Podcast Not Growing?
Nov. 1, 2024

The Real Secret to Monetizing Your Podcast: It’s Not What You Think

The Real Secret to Monetizing Your Podcast: It’s Not What You Think

The podcasting landscape is often clouded by persistent myths that can derail the efforts of even the most dedicated creators. In this enlightening session, Dave Jackson confronts the widely held belief that consistency in episode release is the primary driver of success. While he acknowledges the importance of being reliable in scheduling, he vehemently asserts that the heart of a successful podcast lies in its content. Jackson's philosophy is clear: a compelling episode that resonates with listeners is infinitely more valuable than a mediocre one released on time.

"Just be consistent" is not accurate, and will waste your time.

Drawing from his extensive experience, Jackson shares insights on cultivating an audience rather than merely accumulating episodes. He emphasizes that many podcasters mistakenly believe that their consistency will impress potential sponsors, but the reality is that advertisers prioritize understanding the audience's size and engagement levels. Jackson encourages listeners to shift their focus from worrying about the number of episodes produced to genuinely understanding and catering to their audience's wants and needs.

Through anecdotes and practical advice, Jackson illustrates the importance of audience interaction, such as conducting surveys to gather feedback and adjust content accordingly. He urges podcasters to embrace the challenge of creating high-quality, meaningful content, viewing every setback as a learning opportunity rather than a failure. Ultimately, this episode serves as a powerful reminder that success in podcasting is not just about persistence but about crafting content that engages and resonates with listeners.

Takeaways:

  • Consistency in podcasting is important, but content quality is even more crucial for success.
  • Your podcast is merely a tool to build an audience, which is essential for monetization.
  • Focus on understanding your audience's needs and preferences to create valuable content.
  • Many aspiring podcasters misplace their efforts on equipment rather than improving their content.
  • Don't be afraid to ask your audience what they want to hear; feedback is vital.
  • Persistence in producing episodes is admirable, but engagement metrics are what truly matter.

Mentioned in this episode:

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Podcast Hot Seat - Grow Your Podcast

Chapters

00:00 - None

00:00 - Podcasting Myths Busted

00:34 - The Importance of Content Over Consistency

02:29 - Understanding Your Audience

07:01 - The Role of Feedback in Podcasting

09:40 - Embracing Lessons from Failure

10:17 - Join the Podcasting Community

10:46 - Conclusion and Call to Action

Transcript
Dave Jackson

When I hear things in podcasting repeated over and over that just aren't helpful, I'm like, ah, time to hit record.


Podcast Host

Welcome to your podcast consultant.


Podcast Host

Small lessons with big value.


Podcast Host

With more than a decade of experience and millions of downloads, this hall of fame podcaster is a featured speaker, author, and mentor to thousands.


Podcast Host

Now he wants to work with you.


Podcast Host

He's your podcast consultant, Dave Jackson.


Dave Jackson

All right, first thing I gotta say up front is, anyone who thinks this, you're not dumb, you're not stupid, but you are kind of wrong.


Dave Jackson

And that's based on the fact that you've probably been fed some content that is misguided.


Dave Jackson

And one of them is, you need to be consistent.


Dave Jackson

In fact, I've heard it say, just be consistent.


Dave Jackson

And you've heard me talk on this show that, yes, you want to be consistent in schedule.


Dave Jackson

It shows you as reliable.


Dave Jackson

But as I've said, I'd rather get a late show that was good than an on time show that was meh.


Dave Jackson

So it's really about the content.


Dave Jackson

Be consistent in schedule, but be really consistent in content.


Dave Jackson

Because I've seen this multiple times in the past 10 days, and that is, I have X amount of episodes.


Dave Jackson

I've been doing it for X amount of years.


Dave Jackson

And first off, again, kudos.


Dave Jackson

Launching a podcast is not easy.


Dave Jackson

Other people will tell you, oh, just start.


Dave Jackson

It's easy money from.


Dave Jackson

No, it's, it's not super easy.


Dave Jackson

It's.


Dave Jackson

It's kind of simple.


Dave Jackson

Find out what your audience wants and give it to them.


Dave Jackson

But that's not easy.


Dave Jackson

And so I'll hear, yes, I've been doing it consistently for X amount of years.


Dave Jackson

I have X amount of episodes.


Dave Jackson

But then I always hear, I'm trying to find sponsors.


Dave Jackson

And when you go to a sponsor and you say, hi, I've been podcasting for, let's just say five years.


