Podcast Playbook (Part 10): How to Monetize Your Podcast — Proven Strategies to Sustain and Scale Revenue

Podcast Playbook (Part 10): How to Monetize Your Podcast — Proven Strategies to Sustain and Scale Revenue

Kelly Kennedy: Welcome to episode 271 of the Business Development Podcast, and today we're stepping into part 10 of Podcast Playbook Monetization Strategies. Podcasting is one of the most powerful tools for business development, but here's the truth. It isn't free. Hardware, software, editing your time and even promotion all come with a cost, and that's why monetization is simply not optional.

If you want your podcast to survive and thrive long-term, you need a plan to sustain it financially from the very beginning. If you're starting a podcast, maybe you already have a podcast and have been struggling with the monetization side, stick with us. You're not gonna wanna miss. This episode.

Intro: The Great Mark Cuban once said, business happens over years and years.

Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal. And we couldn't agree more. This is the Business Development podcast based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and broadcasting to the world. You'll get expert business development advice, tips, and experiences, and you'll hear interviews with business owners, CEOs and business development reps. You'll get actionable advice on how to grow business, brought to you by Capital Business Development Capital bd.ca. Let's do it. Welcome to the The Business Development Podcast, and now your expert host, Kelly Kennedy.

Kelly Kennedy: Hello, welcome to episode 271 of the Business Development Podcast.

And we are on Podcast Playbook part 10, the second last episode of our Podcast Playbook Series. And for those of you out there who have joined us from part one, I want to thank you for your attention and time and wish you the best of luck as you embark on your podcasting journey. I have had a few loyal listeners reach out and ask me how launching a podcast fits with the business development journey?

Had I not seen through my own journey the power of podcasting to open doors and present opportunities, I think I might feel the same way. But here's the truth. Podcasting isn't just about recording conversations. It's business development in motion. Every episode opens doors to new partnerships, strengthens existing relationships, and creates opportunities that can change the trajectory of a career or a company.

Through podcasting, I've built friendships, partnerships, and a supportive network that will last a lifetime. At its core, business development is about connection, trust, and value creation. That is exactly what podcasting does. It allows you to build authentic community, showcase thought leadership, and make a lasting impact on the people who listen and the guests who join you.

If that's not business development at its finest, I don't know what is, but here's the reality. Podcasting isn't free. The costs of hardware, software, editing tools, your time and even promoting your show. All stack up very quickly, and that means that monetization is not optional. If you want your podcast to survive and grow long term, you need a plan to sustain it financially from the very beginning.

And that brings us into the first part of today's show. Why monetization really matters because while podcasting is one of the most powerful tools for building authority and business development, it also comes with real costs that can stack up fast in time, money, and energy. If you don't plan for monetization early, those costs add up fast and can eventually force you to stop producing your show.

But when you do build monetization into your strategy, it not only covers your expenses, it actually fuels your growth and allows you to keep showing up for your audience week after week. Sustainability in podcasting is key, and monetization is the path to get there. Now that we understand why monetization matters, let's talk about how to set yourself up for success right from the start.

Because if you wait until later, you may find yourself locked into platforms and workflows that make monetization harder, not easier. Planning ahead is what allows you to monetize smoothly when the time comes. We must plan ahead for our monetization, but how do we do this? It starts with hosting. We have to choose the right platform.

Not all hosts are built for monetization. Make sure that your host supports dynamic ad insertion, Captivate, Libsyn, Buzzsprout Pro. Offer this dynamic ad insertion gives you the ability to insert or swap ads across your entire back catalog, and that is a lifesaver for you. Imagine recording a hundred plus episodes and being able to insert a sponsor across all of them all at once instantly.

This is how you maximize impressions and revenue as your catalog grows. Sponsors love knowing that your ads reach both new listeners and your back catalog audience. We have to think long term from day one. Even if you don't have sponsors yet, setting up the infrastructure ensures that you are ready.

Treat your early episodes as assets. They will keep generating downloads for years to come. And guys, just to give you like an idea, my first 10 or so episodes are still the most downloaded episodes of the Business Development Podcast, three years later. Planning now will save you from having to rework everything later.

