These days, a lot of people listen to podcasts and try to start a podcasting business. Do you count among them? When someone finds a podcast, they truly enjoy it, they will subscribe constantly and listen to every new podcast episode that the author releases. This is a fantastic chance to generate money.
Podcasts are quite useful. Users of smartphones and tablets may listen to them because they are accessible in MP3 format. While driving, you can enjoy a fantastic podcast, but you cannot watch videos.
Here are the top 7 tips for profitable podcasting business: Podcasting Niche, Equipment, Strategy Plan, Records, Distribution, Audience and Monetization.
Additionally, people listen to podcasts while exercising, shopping, on trains and buses, and anywhere else!
Many marketers try to produce profitable podcasts but fall short. They make several mistakes and lack the persistence and resolve to carry the assignment through. We’ll show you how to avoid them in this tutorial and produce popular podcasts that your audience will like.
How to Choose the Right Podcasting Niche
The most crucial tip for podcasting business success is this. Your efforts will be in vain if you select the incorrect niche since you will be guaranteed failure from the beginning.
You should pick a niche where there is a healthy demand for content and enough opportunity to produce a variety of podcasts over an extended period. The market potential in the specialty is likewise significant.
You will read all over the place that you should select a podcasting niche about which you are enthusiastic. While it is a fantastic concept, in theory, you must first decide whether there is a market for the niche before moving forward.
The Google Keyword Planner is the simplest and most cost-effective way to achieve this. To use the planner, all you need is a free Google AdWords account. You can find out how many people are using the Google search engine to look up content in your specialty by using the Google Keyword Planner.
You will also be given recommendations for relevant keywords when using the Google Keyword Planner. This will greatly assist you in choosing the various topics for the podcasting business.
Start by choosing a seed term, such as ” Digital Marketing” and count the number of monthly searches that result from it. You’re on to a winner if there are thousands.
You may monetize your podcasts in various ways, which we will go into later. One effective strategy is to suggest products and services that match well with the topic of your podcast.
Therefore, if your podcast focused on, say, email marketing, you could, as an affiliate marketing, suggest either your own course (if you have one) or someone else’s.
It is important to investigate the extent of the business potential for your niche concept ideas. Find out if there are any digital items for your niche at Clickbank.com. You may also explore Amazon.com to see if there are any chances for tangible products.
The ideal podcasting niche is one that you are enthusiastic about, has high demand, a wide range of potential podcasting topics, and promising business prospects. If you choose a specialty in which you have no interest, you may still get passionate about it by learning all you can about it.
Being passionate about your specialty is crucial for podcasting business startups. Your voice will convey your passion—or lack thereof—to the listeners. Since this is extremely hard to fake, real curiosity is always needed.
Spend time considering potential niches, then check each one using the Google Keyword Planner. List your hobbies and passions first, and then include topics in which you excel or have knowledge.
For instance, you could be able to talk as an authority on a certain talent you have developed via your profession.
For specialized suggestions, you may also check other websites. Here are some excellent examples for you to review:
- Clickbank.com
- Amazon.com
- Magazines.com
- Dummies.com
When you visit these websites, check through the many categories and subcategories for podcasting ideas. It is an excellent sign that there is a need for knowledge in the niche if there are things being offered on these websites. Always use Google Keyword Planner to double-check this.
Get Good Equipment for Podcasting Business
Using the microphone on your laptop, smartphone, or the one linked to those cheap headphones to record your podcast is not a good idea.
Your recordings’ sound quality will be terrible, and they often are quite terrible. People who listen to your podcasts will rapidly lose interest in them and post unfavorable feedback.
For your recordings, you must make an investment in a high-quality microphone. Obtain one if necessary.
People who listen to your podcasts will evaluate them based on the information you provide and the audio quality. Never produce a podcast with subpar audio. An audio editing program can only be used for so many things.