Dave Jackson

I have 300 episodes.


Dave Jackson

They are not impressed because their number one question is, who is your audience and how many of those are listening to your show?


Dave Jackson

And so I say this, you do not monetize a podcast.


Dave Jackson

You monetize the audience.


Dave Jackson

The podcast is the tool that you use to draw an audience, to build an audience.


Dave Jackson

Think of it as the fertilizer that makes the rose bush grow.


Dave Jackson

My brother has a bunch of hummingbird feeders in his backyard, and it's amazing to watch these small little birds fly in.


Dave Jackson

So how.


Dave Jackson

Why do they go to his backyard?


Dave Jackson

Because he has these feeders specifically made for them, specifically filled with food that they love.


Dave Jackson

And what do you know he has a group of hummingbirds that during the summer, like, hey, I'm going over to Doug's house.


Dave Jackson

He's got the goods.


Dave Jackson

And it's amazing.


Dave Jackson

It's absolutely amazing.


Dave Jackson

And so it's not how many episodes?


Dave Jackson

Again, I'm impressed with that because I know that it's not easy and it's not the number of episodes.


Dave Jackson

What you've proven is you are persistent and that is impressive.


Dave Jackson

But not to advertisers.


Dave Jackson

They want to know how big is your audience and who are they.


Dave Jackson

And if your answer to that question is, I don't know, you are headed in the wrong direction.


Dave Jackson

And another thing that I've noticed is that when I talk about audience surveys, I'm doing one in December, actually end of November.


Dave Jackson

I'm surveying my audience because I want to know what they want.


Dave Jackson

I'm in the kitchen cooking.


Dave Jackson

What are you in the mood for?


Dave Jackson

Because if the numbers go down, so many people think it's because of my microphone.


Dave Jackson

Maybe I need to switch media hosts.


Dave Jackson

Maybe I need new artwork.


Dave Jackson

And almost always in that case, unless your artwork was drawn by a three year old with a crayon, your artwork is probably okay.


Dave Jackson

Can it always be better?


Dave Jackson

Sure.


Dave Jackson

But it's not the reason people aren't listening.


Dave Jackson

And it's not because your media host, your media host, to me, it's like, which.


Dave Jackson

Which car do you want to drive long distance with?


Dave Jackson

Do you want to go in a minivan with a bunch of cupholders and really comfortable seats?


Dave Jackson

Or do you want to go in the Toyota Corolla, which is not a bad car.


Dave Jackson

I have one, but I don't know that I would want to drive cross country with that.


Dave Jackson

And it's about the interface, but in the end, they Both can do 80 miles an hour.


Dave Jackson

It's just.


Dave Jackson

Is one more comfortable than the other?


Dave Jackson

Neither one is going to get you a bigger audience because people aren't tuning in.


Dave Jackson

Hey, have you heard this new show they're on?


Dave Jackson

Captivate?


Dave Jackson

Nobody cares.


Dave Jackson

Nobody cares.


Dave Jackson

What they tell their friends about is the content.


Dave Jackson

And so when you say, I need a new microphone and you're using something like a Samson Q2U or Audio Technica ATR 2100.


Dave Jackson

Both those microphones are under $100 and they're perfectly fine.


Dave Jackson

If your audience isn't saying your audio sounds bad, you probably don't need a new microphone.


Dave Jackson

When do you change out a microphone?


Dave Jackson

When your audience says it's bad, or B, you don't feel confident behind the microphone I'm using right now?


Dave Jackson

A Rode Pod mic.


Dave Jackson

It's $200.


Dave Jackson

I have a Shure SM7B sitting behind me.


Dave Jackson

That's a $400 microphone.


Dave Jackson

Why do I use this microphone?


Dave Jackson

Because I like the sound of my voice on it.


Dave Jackson

And so.


Dave Jackson

But my audience could care less.


Dave Jackson

Nobody's ever said, hey, your.


Dave Jackson

Your podcast sounds like crap.


Dave Jackson

So your media host isn't going to grow your audience.


Dave Jackson

Your audio isn't going to grow your audience unless it was really bad.


Dave Jackson

Your media host isn't going to grow your audience.


Dave Jackson

But guess what all those are.


Dave Jackson

They're an easy fix.


Dave Jackson

I can buy a microphone, plug it in, and have that done in, you know, five minutes if I go to Best Buy, which is not where I would buy my microphones, but you get the idea.


