#039: How I'm Monetizing My Podcast in 2025

Do you ever wonder how podcasters ACTUALLY make money? Take it from a full time podcaster, it might not be what you're expecting. In this episode, I’m telling you everything—the what, when, and how behind the five income streams I’m using to monetize my podcast in 2025. 

I’ll walk you through real examples from my business, including soft pitches, digital products, affiliate marketing, speaking engagements, and a first look at my upcoming courses. Whether you’re just starting podcasting or ready to go full time, there’s something in this episode for you!


💡 Want to sell a digital product but you don't know what to make?
Use my free tool that sends you 10 ideas made for YOUR podcast:
https://form.jotform.com/Morgan_Franklin/podcast-digital-product


Do you want to leverage your podcast and professional experience to speak at conferences? Listen to episode 17 here.

In this episode:
The 5 monetization strategies I'm taking with me from 2024 to 2025 (plus, how you can use them).
Why you need a digital product  and how to start selling it. 

Why you need to pitching your services in every episode (and how to do it without being annoying). 

What I'm trying in 2025: digital courses, automation and done for you services. 

📌 Work with Me 1:1 for Podcast Coaching and Development:
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: This episode is
for all my podcasters who learn

from experience, because you
know what I'm the exact same

way. You can tell me strategies
and concepts all day long. But

unless you're gonna hit me with
the how, what, when, where, I'm

probably not gonna understand
what to do in this episode, I'll

be walking you through every way
I'm monetizing my podcast this

year, 2025 and warning, a few of
these are kind of a combination

of my business and my podcast,
but at this point, they're so

interconnected that it's hard to
differentiate one from the

other. So I'll kind of be
showing you how I'm using the

podcast to achieve my overall
business goals. 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. Before we get into

the episode, I just want to
remind you, I know that I said

this in last week's episode, but
it took me years to make a dime

on podcasting that wasn't for
me, producing podcasts for other

people. I wanted to share that
in earnest, because it takes

dedication to nurture an
audience and to find their pain

points and to create products
and then create content around

those products and to promote
the content and products. So I'm

not saying you can't do it. You
can. You absolutely can. But if

it was easy, everybody would be
doing it. Remember to take your

time. Progress is still growth,
no matter how small, and most of

the time, small change over time
is much more impactful than a

big change. Once in a while,
we're going to talk about five

income sources today, and like I
said, these are both directly

and indirectly from my podcast.
And I'm going to be as

transparent as possible on how
these work, what I do, and how

I'm doing it. So if you want to
copy this same model for your

podcast, you absolutely can.
We'll start at the top. So how

do I make the most money
podcasting and from my podcast

Since 2021 when I started
podcasting full time, my main

source of revenue comes from
ongoing yearly contracts with

podcasts that I produce, manage
and do virtual consultations or

production for this will
normally bring in anywhere from

60 to 75% of the total revenue
of my business, so most of it,

and I think that it's worth
mentioning that my main source

of advertising and marketing for
these services that I just

talked about that makes 60 to
75% of my revenue is this

podcast, and that's why I say
it's Not directly money made

from the podcast, but it is in a
sense, I'm using my podcast to

grow my audience and nurture my
audience and pitch my services.

If you're a service based
business and you have an

industry specific podcast, there
is no reason you aren't pitching

yourself and your services in
every single episode, I'd say,

preferably a soft pitch between
the beginning and middle of the

episode and a hard pitch at the
end of the episode. A soft pitch

might look like kind of talking
about a client that you're

currently working with to
achieve X, Y and Z, while a hard

pitch at the end is telling the
listener, like, where can you

buy? What can you buy? And, more
importantly, why should you buy

it? If you aren't pitching your
services on every episode, you

are leaving so much money on the
table. You know why? Because

most of your audience doesn't
listen to every single episode.

I know that's so sad, but it's
true, most of our audience only

listens to the episodes that
either they want to listen to or

they feel like pertains to them.
Also, most of your audience is

only retaining about 60% of what
you're saying. So keep that in

mind. Also, the thing that I
bring up every episode, which is

that most of your audience needs
to hear about a product eight to

12 times before they buy. So
let's say that you only bring it

up once a month in episodes.
That would take you a whole

year. If someone was listening
to every single episode, which,

like we just said, they're
probably not, it would take them

a whole year to buy from you.
That's a long time. That's a

long lead time continuing with
products and services of my own

that I'm selling. Also I am
selling digital products from my

podcast and through my
podcasting connections. This is

again, not directly through the
podcast itself, but it is

facilitated by bringing
awareness from the podcast. I

said, is my number one
advertising and marketing

source. So I'd say that digital
products at this time probably

make up five to 10% of my total
revenue, and that's partially

because I just launched my
digital shop in August of this

year, and because I only have
five products currently.

