While advertising is the most popular way of monetizing, there are other forms of making money with your podcast. Have you ever heard of podcasts behind a paywall?
Just because most podcasts are free to listeners, it doesn't mean that all podcasts have to be free. In addition to your regular content, consider creating additional premium content that your listeners can access upon paying a certain amount of money. Monetization via exclusive content can be a great additional revenue stream for your podcast!
In addition to placing premium content behind a paywall, you can also offer your listeners an ongoing premium membership or podcast subscription that grants them access to a lot of exclusive content or benefits. Here are a few ideas just for you to get inspired: episode notes, merchandising, discount in specific shops, a monthly group call with your premium listeners, and so on!
If you are a dedicated Podcaster who wishes to earn revenue from your Podcast series, then Patreon comes to your rescue.
This article walks you through how to start monetizing your Spreaker podcasts with Patreon and podcast subscriptions.
Patreon
Patreon is a service that can help you make money online. It links people who are already creating podcasts with an audience who would be interested in subscribing to a podcast. If you join Patreon, your fans can pay either per month or episode to listen to your podcasts.
1) Publish a new episode with Limited Access
To publish a podcast episode on Patreon, you need to set its visibility to Limited Access and use the limited access link provided by Spreaker to submit your podcast episode.
Head to your Spreaker CMS with your computer;
Select your podcast;
Click on the episode you want to give limited access to;
Set the visibility of the episode to "Limited Access," as shown in the image below.
Refer to this article for an extensive explanation of podcasts/episodes visibility.
2) Grab the Limited Access Link
Get back to your podcast episodes list, and you'll see the episodes with limited access visibility marked with a red label Limited Access. To get the Limited Access link, all you have to do is click on the share icon of the episode (see image below) and then Copy Limited Access Link.
3) Make the link accessible on Patreon
When signing up on Patreon, you'll be asked to set up your profile page with a user image, cover art, and a description. Once you're ready, follow the steps below:
Create a post and choose the post type "Audio."
Paste the link copied at step 2 into the audio URL text box, and you will see your podcast image displayed in the AUDIO box area.
Enrich your post with a title, description, and tags to help users know more about your podcast.
Click on Publish now button, and the post containing your podcast episode will show on your Patreon profile page.
4) Time to promote your Patreon account, and get more paying listeners
All of the people willing to listen to your limited-access podcast episodes on Patreon need to pay a type of subscription, so do start promoting your
Patreon profile page URL everywhere (eg: social media, blog, newsletters, etc.) and encourage people to subscribe to your exclusive content.