Many podcasters start with the hope that downloads and sponsors will magically appear — but if you want your show to make money, you need more than wishful thinking.
This episode walks through the three essential “I’s” to transform a podcast from a casual hobby into a revenue-generating asset:
- Intention (know your audience and improve quality)
- Investment (put resources into the right tools and talent)
- Iteratipon (get feedback, refine, and make your show something worth paying for).
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Description written by ChatGPT based on the transcript
00:00:02 --> 00:00:06 Welcome to the Streamlines Podcaster, a podcast
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 that shows you how to put the right systems in
00:00:08 --> 00:00:12 place so you can stop spinning your wheels, focus
00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 on making great content and see your show grow.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 Because there's nothing worse than putting a
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 ton of effort into your show to see very few
00:00:20 --> 00:00:24 benefits and even fewer downloads. My name is
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 Joe Casabona and I know you're strapped for time.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:31 So let's get into it. Something that I observe
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 with a lot of podcasters is when they start out,
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 they say something to the effect of, yeah, so
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 I figure I'll just launch and get a bunch of
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 downloads and then hopefully sponsors will reach
00:00:42 --> 00:00:46 out. And that's just simply not the case. As
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 somebody who's been podcasting for over 10 years,
00:00:48 --> 00:00:52 who has had brand deals for over 10 years, and
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 who is an active sponsor coach for the Wizards
00:00:55 --> 00:01:00 Guild, Justin Moore's thing. I can tell you that
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 sponsors are not just going to reach out and
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 you probably aren't going to get a bunch of downloads
00:01:06 --> 00:01:10 right off the bat. Now there is also a distinction
00:01:10 --> 00:01:15 right between people who want to support their
00:01:15 --> 00:01:20 business with a podcast and people who start
00:01:20 --> 00:01:24 a podcast for the love of the game and so If
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 you're looking to support your business with
00:01:26 --> 00:01:31 your podcasts, I have episodes like Tiaran and
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 Thought Pieces over at streamlinedpodcaster .com.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 And I'll probably put out more of that because
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 I think a lot about that. But if you have started
00:01:39 --> 00:01:47 your podcast as a hobby and you want to maybe
00:01:47 --> 00:01:51 turn it into a stream of income, I think that
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 there is a path to that. But I think you really
00:01:54 --> 00:01:59 need to switch contexts, right? I love playing
00:01:59 --> 00:02:06 the drums. And I am very aware that it is a hobby
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 for me. I don't think I'm good enough to play
00:02:08 --> 00:02:12 live. I think I'm barely good enough to play
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 with other people, but I also don't care to do
00:02:15 --> 00:02:20 that, right? There's like Rod Stewart famously
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 uh does model trains but does not do them very
00:02:24 --> 00:02:29 well and the idea behind that and and other things
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 like that is that you know a hobby could be something
00:02:31 --> 00:02:35 that you don't do well enough for people to want
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 to pay you and that's what the drums is for me
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 i don't want to turn drums into a job i want
00:02:41 --> 00:02:45 to keep that for me and it can be for me and
00:02:45 --> 00:02:47 maybe your podcast is the same way maybe you're
00:02:47 --> 00:02:51 really passionate about Disney or Star Wars or
00:02:51 --> 00:02:55 coffee mugs or Lego or model trains and you just
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 want an outlet to talk about it and if other
00:02:57 --> 00:03:02 people enjoy that then they can follow along.
