What Sponsors Don’t Want You to Know

Sponsors have a dirty little secret. They hope that you don’t realize the economics of your audience. Why? Did you know that nearly half of all podcast listeners make $70k per year or more? That’s quite a well off demographic!

What does that mean for my show? I’m glad you asked! Assuming that you have exactly one thousand listeners, we can conservatively estimate that your listeners command at least $35M of buying power, because roughly half of your audience makes at least $70k. Let’s be conservative about the other half of your audience, and assume that they make the nation’s average income of $55k per year. That other segment of your audience commands $27.5M in buying power. Collectively, using your audience has a buying power of $62.5M. That’s just a thousand listeners! This, the audience that has listened to you regularly — become attached to your shows — and viewed you as a friend. You command the ears of $62.5M, and some company wants to pay you $25 for all of your hard work. What. A. Joke. On top of that, does your audience even want ads? Probably not. They want more of you.

What do they mean they want more of me? They want more of your show, more of your content, more of anything that you can offer. When you have an audience like that, why would you ever consider alienating them with sponsors? All you have to do them is give them more of you, and you can make 10X what sponsors would provide. So, why not sponsor yourself? How do you propose I do that?