If you’re going into podcasting to get rich, stop and think a minute.
That’s advice from Karen Tricot Steward, producer of the true crime “Burden” podcast and another podcast featuring two physicians from Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
“If money is your No. 1 goal, I think it’s going to probably be pretty hard for you,” the former public radio broadcaster said. “Because Joe Rogan and the big people like that are few and far between. And podcasting requires a lot of dedication. ”
Don’t think Steward is trying to be discouraging. She and Ti King of Little Rock created a nonprofit to help people start podcasts or promote existing ones, the Arkansas Podcast Collaborative. The collaborative has a website, arkansaspodcasters.org, and hosts annual podcast festivals called Arkast. It also launched a regular podcast called “Arkast,” featuring Arkansas podcasters and industry experts.
King leads American Business Engine, a digital marketing company, and launched a new podcast, “Longterm,” last month. It focuses on addiction recovery services available in Arkansas.
“We want Arkansas podcasters to succeed, but there are different ways to measure success,” he said. “If your podcast is about miniature Shetland ponies, there’s probably not going to be a huge audience. But if you get 12 listeners, and those are the exact people that you are trying to target, somebody else may be trying to target them with a product, and they will absolutely be interested in sponsoring your podcast.”
Podcasters have various ways to monetize their work, King said. Patreon, a platform that lets patrons financially support creators they admire, is one option. “Or you can go through systems like Acast [a Swedish company providing hosting, monetization and growth support] or even Spotify as a podcast platform and they will run ads during your podcast,” King said.
“But if you want to be more specific, there’s absolutely money to be made in starting a podcast, getting your listener numbers up, and going to present that to businesses that you think would absolutely benefit from sponsoring your podcast.”
The pitch? “Hey, I have the audience you’re trying to capture,” King said. “They’re already listening to my podcast.”
Sign up for Daily E-news
