How are Podcasts Profitable? The Essential Guide to Podcasting Profitability

Welcome to the Profit Podcast , where we teach you how to start , launch and market your content with confidence . I'm your host , crystal Prophet , and I'm so excited that you're here . Thanks for hanging out with me today , because if you've been trying to figure out the world of content creation , this is the show that will help be your time saving shortcut .

So let's get right to it , shall we ? So the idea for this video really comes from being on HubSpot's email list , and anytime I see something related to content creation or podcasting , I go check it out .

I love it whenever I can have a credible resource for research or insights or data to share with my audience , and today's episode is really focusing on this article that came out called Inside Podcasting's Profitability Delimit . Now , this article was published on August 2nd 2023 . So whenever you're watching this , go check and see if there's any updates .

But after reading it , I came to a few conclusions that I wanted to share with you . So first let me pull up some of the pieces of the article that I wanted to highlight because I wanted to share them with you and , of course , I'll link to the whole thing and you can go check it out .

But I wanted to talk about larger organizations that are investing in podcasting and continue to invest because things have changed . Like gone are the days of the big boom that we saw during 2020 , when a lot of people just started podcasts .

They weren't sure what they were doing , and then here we are , a few years later , and people are trying to figure out do I keep doing this ? Or they ghosted their audience a long time ago and just completely gave up , which you know , that happens . Podfade is a real thing , but I want to go into this .

So the title of this says have podcasts been a good investment for companies ? The US economy has been teetering on the edge of a recession for the past year . Typically , when that happens , marketing and advertising budgets are among the first to go for companies that want to curb spending . This is so , so true .

The podcast industry has seen this in real time and has been in its own recession late 2022 . Now I want to stop right here because I'm not into the fear mongering and all the things of the economies and financial worlds , but I have seen this huge investment in these larger podcasts dwindling down .

We all have seen headlines about Joe Rogan's show and then armchair expert and call her daddy All of these really large Spotify things that happened a few years ago . That was good , bad .

The other , and there was a lot of like millions and millions of dollars that were invested in these specific shows and that was kind of the approach for several months , like 12 to 24 months , a lot of companies were doing this and that has kind of it's kind of gone like the wayside .

You're not hearing , that's not in headlines , that Spotify or other Apple , these other exclusive shows are making these huge like millions and millions of dollar brand deals . But let's continue down the article .

So it says , while companies are continuing to spend on podcast advertising to the tune of 2.25 billion in 2023 , what is considered a quote good ROI is changing . Now I really wanted to focus on this next part of the article because this is where this audience really needs to pay attention .

If you're thinking about getting sponsorships for your show , or you're wondering what can I do ? What can I offer my potential partners that I wanna work with ? This is the key piece that I want you to hone in on . So it says podcast advertising , along with other creator focused mediums , is no longer about awareness or top of funnel exposure .

Okay , I'm gonna say that again is no longer about awareness or top of funnel exposure . Instead , companies are looking to invest in shows that can demonstrate an ability to convert listeners into customers , and quickly . Now , why is this important for you ?

The reason why this is important is because it's not just okay to you know , partner with a brain and say hey , look , I have this huge audience here . Like , let's throw an ad in and see what happens . People want demonstrated ability for their investment .

They want to know hey , if I give you $10,000 for this ad spot on your podcast , what are you gonna give me ? Like , are your listeners gonna convert ? Are they engaged ?

Are they actually clicking and doing the thing that you asked them to do , whether it's going to a website and putting in a promo code , or going to a specific page and registering for a free product or a download or a trial , or whatever it is that you're doing ? Are they actually doing it ? Are your listeners doing the thing that you asked them to do ?

And now you're thinking , crystal , I don't have a huge show , like I'm an independent podcaster . I don't have millions of listeners or even thousands of listeners and millions of downloads . Why is this relevant for me ? Well , I want you to first like let's adopt the mentality of maybe your show isn't that big yet .

