That's why you have a podcast. That's great, but don't let it take away from your day job. Unfortunately, unless you're Ricky Gervais, making money from podcasting can be a little more difficult. If you are Ricky Gervais: A.) Can I get a loan? B.) Can I be a guest on the new video podcast?
So why aren't there more podcast millionaires? Most podcasts don't have the audience to generate significant ad revenue. Another problem is that as podcasting grows, so the number of shows targeting the same audience is not the same. Larger and more successful podcasts can generate revenue by charging a subscription fee for their shows or charging for a back catalog of shows. With the exception of The Wall Street Journal and Consumer Reports, most large corporations have not been able to sell enough subscriptions to their Web-based content to turn a profit. Apparently, just having a recognizable brand is not enough to sell subscriptions.
The key is to find ways to make podcasts interesting and effective. Businesses today use podcasting as a marketing tool to attract customers in the same way that blogs influence other businesses. There's no reason why podcasts can't be profitable. For example, if you see a herd of llamas, it's possible (though not impossible) that 2000 llama enthusiasts will subscribe. If you have good marketing, advertising can be useful for you. Who's to say, if a talented podcaster has amassed 7,000 listeners interested in basket weaving, why wouldn't a basket weaving company want to advertise to that audience? Finding podcasts with key quality content and advertisers who need to reach that specific audience. What is really needed is a variety of players to help viewers and advertisers find each other.
Another challenge is getting web users to find and subscribe to podcasts. Even though it seems like everyone knows about podcasting, there are still many people who don't. Geoff Ralston, Yahoo's Chief Product Officer, made this point in an interview last year. "... The truth is, what we want to do at Yahoo is get podcasting into the mainstream, and for that to happen, people need to learn about it. So we've created a site that's very easy to learn, and like I said, you can finally find podcasts everywhere on Yahoo. So, when you read the news that millions of people do on Yahoo every week and every day, you'll know podcasts and know the podcast experience of the site and really start to introduce you to the community of podcasters. It's a community! One of the key aspects of Yahoo Podcasts is that the community is its strength and gives the site that feel. The site also allows people to rate podcasts, giving people the ability to find podcasts that are important to them."
Podcasting is still a new medium, so there is a lot of room for growth and change. The real key to making money with podcasting is to find ways to use traditional methods of income generation along with new methods. The key to a young industry like podcasting is to not be afraid to experiment, adapt to new business models, or create your own. So Ricky Gervais might have an easier time making money, but that doesn't mean anyone else can.
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