Monetization is a super common problem for many podcasters. Most think they'll start a podcast, get a bunch of downloads, and sponsors will come looking for them.
That is almost never the case — nor is it the case that sponsorship is the only option. And what I LOVE sponsorship. After all, I'm a sponsorship coach for my friend Justin, and RSS.com, for whom I'm the evangelist, just launched our PAID feature to make ads easier than ever.
But depending on the goal of your podcast, you might seek other monetization paths. That's why I came up with the CAMPS framework:
- Coaching
- Affiliates
- Membership
- Products
- Sponsorship
Listen to learn more!
Read the full article here: CAMPS: Updating the Podcast Monetization Framework
Also check out:
- RSS.com to learn about PAID, our dynamic ads feature
- Wizard's Guild for sponsorship coaching
00:00:02 --> 00:00:06 Welcome to the streamlined 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. My podcast has undergone
00:00:31 --> 00:00:35 a lot of changes over the last six months to
00:00:35 --> 00:00:40 nine months. I decided to essentially get rid
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44 of two lines of monetization for it, my membership
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 and sponsorship. And while I could get into those
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 in a different episode or, you know, I did cover
00:00:50 --> 00:00:54 them over on streamlinespodcaster .com, it begged
00:00:54 --> 00:00:58 the question, how would I monetize the show in
00:00:58 --> 00:01:03 2025? After all, the primary reason I got into
00:01:03 --> 00:01:08 podcast coaching was my early success in growing
00:01:08 --> 00:01:12 the show and getting sponsors. But I've been
00:01:12 --> 00:01:15 saying for years, longer than I've been friends
00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 with Justin Moore, who I still do sponsorship
00:01:17 --> 00:01:22 coaching for, that sponsorship isn't the easiest
00:01:22 --> 00:01:28 path for small audience podcasters. That to do
00:01:28 --> 00:01:34 it right, it takes work. And while six months
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 after writing these articles, which I wrote a
00:01:37 --> 00:01:41 lot of these for my podcast advent series at
00:01:41 --> 00:01:45 the end of 2024, I am considering bringing back
00:01:45 --> 00:01:49 some sort of membership or community that's less
00:01:49 --> 00:01:53 podcast focused and more outcomes or bringing
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 people together focused. And I'm thinking about
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 doing sponsorship again. because I have a better
00:01:59 --> 00:02:03 handle on who my audience is after dramatically
00:02:03 --> 00:02:08 changing it over the course of 2024. That said,
00:02:09 --> 00:02:13 I still need to monetize this show in some way.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:20 So I decided to revisit my Smash framework, which
00:02:20 --> 00:02:25 I developed in 2020 -2021 to help people understand
00:02:25 --> 00:02:29 how to monetize their podcasts. In fact, the
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 Smash framework was basically the impetus for
00:02:32 --> 00:02:37 me starting a podcasting focused show. If you
00:02:37 --> 00:02:41 go back to episode one of this podcast, it's
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 actually called Make Money Podcasting before
00:02:44 --> 00:02:50 realizing that I I niched down a little bit too
00:02:50 --> 00:02:54 far or too narrowly in a way that a lot of people
00:02:54 --> 00:02:58 were already talking about podcasting. But anyway,
00:02:58 --> 00:03:02 my SMASH framework, SMASH stands for sponsorship,
00:03:03 --> 00:03:07 membership, affiliate links, selling, and helping.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:12 And after using that framework for four years,
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 I realized that there were two problems with
00:03:14 --> 00:03:18 it. It puts sponsorship at the front, making
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 it seem like the best way to monetize. And selling
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 and helping were basically the same thing, which
00:03:24 --> 00:03:30 made the framework hard to explain. So I've decided
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 to revisit this framework and rearrange it. Now,
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 I want to say that sponsorship is still a great
00:03:35 --> 00:03:40 way to monetize. It's a great avenue for podcasters.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 I'm a sponsorship coach for Justin Moore and
00:03:43 --> 00:03:47 his Wizards Guild. But there's no denying that
00:03:47 --> 00:03:51 it has gotten harder. And it requires more work.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:55 I don't think I'm saying anything that is in
00:03:55 --> 00:03:58 contrast with what I teach in Wizards Guild.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 And I suspect that Justin would agree. I mean,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:06 one of the core tenets of his sponsorship coaching
00:04:06 --> 00:04:13 is you need to do research to understand the
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 brand goals. That's what gives you the competitive
00:04:16 --> 00:04:21 edge, not just, hey, sponsor my podcast. So sponsorship