Let's throw that yet on there , because I hope that that is where you're going right . That's your goal . I hope that you're aiming for the stars and hoping for a larger audience , a larger podcast , a larger YouTube channel than what you have today . So that's step number one .

But the second piece is you have this insider information of what brands are looking for . Like it said right here in this article , they're not just looking to buy attention . They want to know that , if they come to you as a sponsor , that you are going to deliver .

You're actually going to deliver some results , not just say , oh look , I got this many downloads , yeah , but how many people did you actually get from your podcast to do the thing that you asked them to do , whether it was in a host read ad or it was a link in your podcast description , or it was something on your website , or you know a link in bio and

your Instagram . Whatever it is that you're asking people to do , are they actually doing it ? And when I think about this , I don't want you to think about the fact that you've never worked with a brand , you've never partnered with a sponsor , and say , well , crystal , I don't have any of these metrics . I don't know . Yes , you do .

Are people doing the things today that you're asking them to do ? If you ask people to subscribe , are they doing that ?

If you ask them to take a screenshot and share it on Instagram about their favorite thing which I encourage everybody to do , by the way like , if you haven't already , make sure you're subscribed or following this podcast , that way , you don't miss any of the content that we're putting out , and I would love it if you would take a screenshot and share on Instagram

. Okay , there we go . Let's get back to the content today . But it's so important that you have metrics that you can show a sponsor and say look , my audience is giving me this kind of engagement today , and this is for my own products . This isn't even for something that has paid advertising dollars behind it .

They're just doing this organically because they are connected with me and they want to see the things that I'm sharing . They want those resources . They want to check out the products that I'm recommending Look , my Google Analytics can tell you that , or my podcast downloads , or the clicks on my website .

There's a lot of different ways that you can look at the data that you

have and the metrics that brands want to see to showcase that you are a brand worth partnering with , and looking into different ways that you can be creative on how to showcase your numbers in those types of engagements . Okay , let's move on . Let's go back to the article .

Okay , so the next piece of it is it's also worth noting that advertising isn't the only way companies have invested in podcasting . Exclusive deals with creators and the production of branded shows were also on the rise .

During the recent podcast boom From 2018 through 2022 , many companies were in experimentation mode as podcasting shifted from an emerging channel to a core medium . Now , this is especially true for the ones where Spotify invested a ton of money in all these shows and those shows are no longer around or they broke their contract .

Spotify there's a few I'm not going to say I don't like to to , you know , start some drama or gossip , like all those things . But I will say there are a lot of these deals that happen on these exclusive channels that are no longer around or they jump shipped . They were able to break their lease and say I'm out of here .

I don't like this situation that's going on . So I will say that , yes , some brands are investing in exclusive podcasts still , but it's not what we're seeing today . So , according to this HubSpot article , it says well , what is next ? And it says podcasting is far from over . Duh like , we are just getting started .

We're still on the infancy stage here , but the industry is in a period of transition where companies and creators should evaluate where their time and resources are most valuable . And I'm going to keep reading because this is a good point .

If companies want to continue investing in the production of their own shows or funding creator led shows , the path to ROI will need to be clear , swift and able to provide more value than a high follower count . So this is exactly what we just said .

As another point in this article is , you can't just come to a brand and say , look , I'm getting tens of thousands of downloads for every single episode . Yeah , that's fantastic , but what are they doing ? Like downloads aren't good enough anymore .

You need to have conversions , you need to have metrics , you need to have quantifiable information , the numbers to show that people are actually engaging with your podcast .

Because , unlike other platforms , like on YouTube , you can see there's likes , there's comments , there's thumbs up , thumbs down , like you see all the engagement pieces that happen on a visual platform like a YouTube channel , but with podcasting it's pretty much behind the scenes , unless you share those things publicly with the people that you're advertising with or they're

sponsoring your content . Like , no one knows what's actually going on behind the scenes and you can't just expect to unveil your numbers to a sponsor or a brand and then say , oh my gosh , this is exactly what we were looking for . They're going to say , yeah , that's great , but we need more than just downloads .