00:03:03 --> 00:03:08 But if you start your podcast off as a hobby
00:03:08 --> 00:03:12 and you have a little bit of intention to turn
00:03:12 --> 00:03:17 it in to a stream of income then again the mindset
00:03:17 --> 00:03:21 shift needs to change. So let's go back to me
00:03:21 --> 00:03:25 playing the drums. Let's say tomorrow I decide
00:03:25 --> 00:03:30 I want to, I actually want to make this a job.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:36 I want to get paid to be a drummer. My approach
00:03:36 --> 00:03:42 has to change because right now my approach is
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 I have an electric drum set The cymbals don't
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 work as well as they should. I need to probably
00:03:48 --> 00:03:53 replace them or fix them. And it's like not really
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 fully optimized for me to play well. It's good
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 enough. You know, it's good enough for me to
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 just go for a half hour or 40 minutes and just
00:04:01 --> 00:04:06 play along with songs. And I do have a drums
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 playlist. I'll teach myself a new song every
00:04:08 --> 00:04:13 once in a while. But it's mostly a set of 20
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 to 30 songs that I like to play and I just put
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 the playlist on random and I play for a half
00:04:18 --> 00:04:22 hour. Some of those songs I don't even play right,
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 like play correctly, right? I just play along
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 to them in such a way that I'm keeping the beat
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 and it's fun. And I do, you know, I do try to
00:04:29 --> 00:04:34 learn new songs. But again, when I try to learn
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 new songs, I don't know how to read music. At
00:04:37 --> 00:04:38 least I don't know how to read it very well.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 And so I'll usually listen, I'll learn by ear
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 and it takes me longer and I'll probably play
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 it incorrectly, but I'll play it through and
00:04:46 --> 00:04:50 pick up new things as I'm playing. That's a fine
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 approach for a hobby, right? But if I wanted
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 to be a professional drummer, I would have to
00:04:56 --> 00:05:00 start playing for, I'm gonna say two to three
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 hours a day. I'm actually gonna have to learn
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 the songs. I'm not saying I have to learn how
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 to read music. But I'm gonna have to learn how
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 to play them the right way, especially songs
00:05:11 --> 00:05:14 that are more distinctive, right? If I learn
00:05:14 --> 00:05:19 how to play In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins,
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 you know, I need to play that correctly. It's
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 got iconic drums in it. If I'm just playing like
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 generic punk song by one of the many bands I
00:05:28 --> 00:05:33 used to listen to and still listen to, then it's
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 less crucial that I play the drums exactly right.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 octopus's garden like I gotta play that I know
00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 how to play that so I get but I gotta play that
00:05:40 --> 00:05:44 right right so I'm gonna need to properly learn
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 how to play those songs I'm gonna have to invest
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 a lot more time I'm going to have to get a better
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 drum set cuz like again right now the drum set
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 I have is fine for the way I'm playing but it's
00:05:55 --> 00:05:59 not fine -tuned the cymbals or things just sound
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 a little bit off but it's good enough for me
00:06:01 --> 00:06:05 to play as a hobby The same thing goes for if
00:06:05 --> 00:06:10 you are switching your podcast from a hobby to
00:06:10 --> 00:06:14 a source of income. You can't really take the
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 approach of, ah, let's just hit record and see
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 what happens. You need to go in with a plan.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 You need to understand who your podcast helps
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 and why people listen to your podcast, whether
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 that is for entertainment purposes or to learn
00:06:28 --> 00:06:33 something or for some other reason, right? No
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 matter what, your podcast solves a problem. If
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 you're like, oh, well, this is really just entertainment.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 Entertainment solves problems, right? You know,
00:06:41 --> 00:06:45 I will watch when I'm sad or having a bad day,
00:06:45 --> 00:06:52 I will watch Friends because, you know, 196 of
00:06:52 --> 00:06:56 the 200 plus episodes are not heavy episodes.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 They are just funny, high jinks, sitcom things
00:06:59 --> 00:07:04 happen. And it helps me forget. Right? So you
