How to Make a Million Dollars Podcasting

Blog post by Michael Porte, serial ad entrepreneur, Cofounder: WheresSpot. Founder: The Field, Nth Degree, AudioEngine, Calypso Films, Mad River Post.

We’ve all heard the old joke, and it definitely applies to podcasting…sort of: How do you make a million dollars from podcasting? Start with 2 million!

A few years ago when I decided that podcasting would be a great way to expand my production/post-production offering, I knew that the best way to get clients interested in a new format is proof of concept. So my team began podcasting. After 150 episodes of our own podcast “5 Things that make life better with Lisa Birnbach” and a successful two year series with InBev, “Talking on Tap”, I’m happy to share a few things I’ve learned.

Money

1) The old joke stands. Unless you have your own deal with a distribution outlet (iHeart, Audible, Spotify, etc). Don’t expect to make any money. (Only about 2% do). Seriously, Podcasting is very similar to the radio business. There are a million great stories to tell, but only a few places that will pay for them. It’s 10 times that way in podcasting

2) You can make a production deal with a production company who has a distribution deal, but usually that just means making back your production costs and maybe a few dollars for producing the show. Note: you often have to give up all the rights for the show (god forbid it’s a hit!). You may be able to share in advertising revenue, but it’s unusually hard to track.

3) For those of us in the business of advertising, the best way to make money is to partner with a client, and create a series as a work for hire. That way you are at least paid for what you are good at. Creative, and production.

Why I like podcasting, and what I’ve learned.

Storytelling

Apart from TV documentaries, I haven’t found a better way to tell stories than in podcasting. 

- Listeners have the ability to listen whenever they want.

- There is no set time limit for an episode. I suggest 20 minutes, but no more than 30. (NOTE: I almost never was able to follow this rule !!!) :-)

- There is no set number of episodes in which to tell your story.

Production

I owned an audio studio. So as an advertising entrepreneur, it was a no-brainer to produce my own podcast. I started out recording in a professional audio booth with an experienced audio engineer, and top of the line equipment. The same for editing and mixing. We spent hours on each episode—you can do the math. Except for the biggest jobs, or shows like my stepdaughter’s podcast “Letters from Camp” with Jamie Lee Curtis, it’s not the best way to spend your money, or your time. Many podcasts don’t need that level of production. It’s about the content, not the production values. I just finished listening to a new podcast with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver , “Strike Force Five”. The production is shit, but the content rocks! Unless you are those guys, you still need to make your podcast professional: make it sound good (well mixed). I was forced during Covid to figure out how to do that, and now there are many online tools like Descript, RiversideFM, Connect and ZenCaster, as well as traditional recording software like Audacity, Adobe Audition, Apple Logic, and Protools. All the above are great choices and pretty easy and standard to use. My suggestion is buy a couple of decent microphones (they don’t have to be studio mics). And that will go a long way to making your podcast sound good. Finally, record in a quiet room. It’s hard to convince client, and podcast guests that this is important, but it will save you a ton of time and really make the podcast sing!

Distribution

If you are doing a client podcast, you may be asked to distribute it. This is one of the most confusing parts of podcasting, but once you’ve figured it out, it should go smoothly. There are tons of hosts, just google them. Some offer more than others when it comes to reporting, but unless that’s important, they all seem to do a pretty good job. NOTE: These change all the time, so I’m not going to recommend any. Some to look at are:  Libsyn, Blubrry, Buzzsprout, Acast and Art19

NOTE: After 5 years in the Podcasting space, I still don’t believe most of the numbers that I get from my various hosting companies!

Awards

Yes!  There are awards… and associations. Check out “The Podcast Academy” https://www.thepodcastacademy.com/ and their awards show The Ambies for one.

Good luck, and good podcasting!