Hello my friends, I trust you had a wonderful weekend and had an opportunity to relax and listen to a few FREE podcasts! Yes, I said “FREE”, which is my favorite “F word”.
Did you know that some people actually pay for the privilege of listening to a podcast? I am not sure why, as there are over 1 million podcast episodes that you can listen to at no cost but in case you are so inclined to know how you can pay for or donate to a podcast, check out the latest episode of the Delaware Blogger Podcast, “Paying for a Podcast”
Granted, one of the biggest challenges a podcast host has is getting more ears to their show, wanting to get a lot of downloads so that it not only feeds their egos, but may also feed their pockets.
However, listeners are not overly excited on paying for a podcast or even buying a cup of coffee or donating to your show. As there are over 1 million published podcast shows, listeners feel that they should be free like public radio.
Do you agree?
Disclosure: The music in this episode is provided by thePodcastHost.com & Alitu: The Podcast Maker.
According to a recent article in Variety, “MOST PODCAST LISTENERS STILL LUKEWARM ON PAYING FOR PODCASTS, DATA SUGGESTS”
“There certainly has been a subscription revenue boom in the media space in recent years, but it may not have benefited podcasts as much as other forms of media.”
Similar to changing the term from “subscribe” to “follow” keeps the podcasts free. You don’t subscribe to conversations with your friends, you follow conversations with your friends. Subscribe is not the best term for a social app.
Subscribe means that you interested in the content, not the person or organization; it’s good for receiving content from a channel.
Follow means you care about the person and the content – H2H.
Connect is especially about the person, and less about the content.
How Do Podcasts Make Money?
Advertisements are one of the most effective ways that podcasts can produce an income, although it may take time to build an audience that attracts the attention of potential advertisers.
Commissions made from promoting Affiliate products or services is also another common income stream for podcasters. When a host mentions a product or service on their show and provide a specific discount link, they can receive a percentage of each sale made with the unique URL.
Other podcasters sell subscriptions to their show or use Crowdfunding or donating platforms like Patreon which lets subscribers pick a donation tier for different perks, such as exclusive content or early access to episodes or exclusive events.
Podcasts are becoming very popular and advertisers are increasing their revenue investment especially in the U.S. but when starting out, it’s important to focus on your audience, which in turn will help you attract advertisers.
Whether you are selling advertisements, participating in affiliate programs, offering subscriptions, or crowdfunding which are all great ways a podcast can generate revenue and bring in some income.
I wanna know; would you pay to subscribe to a podcast or would you rather follow and enjoy the content?
Please leave a comment or review and I will read it on a subsequent show at no cost to you!
Have an amazing day!
