Right now, we are #alonetogether in a pandemic. One way or the other, we still need to provide for ourselves and stay healthy. And that means, we have to learn how to make money and afford the basic essentials. For me, reinventing myself—even in the most little and trivial way— usually works as an awesome bounce back method when I feel stuck.

It’s really great that for content creators, times such as these still offer an opportunity to make money. Making money through podcasting is an excellent way to ensure you are safe while still spreading your content to the world. As a podcaster (or aspiring podcaster) like me, I am sure you are wondering how you can make money through your podcasts.

I’m offering my eight best recommended strategies to help you laugh all the way to the bank, after the lockdown ends, of course. But before I do so, there are two really important facts you must have in your arsenal to successfully launch a podcast that pays you.

Content

For any content creator, we all know content is the best, if not only recipe for having a following on any social media platform and getting an audience. Here are examples of questions you need to ask yourself for finding a unique niche audience just for you:

• What content are you promoting?
• How authentic is your podcast?
• What is your unique selling point (USP)?
• What segment of the demography do you want to attract to your podcasts?

These questions, while not exhaustive, can help you figure out what you need to make great content and find a loyal audience for your podcast.

Building relationships and community

Rome wasn't built in a day: one of the oldest Roman sayings and yet still so profound today. Content creators know that to build a solid audience, the content has to be engaging. Relatability is one of the key factors in making your audience want to listen to you even more. It builds a stronger liking and more preference for your podcast.

Now, back to the Roman saying. This solid and large audience you want to have might not hit 10,000 listeners by tomorrow. Like any other form of content creation, podcasts take time to attract a large audience. It’s a slow burn, but with good content, you will get a solid following.

You have to keep engaging with your audience. Social media platforms have offered us an excellent place to deeply connect. You can have comment sections for Q&A sessions with your listeners and gather helpful feedback to help your podcast grow and attract more people.

Imagine a celebrity who directly replies to your comments or reaches out to you personally via email or telephone. Do this for your followers! People cherish such types of experiences and it can be a tool to attract more listeners to your podcast.

Now that you know the two things to get you a step ahead, let's head to the strategies:

1. Advertising/sponsorships
   For your niche audience, there are substitute and complementary needs they have apart from what you offer. These needs can be met by businesses offering the different services and products which are needed by your specific audience. You can offer to promote these businesses whose target market is your audience by offering advertising slots for their products and services. Sites like Fire Nation offer information on pricing your ad rates for clients.
   
2. Affiliate marketing
   Promoting products through your podcast is a sure way to earn cash. Your unique audience could be the target market for a certain product/service, so you do not necessarily need to worry about having large numbers to promote sales for your clients. Using your unique promo codes for buyers and/or coupons, for example, is a great strategy that can get you paid for hosting a podcast. You can join a network like ShareASale where you can search and apply to join specific programs.
   
3. Increasing sales of your products and services
   If you are an owner of a business, making podcasts about your business will help boost sales apart from the other means of selling that you use. For example, if you own a Hair Care product and you usually do your advertisements on Instagram and Facebook, you would also like to include podcasts as part of your marketing strategy. Podcasts give you an unlimited amount of time to advertise and explain about your products and it’s free compared to advertising using LinkedIn and Facebook Ads.
   
4. Coaching
   You can get paid for being an expert in your industry by coaching your online audience using your craft. Let’s say for example, you will be giving a speech about your craft for a certain group of people. Leverage it by recording the session and making it a podcast that others who didn’t attend or would want to listen to your advice again follow your podcast and subscribe to get the content. Same for a Yogi, a Trainer, or any other coach.
   
5. Books and audiobooks
   For those with a podcast already up and running, you can use the content recorded on your podcast and turn it into a book or an audiobook. After all, audiobooks are your Podcast’s crash course: An audiobook perhaps has chapters and different topics for each chapter. A podcast will have different episodes also with different topics in a session. So what I mean here is that all episodes and sessions of a podcast can be compounded into one single session, thus becoming an audiobook that one can listen to at a go. Also, audiobooks do not have discussions, commentaries and live engagements compared to a podcast session thus bringing in the book-ish approach.
   
6. Crowdfunding
   If you are like me, you might find it hard to ask for help—especially financial help— even when you know you really need it. Most podcasts or creative works are free Crand do not charge any amount to listeners or viewers. Providing useful information to your audience through your podcast is a worthy course to ask your audience for financial support. They can pledge and donate different amounts to help support your podcast and keep the content growing and flowing. A crowdfunding platform like Patreon allows you to get your audience’s support in the form of pledges.
   
7. Summits
   You can take advantage of the connections you have built and contacts you have created to organize for summits, both virtual and physical. You can start with yearly summits, then biannual and even monthly if the demand grows to those levels.
   
8. Online courses
   Being an expert in your industry, you can offer an online course(s) about your craft. A more specific content that leads to a specific result than just the podcast. This is a little different than coaching in a podcast. If you cannot make the podcast commercial for having subscribers pay, you can create online courses apart from the podcast content with detailed information than what you offer on the podcast.
   

Ultimately, once you get the ball rolling and wheels turning, you can find creative and better ways to make money through your podcast. Some clients will approach you or you may have to approach them. You can also secure referrals from successful transactions through your podcast.

All in all, good luck. Stay safe, sanitize, quarantine and keep podcasting.