What does the future of podcast monetization look like?

Today I'm joined by Sam Sethi, founder of https://www.podfans.fm, a new platform embracing creator culture and a pioneer of the value for value movement within podcasting and beyond.

Fan of the show? Find it helpful?

You can become a supporter of the show via a one-off tip that I'll use to buy a beer at this link: Support The Podcast Accelerator: How to Grow Your Podcast.

Your next steps

I teach podcasting a lot and for free. So, here's what I'd recommend you do next:

• Watch my free podcasting tutorials on YouTube: YouTube (Captivate)
• Ask me anything at all about podcasting over on Twitter: Twitter

If you need help with anything at all regarding your podcast, get me on Twitter (Twitter ) and I promise to respond.

I got into podcasting a decade ago. Since then, I've seen it change from a fledging industry with little revenue flowing through it and flourish into a genuine media industry with billions in ad revenue available every year, the teething problems of a measurement industry, and the "boom" of 2019-2021 (ish).

There are people who have been in this game longer than me, and we've all seen the industry change. I've spoken about podcasting becoming a genuine "industry" many, many times but right now, we're at an inflection point in the journey of podcasting and there are two ways to approach it mentally: we embrace it and do our bit to innovate, or we shout loudly that "it's not what it was, so can't be good" and let the industry pass us by.

Which will you choose?

Fan of the show? Find it helpful?

You can become a supporter of the show via a one-off tip that I'll use to buy a beer at this link: Support The Podcast Accelerator: How to Grow Your Podcast.

Your next steps

I teach podcasting a lot and for free. So, here's what I'd recommend you do next:

• Watch my free podcasting tutorials on YouTube: YouTube (Captivate)
• Ask me anything at all about podcasting over on Twitter: Twitter

If you need help with anything at all regarding your podcast, get me on Twitter (Twitter ) and I promise to respond.

You know me, I don't sugarcoat when I feel that something isn't as good as it could be. And, with the world of podcasting growing and, in particular, the choices that consumers have about the myriad shows they can listen to, it's never been more important for your show to "get things right".

But what is "right"?

Surely that's subjective?

Yes, of course, it is - but there's little doubt that best practices now exist in podcasting and that there are objective changes that you can make to your show that will increase the allure, the stickiness, and the long-term shareability of your podcast and that don't take much to implement.

Join me and the wonderfully talented Mathew Passy, a long-time friend, and talented podcasting consultant, as we discuss the changes that you can make based on Mathew's years auditing podcasts across the globe.

Guest details:

• Mathew Passy
• Mathew Passy is the founder and former owner of ThePodcastConsultant.com, a podcast agency that helps individuals, brands, and small businesses develop, launch, produce, and promote podcasts. In addition to audio podcasting services, ThePodcastConsultant also offers video production, audio/video consulting and audit services, podcast launches, remote recording assistance, and more. He is a long-time New Jersey resident and lives with his wife Brooke, and twin children, Hailey and Hunter.
• Mathew's Website
• @MathewPassy on Twitter
• Mathew's Facebook page
• @mathewpassy on Instagram

Fan of the show? Find it helpful?

You can become a supporter of the show via a one-off tip that I'll use to buy a beer at this link: Support The Podcast Accelerator: How to Grow Your Podcast.

Your next steps

I teach podcasting a lot and for free. So, here's what I'd recommend you do next:

• Watch my free podcasting tutorials on YouTube: YouTube (Captivate)
• Ask me anything at all about podcasting over on Twitter: Twitter

If you need help with anything at all regarding your podcast, get me on Twitter (Twitter ) and I promise to respond.

I'm delighted to be able to give my reaction to the Squadcast acquisition by Descript, plus I preview a little of Podcast Movement 2023 and thank Josh for his kind beer money!

Fan of the show? Find it helpful?

You can become a supporter of the show via a one-off tip that I'll use to buy a beer at this link: Support The Podcast Accelerator: How to Grow Your Podcast.

Your next steps

I teach podcasting a lot and for free. So, here's what I'd recommend you do next:

• Watch my free podcasting tutorials on YouTube: YouTube (Captivate)
• Ask me anything at all about podcasting over on Twitter: Twitter

If you need help with anything at all regarding your podcast, get me on Twitter (Twitter ) and I promise to respond.

It's survey time!

I'm working on making sure that my content continues to help you in the very best way possible. To do that, I need your very honest views, and this year, I need them in a few specific areas, please.

Do you have two minutes to take my short listener survey, please?

