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| How Much Do You Earn As A Podcaster Per Episode Download, Subscriber and View? |
I look at the role that episode downloads, subscribers, and views play in revenue. I also list income examples and show how you can earn 1,000 euros with your own podcast.
Can You Really Make Money From Podcasts?
A few years ago, podcasts were in their infancy in Germany. There were relatively few German-language podcasts and they hardly made any money.
But that has changed in the last few years and we are once again following the example of the USA, where podcasts have been generating high revenues for some time. But what can podcasters really earn? To do this, I look at various factors and clarify what influence they have on income.
I also analyze the data from some podcasts and go into average values.
How Much Do You Earn As A Podcaster Per Episode Download, Subscriber and View?
Money For Single Episode Downloads?
Of course there is no direct money for individual episodes or their download. Unfortunately, there is no platform that directly offers a monetization option for podcasts like YouTube. But there are other sources of income that bring in certain income per episode or per 1,000 downloads.
More and more companies are advertising in podcasts and there are standardized amounts, at least in the USA. A 30-second spot with an average of $ 18 and a 60-second spot with $ 25 per 1,000 downloads are set here.
On the linked page there is a calculator that you can use to calculate that. Whether you will then find advertisers who are willing to pay these amounts is, of course, another matter.
Tim Ferris' statement is interesting: “Premium podcasts tend to charge between $ 25-100 CPM”. So for every 1,000 downloads you can charge $ 25-100 for a commercial. But that is more true for podcasts with a long range.
Regular podcasts can often charge closer to $ 10 per 1,000 downloads or less for advertising. Range is definitely an advantage here. Celebritynetworth.com has samples of the CPM values for various US podcasts.
Sponsorship is another way to earn money, whereby an agreement is usually made for a certain number of podcast episodes.
Of course, the number of downloads per episode also plays a major role here. After all, more downloads simply mean more listeners per episode. The incomeschool.com website has 25 examples of download numbers for various podcasts. Accordingly, with 3,400 downloads per episode, you are in the top 10%.
On Reddit there are also figures for the average downloads of individual episodes. Accordingly, there are 137 downloads on average per episode. You are in the top 7.1% if you have 5,000 downloads or more per episode.
There is another calculator on midroll.com that you can use to calculate your advertising income. Of course, all of this is only partially transferable to Germany, but by and large you get a feeling for what is possible.
Money For Subscribers?
Another very interesting metric are the subscribers. You don't get money for that either. But the number of subscribers is of course very important because it shows the reach. But it is also interesting for companies that it is the right target group.
There are also clear differences in how loyal the listeners are. There is wide variation in the number of episodes heard per subscriber. There is some information about this on lime.link. Here the number of downloads per subscriber is between 9.8 and 50.9. That makes a big difference, because the number of downloads is very important, as I explained above.
With Patreon, you can make good money with paying subscribers. Contributions starting at $ 1 per month bring them various benefits, such as additional episodes. On average, podcasts earn 3-4 euros minus fees at Patreon and about the same for the German version Steady.
Here some examples:
| Podcast | Podcast Addict Subscriptions | Patreon | Patreon Revenue | Patreon Cut | Steady-Subscriptions | Steady Earnings | Steady Cut | Share of Paid Subscriptions / Free Subscriptions | |
| Stay Forever | 49.962 | 2.344 | 11.754 € | 5 € | 263 | 1.368,65 € | 5,2 € | 4,9 % | |
| The Pod | 46.239 | 2.995 | 13.717 € | 4,58 € | 2.622 | 16.445,34 € |
6,27 € | 10,8 % | |
| Spieleveteranen | 13.554 | 735 | 2.870 € | 3,90 € | – | – | – | 5,4 % | |
| Chapo Trap House | 33.105 | 29.382 | 116.801 € | 3,90 € | – | – | – | 47 % | |
| Last Podcast On The Left | 134.262 | 11.688 | 51.803 € | 4,43 € | – | – | – | 8,7 % |
On average, there is a net income of 4 euros per Patreon or Steady supporter. That sounds very interesting in any case.
It is also worth taking a look at the proportion of paid subscriptions compared to the subscribers to the free podcast feeds. You have to exercise caution here, because nobody knows how reliable the subscriber numbers are. Nevertheless, it shows quite well that usually between 5 and 10% of subscribers are willing to pay for additional content. Exceptions confirm the rule here.
Money For Views?
A podcast usually also includes a blog, whether you set it up yourself or with one of the podcast hosting providers.
The views of these episode articles (views) can also generate income. Affiliate marketing is interesting for podcasters. For this purpose, certain products are mentioned in the podcast and affiliate links are built into the episode article.
Advertising is also possible in the episode articles. There are different options here depending on the industry, but a well-running podcast also offers potential for this.
In addition, you can discuss your own products, such as an eBook, in the podcast and then offer them for sale in the episode articles. Providers like Digistore24.com are very suitable for this.
Other Sources Of Income For Podcasts
There are also other income opportunities, such as membership sites. Some podcasts or individual episodes can only be heard as a paid member. But for that you have to have a very good name. Freelancing jobs are also conceivable, depending on the podcast topic, as are coaching jobs.
What Else Does A Podcast Bring?
Apart from the financial potential, a podcast brings a lot more, of course. New contacts to companies and users are established. It creates awareness because podcasts are very popular right now. In many industries you can make a name for yourself with a podcast.
After video, podcasts are currently the most exciting form of media and are often more perceived by companies than a blog that runs well. The blog articles often have a wider reach and yet do not arouse the same interest in many companies.
Overall, That's What You Can Earn As A Podcaster
What can you earn as a podcaster? Of course, you can only estimate that, exact statements are not possible here. It always depends on the individual case and how the many sources of income are used. But here's an example that I use to work out how you can earn 1,000 euros a month as a podcaster.
If we assume that 10% of listeners are willing to become Patreon or give money to Steady, then we need between 2,500 and 3,330 subscribers to the free feed. If only 5% are willing to give 3-4 euros, then we need 5,000 - 6,660 subscribers to the free feed.
If you look at other income reports, you often see values of 30-50% that are generated by other sources of income, such as sponsorship.
If you bet on advertising and set a CPM value of 25 dollars, then you need around 40,000 episode downloads a month to earn 1,000 euros. Provided you find advertisers all the time. With a CPM value of 10 euros, 100,000 episode downloads are necessary.
The bottom line is that with Patreon or Steady you can achieve good income with fewer subscribers / downloads. Advertising income, on the other hand, needs a lot of subscribers / downloads.
Conclusion
Even with a podcast, you can't make good money that easily. But with a strong community and interesting bonus content, you can get enough listeners to offer financial support.
Have you already had experience with podcast income?
Which sources of income have proven to be the best for you?
Related video - How Much Do You Earn As A Podcaster Per Episode Download, Subscriber and View?:
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