Dave Jackson

I could change the artwork in less than an hour.


Dave Jackson

I could do all this stuff, and it seems like I'm making progress.


Dave Jackson

But you're keeping yourself busy when you're not really addressing the key ingredient.


Dave Jackson

The key ingredient in an apple pie is the apples, right?


Dave Jackson

But we're going to focus on the crust.


Dave Jackson

We're going to focus on all this other stuff.


Dave Jackson

And look, a bad crust can ruin a pie.


Dave Jackson

But you know what I'm saying here?


Dave Jackson

It's the content.


Dave Jackson

And that's the hard part, because we rarely get a chance to sit face to face with our audience and go, so, what are you looking for?


Dave Jackson

What can I do to make the show better?


Dave Jackson

Unless you do one thing.


Dave Jackson

Ask them.


Dave Jackson

And here's the thing.


Dave Jackson

My next episode is going to be about this.


Dave Jackson

When I was in college, the first time I was putting myself through school, I was running a household.


Dave Jackson

My mother had recently passed away, and I didn't really care about grades.


Dave Jackson

I just want to get through this.


Dave Jackson

In fact, my last semester, I was kind of like, I'm either going to die or I'm going to graduate.


Dave Jackson

My second time, when I went to get my teaching degree, I was kind of like, all right, well, I don't have all that going on now, and I'm actually going to try to get good grades.


Dave Jackson

And it was kind of frightening because it's one thing to get bad grades when you have that reaction of, like, well, what was I supposed to do?


Dave Jackson

I was working 30 hours a week and running a house and blah, blah, blah.


Dave Jackson

And that's why I got bad grades.


Dave Jackson

But now, what if I tried and I still got bad grades?


Dave Jackson

Would that mean I'm stupid?


Dave Jackson

Ooh, that's kind of scary.


Dave Jackson

There's the old line for singers.


Dave Jackson

If you sing in your Range.


Dave Jackson

Everyone thinks your range is endless, but the minute you sing outside of it and go a little too high, everybody goes, oh, not as good as I thought she was.


Dave Jackson

Not as good as he is.


Dave Jackson

And maybe that's why we shy away from really focusing on the content.


Dave Jackson

Because what if I try to make really good content and I still fail?


Dave Jackson

I'm going down swinging myself.


Dave Jackson

I'm going down knowing I based my decisions on what my audience wanted.


Dave Jackson

Maybe it didn't resonate.


Dave Jackson

Remember, there are two ingredients.


Dave Jackson

There's content and there's delivery.


Dave Jackson

Maybe you just don't like my somewhat kind of like, look, I'm just telling it like it is kind of style my sarcasm for whatever reason.


Dave Jackson

Maybe you just don't like the way I come across and I get that I'm not going to please everyone.


Dave Jackson

I do know I want to help you.


Dave Jackson

I do know I can see and understand what you're going through and point you in the right direction.


Dave Jackson

The question is, are you ready to do something that might be a little scary?


Dave Jackson

And I'm here to tell you, I've started over probably 30 podcasts and some of them just didn't work.


Dave Jackson

And I can tell you why.


Dave Jackson

And that's one of the reasons why for me, anytime you try anything and it doesn't work, it's not failure, it's a lesson.


Dave Jackson

It's a learning opportunity.


Dave Jackson

And then you take that knowledge and you turn around and you put it back into podcast number two.


Dave Jackson

It's really that simple.


Dave Jackson

It's not the end of the line.


Dave Jackson

It's the beginning of a new one.


Dave Jackson

Now, if you need help with that, simply go out to the Show Notes.


Dave Jackson

I'll have a link there where if you want to hire me for one on one consulting, you can.


Dave Jackson

But I'm here to tell you it's a much better deal to join the school of podcasting for a month.


Dave Jackson

You have 30 days to figure out if you like it or not.


Dave Jackson

I will give you your money back and you get unlimited coaching.


Dave Jackson

So you can buy coaching once for about double the price.


Dave Jackson

Or you could join the school of podcasting and get unlimited amounts of me, as well as step by step tutorials as well as an amazing podcast community.


Dave Jackson

So don't be afraid, because you can do this.


Dave Jackson

You've done hard things in the past and you can do this.


Dave Jackson

I look forward to working with you.


Dave Jackson

I'm Dave Jackson.


Dave Jackson

I help podcasters.


Dave Jackson

It's what I do.


Dave Jackson

And I can't wait to be your podcast consultant.