#042: Monetizing Your Podcast with an Audience of 1,000 or Less

In this episode we’ll talk about what options a podcast with less than 1,000 listeners has for monetizing, the strength of a loyal and targeted audience and what I’d do to share the value of my podcast with advertisers, even though I have a relatively small listener base. 

Links in this Episode:
1. Listen to Ep. 40: The Podcaster's Guide to Making and Selling Your First Digital Product
https://morganfranklin.media/podcasters-guide-to-making-and-selling-your-first-digital-product/

2. Buy Your Customizable Podcast Media Kit:
https://podcastsforprofit.com/products/podcast-media-kit-and-rate-card

3. Want to sell a digital product? Use my free tool that sends you 10 ideas made for YOUR podcast:
https://form.jotform.com/Morgan_Franklin/podcast-digital-product

4. Find out more about Creators Jay Clouse and Lloyd George:
Jay Clouse:https://creatorscience.com/
Lloyd George: https://www.youtube.com/@LloydNotGeorge

Other Helpful Links:
📌 Work with Me 1:1 for Podcast Coaching:
https://morganfranklin.media/contact-morgan-franklin

👩🏻‍💻 Shop My Podcast Template Store:
https://podcastsforprofit.com

👋🏽 Let's connect! You can find me on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Threads, and TikTok.

🙋🏻‍♀️ Questions? Comments? Ideas? Message Me:
[e-mail]

Creators and Guests

Host

Morgan Franklin

Morgan Franklin is a podcast producer, strategist and educator. Since 2020 Morgan has founded and produced multiple top ranking podcasts from the health industry to beauty. Featured everywhere from Good Morning America to Martha Stewart Living Morgan's passion and knowledge for branding and podcasting have helped countless business owners and brands grow their impact and bottom line podcasting. Morgan is the Founder of Podcasts for Profit and Morgan Franklin Media, in addition to host of Podcasts for Profit with Morgan Franklin.

What is Podcasts for Profit with Morgan Franklin | Podcasting Strategy for Podcasters?

If you’re ready to create a podcast that will align you with experts in your industry, position yourself as a trusted leader and create another source of revenue for your business you’re in the right place. Podcasts for Profit will help you create and grow a podcast that cuts through the noise of social media and speak directly to your target audience. Stop letting the algorithm determine your social marketing strategy. Stop letting trends dictate the kind of content you’re able to create. Hosted by expert podcast strategist, producer and educator: Morgan Franklin, Podcasts for Profit is your step-by-step guide to creating a podcast that will transform your business, opportunities and life.

Morgan Franklin: I remember my
first podcast got 100 followers

on Apple podcasts, and I
thought, I have cracked the code

on podcasting. I remember I was
on a vacation with my family,

and the podcast had about 15
episodes. I was on top of the

world. Now, what I didn't know
is that, in the eyes of most

advertisers and other podcasters
that actually knew what they

were doing, having 100 followers
on a podcast is about as useful

as having 100 followers on any
other platform. In this episode,

we'll talk about what options a
podcast with less than 1000

listeners has for monetizing the
strength of a loyal and targeted

audience, and what I do to share
the value of my podcast with

advertisers, even though I have
a relatively small listener

base. Hello and welcome to
podcast for profit. My name is

Morgan Franklin. I'm a Podcast
Producer, strategist and

educator. This podcast will help
you create and grow a podcast

that cuts through the noise of
social media and speaks directly

to your target audience. If
you're ready to create a podcast

that will align you with the
experts in your industry,

position yourself as a trusted
leader and create another source

of revenue for your business.
You're in the right place. You

know, making money on the
internet or anywhere for that

matter, is all about
intentionality. You're not gonna

make a six figure business by
accident, and you're not gonna

wake up one morning and your
podcast is worth $100,000 I

think the concept of virality
has tricked some people into

thinking that making content
isn't about intentionality and

hard work and serving your
audience. It's the luck of the

algorithm. And you know, while
some aspects of that might be

true for social media, it
couldn't be further from the

truth. For podcasts, there are
rare situations where someone

might stumble across your
podcast just organically,

without any effort or promotion
from you. But I'm telling you,

those instances are very, very
far and few between. But what

does this have to do with you
making money with a small

podcast audience, right from the
beginning, from day one, of you

either creating your podcast or
deciding that you do want to

make money from this podcast,
you have to think about the

value you can provide. This is
where intentionality comes into

the fold, and you have to be
laser focused on what you want.