Your back catalog is your greatest long-term revenue engine, but only if you set yourself up for monetization early. It doesn't mean you can't go back later, but it gets harder and harder and harder the further down the road you go if you don't plan for it. Okay, so now that you've set yourself up from monetization from the very beginning with your hosting platform, the big question becomes.

How do podcasts actually make money? The truth is there is no one sized fits all model. There are multiple revenue streams available to you, and the best shows use a mix of them to build long-term sustainability. Let's break them down. Here are the five main revenue streams available to you as a podcaster.

Number one, sponsorships. You've all heard of them. They are the most common form of monetization for any show. Host read Ads are especially powerful because they carry your credibility brands value trust with your audience more than raw download numbers. Remember that? Number two, dynamic ad insertion ads are automatically placed across your entire back catalog.

This is really the modern way that podcasts are being monetized. They can be programmic ads inserted by a network or host. Red ads created by you and personalized. They are great for scaling impact. Once you have a library of episodes, once again, probably not important until you have, let's say, a hundred episodes, but at that point you can use dynamic ads to insert new sponsors across all of your back catalog all the way back to episode one.

Number three, affiliate marketing. You can promote products or services that you use and trust and you can earn commissions on. Sales driven by your unique links or codes. You've definitely seen this guys. You've listened to a podcast and it says, go to www.xyz.com and use code red for 20% off. That is affiliate marketing.

It has a low barrier to entry for small shows and is an easy option for you right in the beginning. Number four, you can sell products or services, create and sell courses, workshops, or consulting packages. Your podcast helps you build authority and shines light on the solutions that you can offer to the world.

This is also in. Incredibly common, especially in business podcasting because the odds are pretty good. If you're a business, you offer a certain skillset of services or solutions, right? You can use your podcast to promote your own products and services, and it works very well, especially if you've taken the time to build a great audience.

So don't underestimate the power of your podcast. To promote your own products and services, not just sponsors. We can sell merchandise shirts, mugs, books. You guys have seen all that before. Number five. Paid communities and memberships, Patreon, Kajabi, or your own custom platform. You can offer exclusive content like live Q and As or private groups for paying members, and you can build recurring revenue and deepen your connection with your audience and fans.

This really started with Patreon guys. When I first got into podcasting. That was kind of the main way that people were monetizing through community. And ultimately what that was was just asking your community for a small donation, five or $10 a month to support your work and your show, and they would get.

Bonus content, additional episodes meet and greets with you, maybe a community Q and A, things like that. Still super, super popular, but I'm seeing it evolve more now into something like Kajabi Communities, which you were seeing with me with the Catalyst Club, right? But that's just one of many community is a great avenue for you to look at for monetization, to not just connect and engage with your incredible audience, but to build something meaningful at the very same time.

Community is super awesome, super proud of what we've been able to do with the Catalyst Club so far, and a great option for monetization for you. The most successful podcasts don't just rely on one revenue stream. They layer multiple approaches to keep their show sustainable and profitable long term.

Listen, I guess the problem with it ultimately is, is that unless you're like Joe Rogan, you're probably not getting enough through sponsorships alone to sustain your show. So you are going to need to layer on multiple avenues wherever possible to increase the revenue that your podcast generates to help keep it sustainable.

For example, with the Business Development podcast, we started off with sponsorship, and then we offered coaching consulting, and now we offer The Catalyst Club. So there are multiple ways. That the Business Development Podcast generates revenue for me and my family. You have to look at all of the different things, and this probably isn't the end of what we do either.

It just happens to be where we're at now, but it's been an evolution and it's not this or that. It's this and that. That. Don't think about monetization as one thing or the other. You can always stack layers to it to help you generate the income that you need to make to sustain your show and your family.

Now that we've covered the different ways that podcasts generate revenue, let's zoom in on the most common sponsorships. Because whether you're a small niche show or a growing brand, sponsors are often the first door that opens real revenue for you. But here's the thing, sponsors aren't just throwing money at any podcast with a microphone.

They are looking for very specific things. And if you understand what they are, you can position yourself in a way that not only meets their needs, but exceeds them. Let's break down what sponsors want and how you can deliver it. Sponsors are looking for six things from you and your show. Number one, audience fit Sponsors care more about who is listening than how many people are listening.

