Hey savvies! Welcome back to another episode of Savvy Podcasting for Entrepreneurs. 

I’m back on the podcast today after a week’s hiatus. I’m in Texas and we had a freak snowstorm last week and lost power for several days so unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a new episode out last week. Thankfully we’re back with power now and just dealing with some repairs after a pipe burst in my son’s room so we are so grateful that’s the only damage and no one was seriously hurt. Thank you for your patience with my recent week breaks lately. Consistency is so important to me so unless any other random unforeseen circumstances occur soon, I will be back to releasing episodes every single Thursday. 

That’s my little update for you guys, now let’s get into the episode. 

In last week’s episode, I shared why you probably shouldn’t have a podcast if monetizing is your only goal so today I’m actually going to be diving into what to do before you start monetizing your podcast, both with your own offers and sharing other products and services via affiliate marketing and ad sponsorships, if you choose to go that route. 

Before we dive into the episode, I wanted to tell you a little bit about my new masterclass, How to Monetize Your Podcast without Relying on Ad Sponsorships. In this free class, I teach my 3-step Listeners to Leads Framework so that you can learn how to monetize your podcast from day one without having to worry about how many downloads each episode is getting. 

If you want to learn more about how to monetize without ad sponsorships, head here and snag your seat today. 

As an entrepreneur, you can definitely start sharing your offers from the very beginning of your podcast so that you can build your email list and start getting your listeners into your funnel but it is important to take these crucial steps before diving into that.

  • First things first, make sure your content is something your audience really wants to hear from you.
  • I always recommend keeping a running list of potential podcast topics and getting them on the calendar so you never have to worry about what you’re going to be talking about each week. Once you have your episode topics planned out, then go through your current offers (both free and paid) and correlate those offerings with your episode topics and organically weave them into your episodes.
  • Poll your audience and see what kind of content they’re craving from you so that you can serve them in the best way possible.
  • You can either record a stand-alone ad segment that can be inserted into your episode or you can organically weave it into the content where it makes sense.
  • Another great tip is to start with your free offers on your show. If your podcast content is great and your free offers are great, listeners will be more inclined to take you up on your paid offers when the time comes. Free offers that tend to convert well with most listeners are things like checklists, masterclasses, and blueprints. 
  • Another thing you can do prior to monetize is working on growing your audience. Having 30 super loyal and engaged listeners is great but that’s not going to fly with most sponsorship partners so getting your download numbers up is important if you want to take your podcast to the next level with ad sponsorships.
  • Some creative ways to do this are by utilizing social media platforms like Tik Tok or Instagram Reels and reaching a wider audience that probably doesn’t even know that your podcast exists. Traditional social media platforms are great too but these two channels are some that I have seen working super well for my clients lately. 
  • A big one that I recommend for podcast growth is Pinterest. As a former Pinterest strategist and Social Media Manager, Pinterest is one of my favorite ways to get eyes on your podcast so if you serve females, then your people are most likely on Pinterest.
  • Another great way to grow your podcast is via being a guest on other podcasts. This allows you to be seen as an expert in your niche and you can direct their listeners back to your show to learn more.
  • Pinterest and guesting on other podcasts are my two biggest suggestions for growing your podcast listenership.
  • Once you have increased your downloads and are seeing a solid ROI from sharing your own freebies on your show, then it might be time to look into monetizing your podcast further via affiliate marketing and/or ad sponsorships.
  • Next week we’ll be chatting about the 4 ways to monetize your podcast so stay tuned.
  • Make sure to join me for Podcasting Happy Hour on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm CST // 8:30 pm EST on Clubhouse. If you guys want to join me head on over the CH app and follow me @jennysuneson and turn on notifications so you get notified when I go live and we can chat every Wednesday evening on ClubHouse. I can’t wait to see you there.

And if you’re struggling with even knowing where to begin with podcasting, I can help. Head here and book your free call with me today. I can’t wait to hear from you! 

Make sure to join the Savvy Podcasting for Entrepreneurs FB group if you haven’t already. It is such a great place to build connections with other podcasters who are in the same boat as you.