So let's go back to Morgan that
summer in 2021 realizing on

vacation that her podcast has
100 followers. So let me explain

something about this podcast.
It's a community Lifestyle

podcast, and while we did have a
targeted audience, we didn't

have a targeted audience to make
money from, which is a very

important distinction you'll see
in just a minute. We were

providing value, but we weren't
providing a value that could

easily be turned into money. We
were focused on improving the

listener experience and not
really focusing on monetizing

this podcast. And again, this is
why having intentionality is so

important. Because for us, in
that moment that was okay. We

were growing a community of
listeners, and we weren't really

too concerned with making money
from them. Let's fast forward to

earlier this year, when I
started this podcast that you're

listening to right now. From day
one, I was focused on making

this podcast part of my client
outreach and my business

marketing. So looking at the
first 100 followers of this

podcast was essentially like
looking at 100 potential

customers for my business. Now
is that to say that all 100 of

my first podcast followers
became my clients? No, no way

I'd say somewhere between one
and five of them did. But that's

okay. Honestly, that's great.
The point I'm trying to get at

here is that your intentionality
and direction from day one is

critical to the long term
financial success of this

podcast, because if people are
coming for fun and entertainment

and to hang out, turning that
listener into a buyer is gonna

be a long road. Is it
impossible? No, of course not.