A small niche show with the right audience can be more valuable to a sponsor than a big, broad audience Is. Number two, consistency and reliability. Sponsors want to know that you'll show up, come hell or high water weekly or predictable releases, show stability and professionalism. Sponsors wanna know that you are gonna show up for the duration of their sponsorship and put out a show that garners listens.

Number three, engagement reviews, ratings, social media interaction, and community presence. All signal and engaged audience sponsors are buying trust and influence, not just impressions. They are not just paying for downloads. They are paying for your trust with your audience. Number four, transparency and clarity.

We have to be upfront about our numbers, average downloads, audience demographics, listener locations. Show your sponsors what they are buying into. Don't hold anything back. Let them grow with you. Number five, professionalism in delivery. Clean high quality audio reflects on the sponsor's brand. We have to make sure that your show sounds in alignment with how they wish to be represented.

They're looking for well structured, thoughtful reads that convert better. Number six, opportunities to exceed expectations. Go beyond CPM bundle podcast ads with LinkedIn posts, community shoutouts or custom integrations that highlight your sponsor for the incredible support that they're giving you.

Remember, sponsors aren't just investing in your podcast. They're investing in your relationship with your audience. Now that we understand what sponsors are looking for, let's get into one of the most common terms that you'll hear in podcast advertising, CPM, or cost per mille. This is the industry's way of measuring the value of ad space, and while it's important to understand the math.

I don't want you to think that it's the only way to price your show. In fact, with the right niche and the right positioning, small podcasts can often command far higher rates than the standard CPM model suggests. But we still have to understand CPM. CPM or cost per mille, or cost per 1000 impressions or downloads is the standard advertising metric used across media.

Not just podcasts. What is the industry average for CPM? Typical host Red Ads cost between 18 and $25 CPM, and Programmic. Ads are usually anywhere between five and $10 CPM, let's take a look at the math at $20 CPM 1000 downloads equals $20. Or 10,000 downloads equals $200. As you can see, standard CPM can definitely feel limiting for smaller podcasts that are not garnering millions of downloads.

Let's talk about the niche advantage. CPM is just a baseline. Niche shows often command higher rates. Sponsors in specialized industries may pay $50, $100 or even $250 CPM for the right audience. Even if you're only getting a few hundred downloads per episode, you can monetize effectively if your audience is the right fit for your sponsor.

Sponsors pay for alignment, trust, and influence, not just raw numbers. Don't get hung up on download numbers alone. Niche audiences can and do command premium rates and monetize successfully even at smaller scale. Trial and error different packages until you find what works best for both you and your potential sponsors.

So now you understand CPM and why niche shows can command higher rates than the industry average. But here's the thing, most sponsors are not sitting around waiting to hand you a deal on CPM alone. You need to take the lead and build clear sponsorship packages and show potential partners the value of working with you.

This is where creativity comes in. By packaging your podcast with additional value, like social media posts, community mentions, or even special guest spotlights, you can create offers that not only meet sponsor expectations, but absolutely blow them away. Let's discuss how to put together a great sponsorship package, number one.

Start with the basics. Define your audience profile. Who is listening? What are the demographics, industries, and regions? Include your episode frequency, whether weekly, biweekly, monthly, et cetera. Share average downloads per episode, and any other notable spikes. Add your social reach. LinkedIn, Instagram, Apple, and Spotify

followers and community size. Number two, build tiered options. Entry. Example, pre-roll only. Mid-tier example, pre-roll and post-roll, premium pre-roll, mid-roll post-roll, and social media posts. And last maybe annual packages. Secure long-term partnerships that can create stable incomes for you. Number three, add value beyond the podcast bundle.

LinkedIn posts that highlight your sponsors offer, sponsor spotlights inside your communities. Create custom integrations like Live q and as with your sponsor, giveaways or branded content. Number four, show professionalism. Create a simple sponsored deck or one pager. Make it easy to understand your offerings with podcast offerings.

Guys, the simpler and easier to understand, the better. Ask yourself. What is going to be simple to understand and simple to execute? Show them how sponsoring your show helps them reach their goals. You have to understand what the sponsor wants to achieve. Once you understand what they would like to achieve, it helps you structure things in a way that will help them do so.