Here's the link: https://mark.live/survey

Oh, it's anonymous, too - I don't need your name or your email address.

Thank you so much!

Fan of the show? Find it helpful?

You can become a supporter of the show via a one-off tip that I'll use to buy a beer at this link: Support The Podcast Accelerator: How to Grow Your Podcast.

Your next steps

I teach podcasting a lot and for free. So, here's what I'd recommend you do next:

• Watch my free podcasting tutorials on YouTube: YouTube (Captivate)
• Ask me anything at all about podcasting over on Twitter: Twitter

If you need help with anything at all regarding your podcast, get me on Twitter (Twitter ) and I promise to respond.

Design is everywhere. Design is every THING. You simply cannot escape it.

But, as podcasters, we fall into the same trap that so many other types of organisation fall into: commoditising design and believing it to be something that we can either skimp on, do ourselves or that doesn't matter.

All of that is simply wrong, and very seriously wrong.

We also believe that design simply means "graphic design". It doesn't. Designing every single aspect of your show means that you can genuinely compete for revenue with the big shows, shows that often get it very right, and guess what... it doesn't have to cost anything more than a mindset.

Fan of the show? Find it helpful?

You can become a supporter of the show via a one-off tip that I'll use to buy a beer at this link: Support The Podcast Accelerator: How to Grow Your Podcast.

Your next steps

I teach podcasting a lot and for free. So, here's what I'd recommend you do next:

• Watch my free podcasting tutorials on YouTube: YouTube (Captivate)
• Ask me anything at all about podcasting over on Twitter: Twitter

If you need help with anything at all regarding your podcast, get me on Twitter (Twitter ) and I promise to respond.

When I first started my journey within the podcasting world, I was lucky enough to meet a range of people who have gone on to become genuine friends.

Amongst those is one of the finest, most revered people within our industry, Dave Jackson, a friend, mentor-from-afar and Podcast Hall of Fame inductee who continues to help podcasters around the world every single day.

On this episode, Dave and I dig deep into the last two decades of the podcasting industry and speculate on what might happen over the next twenty years.

This episode's guest is the wonderful Dave Jackson :

• Dave Jackson began podcasting in 2005 and launched the School of Podcasting (schoolofpodcasting.com). His School of Podcasting show has over 3.1 million downloads. He has helped hundreds of people plan, launch, and grow their podcasts. He is the author of the book Profit from your podcast and is a featured speaker at events. In 2016 Dave joined Libsyn (the largest podcast hosting company) as the head of podcaster education.  In 2018 he was inducted into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame. Find all his shows at www.powerofpodcasting.com
• Dave's Website
• Dave's Facebook group
• Dave's Facebook page
• @DaveJackson on Twitter
• Dave on YouTube

Fan of the show? Find it helpful?

You can become a supporter of the show via a one-off tip that I'll use to buy a beer at this link: Support The Podcast Accelerator: How to Grow Your Podcast.

Your next steps

I teach podcasting a lot and for free. So, here's what I'd recommend you do next:

• Watch my free podcasting tutorials on YouTube: YouTube (Captivate)
• Ask me anything at all about podcasting over on Twitter: Twitter

If you need help with anything at all regarding your podcast, get me on Twitter (Twitter ) and I promise to respond.

In this episode, I have a deep-dive conversation with Mike Wooller, Head of Content Partnerships at Global. Mike has a wealth of experience in the industry and this episode is a must-listen for the serious indi podcast creator.

We kick things off by demystifying some of the often-used industry jargon. Mike breaks down what terms like "Spot", "Programmatic", "Direct Sell", "Host Read", "MRG", and "CPM" really mean.

Next, we're discussing the current climate in the podcasting world. How are brands and advertisers responding to the ever-changing economy, and what does this mean for the podcasting sector as it continues to find its feet?

As podcast advertising revenue grows, we take a look at the latest trends. Mike shares his thoughts on how this surge in revenue is shaping the podcasting landscape and how that might look in the future.

We also explore what attracts advertisers to a podcast beyond just download numbers. What are those magic metrics that advertisers really care about? And, how small can a podcast's download numbers be before advertisers lose interest?

For serious indie podcasters, we discuss whether direct partnerships are still viable and, with the growth of the podcasting industry, could there be more opportunities arising from a more automated, programmatic approach?

We also chat through immediate monetisation with "ad marketplaces": can a brand-new show really make significant revenue from these marketplaces?

Lastly, we consider: How is the success of a podcast ad campaign measured? How this might differ depending on the goals of the campaign?