You buy from people that you're
just hanging out with on their

podcast all the time, but will
it take longer to convert them

into a buyer? Most likely, no
matter how you're trying to make

money with your podcast, there's
one thing all of us need to

remember. There is nothing more
important than having an

audience that knows likes and
trusts you for all my marketers

listening, I know this concept
has been burned into our brains,

but I think that that's one of
the most universal truths across

podcasting. People want to buy
from who they know like and

trust. But how do you do that?
How do you create an audience

that knows, likes and trusts you
from your podcast? First of all,

if you can get them to listen to
the podcast, I'd say that you're

at least halfway there. I mean,
I'd be hard pressed to think of

too many situations where I
listened to a podcast of someone

that I had no idea who they were
and I didn't like them. So let's

just kind of take that out of
the equation for a minute, we'll

say that this person is already
listening to your podcast so

they know who you are and they
like you well enough to listen

to your podcast. Now, how are
you going to complete the Holy

Trinity and make them trust you,
trust you enough to keep

listening to you, trust you
enough to buy from you. How are

we going to build that trust? So
here are a few things that I'd

focus on in the beginning,
especially when I have under

1000 followers, because that is
such a critical time for making

sure that your audience trusts
you, that they want to come back

every week and listen to you,
make sure that you're airing

episodes consistently. So many
podcasters lose listeners and

lose their own confidence in
podcasting because they're not

airing episodes consistently.
And think about this, why would

you invest in a podcast or a
podcaster that you didn't know

if they were going to be posting
new episodes? You wouldn't and

so this is the first line of
building trust, even in real

life, we need to know that
people are gonna be where they

say that they'll be and do what
they say they're gonna do next

is having thoughtful and
interesting information on your

podcast episodes. This can mean
so many different things, so I'm

not necessarily meaning it to
mean any specific thing, but

don't just talk about what you
want to talk about, figure out

who your ideal listener is, and
start making content for them

and them only the most powerful
thing that you can do as a

podcaster is have episodes
people actually want to listen

to, and I know this is
groundbreaking, but make sure

that your listener wants to
subscribe and hear more. Here's

my challenge for you. I want you
to at the end of every month,

when you're looking at your
downloads and you're trying to

figure out how you did in the
past month, sort your episodes

from most downloaded of all time
and most downloaded that month,

and look at what people are
downloading. Try to figure out

what your audience wants to hear
from you, and this might change

over time, and that's why I say
look at your entire podcast and

then look at what's being
downloaded this month. Lastly,

have a measured approach to
selling your own products or

anyone else's. Don't recommend
products if you don't use them

yourself, especially in the
beginning, we are being sold to

as consumers and listeners and
buyers. 24/7 Don't be the

influencer that you can't stand.
And when you're selling do it

from an earnest place. That's
okay. I love to hear people's

genuine recommendations. And if
you're partnering with a brand

that you don't know very well,
get to know them. Know the

product. Know why you love the
product, if you are selling,

sell from the heart. So after
you've taken a hard look at your

podcast and your audience and
how to build trust with said

audience, how are you actually
going to make money with less

than 1000 listeners? Like I said
earlier, there's a big

difference between 1000
listeners that are following you

for a variety of reasons. Let's
say that you have a podcast that

speaks to a lot of different
demographics and listeners, and

you'll just randomly pick up
people here and there. There is

a big difference between selling
to a wide net audience and a

highly specific targeted
audience, the more that you can

move towards that highly
specific targeted audience, the

easier that it will be for you
to find advertisers, to find

partnerships and affiliate codes
and To sell your own products

and services and even to create
value with your podcast. No

niche is too niche. I'll tell
you about a podcast I produce

for hairstylist entering the
beauty industry. Now, most

people would think if you're
creating a podcast for

hairstylists, it should be
speaking to every hairstylist,

right at every different phase
that would have so many more

opportunities to grow listeners
and make money and everything

else. But that is not true. And
you know why? Because New

hairstylists going into the
industry have a totally

different set of problems and
opportunities and questions than

stylists that have been in the
industry for five or 10 or 20

years, these are all people at
totally different parts of their

journey. And why would we try to
put it all together, to not

speak to any of them? Because
what about the week we do an

episode for the stylist that's
been in the industry for 20

years, and then the next week we
do one for the stylist that has

been in for 10. Years, and then
the week after that is for the

stylist that's been in for five
years. And guess what? We've

totally lost that new stylist,
and they're gonna go look for a

podcast that is actually giving
them what they want and is the

information that they need,
because they don't care what the

stylist that's been in the
industry 20 years. They don't

care about their problem. So
you've just lost your listener

because you are not speaking to
them. Don't be afraid to go into

your niche and dig into your
message and speak to that one

person at that one time. You're
not losing out on having more

listeners by doing this, you are
telling that one person that you

created the podcast for. Hey, I
made this for you. And then when

you're selling to them, it's
that much easier to have 100

listeners that you've cultivated
and say, Hey, I made this

podcast for you. And then you
proved over time by building

their trust. Remember the know,
like and trust, that is how you

are going to make money with 100
listeners, when someone with

10,000 listeners can't sell
anything a friend to all is a

friend to none. So make sure
that you know exactly who you

want to be friends with through
this podcast and speak to them

directly. Speak to them every
week. Speak to them from your

heart, and speak to them when
you're selling if you have less

than 1000 followers, of course
you should be working every day

to build your audience and to
grow the right listeners. 1000

listeners will open the door.
100,000 listeners will build the

house. But there's still some
things that we can do at every

point of our podcasting journey
to make money with our podcast.

