Episode 23: When To Monetize Your Podcast

Welcome to the Healthy Profits podcast. I'm your host, Ray Ireland, and today we're going to be going into when is the perfect time to start monetizing your podcast. A lot of people have come up to me knowing that I have a podcast production agency knowing that we focus on monetization, and they ask, I'm at this point, I have this many downloads, but when can I start monetizing? They come up and ask, I have this vision, but at what point can I start monetizing this show? And so that's what I'm going to go into today, is telling you the exact time in which you can start monetizing your podcast, really getting it out there and seeing it return back to you in the form of cash flow, abundance, clients, and building your business. So are you guys ready for that? Let's dive in. So I know that there are people out there that have this dream, have this vision, and maybe you have even started the podcast, started the dream of having this amazing, globally, globally reaching show that is just getting your message out there, sharing your story, inspiring thousands and hundreds of thousands of people, and yet you're still waiting to pull the trigger on monetizing your show. I'm going to tell you right now, right here, that you're missing something that is so key and so important in actually growing that impact that you are desiring to have. The reason why you started your podcast. No one is starting their podcast just to reach a few people or make a few new clients. No, people that are starting podcasts are really ready to put something big out into the world. So if you do not have your monetization plan in place and you know your start date for your monetization plan, then you are missing a huge piece of your foundation, really. So I want to share with you a story because I was. I was speaking on podcast monetization at an event and this girl came up to me afterwards and she comes up and she's so excited to talk. And she starts telling me about her show, how she's been doing it for about a year and a half, how she has about 4,000 downloads coming in a show. And she says, and looks at me straight in the eyes and says, I know I'm probably not ready to monetize it yet, but at what point can I be? And she. And I say, well, where are you at? What do you think? And she goes, well, I have about 4,000 downloads per show and I probably need like about 10,000 to monetize, right? Like per episode. And I looked at her. And it made me flash back to the start of my podcast five years ago. And I started my podcast when I had my coaching business. It was on its way to six figures, not quite there yet, but we were having a lot of great momentum. Clients, people coming to me. I started the podcast with the hopes of, yes, I want to monetize. But honestly, the main intention of that podcast was just to get my stuff out there to a wider audience and to really serve that bigger mission, that bigger impact. And so the monetization piece was actually just sort of a cherry on top. And when I started the podcast, I actually noticed, because I was working with an incredible team that just in that little bit of advertisement and promotion of the podcast, it really elevated my positioning. And so it was actually within the first month of releasing my new podcast and the episodes that were, yes, geared and aligned with my coaching business at the time. It was within the first month that I saw new clients coming in. And almost immediately from the promotions I was doing on social media, from my podcast. So, yes, it wasn't a totally direct route, but it was because I had the podcast, and I took clips of the podcast, put it on my social media, and people started seeing that it elevated my positioning almost immediately. And clients came in. And so this girl is standing in front of me because at that point, I was just receiving less than a hundred downloads per episode that I was releasing. I really didn't have a huge following. I was just starting out. And what is so amazing is that I was able to have that experience in this very, like, organic, fun way where my podcast is monetizing right from the start. Even though I didn't have this huge audience, I didn't have all the downloads, I didn't have all those pieces. I just was speaking directly to my client, and they knew that, and they knew that I had what they were looking for. So this girl, you know, is sharing these stats, her stats, with me, and I'm thinking back to myself, back to what I experienced, and I'm thinking, oh, my gosh, if you're at 4,000 downloads per episode, I actually start thinking about all the people that she's not helping out. That's a lot of people, 4,000 people that are listening to each of her episodes. And my head goes there. And of course, you don't want it to freak anyone out, But I just looked at her and I was like, we need to get on a call. Because I never want someone to miss these opportunities that are obviously just sitting in your lap for a Reason. And there's a certain level of depth in which you can help people change and transform and give them the proper tools that they need to have the results that they want in their life, whether this is in health or wellness or personal development, whatever sector, but especially for people that are in health and wellness, because you actually have a certain amount of time that if someone has an issue, there's a certain amount of time that they have until the issue gets worse and worse and worse, right? And we all know this. We've all been there where we don't take care of the cold, and then it turns into something worse, the flu. And then maybe you're a kid and all of a sudden you're playing outside, now you have pneumonia and it gets worse and worse and worse. And we've all seen that happen. And so with health and wellness specifically, I just, I feel like there's this responsibility that we all need to hold, which is this beautiful timeline in terms of we don't have time to waste. For those that are listening to your downloads, whether it be five people, a hundred people, a thousand people, or 4,000 people, they are ready to take action. And you need to give them that opportunity to dive deeper