00:07:04 --> 00:07:09 need to think about what your podcast, what problem
00:07:09 --> 00:07:12 your podcast solves, why people listen to your
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 podcast. And there are actually, I have three
00:07:15 --> 00:07:20 eyes for changing your podcast from a hobby to
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 a source of income. The first is intentionality.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:29 Like I was saying, you need to be intentional
00:07:29 --> 00:07:34 with your show. Determine who you're talking
00:07:34 --> 00:07:40 to. Make the sound quality better. Have an actual
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 outline for the show. Don't just say, oh, it's
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 totally unstructured. We're just going to have
00:07:45 --> 00:07:49 a raw conversation. Because that's not good enough
00:07:49 --> 00:07:53 for a podcast where you want it to generate income,
00:07:53 --> 00:07:57 especially now. Right. You know, with Wondery
00:07:57 --> 00:08:01 closing or with the layoffs at Wondery. I think
00:08:01 --> 00:08:07 a lot of people are trying to figure out where
00:08:07 --> 00:08:12 exactly podcasting lives. And I think it's somewhere
00:08:12 --> 00:08:17 between raw unedited conversation that sounds
00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 like it was recorded in a bathroom stall and
00:08:20 --> 00:08:26 highly produced cinematic quality audio. It's
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 somewhere in between there, right? Because the
00:08:28 --> 00:08:33 cinematic quality audio, the level of effort
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 for those wondery shows has clearly not borne
00:08:36 --> 00:08:41 out as a worthwhile investment. But the crappy
00:08:41 --> 00:08:45 shows aren't good either. So you need to be intentional
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 about who you help and the quality of the show
00:08:47 --> 00:08:51 you're putting together. The second I, related
00:08:51 --> 00:08:55 to the first I, is invest. They say you got to
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 spend money to make money and ideally you're
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 going to spend a lot less money than you make
00:09:00 --> 00:09:04 but in the beginning you are going to have to
00:09:04 --> 00:09:09 invest a little bit in What you're doing hire
00:09:09 --> 00:09:14 an editor Get better software Maybe if you're
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 putting the show on YouTube hire a thumbnail
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 person get a better microphone Sound quality
00:09:19 --> 00:09:24 matters, right? So invest a little bit to show
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 people that you actually care about the show.
00:09:27 --> 00:09:31 And the third I is iterate. When you're doing
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 a hobby, right? Again, if I'm going back to my
00:09:33 --> 00:09:37 drums example, I'm not iterating that much. I
00:09:37 --> 00:09:39 learned a bunch of songs when I was a teenager.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 I played them when I went off to college. I didn't
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 bring my drum set with me for a million reasons.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 But then Rock Band came out and I actually learned
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 a bunch of songs thanks to Rock Band and my friend
00:09:50 --> 00:09:54 and my housemate John. John Kelly, shout out.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 He brought his drum set because he was a drummer
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 too, a much better drummer than me. He brought
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 his drum set and put it in the basement of our
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 house. And he told me I could play it whenever
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 I wanted. And so I ended up learning a bunch
00:10:07 --> 00:10:10 of new songs thanks to Rock Band and John Kelly.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:17 And, you know, now I'm approaching 40 and I've
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 learned a few new songs, but I'm not really iterating.
00:10:19 --> 00:10:25 I'm just doing it for fun. But if you are investing
00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 in your show, if you're being intentional, the
00:10:27 --> 00:10:32 third I is iterate. Make the show better by getting
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 feedback, by figuring out what's working and
00:10:35 --> 00:10:41 not working, and just improving to make it something
00:10:41 --> 00:10:46 that people want to invest in, right? Make it
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 something people want to give you money for.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:54 Whether that is through sponsors, or other ads
00:10:54 --> 00:10:58 or hiring you to do something or buying your
00:10:58 --> 00:11:06 product. So intentional, invest, iterate. If
00:11:06 --> 00:11:11 you want to take your podcast from hobby to income
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 generator, those are the three things you need
00:11:13 --> 00:11:16 to do. I'd love to hear from you. Do you have
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 a hobby podcast that you want to start making
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 money from? Let me know what you think. You can
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 send your feedback over at streamlinedfeedback
00:11:24 --> 00:11:28 .com. That's streamlined with a D, feedback .com.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 Thanks so much for listening, and until next
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 time, I hope you find some space in your week.