However, that being said, I know
people who make half of their

yearly revenue from one digital
product. So don't let that hold

you back. If you only have one
digital product, that is okay.

Also, if you're thinking, what
is a digital product? In my

case, that's my templates that
are like, for example, my

customizable podcast media kit
or Instagram templates. So I

have made those from the things
that I have posted and have

actually worked for me or sent
to companies and they've

actually worked for me. So I
turned it into a template so

that other podcasters could use
it. I think that that is

something that is really helpful
to think about when you're

trying to think about what you
want your digital products to

be. Because, in my opinion, the
most important thing for you to

think about when you're creating
a digital product to sell on

your podcast is to think about
why your listener is listening

to your show. Specifically, what
do you bring to them as the

audience they can't get anywhere
else. When you think about that,

and you have an idea of what
that could be, then think about

one problem you can solve for
them, or, better yet, as I was

saying earlier, a problem that
you have already solved for

yourself. That's exactly what I
did when it came to me trying to

figure out what products I was
gonna sell in my digital shop

and what I was gonna make. I
thought about what I needed as a

podcaster, especially in the
beginning, what did I wish that

I had? If you're hearing all
this and you're still thinking,

I have no idea what kind of
digital product I would make,

but I know that I wanna make
one. I have a really cool tool

for you to use, and if you're
thinking about launching a

digital product in 2025 all you
have to do is fill out a little

bit about your podcast and your
audience, and it will take all

that information and a little
bit of magic for me, and it will

email you 10 ideas for Digital
products that you can create and

sell in 2025 that are
personalized to you, your

audience and your podcast. It is
so incredible. I was using it

yesterday, and I was like, I am
so excited to give this to them.

So yeah, definitely check it
out. The form will be in the

episode description if you're
interested in selling a digital

product through your podcast
next week's episode is going to

be all about digital products.
So make sure that you're

subscribed to this podcast, if
you aren't already, and be on

the lookout for that next
episode, because it's going to

be all about digital products.
How to sell digital products,

what you need to know about your
audience, what you can expect,

basically everything I wish that
I had known when I started

creating and then selling a
digital product through my

podcast. My third revenue stream
for my podcast in 2025 is

affiliate marketing. And
affiliate marketing, for me is

kind of tricky, because I'm not
really the kind of person who

will push just any brand or
brands that I don't actually use

people who do that make a lot
more money than me at affiliate

marketing, and if that's
something that you're interested

in, go for it. But for me, I
find that it's really hard to

sell something I'm not
personally bought into and that

I don't love myself. Because if
I'm being honest, there's enough

things that I buy and love that
it would be really hard for me

to then be selling something
that I'm just totally not

interested in. For my affiliate
marketing, the majority of my

sales come from Amazon, so
that's usually recommending

podcasting equipment, podcast
software and technologies, and

then also vendor referrals. I'd
say, all in all, this makes up

less than 5% of my revenue
throughout the year, but I will

say that it's some of the most
exciting money to make, because

most of the time I'm not
personally doing any work to

make that money, other than just
recommending things from time to

time. So yes, it's a small
amount of money, but it's also a

small amount of work too, which
we really like. So some people

make almost their entire yearly
revenue off of recommending

products. And you know, that's a
whole industry in itself, but if

you're a podcaster who is new to
podcasting, and you are trying

to find a way to monetize your
podcast, I think that affiliate

marketing is a great place to
start, since there's, like, a

really low barrier to entry, and
the companies that you're

working on behalf of don't have
to pay you any money unless you

make money off a sale. Most of
the time, these companies will

give even really small creators
a chance. So why not? Why not

just try spend some time
reaching out to brands that you

like, tell them about your
audience and your podcast and

why you love their. Brand why
you love using their products,

and ask them if they have any
kind of affiliate program. Just

tell them honestly, like, Hey, I
love your brand. And then just

see where that goes. A small
little tip that I'll give here

is I usually email instead of
DMing, I find that an email is

much more formal and put
together than a DM they get so

many DMS already, so try to find
a partnership's email. Try to

find someone in PR or sales and
send them an email. The fourth

way that I'm making money from
my podcast in 2025 is speaking

at conferences and live events.
And I know that this isn't

directly through my podcast
again, but the podcast is what

opened the door to let me speak
at these conferences in the

first place. So let me explain
now how I make money off of

this. Because you're probably
thinking, how do people make

money doing this? The first way
is having a speaking fee. Okay?