You must consider the long term while choosing the equipment before starting the podcasting business. Choose a USB microphone like the Blue Yetti that you can plug onto your computer if you want to largely offer solo recordings.
Buy XLR dynamic microphones if you wish to host potential customers in your podcasting studio.
You should always get a pop filter and a stand or boom arm in addition to a decent quality microphone, regardless of whether you plan to buy several or just one.
Your recordings will sound much better if you use a pop filter, and the stand will help you position the microphone so that you can accurately capture your voice.
Get a mixer and a digital recorder to set up a small podcasting studio. For all the mics, boom arms are also needed. You might wish to go on to this later, once your podcasts are popular because it is a significant investment.
Additionally, we recommend that you get some high-quality headphones. Yes, you can record a podcast without headphones, but unless you listen to the recording, you won’t know how well or poorly it sounds. You may check the sound quality in real-time while wearing headphones.
For your recordings, a reliable audio editing program is needed. You will undoubtedly make mistakes, especially during your first few recordings. Thankfully, there are two excellent audio editing programs that are available for both Windows and Mac systems for FREE:
- Audacity (Windows Users)
- Garageband (Mac Users)
These programs will meet all your requirements for audio content editing. There are some that demand payment, but they do not truly have to start.
With these two audio editing programs, you can add intro and outro music, sound effects, and more with ease. You may mix everything together when you finish recording to produce an MP3 file.
Podcasts may also be recorded with a smartphone or tablet. You will want a top-notch lapel or tie-mounted microphone for this. For about $50, they are available via Amazon. For both Android and iOS smartphones, there are several free recording apps that you will also need.
Although you can edit podcasts on a smartphone, the limited screen makes it a little challenging. We recommend that you record an audio content file on your mobile device, then edit it on your PC.
You will also need top-notch cover graphics for your podcasts. This will serve as your brand’s recognition on your podcast page, in podcast directories, and on other pages.
Find someone on Fiverr.com who is competent at graphic design if you are not and pay them a few dollars to complete the task for you.
Finally, we recommend that you publish your podcast files using a provider that hosts podcasts. Although your web hosting service may offer limitless disk space, audio files cannot be stored there.
For a nominal monthly cost, a reputable podcast host providers will save your files and give you an RSS feed for your podcasts. Later, more on this.
Create a Podcast Strategy Plan
It might be tempting to “wing it” and record podcasts while you’re in the middle of an episode if you are an authority in your chosen podcasting niche.
These outcomes are rarely favorable. When you’re recording, there’s always pressure, which means you can forget some crucial details and slur a lot. For your listeners, it was a bad experience!
We recommend writing a complete script for each podcast when you first start out. Then, when you are recording, you may read from this. You won’t forget anything and are less prone to mutter if you do this.
After some practice, you may go on to “prompt” scripts, where you just work from a set of prompts to serve as a reminder of what you should say.
It is a fantastic idea to do podcast interviews with some authorities in your field. Using Skype, you may schedule a call and then record the conversation.
These days, Skype does feature a recorder of its own that creates mono recordings in MP4 format. It won’t be difficult to convert this to MP3, but a mono recording can provide challenges.
With Skype conversations, it occasionally happens that one party is heard much louder than the other. You cannot adjust the loudness imbalance if just one channel (mono) is used for recording. Other Skype call recording programs offer dual-channel recording so you can make the required modifications.
The Zoom is an additional choice for interview recording. Setting up a room and inviting your interviewee to join is more akin to video conferencing.
You will always receive a recording of a Zoom call once the call has ended. Zoom offers both free and premium programs, and the recording quality is often excellent.
For the greatest outcomes, prepare ahead of time if you’re planning to interview an expert over the phone. Before you start the podcast interview, you and the interviewee should agree on a list of questions. You will receive an interview of higher caliber overall since the interviewee has time to prepare.
You must be dedicated to the podcasting business and ready to release new episodes on a regular basis. Some podcasters provide content daily. Once a week or once every two weeks is what we advise. Whatever publication schedule you decide on, make sure you follow it.
