Paid subscriptions are a significant source of income for podcasters. If you offer podcasts free of charge, it’s time to consider podcast monetization. Pricing will help you generate some money.
Most listeners will pay a fee if you offer them some extra perks. For instance, you can offer ad-free listening in paid episodes. Also, include other features that impact experiences. But then, pricing a podcast subscription is a challenge.
There is so much to do to get it right – for instance, you need to choose a reliable podcast subscription service. With so many of them in the market, choosing one can be challenging. Besides that, there are other critical decisions to make.
This is a guide to everything you should know about pricing podcast subscriptions.
Determine the Value Listeners Will Get
When pricing podcast subscriptions, the first factor to consider is value. How much value will a listener get? Value-based pricing is common and effective for fair pricing. You can use three value drivers to price your podcast subscription.
They include economic, emotional, and community. These will help you know if listeners are benefiting. Valuable content can help your podcast grow. But content alone isn’t enough if the subscription service doesn’t offer value.
A reliable service will help listeners discover bonus content and support you.
Let’s look deeper into economic, emotional, and community value drivers.
- Economic value – Your podcast can help listeners grow. One is by teaching them how to make money. It can also teach them how to save money or reduce risk, and it’ll deliver economic value.
- Emotional value – Also, your podcast makes a listener feel a certain way. The better they feel, the more valuable your podcast will be.
- Community value – A podcast can provide value to the community. For instance, it can be by discussing topics like fighting climate change or ways how to reduce carbon footprint.
Thus, value is an important podcast pricing parameter. You can use the three value drivers listed above to determine the pricing. You can also find a subscription service to help you price your podcast.
Most subscription services can base the pricing on value. You can ask about it when looking for a subscription service. They can tell you how to monetize a podcast with value in your mind. It will be vital to be keen on this. It’ll tell you if they are a reliable subscription service provider.
Estimate Your Paying Listeners
Understanding your listeners will be critical to your growth. You need to know how many listeners you have. Also, think about how many would be willing to pay to listen.
You can decide how much each should pay. The aim should be to reach your revenue goals. Thus, it would be best to start by surveying your current audience. The easiest way to do this is by gathering their data.
You can access listener data from a wide range of sources. For instance, you can ask the subscription service you use to provide audience data. That’s why a reputable subscription service is vital in the first place. It should tell you how many followers you have.
Also, it should tell how your numbers are growing. Then, they can also help you with estimation. You’ll know how many listeners can pay for your podcasts. For instance, they or you can start emailing listeners and asking if they’d be willing to pay for premium episodes.
The survey should include questions like how much they can pay for an episode. Also, ask what they expect after subscribing. This will help you know how many can become paying listeners.
You can also extend the research beyond your loyal listeners. You can share some episodes on social media and ask people to subscribe. You will know how many would be willing to pay for your episodes from your online interactions.
This strategy will work for you if looking for how to make money with a podcast. All you need is a subscription service that will deliver such insight. You can find a Patreon alternative that will deliver the expected results.
Consider Subscription Content Options
Your content quality can also determine how much you charge for it. The first instinct is that paid content should be of higher quality than free content. You offer extra quality in exchange for subscriptions from your audience.
- Podcast length – You can consider the format of your episodes. Paying subscribers should have access to longer content. This is content that goes deeper into a subject.
- Guests – Also, you can invite thought leaders from various industries. Most listeners can pay to listen to your exclusive interviews with such people.
- Frequency – Podcast monetization will also depend on how often you release episodes. But the more episodes you create, the higher the production cost. Thus, you may have to charge a higher price.
- Effort and resources – Some content requires more effort than others. That makes an effort another factor to consider as you venture into paid podcasting.
But, you first need to look at your audience before deciding on this. If they are willing to watch more of your content, it is good to release it. Otherwise, you shouldn’t create content that no one will listen to. The aim should be to get value for money spent.
The more premium content you create, the more effort and resources you need. All these should factor into the final subscription price for your podcast.
Also Read: Which is the Best Recording Studio Software? Cubase or Pro Tools
Determine the Pricing of Your Podcast Subscription Today
This article has discussed some of the best tips to help you price podcast subscriptions. You can now determine how much to charge for your podcast subscription. That will ensure you do not charge high prices that your audience may not be willing or able to pay.
You can look beyond subscriptions to make more money from your podcast. A simple search like ‘how do podcasts make money?’ will help you learn various ways to do it.
It will be easier to boost your income to more than you make with subscriptions. This is if you incorporate other podcast monetization techniques.
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