into your world, deeper into your offerings. And if you actually don't create the bridge, they're not going to know where to go. They're going to be stuck in and sitting in this cycle of your podcast, which is obviously a great place. Obviously you're going to be sharing so much information there, but they're, they're missing the transformation of going deeper and getting that deeper support and of really even asking for that deeper support. They might not even know where to begin, where to ask, who to ask. And if you don't present that opportunity to them, they might be passing it up. So this is why I needed to share that story, because I think it really puts it into perspective on our hearts, right? And what are we prioritizing in our business, in the things that we're putting out there? Are you prioritizing, monetizing from the start? Right? People hold onto these ideas for so long and maybe it's also because you don't see that full vision of how you can truly heal someone and take them from A to B. I encourage you in this episode, while you're listening, think about that full vision of what, how someone can come to you in such a broke down way, searching for answers like really, truly in a desperate place, needing someone that is trustworthy and full of integrity, full of wisdom and tools and Resources to say, here's my hand, take it. And that's truly the opportunity that you get to give someone. And so what is the possibility for your podcast? Where. Where are your biggest visions in terms of where you can take it, how many people you can help, the ways you can help them? Is it through private mentorship and guiding them through this very personal journey, or is it through courses and programs that you've developed and poured so much into that then they can do it at a discounted rate to be able to get the wisdom that you've learned about for so many years, all this training that you have as health and wellness experts, it is meant to be out in the hands of people that need it, not just sitting in your own hands, in your own heart. So I want you to just think about, like, how many people could I be reaching? Why is it important that I share my podcast now? What would I do if I had a whole new revenue model built from my podcast streaming revenue into my business and into my mission? Would I grow my team? Would I do more outreach? Would I do more marketing to get my information in front of the right people? These are the kind of questions that I want you to start thinking about. And you'll start realizing there's no time to waste. So now is the time to monetize wherever you're at. It was actually yesterday, everyone, just so you know, but it's now. Don't wait for tomorrow to come, because the people that are on the other side don't necessarily have that either. And that's a big statement. Maybe not everyone's in that sort of desperation, but shouldn't we all be? Because even just not living our best life, that's. And then you have the keys to helping someone feel just even a little bit better so they can wake up in the day, enjoy their day, enjoy their loved ones, enjoy their work. You literally have the keys to change someone's life. So I want you to be building this proper foundation for your podcast with the thoughts of it monetizing. Because when you're thinking about how is this going to monetize, I want you to imagine if I'm monetizing this, that is creating deeper transformation for those on the other side. That's what that means. That's what this conversation is about. It's not about necessarily you raking in all this money and going and buying yourself a mansion or whatever. That is the cherry on top, right? That is the cherry on top. After helping so X amount of people, thousands of people, hundreds and thousands of people, millions of people. And this is all possible. These are possible numbers that you can reach within your podcast. So actually, in the next episode, we're going to be going into is podcasting too busy, too popular now? So we'll be able to show you like, actually, it is totally possible for you to be reaching these types of big numbers, especially if you're in the health and wellness space. So stay tuned for that. It's going to be an incredible episode. But, you know, the last thing I'll leave you with is we reverse engineer things to create something amazing to create your business. I'm sure at some point you had a mentor sit down with you and help you reverse engineer where you wanted to be and where you're at now. So why wouldn't we do that with our podcast? When the vision is big enough, you will take the time to set the foundation. To be clear, right, you're not going to take a mansion and build it on a lake. You're going to take a mansion and you're going to figure out where's a good, solid ground for me to build this house. Same thing goes with your podcast. This is an entire house. It's not just like a window or the out outside of your front door. Some people think of it in that sort of way where it's this, like, hobby add on, oh, I'm going to do this as a charity act. If you take it more seriously, your listeners will take you more seriously. From this call. If you get inspired, take that action. Make sure you have your monetization plan in place. Of course, we have tons of episodes on the show that will show you exactly how to make that monetization plan and the tweaks that you can do for your specific audience and all of that great stuff. If you have an idea that you want to run by us, of course, come let us know. Get yourself a podcast audit call and we'll dive into your whole game plan with you to make sure that you really are building your podcast on a solid foundation. Anyways, that's all for now. I will see you guys soon. Bye now.

That was a great episode. Thanks for joining us and tuning in to the Healthy Profits podcast.

Sami and I are here to help you turn your health podcast into a treasure trove of opportunity for your listeners and your business. So join us twice a week as we unleash our favorite tips and strategies that have helped our clients at Evolve Podcasting turn their show into a thriving part of their business.

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