
How many listeners does a podcast need to make money?
If your new episode gets, within 7 days of its release:
- more than 26 downloads, you're in the top 50% of podcasts.
- more than 72 downloads, you're in the top 25% of podcasts.
- more than 231 downloads, you're in the top 10% of podcasts.
- more than 539 downloads, you're in the top 5% of podcasts.
- more than 3062 downloads, you're in the top 1% of podcasts.
How can you make money with a podcast?
- Reward your higher-tier patrons. In addition to premium content, you could provide higher-tiers with additional benefits like discounts on merch, early access to new content, and exclusive access to bonus ...
- Keep subscription costs low. ...
- Keep your fans updated. ...
- Release podcasts on a consistent basis. ...
Can you really make money podcasting?
Yet, despite what many claim, it's absolutely possible to make money with a podcast. Plenty of show-runners are making a living doing that, right now. Others are happy to bring in enough to cover their hosting costs, or pay for a takeaway every few weeks.
How much money can you make from podcasting?
- The Joe Rogan Experience makes about $800,000 per episode. ...
- Chapo Trap House has 32,874 patrons, which equals $147,262 per month.
- Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income has two podcasts. ...
- Last Podcast On The Left has 11,290, which equal $53,958 per month.
- Tiny Meat Gang has 10,638 patrons, which equals $51,199 per month.

How much money can you make from a podcast?
As an estimate, if your podcast has about 10,000 downloads per episode, you can expect to make between $500 – $900 per episode in affiliate sales.
Are podcasts profitable?
Do podcasts make money? Of course they do! Big names are getting large amounts of listeners and large amounts of ad revenue in return. According to AdvertiseCast, average 30-second CPM (cost per 1K listeners) rates are $18, while 60-second CPMs are $25.
Is it worth it to start a podcast?
Not only is podcasting a new and exciting medium poised to take off exponentially, but podcasts themselves are great for producing or reproducing content. If you already have audio or video classes, you can quickly and easily turn them into podcast episodes.
How much do beginner podcasters make?
So how much money can podcasters make? To be frank, most make $0. In fact, many podcasts have negative cash flow because they spend money buying equipment and paying hosting fees before they earn a single dollar. Creative work like podcasting doesn't make any money until people choose to watch you.
How do podcasters make money?
1. Sponsorships. Sponsorships are the most common way podcasters make money. This is when the podcast promotes the sponsor during the show. You probably hear your favorite shows plug their advertisers a few times in every episode. How much you earn from a sponsor depends on the number of downloads your episodes earn.
Why do podcasts have negative cash flow?
In fact, many podcasts have negative cash flow because they spend money buying equipment and paying hosting fees before they earn a single dollar. Creative work like podcasting doesn’t make any money until people choose to watch you. It takes time for listeners to decide you have value.
What is affiliate sales?
Affiliate sales are similar to sponsorships, but instead of getting paid by the download, you get paid based on what you sell for another company. The other company pays you a commission for each sale. Audible has a popular affiliate program that a lot of podcasters and YouTubers take advantage of.
Does audible have an affiliate link?
Audible gives you a special affiliate link to promote. When someone uses your link, you get credit for the sale and earn $15. If you monetize with affiliate sales, make sure the company gives you a simple link that’s easy for you to say and your listeners to understand. Good affiliate URL: www.sponsor.com/your-name.
How much does the Bowery Boys podcast make?
Here are a couple of examples: The Bowery Boys is a podcast about the history of New York City and makes over $3,800/month through Patreon. The Last Podcast On The Left makes over $57,000/month just through Patreon. They also sell shirts and do regular live shows in different cities.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing or performance marketing is where you get a commission when you refer people to other companies. You will typically earn money when someone makes a purchase. Affiliate marketing works best when you promote products or services that you use or are familiar with, so you can authentically promote them.
Is Amazon an affiliate program?
There are affiliate programs for nearly every popular product or service. Amazon is one of the more popular programs, or you can also join a network like ShareASale where you can search and apply to join specific programs. Using a plugin like Lasso is highly recommended.
Can you ask for donations for a podcast?