To get things organized, use a calendar tool. You may use the free Google Calendar, which works fantastically and is truly all you need.
Days for planning and preparation as well as podcast production might be scheduled. You may add descriptions, comments, and attachments to Google Calendar. The podcasting business relies heavily on consistency.
Start to Record your Podcasts
We’ve previously spoken about how important high-quality tools are. Here, we’ll talk about how to set up your equipment properly so that you can record in a professional way. You will need to invest a lot of time in editing if you make a lot of mistakes during recording.
It will be quicker for you to record the entire interview episode again rather than having to edit out all the faults if you don’t record your podcasts properly since you may make so many mistakes. By doing the following, you can shorten the editing process:
Make a Recording in a Quiet Place
This is an obvious choice. Choose a quiet location to record your podcasts if you don’t want a lot of unwelcome background noise. Make sure to turn off or put your phone in silent mode. If there are other people in your house, ask them not to bother you while you are recording unless there is an emergency.
Making Speech Clear
A decent pair of headphones is essential while you are recording podcasts, as we have already explained. You will be able to judge if you are speaking too softly or too loudly based on how your voice sounds.
Always talk into your microphone directly. Put your script in a position where you can read it while still looking at the microphone. You may make any required tweaks to your recording program to improve the quality by listening to it through headphones.
Make Test Recordings
Make a test recording before you record your complete podcast to ensure that everything is set up correctly and that your speech is clear. Things may go wrong, including having your microphone muted or being completely disconnected!
You can make sure everything is running properly and that no unwanted background noise is being picked up by making a test recording.
Editing your Podcast
Make sure you understand how the audio editing program you chose functions. You may find a lot of helpful tutorials on YouTube that will show how to use the fundamental and more complicated functions of programs like Audacity or Garageband.
Remove any distractions for your listeners, such as background noise and labored breathing. You run the danger of losing your listeners and having negative reviews if you don’t take care of these items.
Listen to your podcast from beginning to end once you’ve recorded it. You should immediately edit any errors or diversions as you find them. Listen to the entire recording again once you’ve completed editing in case you missed anything.
Make MP3 Podcast File
In order to make your MP3 file for publishing, you must include your intro and outro music and mix everything down. All your podcasts should have metadata included, which may be done using ID3 tags.
The title of your podcast, a synopsis of it, its ID number, and other details may all be included here. Using Audacity, Garageband, and iTunes on a Mac, adding ID3 tags is simple.
Distribute your Podcast
Before you begin submitting your podcasts to the podcast directories, it is advised that you first record a few. This is because offering only one podcast to listeners doesn’t seem appealing. They want to make certain that you are dedicated to regularly releasing podcasts.
When you use podcast hosting to store your podcasts, you may submit them once to the podcast directories via the RSS feed. You should submit to each of the accessible podcasting directories because there are lots of them. You must submit to the following podcast directory list:
- iTunes
- Google Play
- Spotify
- Stitcher
- TuneIn
- SoundCloud
Distributing your podcasts on YouTube is also a smart move. Your MP3 podcasts may be quickly converted to MP4 files and given a static picture.
You must upload each episode individually to YouTube since it will not accept your RSS podcast feed. Take advantage of the fact that more and more people these days are watching podcasts on YouTube.
Don’t only rely on submitting your podcasts to directories to spread the word about them. Make use of your own personal network of relatives, friends, and coworkers. Request that they share your content on social media with their contacts. Additionally, request a review from them for the podcast directory.
Use your personal website or blog post to advertise your podcasts. Send a broadcast email to your list of email subscribers if you have one to inform them when you are launching new podcasts. Ask them to pay attention and give you a positive rating.
Promote your podcasts on your social media platforms as well. Create a Facebook page dedicated to your podcast and post all the necessary information there.
