What’s up everyone,

In this week’s newsletter, I’m going to break down practical steps to turn your podcast into an actual business.

Whenever I speak to people, they say the same thing:

“But I’m not making money from my podcast!”

The funny thing is, more often than not, most people have turned their little podcast into a business!

Let me explain, if you provide any type of service or product next to your podcast, it’s now a business.

The thing is, you probably suck at positioning your products/services or expertise and therefore, generate $0 a month.

But do you really though?

Again, if you have a service-based business or digital products, your podcast is a method to drive endless traffic. It’s a self marketing tool.

So the very first thing that needs to happen is a legitimate mindset shift that your podcast is a business.

You just need to make it better.

I’m going to walk through exactly how you can generate consistent revenue from your podcast logically.

1. Lead Generation

The goal isn’t to sell; the goal is to help.

If people are listening to your podcast, they are interested in what you have to say.

Not everyone is going to buy from you and that’s totally ok. The idea is to build relationships so that you can help people.

No matter if you’re a big, boring B2B SaaS company or small podcaster, drive listeners to an email list.

This way, you build a better relationship with people and you can go deep into what you offer.

Your podcast is a traffic source that can direct people to email lists, landing pages, or just to your social pages so that they can learn more from you.

At the top of the description of your episodes, include links that direct people to important pages.

2. Coaching & Consulting

Coaching and consulting are the ultimate online business starter packs.

It costs $0 to start and anyone can do it. Which is one reason the space is super crowded.

What separates you from all the other 21-year-old life coaches is credibility and trust. There is no hiding in a podcast. Your show acts as a bridge between you and the listeners which you can build genuine trust.

Over time, you will become an authority figure that can help people.

In the early days, when Kickoff Sessions was a vanilla careers podcast, people would reach out to help them get a job in fintech and product.

That was my first proper introduction to internet money and since I had done the ‘thing’ myself, I could help others through my experiences.

Add a link to your descriptions for a Calendly invite so people can book time with you. If you want to get sophisticated and disqualify 90% of time wasters, you can add a $15 introduction call cost.

That should do it.

3. Digital Products

As your audience and podcast grows, there comes a time when digital products are great.

Products like courses, digital downloads, Patreon subscriptions, and mobile apps become valuable when you reach a certain size.

The biggest challenge is finding alignment between your podcast and the products you offer. I like to keep this quite organic and natural.

No need to go down the teeth whitening route yet.

Provide a product that solves an actual problem. Example:

A writing podcast creates a copywriting course for its 20,000 monthly active listeners.

A language podcast creates a language app for its 100,000 monthly active listeners.

These products genuinely help other people, what it’s all about remember?

I like to insert a little ad for these products into episodes with a short, 30 seconds pre-recorded video that outlines the benefits and outcomes.

4. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is how I made my first $1 from my podcast.

It’s zero risk for you and the brand, but it allows you to experiment with product placement.

If you find a product or service that you genuinely love and that helps other people, then talk about it. Most brands have a direct affiliate programme, or Amazon affiliate programme is open to anyone.

The process is more important than the outcome. I could generate over 10,000 clicks a month on certain products. This is incredibly scalable when you understand the mechanics of WHY something is happening.

Well-written descriptions, focusing on outcomes instead of features, are some basic principles.

5. Sponsorships

I’ve discussed how you can go from $0 to $5000 in sponsorship revenue in this article here. My suggestion is to get your podcast right first, build the audience and reputation, experiment with a few affiliate products.

When you have sufficient information to take to a sponsor, you will have a big bag of data that brands will be excited about.

My goal for sponsorships is to aim for longer contract durations between 3 and 6 months, typically. The benefit is net negative for everyone if you operate on a short-term basis.

Just like your podcast, it takes time to see the full effect.

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

→Schedule an Introduction Call: Voics is the straightforward podcast agency that creates, markets, and scales your podcast in a “done-for-you” model.

→Podcast Accelerator: Remove the stress, pressure and countless hours of growing a podcast. This comprehensive course will teach you the system I used to grow Kickoff Sessions and record with the sharpest minds in the world.

→Listen to Kickoff Sessions: Learn from 145+ entrepreneurs who have scaled businesses to millions in profit that will help you on your journey.