You can ask for donations to help support you and your podcast. More entertainment-focused podcasts would be a good fit to monetize in this way. A common platform for accepting donations is Patreon. They make it really easy to offer additional content or bonuses depending on the amount of money people support you with.
Create A Community
Podcasting is a powerful medium because it cultivates feelings of intimacy between a podcast host and their audience. When people listen to a podcast, they feel like they know the host and are in the room with them.
Choose the Right Hosting Platform
There are many hosting platforms available on the market, however, not many of them allow hosts to use programmatic ads from the beginning like Spreaker does. This is a huge benefit to any podcaster looking to make money from their content, so be mindful of this when selecting your podcast hosting platform.
1. Programmatic Advertising
Using the most simple explanation, programmatic advertising refers to the marketplace where the automatic buying and selling of podcast advertisements occur. At Spreaker, for example, we have our own programmatic marketplace, which is full of advertisers that are ready and willing to automatically deliver target ads on your podcast.
2. Sponsorships
Since there are different reasons that one might want to monetize their podcast, one thing that is important to know before we carry on is that you don’t need an enormous audience to land a podcast sponsor. However, you need to know what you’re offering to a potential podcast sponsor and what they can bring to you.
3. Affiliate Marketing
So how do podcasts make money with affiliate marketing? Oh let us tell you the ways. Affiliate marketing is a way to make money selling other products and services. You get a commission on anyone who signs up for a service/product under your unique link.
5. Selling Courses
This option goes hand-in-hand with coaching because you can use prior coaching experiences to create a course if you find you don’t have enough time in your day to provide for all your one-on-one customers.
6. Sell a Service
This option is a level up from coaching because you’ll be doing part of the work for the client. To illustrate, let’s say you’re an expert in the CBD industry and you offer consulting services but one of your clients would love for you to write for their blog. Maybe you start freelance writing on the side as a service.
Why do big businesses pay for podcasts?
This is good information to have if you plan to sponsor a podcast. Big businesses are willing to pay for podcasts, because they build intimacy and trust over time. However, if you are planning to start a podcast, this big-money info is not a guiding star.
How does podcasting help you?
Podcasting can help you build skills, meet people, and get a better job. You can connect with other people in an enlightening way. Your podcast can help people finish boring tasks, endure long drives, withstand chemo, bike one more mile on the exercise bike, or get a good night's sleep.
What do libraries offer for podcasts?
Libraries sometimes offer courses, equipment and quiet space. If you're starting a podcast, you have some fixed costs (such as gear, hosting, branding) and variable costs (time, energy, enthusiasm). However much it costs you to make your podcast, your podcast's idea, or niche, has to be equally interesting, unique, well-crafted, and necessary. ...
Who were the celebrities before podcasting?
The community it creates may be smaller, but more enthusiastic. Joe Rogan and Amy Schumer were celebrities before they started podcasting. Serial was widely promoted by This American Life, and followed a changing news story.
What to do if you haven't started a podcast?
If you have not started a podcast yet, choose a topic that has the potential of attracting a large listener base. You can do a quick search in an iTunes library to see if there is a demand for a topic you would choose for your podcast. If there is a demand for that niche, aim to create the best possible content for it.
How much does Joe Rogan make?
Joe Rogan hosts an entertaining podcast that discusses trending topics and interviews public figures of interest. He is estimated to make about $30,000 per episode. With about 5 episodes per week produced, his estimated monthly podcast income is $600,000.
Is podcasting equipment expensive?
If there are few search results, there isn’t much demand – so you have little chance of growing to a point of earning an impressive income. Podcasting equipment can be costly. Not everyone has the ability to invest into podcasting equipment.

Affiliate Marketing
Sponsors & Advertising
Courses
Services
Coaching & Consulting
Crowdfunding & Donations
Premium Content
Events
Physical Products
Books
- Leveraging a popular podcast into book sales is another excellent way to make money and increase your authority. You can use your podcast audience to get those initial sales and reviews that will help your book stand out too. Two examples that I’m familiar with (and have purchased) are: 1. Pat Flynn wrote the WSJ bestseller Will It Fly? 2. Chris Du...