And it depends if I'm applying
to speak for free, or they are

recruiting me to speak for a
fee. So honestly, it doesn't

really matter, because either
way, I'm gonna make money.

Obviously, getting paid a
speaking fee is one thing, and

that's a predetermined amount
that I'll establish ahead of

time with the conference, and
I'll get paid that amount of

money. But for a conference that
I'm speaking at for free, I'll

make money through a sales
funnel that I set up when I'm

speaking. So let's say, for
example, next year, this is

true, I'm going to a conference
about podcasting, and I'm going

to speak on Pinterest for
podcasters. So during the middle

to end of that presentation,
I'll have a QR code for free

Pinterest graphics to use, so
templates that people can use on

Canva that I've used and got
1000s of clicks on, so great.

The audience is gonna get
something for free. After that,

I'll add them to my email list,
and so that will start an

automated welcome sequence that
is selling them another product,

probably pertaining to
Pinterest, as well as hiring me

for their consultation services
and working with their podcast.

So since I just met and worked
with all these people face to

face, the conversion rate is
just so much higher than a

normal lead, because we've
already met in real life and

I've already created value for
them and their podcast. We

already know each other, and
that is just so powerful,

especially in the digital age
doing in person events. I know

people say this over and over,
but doing in person events is

worth it. I meant to say this
earlier, but I'd say that

revenue from my speaking
engagements brings me anywhere

from I'd say, 10 to 20% of my
yearly revenue, if you are

interested in learning more
about how to make money from

speaking engagements that you
leverage through your podcast,

listen to episode 17 of this
podcast, how to leverage your

podcast for paid speaking
opportunities. I will link it in

the episode description, but it
is a really good one to kind of

teach you about how to look for
conferences, and also what you

need to do to get in touch with
these people, to be on their

radar to start speaking at
conferences. So that's a great

episode. Okay, so up to this
point, we've only talked about

things that I've done in 2024
that I'm also going to be doing

in 2025 now I want to talk about
the new things that I'm gonna be

doing in 2025 to make money
through this podcast. Let's

start with course creation. I
have three courses currently in

progress to be launched in 2025
I am so beyond excited, because

these are going to be incredibly
valuable to you as a podcaster.

They have both video components
and downloads for each section,

so it will actually be able to
walk you through each of these,

especially if you're a visual
learner like me, so you can

really see, okay, this is what I
need to do again. They say that

you only retain about 60% of
what you hear. So I'm very

excited to finally be launching
these courses for you to walk

you through step by step. How do
you do this stuff? I'm gonna

keep two of them a surprise for
now, but the first one that I'm

launching will be about
Pinterest and using Pinterest

for your podcast. I've had over
half a million views on my pins

since February on a brand new
account. It's the number one

lead source, after Google on my
website, the average person

spends 23 minutes on my website,
if they came from Pinterest. Is

that not insane? I want to teach
you how to use Pinterest for

your podcast so you can stop
stressing about posting five

times a week on social media and
people still not listen to your

new episodes. Pinterest is
amazing because the pins

circulate for two years. I know
I have a whole episode about

this, but whereas Instagram is
usually about two days, I'll

take the two years. In addition
to courses, I'm also launching

automations for podcasters. So
this is gonna look like a. Few

different things, but like the
digital product tool that I told

you about earlier, these tools
and systems will be to make your

life easier as a podcaster.
Podcasting takes so much time,

so I just want to help you to
figure out how to grow and

monetize your podcast and save a
little bit of time along the

way. Also be working with
podcasters to implement these

automations into their podcast.
So like we say, AI is not going

to replace you, but people who
use AI will, and I want you to

be the person using AI. I'd love
to hear from you on how you are

planning to monetize your
podcast in 2025 send me a DM,

send me an email. It's Morgan at
Morgan Franklin dot media, if

you need help making a game plan
for how to monetize your podcast

in 2025 send me a DM, send me an
email. I'll have my contact

information in the episode
description. You can go ahead

and schedule an exploratory call
for free on there. 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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entrepreneurs the information

they need to start making money
on their podcast.