Profit From Your Podcast

Mark Des Cotes is a podcaster, graphic designer, and friend (he's the guy behind the School of Podcasting, Ask the Podcast Coach, and Podcast Rodeo artwork. You can find him atlRings of Power Podcastringsofpowerpodcast.comResourceful Designerresourcefuldesigner.comPodcast Brandingpodcastbranding.coToday you will hear how just changing the angle of your pitch can result in a much better result. Instead of complaining about how expensive it is to be in business, simply point you how you have delivered value, and if your audience would like, they can give back at an easy-to-remember link.Maintain Control and Future Proof Your MonetizationOn my Ask the Podcast Coach show, I use a link www.askthepodcastcoach..com/awesome where I control where that link goes. For now, it goes to a page on the website where people can buy my book, leave a Paypal donation, or become a patron of the show. If you leave a specific link (www.patreon.com/davejackson) what happens if later something better comes along? You have a bunch of episodes with an outdated link.I create that link with a built-in tool from Podpage. If you're on WordPress you can use the pretty links plugin.Buy the Book Profit From Your PodcastPick up any book on podcast monetization, and you will find 90 percent of it only covers how to launch a podcast. If you already have a podcast, you have that information; you’re ready for the next step. Profit from Your Podcast provides top strategies and real-life examples of podcast monetization. This book is more than what to do. It also tells you how to do it. Chapters cover such topics as: How to Grow Your AudienceHow to Set Your PricingUnderstanding Advertising JargonHow to Find SponsorsBest Strategies for Making Money as an AffiliateMaster Strategies for CrowdfundingHarnessing the Power of Webinars and EventsThe Top Tools to Make Your Job EasyBuilt on the author’s fifteen years of experience in podcasting, this action-packed guide will benefit new and veteran podcasters. Get clear on who your audience is and what they want, deliver value, and build an engaged audience that wants to give you money. Leverage your relationships and the integrity you have built through your podcast to create multiple streams of income. Profit from Your Podcast gives you the tools to do it all.Mentioned in this episode:Need Help Growing Your Show?Do you know why your show isn't growing? (Probably not as you are TOO CLOSE to the content and you've lost your objectivity). I can help spot that low-hanging fruit that you missed. Schedule a strategy session today and let's get your show growing at a faster pace.Strategy Session

Mark Deal and Steve Stewart, co-founders of the Podcast Editor Academy, dive into the fascinating world of podcast editing. They discuss the crucial role of niche specialization and how Steve initially became an editor without a website. Mark emphasizes the importance of contracts to set clear expectations with clients. They also uncover common mistakes new editors make and share insights on financial strategies, including how to set rates effectively. Listeners will gain valuable tips on building a successful podcast editing business!

We all love customers, but there are some people who are NOT your target audience, and yet we create strategies that cause unrealistic expectations in your customers, or we get a great customer who can be a little forgetful. The Black Friday SaleWhen you do one of those HOLY COW - UNBELIEVABLE DISCOUNT Black Friday kind of sale, you get two types of customers.The customer purchases and does nothing with your product as they have no skin in the gameA customer who didn't read the offer, but jumps in because it is so good, and then expect much, MUCH more than what is included in the offerConsequently, (after doing two) I will not do a "Black Friday / DEEP DISCOUNT" offer.The Yearly SubscriptionThis typically brings you your target audience. They are a joy to work with, and they are action takers. However, a year later they forgot they purchased a recurring membership program. This leads to:Emails the day after they get charged asking, "Hey I didn't authorize this!"I just got an email from someone who purchased my product. They worked for a company, and each year they have been charged. Now two years later, they want their money back. Two Ways To Solve This IssueYou can set a trigger in your CRM (I Use Less Annoying CRM) and remind them that their year subscription is coming up. Alert them how to cancel their subscription if needed.I also now send an email a week before the charge to alert them that their subscription payment is coming up. Another Strategy To Solve This IssueA yearly subscription is an easy-to-make "higher ticket price" item. You might consider raising the price on the subscription and making it "Lifetime Access" this way you get the benefits of an action-taking customer, and you don't have to worry about "I didn't authorize this payment."Mentioned in this episode:Need Help Growing Your Show?Do you know why your show isn't growing? (Probably not as you are TOO CLOSE to the content and you've lost your objectivity). I can help spot that low-hanging fruit that you missed. Schedule a strategy session today and let's get your show growing at a faster pace.Strategy Session

