Many podcasters want to make money from podcasting, either to pay for your hobby or for a business. Here are five ideas to get you started on making products that your audience may like.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
1. Extra content
When you have great content and a loyal audience, you could consider creating products out of bonus content.
- Pre/postshow—Record what happens before and after you officially present the podcast. Some fans will enjoy the casual approach even more. YouTube stars Rhett and Link offer a “Good Mythical More” channel which is simply the aftershow for each of their “Good Mythical Morning” episodes.
- Bonus episodes—Create some great content and promote it frequently. For example, Welcome to Level Seven (our unofficial Agents of SHIELD podcast on Noodle.mx Network) has raised nearly $300 by simply offering a “pay what you want” bonus episode about the B-movie Howard the Duck for their Marvel-loving audience.
- Unofficial commentary—Passionate fans love the bonus content for movies and TV shows. Regardless of how thorough the studio is with official content, consider making a fan commentary audio track that your audience can play along with the movie or TV show. This commentary could be snarky (like RiffTrax) or enlightening (explaining connections, theories, and observations that the producers wouldn't even mention).
2. Podcast merchandise
Your podcast fans may want to “represent” with merchandise that contains your own branding. The creators of Homestar Runner make nearly all of their income from selling such branded merchandise.
This requires that your podcast have great branding.
Here are just some of many potential merchandise you could create for your podcast.
- Mugs
- Apparel (hats, shirts, hoodies, shoes, etc)
- Accessories (jewelry, buttons, wristbands, device cases)
- Stickers
- Posters
- Cards
- Toys
CafePress is a popular place to get such things made, but there are many other places, too.
3. Unofficial fan products
If you're making fan content about someone else's content, you may be able to make unofficial products that fans will love. But be careful about violating copyrights and trademarks.
T-shirts are often great for this, as they can carry fun messages that fans would love to wear. For the TV show Once Upon a Time, we could put anything about happy endings or fairy tales and even add something like, “I'm a #Oncer,” on the shirt.
The fan products could even be something creative you manufacture yourself, like carvings, 3D-printed models, paintings, and more.
4. Training resources
You may be surprised how many topics could have accompanying “how to” resources. Here are some random ideas.
- A video-game podcast could teach how to improve your game strategy.
- A knitting podcast could have a “how to get started knitting” course.
- A movie-review podcast could create a course on “how to become an actor” or “how to produce your own short movie.”
This is where you need to get creative and ask your audience.
5. Solutions
Beyond making training resources, you could also create products that provide a solution for people. I created my Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin because I saw a need for podcasters to easily place specific icons and buttons to promote their presence in social networks, apps, and directories for podcasters. I also created and continue to add to Podcast Places to be a free solution for podcasters to find out where they should submit their podcast. And My Podcast Reviews was the final realization of a need for podcasters to get their international podcast reviews.
Look for pain points that your audience has, and see if you can create a solution. This could be a physical product or a digital product. Maybe it's a WordPress plugin, a special worksheet, a piece of software, or something completely different. If the idea catches on, it could find a customer base beyond your own audience.
Announcements
- SEO for Podcasters is launching this week!
- Next episode will be with Brian from ProfitCast to talk about how podcasters are making money with their podcasts.
Thank you for the podcast reviews!
- Philippe Conway said, “Informative and Inspirational. … I wish I knew about this podcast back when I started mine in May of 2014. It would have saved me a lot of growing pains. … I am even tempted to create another podcast just so I can put all the new things I've learned from Daniel into motion.” Read the full review.
- WhiskeyBoyRadio Matt said, “Great stuff for All Podcasters. I've been podcasting for over 7 years, and I still find great value and lots of great new ideas and things to use to help my podcast continue to get better.” Read the full review.
- Kimberly Slusher from DIStracted Life Podcast said, “… I am on Episode 8 of my podcast, and while it is not perfect, with Daniel's help I know I can make the gradual changes each episode to get it to the quality I want it to be. … I just got my first iTunes review this week and it was a 5 star thanks to your help. … ” Read the Full Review.
Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!
Need personalized podcasting help?
I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.
Ask your questions or share your feedback
- Comment on the shownotes
- Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221
- Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)
Connect with me
- Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android.
- Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET)
- Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more
- Follow @theDanielJLewis
Disclosure
This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.
Related Content
I really enjoyed this episode, Daniel. I love that you included some ideas that can help the hobbyist podcaster. I recently decided to do t-shirts and hoodies with the Ivy Envy logo and I wanted to share our experience. Rather than doing Cafepress or a similar service, we found a local t-shirt screenprinter. The cost was significantly lower and it’s nice to support a local small business. The lower cost (t-shirts were only $6.75 apiece) allowed us to get a better profit margin AND charge less. We ran a sale the day we started selling them and had a great response. After about a month, we’ve sold 45 t-shirts and hoodies.
Selling shirts has given us a little revenue to work with, but more importantly, it’s allowed our listeners to feel more connected with our podcast and they have become walking advertisements.
That’s awesome, Corey!
I love supporting small businesses, especially when it means saving money, too. Did your local company have a minimum order?
The problem I see with getting it done like that is having to handle stock (of multiple sizes) and shipping.
I got the $6.75 price by ordering 25 shirts in the initial batch. If I ordered a smaller quantity, the cost was higher. The cost for the screen was only $20 and they keep your screen. So when I get more orders, I can have as few as 5 shirts printed at a time and they still only charge me $6.75.
One of the reasons I ran that one-day sale when we introduced the shirts was to encourage people to order quickly so that I could cover the cost of printing that initial batch.
I don’t keep a large amount of shirts in stock because I can run a batch with them for about $40. I have started to recognize trends, so when I need a size I don’t have, I’ll order a few of the common sizes to have on hand. Shipping is time consuming, but I use it as an opportunity to build relationships with the people that care enough about our podcast to order a shirt. I’ll include a hand-written note, an Ivy Envy sticker or some other Cubs item.
Daniel: Thanks for sharing these product ideas. I will have these in mind when my stand-alone podcast app for my show is ready.
Great!
Whom are you using to make that standalone app?
I’ve found that people often like merchandise that they need or want and don’t ever think about buying themselves. I went to a home and garden show where one of the booths gave away yardsticks. Nearly everyone who walked out the door had one. For weather related podcasts, people love weather radios and rain gauges. Who knew?
Great examples!
I have a newly formed podcast for MSers (multiple sclerosis) and want to start selling ms products!