How to Start a Podcast on Spotify and Make Money?
Podcasting is a great niche for those who want to create, share thoughts, and talk about something important. People may get inspired by someone’s show and create their own product. Moreover, if the podcast brings a solid income, individuals probably want to monetize their podcasts.
Achieving this won’t happen fast. You need to understand what the podcast is, how to create your own unique show, and how to make it attractive. Also, you should learn about the existing monetization methods and implement them in your show. Doing this yourself may be complicated unless you have an instruction with every step explained. Keep reading as we will explain how to start a podcast on Spotify and make money.
What is a podcast?
First, let’s clarify the definition of a podcast. Generally, a podcast means one person or several people speaking on a microphone in the location of choice. The author uses a static microphone or even a phone microphone. Podcast usually covers trending topics that are important for the audience or author.
Basically, the podcast should have two basic elements: an idea and the person who will voice this idea. However, now, when video podcasts are also trending on Spotify, people make video recordings of their episodes on Spotify. This is a new experience because the audience not only listens but also sees the author and understands their emotions much better.
Is Video Podcast Worth Trying?
Video podcasts are a significant difference from the classic version of the show because the author gets visual engagement with the audience. People use visual elements to express themselves. Facial expression, body language, and surroundings create the effect of presence, so people can literally join the author and the guests. There’s a step-by-step guide that shows what tools you can use and what your final product could look like.
Also, video podcasts are easier to promote. You can use a short fragment of your show and share it on social media or other platforms to reach a wider audience. Moreover, video podcasts are free on Spotify, so don’t need to pay extra to change the format of your show. Still, if you only begin your activity as an author, it would be wise to start a podcast in audio format. When you build a regular audience and start getting more streams, you can think about switching to video format.
Is Spotify a Good Platform for Podcast Recording?
On Spotify, you are not just adding a podcast episode to your account. On this platform, you can customize, distribute, analyze, and promote your show to get access to monetization tools and increase your income. What’s more, starting a podcast on Spotify is completely free so you can start immediately.
Starting a Podcast: Choose a Topic
Once you decide to start a podcast, the first thing you need to do is to select a topic. It might seem simple at first, but when you start thinking about what interests you the most, you may get confused. To make it easier, give answers to these questions:
- What do you like to talk about?
- What do you want to talk about?
- Is the topic huge enough to be discussed in a podcast?
If you are confused about the topic, even after giving clear answers to these questions, get some advice about selecting the theme for your show. For example, you should focus on the story only you can tell. Get a topic and cover it from your own perspective. For example, if you love soccer and feel like you know it better than anyone else, it’s your chance to succeed. Start a podcast and tell about the most memorable moments in the history of this game, name the most valuable players from every league, and cover the history of several football clubs.
Determine a Podcast Format
There are several podcast formats to choose from. You can do everything solo or find co-hosts to work together. Do you want to make it in the form of a discussion or an interview? Maybe you want to go into storytelling?
One of the most common formats you can find today on broadcasting platforms is a roundtable podcast. It’s a show with multiple co-hosts and guests moderated by a single host. Such shows are more loosely structured than interview podcasts. The show can start as an interview and then switch into discussion as the topic evolves and people keep sharing ideas.
There is also a reformative podcast. It is basically an audio version of a video content or a written content. If an author has already published a video on YouTube, he or she transforms it into an audio version and publishes it on Spotify.
There are more podcast formats to choose from. Each option has benefits and challenges, so you should analyze each one and decide which one you want to have for your future shows.
Consider the audience
Defining your ideal listener is the initial step when starting a podcast. Once you understand who will listen to you, you will understand how to approach them, improve your performance, and increase the number of streams. Below are three things you should consider to build better connections with listeners:
- The niche you select for podcasting
- Types of people who are interested in your product
- The best ways for you to reach them
You should also do market research to understand what listeners want to hear. Ask them about their preferences by making polls on social media. Another option for you is to analyze similar podcasts. Do this to get some insights and fresh ideas. Maybe you will come up with something that will significantly increase audience engagement and give you a higher number of listeners.
There are more tactics you can use to work with your audience and improve your performance on Spotify.
Make your podcast memorable
Your podcast won’t be attractive only because you select a specific niche and add something interesting to your episodes. One of the keys how to make money on Spotify podcast is to customize them.
Think of an unusual name. It should describe your content and be short at the same time. Don’t go beyond 20 characters because short names are easy to remember. Write in direct language and add a couple of intriguing makers so the listeners will immediately press on your podcast as soon as they see it.
Create an intro and an outro that will play in every episode. It doesn’t need to be something special; even a short sound will be enough. Later, when you get more listeners and publish a couple of episodes, you can change both parts by asking someone to create an authentic music intro and outro. Below is an example of a short and impressive podcast intro.
How to earn money on podcasts?
Now, to the most valuable part. When you already have your podcast ready, you need to make it reach as many listeners as possible, so you need to promote and distribute it. Since you selected Spotify as the main platform for your product, you need an effective Spotify promotion. Besides paid services, you can share links to your podcast on social media. The link should also be pinned in the bio of your account. When people access the page, they see the link immediately, and some of them will definitely go and check it out. Also, create a separate playlist with all your podcast episodes so people will easily find the needed parts.
Another thing to do is to select a category for your podcast. Do it carefully, as the topic should exactly match the topic of the show. There is also an option to select a subcategory to simplify the search, so users will find your podcast much faster.
Get featured
Another powerful method of promoting your Spotify podcast is to get it featured. You can get featured on a category page or on the main podcast page. This method is 100% free.
To get featured on Spotify, you need to make your show noticeable by being active on social media and cooperating with other podcast creators. You should also engage with your audience by sending them announcements about new episodes.
Next, you should fill out the Editorial Submission Form, which is available only for US-based Spotify users. Ensure you answered all the questions accurately and give a link to your best episode. Keep in mind that lots of authors want to get promoted, so make your application notable.
The negative thing is that you won’t get notified about appearing in the featured section. You will only see the difference in statistics when reviewing your analytics. You can also open the featured section on Spotify and find your podcast.
Get Sponsorship
One of the most effective ways to monetize your Podcast is promotion. You get compensation for making advertisements in your podcasts. You will have your unique link, and when people will buy something via this link, you will receive payments. Depending on your agreement with a sponsor, the amount of payment per sale may change.
Offer exclusive content
Another option of how to earn on how to make money on Spotify podcasts is to create content for premium subscribers. It could be an addition to existing episodes or a brand new section where you describe the topic from a completely different angle. Manage the price for the Premium subscription yourself, but don’t go too far. The average price of a monthly subscription is around $5.
To learn more about effective Spotify podcast monetization, watch the video below.
Who earned the most on Spotify Podcasts?
The most profitable podcast on Spotify in 2023 is “The Joe Rogan Experience.” His income per episode is around $75,000. The overall income from the podcast equals $10.8 million annually. Additionally, Rogan signed an exclusive deal with Spotify, reportedly worth $100 million.
Another podcast that is worth mentioning in our article is “My Favorite Murder,” hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. This true-crime podcast reached a combined net worth of more than $40 million. Moreover, they’ve launched a new podcast network that will significantly increase their income.
