It is the dream of many to do what they love, and get paid handsomely for it, and the same is true for those of us in the Podcasting hobby. Regardless of our formats, subjects, or level of professionalism/quality, we too share that elusive dream of living HIGH ON THE HOG through our passion project(s).
Or at least making back what MONEY we sink into podcasting, anyway… For most of us, even just that remains a most elusive dream!
But what if I told you that I had “cracked the code”, and now hold the SECRET to becoming one of the elite few who not only can make their living off of podcasting, but can indeed live the lives of the Rich & Famous? Moreso, what if I told you that this secret is so simple, so unbelievably easy, that literally ANYONE can do it?
Would you think me MAD?
Would you question my SANITY?
Would you call 911 and report me as a DANGEROUS LUNATIC?
Well, if you said “YES!” to any of the above, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong, but not because I’m delusional. There really is a very simple and easy way to MAKE TONS OF CASH through Podcasting, and you simply won’t believe that you didn’t think of it yourself!
Okay, enough beating around the bush. All you need is INTERACTION. That’s right. Just some simple audience interaction.
“Now wait a minute!” I hear you thinking, “It can’t possibly be that simple! And even if it were, how do you MONETIZE Interaction?!”
Oh, yes it can be just that SIMPLE, and monetization is even easier still!
Look at this website you are on right now. Every week I post a Clip from my Twitch channel, a Blog entry, and three podcasts. It isn’t much, and with just that alone, nothing much comes of it. You might even call this a MONEY PIT of a website, to be honest.
But look closer. What is on every single article page? A COMMENTS form, made to be as simple as possible for readers to use. What else do you see on every single page of the website? GOOGLE ADS.
I have, with just those two options, made it easy for fans to interact with me here on this website, and also put in place the means of monetizing that interaction. Simply by dropping by the site to leave a comment or ask a question, our podcast audience and others are putting MONEY IN MY POCKET!
But as I said before, Interaction is the key. You have to get your audience to want to leave comments, ask questions, answer polls, and so forth, which leads them to your website, and ultimately to BANKROLLING YOUR EARLY RETIREMENT! So, how do you do that?
There’s many ways you can do that, actually, but what you choose depends upon what sort of content you create. Over my years as a blogger and podcaster, I’ve tried many different things to drive interaction, not all of it successful. But you FIND YOUR NICHE, be it “Being Controversial” (works wonders, but a bit of a two-edged sword), “Open-ended discussions” (such as asking your audience for feedback), or “Dragging in your funnier friends” (as with the “Knights of the Tabletop” podcast).
“But what if I’m just a small PODCASTER,” you ask?
Simple. Drive that Interaction anyway! The more you can OPEN DIALOGUES with your audience, the more likely they are to return to your site, become loyal to your brand, and evangelize for you to others. Seriously, you can build your audience just by getting the few listeners you have now to leave comments for you, then tell their friends about your show, and maybe even leave reviews of your show on whatever distribution services you might employ!
Now I’m not saying I’ve made it big this way, and for most podcasters, they’ll never grasp that GOLDEN RING. But you most certainly won’t, if you don’t believe in yourself and your project(s), and apply yourself to making regular interaction a GOAL OF EVERY SHOW!