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 for a podcast has gotten harder. It requires
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 more work. It probably requires other content
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 properties to put together a standout package.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 Heck, I landed most of my podcast sponsorships
00:04:34 --> 00:04:38 over the last two, two or three years by throwing
00:04:38 --> 00:04:42 a YouTube video and a newsletter spot into the
00:04:42 --> 00:04:46 package. Something we teach in Wizards Guild
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 is leveraging packages based on goals and since
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 most of my sponsors have the goal of awareness,
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 a long -term multi -channel approach is the smart
00:04:54 --> 00:05:00 one. But I also help a specific type of podcaster
00:05:00 --> 00:05:04 best. Solopreneurs and small to medium -sized
00:05:04 --> 00:05:08 businesses who are leveraging their podcast as
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 part of their content and marketing strategy.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:16 And For that reason, I think that there are other
00:05:16 --> 00:05:20 avenues worth trying first. So I've decided to
00:05:20 --> 00:05:24 change the framework. Smash has been co -opted
00:05:24 --> 00:05:28 by YouTubers looking for likes anyway. What I
00:05:28 --> 00:05:32 want is something to give you the idea that all
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36 of these can work together. All of the monetization
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 strategies I'm about to tell you can work together.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 I want you to think of your monetization strategy
00:05:43 --> 00:05:48 for your podcast as CAMPS. The CAMPS framework.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:53 Now, I'll say here that I came up with the methods
00:05:53 --> 00:05:59 and the exact words, but I did ask ChatGPT for
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 help arranging the acronym. I kept coming up
00:06:02 --> 00:06:06 with spam or scam and that's, well, that's suboptimal.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:12 The method of CAMPS are the methods of camps
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 are still largely the same, but they shake out
00:06:14 --> 00:06:19 a little clearer than Smash. It's coaching, affiliates,
00:06:20 --> 00:06:24 membership, products, and sponsorship. Coaching
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 takes the place of helping and moves that to
00:06:26 --> 00:06:30 the front. Helping was doing a lot of heavy lifting
00:06:30 --> 00:06:34 in Smash. Coaching, consulting, and courses.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 Plus it conflicted with selling. If you have
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 a program for coaching and consulting or a mastermind
00:06:41 --> 00:06:45 group, leveraging your podcasts for that immediately
00:06:45 --> 00:06:49 is something you should do. Create authority
00:06:49 --> 00:06:53 building content, make the call to action to
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 join your mailing list, and nurture listeners
00:06:56 --> 00:07:02 into becoming clients. The same thing goes for
00:07:02 --> 00:07:06 affiliates. This is the path of least resistance.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 though it's probably a slower build to appreciable
00:07:09 --> 00:07:13 revenue. I recommend picking three to six tools
00:07:13 --> 00:07:18 and services that you love that pay well in their
00:07:18 --> 00:07:22 affiliate program and talk about them a lot.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:29 The next three, membership, products, and sponsorship,
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 all have something in common, though you can
00:07:33 --> 00:07:37 do them in any order. You need to talk to your
00:07:37 --> 00:07:42 audience to make these work. Membership and sponsorship
00:07:42 --> 00:07:46 I have talked about excessively on this podcast
00:07:46 --> 00:07:51 and in the articles. But I'll just say like a
00:07:51 --> 00:07:56 membership should have benefits that are valuable
00:07:56 --> 00:08:01 to your podcast audience. Don't just copy your
00:08:01 --> 00:08:06 favorite podcast's model for memberships. Build
00:08:06 --> 00:08:11 a community around your show. I was in a mastermind
00:08:11 --> 00:08:15 group earlier this week as I record this with
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 my friend Daryl Westerveldt, who was the speaker,
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 and he highlighted a quote that he attributed
00:08:21 --> 00:08:26 to Seth Godin. A community can be defined like
00:08:26 --> 00:08:31 this. People like us do stuff like this. And
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 I really like that. It's honestly a really good
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 way to define your podcast too. Why are people
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 listening to your podcast? What's your mission
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 statement? You are looking to connect with people.