And number five, over deliver whenever possible. Exceed expectations by offering extra shoutouts or bonus impressions. Build trust so sponsors will wanna partner with you long term sponsors aren't just buying ad space. It's important to remember they are also buying your credibility and relationship with your audience.

Packages help you show them everything they're going to get for working with you. Now building your own sponsorship packages is one of the most powerful ways to monetize, especially for smaller or newer shows. But there's another option that sometimes comes up, and that is joining a podcast network.

Networks can handle some of the heavy lifting when it comes to ads and sponsorships, but they often come with trade-offs. For most smaller shows, with a little creativity, you'll actually do better and keep more money in your pocket by creating and selling your own packages. Let's discuss the pros and cons so that you can decide what's best for you and your show.

Podcast Networks versus DIY sponsorships. What does a podcast network offer you? They handle all ad sales and sponsorship outreach for you. They provide access to larger advertisers and cross-promotion opportunities with other shows in their network. They can sometimes boost the discoverability of your show if part of a well-known network.

What are the trade-offs? Networks usually take a big percentage cut of ad revenue. Many require large download numbers, often 10 to 20,000 per episode before they'll even consider you. They have less flexibility. You are tied to their ad structure, not your own why? DIY is often better for smaller or newer shows, you get to keep 100% of the revenue that you generate.

You know your audience better than anyone. You can design creative packages that go way beyond CPM, LinkedIn posts, community shoutouts, sponsor spotlights, email features, et cetera. The sky's the limit. And building direct sponsor relationships means long-term partnerships, not just ad slots. Many of the sponsors of the business development podcasts have bought ads repeatedly with us, and that's because of the relationships that we've generated.

You also have a creative advantage if you do it yourself. Smaller shows can stand out by offering personal touches and unique sponsor experiences. You can bundle podcast ads with other platforms that you control, such as socials, emails, community coaching, you name it. And this creates far more value for sponsors than just a standard network

CPM Model Networks can work for you if you're a large show, but for most podcasters, the fastest path to revenue is creativity, building your own packages and marketing them yourself. Guys, I've been doing this from the very beginning. I explored networks in the very beginning of launching the show and quickly came to the conclusion that it wasn't gonna be the right path for us on the Business Development podcast.

I imagine many of you will come to the same conclusion. It made far more sense with me being in business development to just create and market my own packages. And while there's been many, many, many iterations and continues to be iterations on the packages that we create and market it absolutely has been the right choice for us long term.

To be able to just create our own packages, change them, and find different ways to make sure that our sponsors are getting a great value from our show. My recommendation to all newer podcast shows or niche shows is to market yourself, put together your own packages. And get out there. I think you'll be surprised by who gets behind you.

And I must just give a massive shout out to a couple of sponsors here. I'd like to highlight specifically Hypervac Technologies and HyperFab for having our back for the last two years. It's been absolutely incredible and their support has absolutely made this show possible. And another incredible sponsor who's not with us at the moment, but has been with us, you know, off and on for a long time, has been atWork Office Furniture.

And Rodney Lover and his team are just absolutely incredible individuals and we appreciate them greatly. You will find those great sponsor relationships for you as well. So whether you go the network route or build your own packages, there's one thing that is, certain monetization can be a game changer for your show, but only if you avoid the common mistakes that trips so many podcasts up.

Many great podcasts fail to reach their potential. Simply because they undervalued themselves, tied themselves to one income stream, or took on sponsors that didn't align with their audience. Let's walk through the biggest pitfalls to avoid so that you don't have to make the same mistakes. Number one, undervaluing yourself.

Too many podcasters give away ad space for free or dirt cheap just to land a sponsor. This devalues your brand and makes it harder to raise your prices later. Even a small show with the right niche audience has real value. Number two, relying on a single income stream. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Sponsorships, affiliates, products, and communities can all work together to support your goals. Diversification creates stability when one stream slows down and guys, inevitably they will. Number three, taking misaligned sponsors. If a sponsor doesn't fit your audience, it damages trust. Short term money is never worth losing credibility.

Your listeners need to believe that you genuinely stand behind your sponsors and you need to make sure that your sponsors align with you and your values. Nothing is worse than having sponsors who don't align with who you are. As a person and a podcaster. Number four, waiting too long to monetize. Many podcasters think they need 10,000 downloads per episode before monetizing.

