the most effective platforms for audience connection and trust-building.
And when it comes to monetization,
trust is everything.
A podcaster with 1,000 loyal listeners can generate more revenue than an influencer with 50,000 disengaged followers.
Why?
Because those 1,000 listeners are likely to buy products, subscribe to memberships, and engage deeply.
Brands know this, which is why podcast ad conversion rates (3.5%) outperform social media ads (1.5%) (Podchaser, 2023).
So while social media is a great tool for discovery, a podcast is where real influence happens.
If you’re building an audience, focus on depth, not just numbers—because in today’s world, attention is currency, and podcasts are the bank. 🎙️🔥
- The Attention Game: Attention is like gold these days. It’s hard to keep, but podcasting makes it easier because listeners stick around if you and your guest are talking stuffs.
- Niche is Nice: Even if you Have a small but super-focused audience, your listeners are more likely to buy what you recommend.
- The Parasocial Connection: Your listeners might not know you personally, but they feel like they do. Thats the thing, That’s powerful!
3. Build Relationships with Brands
You might be sitting on some real opportunities without even knowing. Start reaching out to brands and businesses that would be interested in putting their products and services in front of your audience.
Find the contact information for their marketing department and shoot that person a DM or an email telling them about your podcast and your interest in creating episodes highlighting their products.
Be thoughtful and clear in your communication and highlight how excited you are to introduce their product or service to your audience.
Also,
don’t forget to include your podcast analytics and use the same argument I presented about why you have a small but real audience.
- Reaching Out: Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. They don’t come if you just sit idle and do nothing. Just Make a list of brands you’d like to work with and go reach out to them personally.
- Audience First: Choose the brands that match with your audience’s interests and wants. Trust is important, so only promote products/services you believe in.
- The Power of Follow-Up: Even if a brand initially says no, staying on their radar can lead to future opportunities.
How to Land Those Brand Deals: Tips for Reaching Out to Companies
- Get Their Attention: Find the right person to talk to in the marketing department and shoot them a message.
- Be Clear and Excited: Tell them why you love their product and why your audience will too.
- Show Them the Numbers: Share your podcast stats and explain why your small audience is mighty.
4. Creating and Selling Intellectual Property
Another way to make money from your podcast is by packaging and selling your intellectual property online.
So, it sounds more complicated than it is.
Let me simplify it.
Just identify a problem your audience has, and you create a solution so they can go from point A to point B.
An e-course is the ideal method for you to make money off of your podcast if it is in any way instructive or useful.
It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to create an online course.
a podcast’s material can be easily summarized in an e-course, along with a few more pointers and useful guidance.
Potential customers find e-courses appealing since they are based on tangible outcomes.
They are fully aware of what they are getting into and what they stand to gain.
Additionally, it’s likely that you’ll have a large number of students as soon as you launch your course because you already have a captive audience.
- Identify Audience Needs: Use your podcasting to identify common problems your audience faces.
- Offer Solutions: Develop digital products like courses, ebooks, or coaching sessions to address these needs. Just like a blog. We provide solution and sell products from amazon or services from in the process according to your needs.
- Modify the Offers: Provide premium offers for your podcast listeners to add more value to deepen your relationship with them.
5. Affiliate Marketing
You know those awesome guests you have on your show?
Well,
if they’ve got something to sell, why not ask them for a little something in return? You can ask for a commission for helping them sell their things.
Plus, don’t forget to score a discount for your listeners – they’ll love you for it! Just make sure to tell them you’re earning a commission, so they know what’s up.
Affiliate Models are great Because you’re not stating, “This podcast is sponsored by _,” but rather, “Here are three ways I’m making my life easier as a busy mom,” affiliate links can be really effective.
Additionally, you mention an affiliate link in several of those ways.
Additionally, maintain a well-organized bank of affiliates if you haven’t already.
It might be in your project manager, such as ClickUp, or it might be a spreadsheet.
However, keep a record of every business you affiliate with, the discounts you have with them, the code and link, and the terms of the deal for both you and the customer.
- Easy Entry: Start earning commissions by promoting products/services through affiliate marketing.
- Know Your Audience: Choose affiliate products/services that resonate with your audience.
- Transparency Matters: Always disclose your affiliate relationships to maintain trust with your listeners. Sane goes with the sponsors.
I’d also wanna say this, you may use affiliates to monetize your podcast in ways other than just the episodes themselves.
Your blog,
social media accounts, email list, and more can help you increase your revenue.
For instance, in order to boost visibility through search engine optimization, I will also mention an affiliate product in the blog post that goes along with it if I promote it in an episode.
I can also interact with my email list and use social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest. There are countless options!
6. Premium Content, Subscriptions & Paid Memberships
Ever heard of Spotify or Apple Podcasts?
If not then please give up podcasting!
Well, did you know you can offer premium content directly on these platforms?
Yeh, that’s true, Your listeners will pay a monthly fee to access exclusive episodes.
It’s like having a VIP section for your most dedicated fans!
Creating paid membership tiers is a certain strategy to monetize your podcast when you have a loyal and engaged audience.
Because your listeners believe they are gaining intimate and exclusive access to unique content, this is a terrific way to monetize your content and benefits both parties.
Additionally, a subscription plan is a smart approach to maintain your freedom from brand collaborations while still making money from your podcast.
Alternatively, you may provide your paying subscribers with an ad-free option if you already have that big ad agreement under your belt.
There is a way where there is a will!
- Platform Options: Consider platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts for offering premium content behind a paywall.