00:08:43 --> 00:08:48 People like us do stuff like this. So your membership
00:08:48 --> 00:08:52 needs to reflect that. And you can't possibly
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 know that without talking to your audience. And
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 the same thing with sponsorship. Again, go to
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 sponsormagnet .com. Just buy Justin's book. He
00:08:59 --> 00:09:06 talks about all of this. Sponsorship should help,
00:09:07 --> 00:09:11 like when you do sponsors right, you as the creator
00:09:11 --> 00:09:17 are helping a brand reach your audience, which
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 is a group of people they're trying to reach.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:23 You are helping them achieve their goals. And
00:09:23 --> 00:09:30 so you can't really know what your audience needs.
00:09:31 --> 00:09:38 without talking to them. When it comes to products,
00:09:39 --> 00:09:43 you might think that, you know, as far as the
00:09:43 --> 00:09:47 Camps framework goes, this belongs with coaching
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 and affiliates. And if you've been successfully
00:09:50 --> 00:09:54 selling physical or digital products before you
00:09:54 --> 00:09:58 had a podcast, you'd be right. But you can use
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 your show to talk behind the scenes work or talk
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 about new ideas, which you can also get feedback
00:10:04 --> 00:10:08 for. Maybe you're just getting into the product
00:10:08 --> 00:10:12 game though. Perhaps none of your products have
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 sold as well as you would have liked. Now you
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 have a warm audience that you can ask for feedback,
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 learn from, then create a product that actually
00:10:20 --> 00:10:25 helps them. I'm happy to add this to the Camps
00:10:25 --> 00:10:28 Framework now. because I've done it for years.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 Just making a course or digital product I thought
00:10:32 --> 00:10:36 would be good and easy to sell was my original
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 approach and I can count on one hand the amount
00:10:39 --> 00:10:46 of times it actually worked. But starting in
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 2024, I started getting real feedback from my
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 audience. Talking to them about their issues,
00:10:51 --> 00:10:55 why they listen to the show, why they joined
00:10:55 --> 00:11:00 my mailing list. It's how I came up with my current
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 sort of on -demand coaching program, which I'm
00:11:03 --> 00:11:07 calling the control room. It's a way for people
00:11:07 --> 00:11:11 to get more personalized help without getting
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 my expensive coaching program. This is going
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 to be the basis on which I build my community
00:11:17 --> 00:11:21 and you can learn more about that over at Casabona
00:11:21 --> 00:11:27 .org slash support. I trust that as 2025 goes
00:11:27 --> 00:11:31 on and we eventually move into 2026, I'll come
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 up with a few other products. Thanks to the feedback
00:11:33 --> 00:11:38 I'm getting from my podcast audience. So which
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 camp are you joining first? I encourage you to
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 think about the camps framework. Again, that's
00:11:44 --> 00:11:48 coaching affiliates, membership, products, and
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 sponsorship. Are you ready to form relationships
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 and become a true partner to a select number
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 of brands? Are you going to try your hand at
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 memberships? Are you ready to finally develop
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 a product or coaching program that your listeners
00:12:01 --> 00:12:07 truly need? Let me know by writing in at streamlinedfeedback
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 .com, that's streamlined with a D, feedback .com.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:13 I'd love to hear from you. Thank you so much
00:12:13 --> 00:12:16 for listening. And until next time, I hope you
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 find some space in your week.