Plus, we chat over some common misconceptions that indie podcasters often have about advertising, as well as some potential roadblocks that can arise when renewing ad and content partnerships.

Mike is an expert in his field and, for a serious podcaster like you, this is a must-listen episode!

Guest info:

• Name: Mike Wooller
• Bio: Mike is Head of DAX Podcast Partnerships at Global, and has worked in Audio for over 15 years. With a background in BBC Radio, he's worked as a producer for BBC Radio 1 and in commissioning podcasts for BBC Sounds. He later moved into the commercial audio world, where he worked across new business at Acast and now heads up the Podcast Partnerships team at Global.
• Links: @mikewooller on Twitter

Fan of the show? Find it helpful?

You can become a supporter of the show via a one-off tip that I'll use to buy a beer at this link: Support The Podcast Accelerator: How to Grow Your Podcast.

Your next steps

I teach podcasting a lot and for free. So, here's what I'd recommend you do next:

• Watch my free podcasting tutorials on YouTube: YouTube (Captivate)
• Ask me anything at all about podcasting over on Twitter: Twitter

If you need help with anything at all regarding your podcast, get me on Twitter (Twitter ) and I promise to respond.

Warning! This episode contains some f-bombs and other well placed word bombs - but they’re worth it.

Threads, the brand new "chat app" and Twitter alternative from Meta, aka Facebook, aka Instagram, aka Zuckerberg, launched last week and has already amassed almost 100 million users.

Within three days, I saw a podcast "guru" claiming to know how to use Threads to grow your podcast and, sure enough, the content they published about it was shockingly awful.

So, how do you use Threads to grow your podcast audience?

The truth is that, right now, the algorithm is still all over the place and there are features (such as a "following only" feed) still missing. Does this mean that you can't use Threads to grow your podcast? No. Well, sort of no. In fact, Threads is, right now, just another tool to use in order to genuinely "social network" and that is SO very different to "promoting your sh*t".

Let's have a frank chat about how to use Instagram Threads to grow your podcast, then.

Fan of the show? Find it helpful?

You can become a supporter of the show via a one-off tip that I'll use to buy a beer at this link: Support The Podcast Accelerator: How to Grow Your Podcast.

Your next steps

I teach podcasting a lot and for free. So, here's what I'd recommend you do next:

• Watch my free podcasting tutorials on YouTube: YouTube (Captivate)
• Ask me anything at all about podcasting over on Twitter: Twitter

If you need help with anything at all regarding your podcast, get me on Twitter (Twitter ) and I promise to respond.

When it comes to generating predictable revenue from a podcast, reliability in downloads is vital.

Whether that podcast is monetised via programmatic ads, directly sold host-read ads, selling merch, selling live-taping tickets, listener support via tips and memberships or a diverse combination of these and more, there are certain elements that make that show reliably profitable.

When a podcast is monetised well, it delivers repeatable and reliable numbers that can be projected and used as the basis for business decisions. Brands and ad partners actively seek out shows that will solidly perform week in and week out, and they hedge their bets & their bucks on those.

What lessons can you learn as an indie creator and how can you apply those to your own podcast without spending any money?

1. Storytelling is key - use the teaching method of getting your listener engaged: state what you're going to say, say it, then say what you've just said.
2. Breaking up your story and working around tangible chapters works.
3. Delivering what your audience turns up for is important - quirky change only works when your show is known for quirky change; listeners come to your show for your show.
4. Bad, auto-generated ad slots kill the show.
5. Production value is extremely important, including quality music used to add gravitas and proper structural planning and focus. You cannot wing it. And make sure your loudness is right...!
6. If you're solo or an interviewer, your vocal performance really matters!
7. Don’t focus on trying to hit a specific episode length everytime. Be confident enough to keep a tight story and people will come back for the next part if they need to.
8. Quality editing counts!

Remember, the key to a successful revenue strategy for your podcast is to be able to consistently deliver predictable download numbers. To do that, you need to get tight on the things that matter to listeners who now have so many podcasts from indies AND big studios to choose from!

Fan of the show? Find it helpful?

You can become a supporter of the show via a one-off tip that I'll use to buy a beer at this link: Support The Podcast Accelerator: How to Grow Your Podcast.

Your next steps

I teach podcasting a lot and for free. So, here's what I'd recommend you do next:

• Watch my free podcasting tutorials on YouTube: YouTube (Captivate)
• Ask me anything at all about podcasting over on Twitter: Twitter

If you need help with anything at all regarding your podcast, get me on Twitter (Twitter ) and I promise to respond.