2 builders who never spoke to each other

Do not count on sponsorship to fund a small show

The pool of advertisers for a niche podcast is a handful of names and their minimum download thresholds keep rising, so two or three advertisers end up more stressful to serve than a hundred paying customers, for a ceiling of under six thousand dollars a year in one measured case. Blog advertising sits at the same order: roughly a hundred and fifty dollars a month before other income arrived. The upside worth keeping is passive, since videos published years earlier keep paying out on posts you would have made anyway.

The method

1. 01

   Do not plan on sponsorship to monetise a niche show: the pool of podcast advertisers is tiny and their minimum download thresholds keep rising.

2. 02

   Don't try to monetise a podcast with sponsorship as an indie: two or three advertisers are more stressful to serve than a hundred paying customers, and the ceiling is low.

3. 03

   Ads and donations on a blog of that size are not a living; roughly $150 a month is what they returned before other income arrived.

4. 04

   Videos published years earlier keep paying ad revenue, and platform payouts on posts you would write anyway are free upside.

What it returned

• $5,837

  Podcast advertising, including a good monthly sponsor in Sprintly, brought $5,837 across 2013 with no growth path.

• $150

  About $150 per month from ads plus Patreon in the first months after going full-time.

• $253

  $253 in ad revenue that month: $121 from YouTube on an old channel, $132 from Twitter.

• Justin names Casper, MailChimp, Squarespace and FreshBooks as most of the sponsor pool available to him.

Sources

• 2019 In Review and 2020 GoalsFlorin Pop · florin-pop.com · Become a full-time blogger + the “semi-depression” · 2020-01-01
• September Income ReportFlorin Pop · florin-pop.com · 3 & 4. 🎥 YouTube and 🐤 Twitter Ads · 2024-10-01
• The 2013 revenue stats I didn't want to shareJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Revenue details · undated
• How to create a membership websiteJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Background · undated