You have a product, service, or potential sponsor and you have no idea what to charge. Some questions you may want to askHow niche is your audience? (the more niche - the more you can charge)What problem does your product solve?Can you make money with your product/service?How will you charge (avoid CPM for sponsors)Whatever you first land on for a price it is probably not enough (we all underprice). What is the cost of your product/service

I haven't been this excited about a tool in a while. It's so powerful, and yet so early to use. I also love that it works on EVERYTHING and that is what Volley does.  It works on PC, Mac. Andoid, or iPhone and it has revolutionized how I'm handling questions with my community.Josh Little InterviewJosh is an experienced CEO launching multiple successful startups in the past. Today we get insights into:Time Shifted Screen Sharing and Dave's School AnalogyWhen Did Volley Become an Idea?Moving Your Community From FacebookCan You Lock Down Volley?Issues Trusting a Free PlatformJosh's BackgroundHow Long Has Volley Been Around?Future Features?profitfromyourpodcast.com/volleyAudience FeedbackFind Josh at https://www.linkedin.com/in/littlejosh/Mentioned In This EpisodeTim Schmoyer (video Creators)Volley AppSchool of PodcastingProfit From Your Podcast Book

At Podcast Movement Evolution in LA people kept pitching me, and in a matter of seconds, I was able to tell if this person understood the podcasting market or not. Most did not. TWO TYPES OF PODCAST BUSINESSESMy friend Paul Colligan from the Podcast Partnership said, "There are two types of podcast companies. One that cares about podcasting, and the other that just wants some of that sweet, sweet podcast money." YOU NEED TO SOLVE A PROBLEMIf you want to make money with a podcast, you need to solve a problem. So that can be a product or service, but it can also be that you solve the problem of providing information that is not available anywhere else. THE TING ABOUT THREE YEARSI do need to clarify that I've said it takes three years to build an audience, and that is when people I interviewed for my book Profit From Your Podcast started making notable income.However, it's not the three years that enable them to make money. It is the quality of the content. Don't keep making episodes thinking, "If I can just make it 36 months I can retire." There is some luck and timing involved. NETFLIX CANCELS SHOWSWhy do I think that? Netflix cancels shows. They know everything about us. They know our likes and dislikes, and yet they make shows that we don't watch and get canceled. Why? Maybe it was bad timing or good old luck of the right person finding it and telling two friends...CONCLUSIONSo if you want to make money, you need to solve a problem. Think about everything you buy. Be it clothes, food, netflix, etc it all solves a problem. What problem can you solve?I can help at podcastconsultant.com and you can read my monetization secrets at www.profitfromyourpodcast.com/book

Dynamic Content FlavorsPre and Post RollsThis enables you to add dynamic content (ads, or other promotions) at the beginning and end of your show/Mid RollsThis enables you to content  (ads, or other promotions) anywhere in your show (you select where, and the content is inserted)The dynamic part is you can change the content later and it will update all the episodes that have "Spots." Dynamic Ad CompaniesWhen I did the research for my book I used a dynamic ad insertion company that put generic ads into my show. It paid .0017 per episode. If you have 2000 downloads that calculates to $3.40 (so these only work for people with HUGE audiences. Things to Think AboutYou need to get consistent with your recording volume as you want the dynamic content to  be the same volume as the rest of the episode. You need to think about how you are going to lead into the content and come out of it. You can leave a very small space as when you pick the spot you can go down to millisecond precision. Don't have "new toy" system and drive away listeners with too many spots.Companies That Offer Dynamic ContentBuzzsprout (pre and post roll)Captivate (pre, post, and midrolls)Libsyn (ore, post, mid, and geographic targeting enterprise solution)Blubrry (enterprise solution)Red Circle (pre, post, mid)Need Help Growing Your Podcast?Join the School of Podcasting

