How to Make Money Podcasting in 2024

Podcasting has taken the world by storm, and with the rise of this digital revolution, many are left wondering, ‘Can I really make money from podcasting?’ The answer is a resounding yes! But how can you turn it into a lucrative business? We’ll explore the various ways to monetize your podcast!

Can You Really Make Money Podcasting?

The joy of podcasting is that your podcast can be anything you want it to be: a hobby, a side-hustle, or a lucrative business. You may be surprised to find that if you do it right, podcasting can make you some serious dollar. The good news? It’s not even that hard to start pivoting your podcast into a business. You’ve already got the product, so all you’ve got to do is make it work for you.

Monetizing your podcast often goes hand in hand with leveraging your personal or podcasting brand, which will definitely benefit you in the long run anyway. As long as you’ve got a captive audience of some sort, you’ll be able to make money from podcasting in one way or another.

How Do Podcasts Make Money?

The most exciting thing about monetization is just how many different ways there are to make money from your podcast. Bear in mind, different money-making methods are more viable or effective at different stages of growth: what works for a popular, more established podcast may not be as accessible for a show that is just starting out, and that’s okay!

For podcasts with a well-established audience, including adverts in your podcast should be a no-brainer. Brands and companies will pay a premium for your listeners. Podcasters with a smaller listenership need to grow their audience first to attract advertisers. If you put in the work, this will happen organically through effective marketing, branding and word of mouth.

When Should I Start Thinking about Monetizing My Podcast?

This is down to you. You may start out casually with no immediate aspiration to make money out of your podcast. Or you may begin podcasting with monetization as a major priority. It also depends on what you mean by ‘making money from your podcast’ – are you simply aiming for a few extra dollars on the side or do you want to make up a substantial portion of your income? This question will determine when and how you think about making money from your podcast.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter when you start. Although, as we mentioned, depending on where your podcast is in terms of growth, different opportunities will be open to you.

Some Ways To Make Money from A Podcast

• Ask for donations: Asking for donations from your listeners is perhaps the easiest and simplest way to make money from your podcast. Dedicated and supportive listeners can donate to support your podcast through platforms such as Patreon or PayPal.
• Offer paid membership tiers: If you’ve got a captive and keen fan base, creating paid membership tiers is a sure-fire way to make money from your podcast. This is a great option for monetization because your listeners feel they’re getting exclusive and intimate access to special content, so it’s of mutual benefit.
• Get sponsorships or sell ads: If you’ve got a large audience or cater to a niche listenership, it shouldn’t be hard to secure a sponsorship or advertising deal. 
• Sell repurposed content: You’ve put time and energy into creating a valuable and insightful podcast, make sure you get your money’s worth out of it. Try transcribing your podcast (super easy with Riverside’s automated transcription function), to repurpose your episodes. Once you’ve got your podcast transcription, you can edit it into article form and try pitching it to popular publications that focus on your particular niche. 
• Sell merchandise: Everybody loves a bit of branded merch. If you’ve got a recognizable logo or podcast artwork, you can instantly produce everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs. 

How Much Money Do Podcasters Make?

There isn’t an exact figure on how much podcasters make. This is all relevant to how successful a podcast is. Generally, the more downloads or listeners a podcast has the more money a podcast can make. To get a better idea of what an average podcaster could earn, check out our guide on how much podcasters make.

According to Forbes the highest earning podcasters are Joe Rogan of The Joe Rogan Experience with 190 million downloads per month, and earning $30 million annually. Karen Kilgariff and Georgie Hardstark of My Favourite Murder with 35 million downloads per month, and earning $15 million annually. Dave Ramsey from The Dave Ramsey Show who has 13 million weekly listeners and earns $10 million a year.

Who Are The Highest Earning Podcasters?

As we’ve seen, monetizing a podcast is not as hard as it sounds. There’s multiple ways to make money podcasting, you’ve just got to invest the time and energy to make it happen. Always remember, what works for one podcast may not necessarily work for you.

Podcasts can be profitable! Some podcasters are earning full incomes and there are even famous podcasters who are profiting millions from their shows. This is not the case for everyone and it’s not always easy to monetize a podcast if you’re just starting out, but it’s possible to profit well from podcasting if you’ve got a big listenership and you’re dedicated to various monetization strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions about Making Money through Podcasting

How Do You Monetize a Podcast?

In terms of monetizing your podcast, for obvious reasons it always helps to have a bigger audience, or at the very least a smaller but very dedicated listenership. That being said however, there are ways for smaller, lesser known podcasts to start making money.

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Podcast?

It costs as much as you want it to. If you’ve got a big budget and want to invest in a professional-grade setup, your bill will rack up. On the other hand, if you simply want to try your hand at podcasting, you can start with next to nothing.

Do Podcasts on Spotify Make Money?

Long story short, yes podcasts on Spotify can and do make money. Currently podcasters on the platform make money through all the methods we’ve mentioned – sponsorship, ads, and affiliate marketing. However, Spotify has just launched a podcast monetization scheme (currently U.S. only) that will enable podcasters to make money directly through the platform.

With this scheme, which is only available through Anchor – their podcast hosting service – you can maximize your podcast revenue through paid subscriptions.

Is It the Right Decision?

Podcasting can definitely serve as a good way to make money. Some of the most well-known podcasters make millions of dollars each year. Although, this is not the case for everyone. It takes a lot of hard work and not everyone is able to turn podcasting into their main income.