Hello all!
Summer is looming heavy in places, as is the tension created by the upcoming final season of The Bear. Anyway, I can’t think about that right now or I will spiral.
This last week, I brainstormed with two of our fantastic clients about monetizing their podcasts. These conversations resulted in a few creative ways to make money, and because I believe in the powers of karma am a nice person I’m going to share these with you!
Before you read on, I highly recommend checking out Anne Baird’s dismissal of the myth of 10k downloads to start monetizing. You can start now, today, this very second.
➡️ Two quick things:
Thank you to our clients This Week in Fandom History and That Aged Well, courtesy of whom these ideas sprung in my head. I hope your pillow always stays cool and your favourite musical is yet to be created.
If you’ve got a story, idea, or simply a Disney theory for Podcast Marketing Magic you might want to scroll to the very end.
Let’s get down to business!
Approach your local businesses for sponsorship. If you’ve got a podcast about sex education, partner with any cool adult toys stores in your area. If you’ve got a fiction podcast with a bunch of queer characters, partner with queer bookstores. If you’ve got a TTRPG podcast, partner with your local board game store. Let them know that their ideal audience exists and it just happens to be your listeners.
Peek into your own closet or look at your work table to see products you love and use on a regular basis. Who can you do a personalized and authentic ad read for? Approach them for a sponsorship. You might even send them a sample copy of what you’d say if they did sponsor your show! If you want an example – I really like the ad reads and sponsorships Zak Rosen of Weirdly Helpful has on his show.
👀 If you’ve got an ad read you’re super proud of, you should submit to the moment of advertising artistry in the International Women’s Podcast Awards.
Big fan of listener surveys here! Just ask this exact question – What are the three products or services that make your life easier?. Let them tell you exactly what they’re already consuming and you can approach those companies to sponsor your podcast. This way, not only is the company going to already gain access to more potential customers but also the listeners might actually benefit from their products.
Sounds complex but it ain’t. You’ll have to do a bit of market research for this one but it might be worth it. Think of what other types of media your audience consumes. (You can also make this a question in the listener survey!). If you’ve got an educational podcast about women’s health issues, your listeners might be subscribed to YouTube channels or Substack newsletters about the same. Strike up a partnership with them. You might make the perfect pair.
Consider putting your show notes on Substack and paywalling them. We are big believers in podcasts having companion newsletters. You’re smart so you don’t need me to tell you – do NOT just put your transcript on Substack and paywall it. Actually create show notes that detail topics in an episode or share additional resources or research notes and then paywall those.
That’s all for now but I’ll share more as we learn!
Be a darling and share these with your fellow podcasters, won’t you?
The submissions for International Women’s Podcast Awards are open until July 31. Comment the name of a woman podcaster who should submit to these and we’ll give them a special discount on the submission fee! GO!
The XMTR Audio Arts Festival is slated to happen September 25-27. If you’re in the UK and able to attend, you absolutely should!
On Tuesday June 30 at 9am ET, Arielle, Lauren, and I will go live to discuss our favorite podcast marketing tips. Stream the conversation here.
Apple Podcasts might have a new pitch form but Wil’s tricks of the trade to get featured remain the same.
We’re welcoming pitches for guest writers to Podcast Marketing Magic! If you’ve got an interesting podcast marketing technique that’s worked for you, or if you followed our advice and want to share how it went, OR you have thought about all the marketing lessons from a Disney movie, tell us!
Email shreya@tinkmedia.co with the subject line For Podcast Marketing Magic. Tell me your name and describe your idea for an edition of PMM in 50-75 words. You might even send other writing samples but you don’t have to.
If you’ve got a story to tell, we want to help you tell it. Past guest editions we’ve loved are:
Anything from our friends at Good Get – like this one on video podcasts
This one from Amelia Hruby on going analog with podcast marketing
This evergreen edition from Danielle Bezalal on making actual money as an indie podcaster
That’s all, folks! Next week, we return with some more podcast marketing magic. ✨
Until then, stay hydrated.
💜 Shreya
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