So first and foremost, I think
you know what I'm gonna say,

it's selling your own products
and services. Now, what if you

think of Morgan, I don't have
any products and services. And

you know what I'd say to that
you don't have any products and

services yet. Not yet. Okay, so
if you have a podcast, there is

not one reason that you are not
offering some kind of consulting

on the thing that your podcast
is about. If you know so much

about this thing that you have
made a podcast about it, why are

you not consulting for people in
that field? So step one is you

are not letting people pick your
brain for free. You are a

consultant in this industry, you
are going to have an hourly rate

that you tell people when they
ask you, Hey, can I ask you

about this? You're gonna say,
Hey, I have an hourly fee. I

mean, this is a huge, multi
billion dollar industry. Just

take a little bit of time if you
are not doing consulting

already, and look up, hey. How
can I become a consultant in my

field? Again, if you have a
podcast about something, I don't

really see a reason that you
also do not have a consulting

fee to go along with it. Next.
And again, I know that. You

know. I'm gonna say this is
digital products. I have a whole

episode on digital products. I
will link it in the episode

description. I also have a tool
that you can use that will email

you 10 ideas for digital
products, but do some research

on digital products. What could
you create that would make your

listeners life easier, or that
they actually need take some

time to think about that and
think about how you could

actually help your listener and
what you could create for them

when we look outside of what we
personally can offer so with our

own products and services, this
is where, again, you have to be

so intentional and so Bristol
clear on what your podcast is

offering. Do you want a partner
for your podcast? Do you want

ads? Why should someone buy ads
from you, if you have less than

1000 listeners, what else can
you provide to me to let me know

that I am someone that you
should advertise with? There is

such a power in micro
influencers. But what is your

power? What do you know about
your audience? What proof do you

have of the influence over your
audience? That's what you need

to be able to communicate,
especially if you're doing cold

outreach to brands. You need to
know what influence do you have

over your audience, even if it's
a small audience. Think about

this. Think about Rode
Microphones for just a minute.

Would they rather advertise with
a smaller creator like me that

creates only content for
podcasters? Or, for example,

would they like to advertise
with Joe Rogan, the biggest

podcaster in the world. Lots of
people that might want to become

podcasters that listen to him,
right? I mean, I believe it

would make more sense for them
to advertise with me or someone

like me, because while I have
less listeners, I have a greater

impact. But then it becomes my
burden, especially if I have

under 1000 listeners, to prove
to them why I would be the best

use of their money. Because even
though I have a more specific

audience, how much do I actually
speak to my audience? So taking

that all into account and
figuring out, okay, hey, how can

I explain this to someone who I
want to part. With me to have an

ad on my podcast, and I think
one of the easiest ways to do

this is to have a media kit. I
have a media kit template that

you can customize, or you can
make your own, but show up

looking like the person who is
someday going to have a million

listeners show up like the
podcast that you want to be. The

next thing is affiliate
marketing, and whether you're

doing it with a brand that has a
bigger program, or you are

asking a smaller business to
give you a promo code, start

with affiliate marketing,
especially if you are not

getting any bytes from
traditional ads, they only have

to pay you money when they make
money. So usually, businesses

are way more open to giving
smaller creators a chance, and

that's why I always bring this
up when I'm trying to help

people who are new podcasters
get some kind of revenue coming

through their podcast. Think
about affiliate marketing. Think

what you can speak on
passionately and that you could

actually get people to buy
because, you know, it works so

well. Ask these people if they
have affiliate marketing, and

how can you get involved with
their business? You have to ask

for what you want, and you have
to ask for it directly,

especially as a smaller creator,
especially when you don't have

the clout that other podcasters
might have. But the beauty of

podcasting is it's still a very
new industry, and most of the

time, people don't fully
understand how it could be of

value to their business or
brand. So you could be the

person that explains, hey, this
is why you should partner with

me. This is why you should have
an ad on a podcast. So take it

from that side. Take it from the
fact that many people don't

really know what it would look
like to advertise with a

podcast. So if you have a
beautiful media kit and you come

and you say, Hey, this is what
my audience looks like. This is

what I am able to do with my
audience that can be their

introduction to podcast
advertising. You don't have to

worry about all those bigger
podcasts because they've never

even talked to a podcast before.
Before we go, there are two

creators that I want you to look
up sometime this week, or when

you're done with this episode,
if you don't know them already.

The first one is Jay Klaus. I
hope I'm saying his last name

right with creator science is
his podcast name. The other one

is Lloyd George. He is a UGC
expert, and I think that they

just both have so much
information to share with small

creators on how to make money,
and, more importantly, how and

what it will take. I'll link the
information for both of them in

the episode description. If you
have less than 1000 listeners

and you want help making a
monetization plan, please book a

free 30 minute exploratory call
with me. I'd love to help you

out. I've been where you are. I
know what you're going through

if you want to use my digital
product idea tool that will also

be linked in the episode
description with my customizable

podcast media kit. And as
always, I can't wait to listen

to your podcast. Hey. Thank you
so much for joining me on this

episode. If you enjoyed the
podcast and you'd like to hear

more episodes like this one, go
ahead and subscribe to the show.

New episodes air every Monday
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on their podcast.