In reality, small shows can monetize effectively if they build the right packages. Start small and grow as your audience grows. Guys, you can always start with a small package and raise your prices as your show becomes more popular. You're probably better off to find a sponsor who's willing to grow with you anyway, because they're gonna get the value as your show increases in listenership.

Don't worry about it. Don't feel like I don't have enough. Listen, if you have like a thousand downloads in your show total, you probably have enough to start putting together some sort of package, so don't worry about it. You absolutely can monetize. You should start thinking about it sooner rather than later.

Just to give you an idea, I monetized the business development podcast somewhere around episode 70. At that point, I think we were about eight months into the show. And even then that was probably a bit late. I probably could have monetized sooner. I just hadn't really gone that route yet.

Don't worry about it. Even small shows can monetize. It's not about how many downloads you have, although over time it's going to help you. You can absolutely get people who will get behind what you're doing in the very beginning, so don't worry about it. It's never too early to start figuring out how you're gonna monetize your show and asking people if they would be willing to do so.

Number five, failing to deliver professional quality, poor audio, sloppy ad reads, or inconsistent publishing can and does turn sponsors off. Treat sponsorships like business partnerships and show up polished. You wouldn't botch a contract for your business. You wouldn't leave a client hanging treat sponsors the same way they are buying a service from you.

It is critical that you show up and you deliver that service as promised. Monetization is about building trust on both sides with your audience and your sponsors. If you break that trust. You break your podcast's future. Treat both your audience. Your sponsors with the respect that they deserve. Now let's talk about the long-term view.

We've now covered the different ways that you can monetize how to build sponsorship packages, and even how networks compare to going DIY, and of course, the pitfalls to avoid along the way. But here's the truth. None of this happens overnight monetization. Just like audience growth is a long game. It starts small and it builds as you stay consistent and prove yourself to both your audience and your sponsors.

Let's talk about the long-term view of monetization and why patience is just as important here as it is in growing your show. Monetization takes time, just like audience growth. Revenue starts small. Don't expect sponsors lining up after just a few episodes. Early revenue often comes from affiliates, small niche sponsors or simple partnerships.

Think of it like planting seeds. Each sponsorship deal, affiliate link, or package is a seed planted with consistency. Those seeds grow into recurring partnerships and stable income. Consistency will build trust. Sponsors renew when they see you. Show up week after week. Listeners stay engaged when you're reliable.

Consistency equals the foundation for compounding revenue over time. And obviously the compounding effect of your back catalog. We talked about it earlier, but your old episodes will continue to get downloads for the lifetime of your show with dynamic ad insertion. Those episodes keep generating impressions and revenue long after you release them.

The bigger your library. The more monetization opportunities that you unlock, patience wins. Monetization is not a sprint, it's a marathon. Just like podcasting is not a sprint, it's a marathon. Most podcasters quit before they see the compounding benefits. Think of monetization like planting seeds. It may feel small at first, but over time it can absolutely sustain you and your show for years to come.

And that wraps up part 10 of the podcast Playbook on your Monetization strategy. We've covered why monetization is not optional, the different revenue streams available to you, how to build sponsorship packages, the pros and cons of networks, and of course the long-term view you need to keep your show sustainable.

And this also marks the end of the main program of the Podcast Playbook series. Over the past 10 parts, we've walked step by step through the entire journey of building a podcast, from deciding if it was right for you to choosing equipment planning, recording, editing, launching, growing, and now monetizing.

Next week, we're gonna wrap up the series with one final episode, part 11, which will be all about mindset and additional tips where I will share the lessons that I've learned along the way. The mindset it takes to keep going and some bonus strategies to help you succeed. After that, we'll be back to our regular programming on the Business Development Podcast.

I hope you all launch incredibly successful shows that help you change the world in your own special way. Until next time, you've been listening to the Business Development Podcast and we'll catch you on. Flip side.

Outro: This has been the Business Development Podcast with Kelly Kennedy. Kelly has 15 years in sales and business development experience within the Alberta oil and gas industry, and founded his own business development firm in 2020.

His passion and his specialization is in customer relationship generation and business development. The show is brought to you by. Capital Business Development, your business development specialists. For more, we invite you to the website @ www.capitalbd.ca. See you next time on the Business Development Podcast.