We need to know that our $10,000 investment or $50,000 investment or even a $500 investment is going to pay off . What numbers do you have to show for that ? So , again , if you're thinking , well , Crystal , you haven't really talked about this before . Why is this something you're bringing up now ?

Well , it's because I've been looking at these things for my own podcast , my own metrics . I've been looking at conversion rates , click rates . I've been looking at the different pieces of my content and tracking them on a regular basis , and I'm encouraging you to do the same as well . Are you tracking your podcast downloads ? Are you tracking them by app ?

Are you looking at how many downloads you're getting on your show in the first seven days of an episode or the first 30 days ? These are the things that I recently started tracking and I will call myself out on this that I was not doing this very well .

For a long time I was kind of avoidant to the whole situation because I would just keep looking at my numbers and say , oh , they're up , or they're the same , or oh , they took a little dip , but that's okay , that's over the holidays , it's usually when people are doing whatever and they're not really tuned in to podcast , about podcasting , about podcasting , about

podcasting . There's a lot of . I know it's meta , so meta the show that I have , but you can hear what I'm saying . I didn't , I didn't . Okay , I'm calling myself out . I would just open up Buzzsprout . I would look at all of my numbers across the board .

I would put on the filter that says all time and it would just show oh , it's going up into the right . That's what we want , right ? We want our numbers to go up into the right . We don't want them to plateau and be flat . We also don't want them to go down very dramatically and drastically .

We want everything to steadily go up into the right and that's what I was doing and I feel like it's been a disservice as me as your podcast coach . If we're brand new , then welcome . I am now your podcast coach . I hope so .

I hope that you're gonna subscribe and come back and listen to this podcast and watch the YouTube video on a regular basis , because I wanna show you how to take the metrics that you already have , even if they're not a lot . Okay , because I know somebody's like I don't have a bunch . I'm a little embarrassed about my numbers .

You need to start tracking things today so that you can plan for the partnerships and the brand deals that you're gonna have in the future , because if you're not tracking them today , let's say , the brand that your dream brand that you would love to work with is coming knocking on your door and then all of a sudden , they're like hey , we wanna give you $5,000

as an investment in your brand . What can you give us ? I mean , typically , deals don't work that way . But just bear with me for a second . What if you said well , I know that on my podcast I get so many listens for a seven day period .

So I know that if I put out a dedicated episode that is talking about your brand and what you do , there will be this many people that listen . But I will take it one step further .

I will also include a dynamic ad with a call to action that will be placed in all of my podcast episodes , and in that ad I'm gonna say make sure you go to this website , enter in this code or register for this thing and make it happen , and I know that I can do this because I've done it with my own products .

Now this is where the scenario kind of ends of you talking to a brand and you have to go back and look at your own metrics of what you're doing today . Do you have affiliate products ? I don't even care if it's an Amazon affiliate stuff , or maybe it's your own book .

Like , if you have a book , whether it's an ebook or a physical book are you selling those today ? Do you have a digital course ? Do you have a low ticket offer that you were selling today ? And you know those people came from your podcast . There's different things that you can set up to where you can track these things on the back end .

But I really just wanted to share all these ideas with you today because , even if you have a smaller show , that doesn't mean that you're never going to grow or you're never going to have a more expansive audience , or you can really take these metrics and take everything that you have today , all of your hard work , the incredible things that you're creating .

You could take all of these ideas and go to a brand and say look , this is what I've been doing for my own podcast and I know that I can get results for your product and this is why we should partner together . That sounds so much more confident than someone's like oh yeah , sure , I don't know . I've never worked with a brand before .

I don't even know what conversions could look like . I don't even know how many clicks I get . You sound so much more confident when you know the numbers that you have for your podcast , the numbers you have on your website , if you have . This is another reason why I tell everybody you need a website for your podcast .

But it's just one of those things that everything works cohesively when you think about them as an ecosystem of all of your content . But I want to go back to the article because there was a few other things that I want to throw in here .

