Why 85% of podcasts aren’t making money

Agnes Kozera, co-founder of Podcorn, chats with Ben about podcast monetization. Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular, especially as a marketing channel. But there’s still a good number of podcasters who haven’t yet figured out how to tap into this income source. Today, Ben and Agnes discuss why 85% of podcasters aren’t making any money.
About the speaker

Agnes Kozera

Podcorn

 - Podcorn

Agnes is the Co-Founder at Podcorn

  • Part 1 Why 85% of podcasts aren’t making money

Show Notes

  • 01:49
    Agnes background
    Working in the podcast space for just over 2 years, Agnes is now onto her second acquisition. She transitioned from the influencer space into podcasting. In the early days, there wasnt any clear cut way to connect podcasters to brands for sponsorships.
  • 03:42
    Podcorns take on attribution and the value of brand sponsorship
    Impressions dont always mean results. What matters is that youre the right fit for the brand sponsoring you. Brands can diversify their podcast sponsorship spend to diversify their audience and increase ROI.
  • 05:45
    The growing podcasting trend
    Similar to influencer marketing, podcasting has been able to grow through partnerships with brands. Theres a personality behind influencer marketing and this helps make a personal connection with the audience.
  • 07:44
    Making money from podcasts
    Traditional advertising is based on impressions. And this does not translate positively for podcasters. So as a response to this problem, Podcorn was created as the bridge to connect podcasters and brands.
  • 09:14
    How to think about monetization in the early stages of your podcast
    Podcorn lets podcasters price themselves based on a flat fee and not the CPM model. Those who do prefer the CPM method are provided with a worthwhile range.
  • 11:37
    Monetizing your podcast outside of the CPM model
    While traditional advertising is more scalable, its less engaging. You get a lot more value when you can connect and integrate with your audience. Its integral for podcasters and brands who work together to have a similar voice.
  • 13:02
    Integrating with content
    Advertorial content, how-to content, giveaways, and brand shout-outs are 2 ways you can integrate content. Native advertising is great for products that require more education
  • 15:11
    Why brands are attracted to podcasting as a marketing channel
    Podcasting provides a more authentic feel and a stronger connection to your audience. And while its a younger demographic, its also a growing audience. Podcasting values more depth in marketing over frequency.
  • 17:26
    The ROI for brands outside of the CPM model
    With Podcorn, brands have been using coupon codes to track attribution. Theres also other areas of return like brand ambassadorship and brand association.
  • 18:43
    The power of scale
    Brands can diversify their spend by working with multiple smaller podcasters instead of focusing on one big podcaster. This is also a great way to diversify the content being put out there about you.
  • 20:47
    Advice to podcasters thinking about monetization
    Do your research about the brand and send them a unique proposal. Showcase how a partnership with you can be mutually beneficial. Play up your expertise and your creativity..

Quotes

  • "Impressions don't always relate to results..." - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • "Whether it's a thousand listeners or 5,000 or a million, as long as they're the right fit for the brand, they can drive incredible conversions." - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • "Working with long and mid tail podcasters, you can diversify your spend, get a lot more creative content and brand ambassadors, which overall yields a greater ROI for brands." - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “No one accidentally listens to a podcast. You seek out the personality, what they have to say.” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “Studies show that people are seeking out podcasts for personal help and knowledge.” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “Data shows that 85% of podcasters have not been able to monetize through traditional advertising.” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “Traditional advertising is very heavily impression-based and it doesn't quantify all the other great value that podcasters bring of all sizes. ” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “It cost me about $125,000 to get to 10,000 downloads per month.” - Benjamin Shapiro, Host of MarTech podcast

  • “Podcorn allows podcasters to price themselves based on a flat fee. And we do a flat fee, not based on impressions...” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “While traditional advertising is a lot more scalable, it's less engaging because you're kind of withdrawn from the personality you're withdrawn from the content.” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “We're seeing brands nowadays gravitate more towards finding the right voices and doing more integrated content within the episodes.” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “For products that require a little more education and are more expensive, native advertising is great because you can go a lot deeper. ” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “On YouTube, you have 10 minutes. With Instagram, you might have 15 seconds to engage someone, but within podcasts you might on average have 30 minutes. ” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “Podcasts go deeper and are more integrated in a lot more ways than other mediums. And it's also less expensive than YouTube or Instagram.” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “The value in integrations is the depth of the message, not the frequency. And you need both of them to have not only awareness but consideration.” - Benjamin Shapiro, Host of MarTech podcast

  • “Podcasts take authenticity to a whole other level than other mediums...” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “The demographic continues to grow among 12 to 34 year olds with podcasting as more YouTube viewers and Instagrammers are moving into podcasting...” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “Majority of our brands have been relying on coupon codes and that's how they've been able to track conversions through individual podcasters.” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “Just pitch yourself. Just send brands a proposal on Podcorn. It costs nothing for podcasters to sign up. Send a proposal and show your passion for the brand. ” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “Passion goes a long way. Brands want to work with creators who are passionate and get their message and want to collaborate.” - Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder, Podcorn

  • “You have to understand what brands are trying to accomplish and understand the type of content and who your audience is.” - Benjamin Shapiro, Host of MarTech podcast

  • Part 1 Why 85% of podcasts aren’t making money
About the speaker

Agnes Kozera

Podcorn

 - Podcorn

Agnes is the Co-Founder at Podcorn

Up Next:

  • Current Podcast

    Part 1Why 85% of podcasts aren’t making money

    Agnes Kozera, co-founder of Podcorn, chats with Ben about podcast monetization. Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular, especially as a marketing channel. But there’s still a good number of podcasters who haven’t yet figured out how to tap into this income source. Today, Ben and Agnes discuss why 85% of podcasters aren’t making any money.