In the last few free strategy callsI’ve had with podcasters, we have been talking about money and generating revenue with your podcast. I had a call just the other night. She wanted to figure out how to sell sponsorships for her show.
One of my clients wanted to get his show on the radio. He wanted to work together to figure out how he could make it a profitable endeavor.
If you would like my help creating revenue streams with your podcast, you can get my free list of 6 Ways To Make Money With A Free Podcast at PodcastTalentCoach.com/makemoney.
As we have discussed before, sponsorships are a tough sell. Most traditional buyers want to buy podcast ads just like they buy radio ads. They simply are not the same.
With broadcasting, the ads are reaching a broad audience. Therefore, only a small portion of that audience will be interested in the product advertised.
With a podcast, the entire audience has an interest in common. If the product or service advertised is a good fit, it should be of interest to most of the audience. Therefore, you should be able to charge more for those ads.
I recently worked with a client on a very successful proposal. He had the opportunity to pitch a large governmental agency on sponsoring his show. His podcast reaches the exact audience they were trying to reach. The fit was ideal.
His podcast is getting about 1,000 downloads per episode. How much would it cost to do a direct mail campaign or broadcast advertising campaign to reach 1,000 interested, qualified buyers with a message?
If we estimate 1 out of every 4 people that receive a direct mail piece is actually interested in the message, we would need to send the piece to 4,000 people to find 1,000 interested people.
When it comes to direct mail, you need to add in all of the costs. Those would include design costs, marketing copy costs, the cost to buy the mailing list, the cost to print the mailer, and the money to actually send it out.
According to Media Space Solutions, total costs range anywhere from 30 cents for the do-it-yourself type to $10 per person for the professional job.
So, let’s say you have the ability to do a bit by yourself. You can do the copy and design, but hire out the printing, buy the list and pay for the mailing. We’ll say your direct mail piece is $2 per piece landed. That would be $8,000 per mailing to reach the 4,000 people if we are figuring it takes 4,000 direct mailers to be as effective as 1,000 rabid podcast fans.
To reach those 4,000 people on a weekly basis at $8,000 a pop, you would be spending $416,000 per year.
My client and I discussed laying out this scenario for the agency. First, discuss with them the marketing costs they would possibly already be spending. Then, educate them on the rich value of the podcast audience.
Now that we have them envisioning the cost it would take to reach that audience weekly, we then tell them we can help them achieve that reach for a fraction of the price. We decided on $100,000. Less than 25% of the direct mail costs.
Then, we stacked up the bonuses. He offered to include them in the radio show, in the newsletter, on the website and in social media posts at no extra charge.
He sold the value and the ability to measure the downloads of the podcast.
The prospects were very interested and plan to budget the expense for next year.
This is what he e-mailed me after the meeting …
“Erik – Here is why you are worth $150 an hour….(I think you are worth more). I started off with the question – So is it important to be branded to a growing audience of highly engaged listeners? They said absolutely – I reinforced this with the NPR 75% retain sponsor information from listening to a podcast. While I didn’t get the big fish at the conference yet and let me emphasize yet- I happened to be in a target-rich environment and kept digging with those other pots of money from the same organization and I sold sponsorship for 12 episodes at 2k each to grant managers lower in the food chain. And still going after the 100k in upcoming cycle. Our discussion was extremely helpful.”
That is one way to make money from a podcast. It is all in the framing of your value.
When you approach potential clients, make your sponsorships more than commercials on the show. Sell them a whole package. Give them something more and make it special.
- Add them to your website
- Include them in your newsletter
- Showcase them on the show with an interview
- Share them on social media
- Create affiliate programs
Keep in mind when you do the commercials within the show, make your ads unique and entertaining. Your ads should be just as entertaining and informative as your content.
This is just one way to create revenue with your show. There are many others. You can find my list of 6 Ways To Make Money With A Free Podcast at PodcastTalentCoach.com/makemoney.
Do you need help with your podcast? Let me help you develop a plan. I can help you find ways to build a business around your podcast just like I did here. Get a free strategy session with me under the coaching section online at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com.
Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.