There are some things you may regret doing in podcasting.Compare your show to others (always a bad idea - instead focus on your podcastTrack how much time you are actually spending creating an episode (it's longer than you think)Use "Shoutouts" as a reward. This takes up time in your episode that used to be content, and in my case, I hadn't stipulated who could or could not be someone I should shout out. You always assume everything thinks like you. They don't. I would never go on a podcast where someone is a podcast consultant and attempt to get people to sign up for the School of Podcasting. Now, I have been on many shows about podcasting because the host asked me to be a guest. Even with an invite, I try to provide information that will help people be better podcasters. I rarely feel I blatantly ask people to join the School of Podcasting. However, other people (and I don't believe this was malicious) wanted to support me by promoting their service that was in direct competition with my services. I've never seen a McDonald's advertisement that ends with, "And if you like onion rings - check out Burger King." As these people are my supporters (and in many cases friends) this gets awkward. Consequently, I've added a line that anyone who can be considered a competitor to what I offer, I reserve the right to not accept your support and not promote my competition on my own show. When I Did The MathSomeone was paying $20/month or $5/episode where they were consumed by 700 listeners. If this was an advertisement that calculates to $7.14 for 1000 downloads. The average right now is around $25. They should be paying me $18 an episode, not $20 a month. As always the choice is yours. I just wanted you to consider:"shoutouts" don't scale and take up valuable space in your episodeYour competition may choose to advertise on your show ( so put a disclaimer in place)Work With MeYou can buy my book Profit From Your Podcast. You can schedule a podcast strategy call. You can join the School of Podcasting 

You've come up with an idea for a course. You put together some videos, pdf, and more, but you're worried about putting out the money for something like Teachable. You are pondering using something like Udemy, but then the only way you can contact your customers is through Udemy. I found out about Membervault and I love their business model. You can use if for free up to your 100th customer. Then it's only $19/month. This provides a great way to have a website, course tool, and community tool all in one for free. Is there a catch? Kind of... You need to provide the videos. So you could use something like Vimeo ($7/month) or you could create a YouTube channel and have all the videos listed as unlisted (somewhat "security through obscurity). Then later once you have proof of concept, you can move to a different solution if you want to go bigger. Membervalut has its own unique feature set in that they have a Marketplace to promote your course, and the tool is drop-dead easy. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEMembervaultVimeoTeachableCircle.soProfit From Your Podcast Book

Selling is 90% mental. I used to teach sales many moons ago. When I work with clients who have products and services to sell, when I listen to their podcast their pitch sounds like this:"Hey, like if you need, I mean you don't have to, but, like, if you kinda want to, you can maybe, like, go to, you know, my website (then said so fast you can't understand it)."When I ask people why they did that they said they felt "Salesy." This typically is based on a bad stereotype of some sleazy used car salesman from the 1970s who is selling you a bucket of bolts that is going to barely make it off the car lot.Your podcast is not a bucket of bolts so shift your thoughts from "Selling" to "Helping" or "Informing." You just need to find the right people who need your products and services. When someone says no, then they weren't your target customer.I had a friend who was bummed she wasn't getting any speaking gigs. She never mentioned it once in her podcast. It doesn't have to be a giant pitch. It could be as simple as, "I was speaking at a high school and one of the students came up and asked me a question and I thought, "That would be a great topic for a podcast episode." With just that one sentence, your audience now knows you speak to high school kids. If you are looking to make money with your podcast check out my book, "Profit from your podcast."If you need help launching or growing your podcast, schedule a session today or join the community at schoolofpodcasting.com/start