- Ease of Access: Direct subscription options within podcast apps streamline the process for your listeners.
- Leveraging Analytics: Use analytics to determine the best platform for your audience and content.
- Create tiered memberships: You can provide various tiers with increasingly superior features and special benefits. Because it accommodates a range of pricing points, even people on a tighter budget might be persuaded to sign up.
- Ensure your membership is worthwhile: Although you can’t always count on it, you might discover that many of your listeners will assist you out of kindness and because they think your podcast will succeed. Make sure your listeners believe they’re receiving a fair deal because you’re asking them to commit to a regular payment.
- Create Bonus or Premium Content for Subscribers: With the unique content you provide to your subscribers, you may be imaginative and enjoy yourself. You can decide how labor-intensive you want this part of setting up a membership program to be.
7. Running Ads
Ads, ads, ads – they’re everywhere! And guess what? You can cash in on them too!
Got a small or big audience?
Doesn’t matter—there’s always money to be made in podcasting. One of the most common ways?
Advertisements and sponsorships.
But here’s the thing: they’re not the same.
While sponsorships suggest a long-term partnership between a brand and your podcast, ads are typically short, transactional interludes where businesses promote their products or services—often without any real connection to your content.
Now, if you’re looking to monetize through ads, the easiest way is to join an advertising network like AdvertiseCast or Adopter Media.
These platforms act as middlemen, matching your podcast with brands looking to advertise.
The upside?
They handle all the hard work—finding sponsors, negotiating rates, and ensuring payments—so you can focus on creating content.
But there’s a catch: they take a cut of your earnings, and for smaller podcasts with fewer than 1,000 downloads per episode, the payout can be underwhelming.
In fact,
the average CPM (cost per 1,000 downloads) for podcast ads is around $18-$25 (AdvertiseCast, 2023), meaning if you’re just starting out, you might only make a few dollars per episode from ads.
That’s why many podcasters opt for direct sponsorship deals instead.
Rather than waiting for an ad network to match you with a random brand, you can reach out to companies that align with your audience and negotiate better rates.
This not only leads to higher payouts but also ensures that ads feel more authentic and engaging—because let’s be honest, listeners hate irrelevant ads.
A poorly placed,
generic ad can lead to listener drop-off, while a well-integrated,
niche-relevant sponsorship can feel like a natural recommendation.
So,
while ad networks can be a great starting point,
long-term success in podcast monetization often comes from building direct relationships with sponsors or even creating your own products to promote.
After all,
if you’re going to be advertising something, why not advertise for yourself? 🎙️💰
- Going through a network for your ads: There are two choices to think about when it comes to making money out of your podcast. Will you pitch and negotiate your own contracts, or will you rely on a network to put you in touch with sponsors? If you sign up for a podcast network, they might put advertisements on your behalf, but you might not be in charge of the content. Both options have advantages and disadvantages.
- Choosing ad placements for your podcast: Additionally, you should think about the pieces you wish to sell and the available spaces for your podcast advertisements. Remember that you can also promote your own goods. Finding a balance between promoting your own content and giving sponsors the best placement is crucial, in my opinion. Additionally, think about how many advertisements you can actually fit into each episode. Depending on the duration of the episode, this might change, but you must be careful not to bombard listeners with too many advertisements.
8. Post your episodes on YouTube
YouTubers make bank, and you can too! Although podcasting is primarily an audio-based medium, you may utilize YouTube Ads to monetise your episodes.
Doesn’t the goal of a podcast get lost when videos are posted on YouTube?
You might think so, but here’s the thing: in 2022, YouTube was the most popular platform for podcast consumption, with 33% of Americans using it to access podcasts.
Second place went to the music-streaming service Spotify, which is used by 24% of Americans to listen to podcasts.
Crazy, huh?
YouTube podcast episodes: The Friendship Onion
Making your material available on YouTube allows listeners to engage with your content in a new way and share it on other platforms, regardless of whether you upload audio-only or video recordings of your podcast episodes.
Here’s how to do it:
- Meet Requirements: Make your YouTube channel meets the eligibility criteria, including 1,000 subscribers.
- Enable Ads: You have to Allow YouTube to run ads on your videos automatically to start generating ad revenue.
- Explore Donation Options: I’d suggest you Encourage viewer donations through Super Thanks or Super Chat during live recordings.
9. Donations and Merch
Who doesn’t love free money,
am I right?
Ask your audience for donations – it’s as simple as clicking a button! And if you’re feeling extra fancy, set up a channel membership or sell some sweet merch.
Your fans will love supporting you.
Talking About Merch, that’s gonna be is our last piece of advice on podcast monetization.
Do your listeners have a strong devotion to your show?
Do your episodes contain any well-known quotations or running jokes that your audience enjoys?
Make podcast gear and allow your audience to express their support by wearing it!
- Channel Memberships: Just Offer your audience some exclusive perks to channel members in exchange for recurring monthly payments.
- Merchandise Sales: Launch a merch store where fans can purchase branded products directly from your channel.
- Donations and Tips: Enable donation features like Super Chat or Super Thanks to allow listeners to support your podcast financially.
Conclusion
One of the most interesting and promising ways to connect with people who are interested in what you have to say is through podcasting. However, you shouldn’t restrict yourself to just one road because there are other ways to become profitable. You can expand your show and possibly increase the revenue from a podcast you’ve worked very hard on by integrating it into a multi-channel and multi-platform network that includes digital items, memberships, online courses, and numerous affiliates. Keep podcasting and Keep earning!
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