Making advantage of Facebook Ads is a fantastic approach to connecting with your target market. This is a low-cost method of reaching your target audience with podcast promotions.
Grow Your Podcasting Audience
You need a sizable audience for your podcasts in order to turn a profit. If you want to increase the number of people who listen to your podcast, you must post episodes consistently.
If you’re going to publish once a week, make sure you stick to the same day each time. Your audience will develop the habit of checking for new episodes of your podcasts on the same day every week.
For your podcasts, you need to collect as many favorable comments and ratings as you can. A potential listener will undoubtedly look elsewhere if they visit your successful podcast page and there are no reviews. Nowadays, if there are no reviews, consumers will not take any action.
The best proof that new listener has that it is worthwhile for them to spend their time listening to your podcasts is a string of favorable ratings. In every podcast you release, kindly request reviews from your audience.
Once your podcasts have a large enough audience, you may hold a contest. Give away an award for the finest social media post or review of one of your podcasts. Always provide a worthwhile reward in your contests.
Percentage of Consumers Aware of Podcasting in the U.S. from 2016-2022
| Year | Percentage of Respondents |
|---|---|
| 2016 | %55 |
| 2017 | %60 |
| 2018 | %64 |
| 2019 | %70 |
| 2020 | %75 |
| 2021 | %78 |
| 2022 | %79 |
Statista.com was used for all data.
The Best Way to Monetize a Podcast
You obviously wish to profit from your podcasting business. Here are a few methods for doing that:
- Promotion in your Podcasts: You may advertise relevant deals in your podcasts. These might be your own or third-party offerings for which you receive an affiliate commission.
- Patreon.com for donation: up a Patreon page and request money from your listeners there.
- Find Sponsors: You may obtain sponsors for your successful podcast by using a variety of websites.
- Sell Premium Podcasts: You may produce premium podcasts that your audience must pay to access.
- Make Ad Commission from YouTube: You may use the Google AdSense program to display advertising and earn money for each click when you post your podcasts to YouTube.
- Offer Consultancy: Your listeners will see you as an authority in your field, and you may capitalize on this by providing high-end advising or coaching services via Skype.
Investment of NPR in Podcasting in 2018 - 2020
| Year | Spend in thousand U.S. dollars |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 483,33 |
| 2019 | 2010,82 |
| 2020 | 1,198,69 |
Statista.com was used for all data.
Conclusion
You are aware of the seven effective podcasting business strategies. Now it is your turn. With the help of the techniques outlined in this special study, you will quickly be producing podcasts of the highest caliber.
To maximize your income from the podcasting business, devote the majority of your time to advertising your shows and growing your audience.
These days, a lot of people listen to podcasts and try to start a podcasting business. Do you count among them? When someone finds a podcast, they truly enjoy it, they will subscribe constantly and listen to every new podcast episode that the author releases. This is a fantastic chance to generate money.
Podcasts are quite useful. Users of smartphones and tablets may listen to them because they are accessible in MP3 format. While driving, you can enjoy a fantastic podcast, but you cannot watch videos.
Here are the top 7 tips for profitable podcasting business: Podcasting Niche, Equipment, Strategy Plan, Records, Distribution, Audience and Monetization.
You obviously wish to profit from your podcasting business. Here are a few methods for doing that:
- Promotion in your Podcasts: You may advertise relevant deals in your podcasts. These might be your own or third-party offerings for which you receive an affiliate commission.
- Patreon.com for donation: up a Patreon page and request money from your listeners there.
- Find Sponsors: You may obtain sponsors for your successful podcast by using a variety of websites.
- Sell Premium Podcasts: You may produce premium podcasts that your audience must pay to access.
- Make Ad Commission from YouTube: You may use the Google AdSense program to display advertising and earn money for each click when you post your podcasts to YouTube.
- Offer Consultancy: Your listeners will see you as an authority in your field, and you may capitalize on this by providing high-end advising or coaching services via Skype.