E104 - Show Me The Money - How to Make Money with very few listeners Podcasting has become immensely popular in the last decade, and with podcast listeners being the fastest growing media audience, you know there’s a ton of potential fans for your show. But even if you have a great idea for a new podcast and a knack for building engaged, online audiences⁠—how do you make money podcasting? Streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts pay out for streams, but the payout tends to be very low. Podcast sponsorships are one way, but for new podcasts, the likelihood of finding a high-paying sponsorship is slim unless you’re already a well-established figure.  Traditional sponsorships tend to be out of reach for new podcasters because businesses are less willing to risk investing in a podcast without an established audience.  So is it even possible for new podcasts to make money? The answer is yes.  By setting up a few automated revenue streams, new podcasters can accrue passive income that grows alongside their audience, giving them time back to focus on podcasting.  Affiliate marketing is a performance-based form of marketing where a business offers rewards to affiliates who are able to successfully bring customers to them. Affiliate marketing is a great way for any creator to monetize their content.  In affiliate programs, businesses only payout after customers complete an agreed-upon action. Usually this action is making a purchase, but some affiliate programs may payout for email signups, page clicks, downloads, or content engagement.  Best affiliate programs for podcasters Amazon Associates. Amazon’s affiliate program is one of the largest in the world. With millions of unique products and retailers, it’s easier to find products that are relevant to your audience.  Skillshare Affiliates. Skillshare is a learning community with thousands of online courses and videos covering a wide variety of topics. Skillshare’s affiliate program allows you to direct audience members to any online course, making it easy to find one that’s specific to your target market. Sell custom merchandise to fans Give your fans the opportunity to show their support for your podcast by selling custom merchandise like t-shirts, stickers, posters, mugs, tote bags, journals, and more.  Perhaps the easiest way to run a merch store is by using a print-on-demand distribution model. This is where a third-party prints and ships products on your behalf, at the point of purchase. That means there’s no overhead costs, no time wasted on shipping, no need to store inventory, and lower financial risk.  It might take a little time to create an online store and add products, but once finished, the process of running your store can be almost fully automated. Although some of these platforms offer monetization options, it’s a good idea to include an additional tool to collect tips. Here are the most common tip-collection tools used by podcasters:  Venmo Cash App Buy Me a Coffee Ko-fi The great thing about these tipping tools is that they don’t need to be exclusively housed on your livestreams. Add a tip URL to your social media pages, web pages, and show notes to make it easy for fans to show their support by tipping. Write and self-publish a book for your fans Like authors, podcast hosts are typically viewed as being a voice of authority on a particular subject, making the transition from podcast host to writer almost seamless. Perhaps that’s why so many popular podcasts have been spun off into books written by their creators. Podcasters have a ton of advantage when it comes to selling books online:  Learn more: How to Self-publish Your Own Book in 8 Steps ____ https://howtopodcast.ca/ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/truemediaca https://www.teepublic.com/user/true-media-solutions