So it says it also means aspiring podcasters shouldn't expect to be next in line for a blockbuster deal like Alex Cooper's $60 million Spotify payday we talked about this earlier . Like gone are the days of the huge payouts for these Spotify exclusive shows .

However , exploring independent podcasting that's you , that's me , that's what we're talking about today To connect with niche audiences can be a valuable channel for creators and entrepreneurs who are looking to expand and connect with their audiences and customers .

The podcast industry is primed for its next disrupt disruptor to help the business side be as democratized as distribution . Now , the other reason why I wanted to share this article with you is because one I wanted you to have another resource . If you're into business , if you're into marketing , go check out HubSpots blogs .

They always have really great insights and resources . But I think it's also important to look at the industry across the board . Maybe podcast maybe you're not like me right Like I'm a podcast educator . I have been in the podcast space for several years now and I get into this . I know it out about these things right .

This is part of my job is just to stay up to date on the concepts , get a pulse of what's going on in the larger podcast industry . But it's also for you to think about yourself as not just a quote podcaster , but think about your podcast as a business . How can you start generating revenue from your podcast ?

How can you use the audience that you've built within your show to offer products and services that are specific to your audience ? How can you start offering merchandise or maybe other really specific affiliate programs that would work well for the audience that you've already built ?

I want you to think bigger , and I've never really targeted this audience to be like hobby podcasters or people that just want to start a show , just because I know so many of you that want to use a podcast as the main marketing tool for the business that you're building , and so you need to think about your podcast is part of your business .

You need to think about it that way , not just oh , that's my lead generator , I'm just putting out free content to put out free content . Somebody told me somewhere along the way I need to put out something . It's kind of like my business card . It's the thing , it's the beacon that I'm using to call my customers to me .

But you're also missing the mark in the opportunity that you could have if you started thinking more strategically about your content , about your business , and your podcast needs to be part of that strategy . So I want to know your thoughts . So , whether you're watching this on YouTube

or you're listening on the podcast , I want you to comment and tell me what do you think about thinking about your podcast as part of your business ? Tell me below or send me a message on Instagram . I would love to know your thoughts because let's get this conversation going .

Like I said previously , this isn't a topic that we cover a lot here on the channel or on the podcast , because it's not really something that you have come to me and asked about too much . But there are so many of you that are in this audience . You've been around here for a while and you're in this growth spot .

We're no longer just talking about starting a podcast . That was several years ago . I know you you I'm pointing to you right , like you listener , you got the earbuds in . Right now I'm talking to you . You've been listening to this show for a long time . You've had your podcast , let's say , for 12 , 24 months , and you're thinking what now ?

What's the next step ? Well , the next step is getting more strategic with the content you already have , thinking about your audiences in a much bigger way and asking how can I find partnerships , how can I work with brands that want to elevate my audience's experience ?

Because you're not just looking for that get rich quick like oh , let me find a brand that'll pay me thousands of dollars . I mean , yeah , that's cool , but it's not going to be sustainable and that's not something that you can really pull out of thin air when you need to .

You want to think about strategic partnerships that will offer value to you , to the brand and to your audience . You're going to have that win , win , win . That is absolutely going to be something that is sustainable and help your show and your audience continue to grow . But that's all I have for you today .

I'm going to link to this article in the show notes . It's going to be in the video description if you're watching on YouTube , but I want you to go check it out . It was so helpful and I'm going to do more stuff like this If y'all want it . I will , you know , do more of the high level podcast industry , what is going on ?

But I wanted to cover the profitability of podcasting and how things are changing so that you are aware . So your takeaway from today is start tracking your metrics , all of your content metrics , not just your podcast , not just your email , not just your YouTube channel .

Start tracking all of them and let me know if you want me to show you how I'm doing this in my business , so that I can give you a visual of what that looks like and how we are doing this at profit media . But that's all I have for you today . So if you're watching on the YouTube channel , make sure you hit that subscribe .

If you're listening on the podcast , hit that follow button wherever you are listening and make sure you tune in the next week as we share more about tips , strategies and all things content creation . But , as always , remember , keep it up . We all have to start somewhere .