WEBVTT 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:06.339 Welcome to the streamlined podcaster, a podcast 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:08.779 that shows you how to put the right systems in 00:00:08.779 --> 00:00:12.279 place so you can stop spinning your wheels, focus 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:15.140 on making great content and see your show grow. 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:17.859 Because there's nothing worse than putting a 00:00:17.859 --> 00:00:20.760 ton of effort into your show to see very few 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:24.519 benefits and even fewer downloads. My name is 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:27.079 Joe Casabona and I know you're strapped for time. 00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:31.969 So let's get into it. My podcast has undergone 00:00:31.969 --> 00:00:35.950 a lot of changes over the last six months to 00:00:35.950 --> 00:00:40.409 nine months. I decided to essentially get rid 00:00:40.409 --> 00:00:44.070 of two lines of monetization for it, my membership 00:00:44.070 --> 00:00:47.909 and sponsorship. And while I could get into those 00:00:47.909 --> 00:00:50.429 in a different episode or, you know, I did cover 00:00:50.429 --> 00:00:54.890 them over on streamlinespodcaster .com, it begged 00:00:54.890 --> 00:00:58.409 the question, how would I monetize the show in 00:00:58.409 --> 00:01:03.170 2025? After all, the primary reason I got into 00:01:03.170 --> 00:01:08.010 podcast coaching was my early success in growing 00:01:08.010 --> 00:01:12.069 the show and getting sponsors. But I've been 00:01:12.069 --> 00:01:15.349 saying for years, longer than I've been friends 00:01:15.349 --> 00:01:17.730 with Justin Moore, who I still do sponsorship 00:01:17.730 --> 00:01:22.209 coaching for, that sponsorship isn't the easiest 00:01:22.209 --> 00:01:28.329 path for small audience podcasters. That to do 00:01:28.329 --> 00:01:34.609 it right, it takes work. And while six months 00:01:34.609 --> 00:01:37.329 after writing these articles, which I wrote a 00:01:37.329 --> 00:01:41.189 lot of these for my podcast advent series at 00:01:41.189 --> 00:01:45.849 the end of 2024, I am considering bringing back 00:01:45.849 --> 00:01:49.209 some sort of membership or community that's less 00:01:49.209 --> 00:01:53.269 podcast focused and more outcomes or bringing 00:01:53.269 --> 00:01:56.290 people together focused. And I'm thinking about 00:01:56.290 --> 00:01:59.930 doing sponsorship again. because I have a better 00:01:59.930 --> 00:02:03.590 handle on who my audience is after dramatically 00:02:03.590 --> 00:02:08.430 changing it over the course of 2024. That said, 00:02:09.469 --> 00:02:13.909 I still need to monetize this show in some way. 00:02:15.409 --> 00:02:20.490 So I decided to revisit my Smash framework, which 00:02:20.490 --> 00:02:25.710 I developed in 2020 -2021 to help people understand 00:02:25.710 --> 00:02:29.360 how to monetize their podcasts. In fact, the 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:32.639 Smash framework was basically the impetus for 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:37.000 me starting a podcasting focused show. If you 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:41.300 go back to episode one of this podcast, it's 00:02:41.300 --> 00:02:44.960 actually called Make Money Podcasting before 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:50.020 realizing that I I niched down a little bit too 00:02:50.020 --> 00:02:54.719 far or too narrowly in a way that a lot of people 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:58.020 were already talking about podcasting. But anyway, 00:02:58.740 --> 00:03:02.819 my SMASH framework, SMASH stands for sponsorship, 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:07.360 membership, affiliate links, selling, and helping. 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:12.000 And after using that framework for four years, 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:14.280 I realized that there were two problems with 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:18.120 it. It puts sponsorship at the front, making 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:21.979 it seem like the best way to monetize. And selling 00:03:21.979 --> 00:03:24.500 and helping were basically the same thing, which 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:30.000 made the framework hard to explain. So I've decided 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:33.439 to revisit this framework and rearrange it. Now, 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:35.759 I want to say that sponsorship is still a great 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:40.020 way to monetize. It's a great avenue for podcasters. 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:43.539 I'm a sponsorship coach for Justin Moore and 00:03:43.539 --> 00:03:47.819 his Wizards Guild. But there's no denying that 00:03:47.819 --> 00:03:51.199 it has gotten harder. And it requires more work. 00:03:51.379 --> 00:03:55.500 I don't think I'm saying anything that is in 00:03:55.500 --> 00:03:58.080 contrast with what I teach in Wizards Guild. 00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:02.479 And I suspect that Justin would agree. I mean, 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:06.780 one of the core tenets of his sponsorship coaching 00:04:06.780 --> 00:04:13.300 is you need to do research to understand the 00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:16.579 brand goals. That's what gives you the competitive 00:04:16.579 --> 00:04:21.939 edge, not just, hey, sponsor my podcast. So sponsorship 00:04:21.939 --> 00:04:24.240 for a podcast has gotten harder. It requires 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:27.560 more work. It probably requires other content 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:30.600 properties to put together a standout package. 00:04:31.379 --> 00:04:34.160 Heck, I landed most of my podcast sponsorships 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:38.279 over the last two, two or three years by throwing 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:42.040 a YouTube video and a newsletter spot into the 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:46.089 package. Something we teach in Wizards Guild 00:04:46.089 --> 00:04:49.449 is leveraging packages based on goals and since 00:04:49.449 --> 00:04:51.750 most of my sponsors have the goal of awareness, 00:04:52.449 --> 00:04:54.990 a long -term multi -channel approach is the smart 00:04:54.990 --> 00:05:00.050 one. But I also help a specific type of podcaster 00:05:00.050 --> 00:05:04.550 best. Solopreneurs and small to medium -sized 00:05:04.550 --> 00:05:08.990 businesses who are leveraging their podcast as 00:05:08.990 --> 00:05:11.709 part of their content and marketing strategy. 00:05:12.709 --> 00:05:16.980 And For that reason, I think that there are other 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:20.720 avenues worth trying first. So I've decided to 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.560 change the framework. Smash has been co -opted 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:28.220 by YouTubers looking for likes anyway. What I 00:05:28.220 --> 00:05:32.180 want is something to give you the idea that all 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:36.519 of these can work together. All of the monetization 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:39.660 strategies I'm about to tell you can work together. 00:05:40.649 --> 00:05:43.490 I want you to think of your monetization strategy 00:05:43.490 --> 00:05:48.889 for your podcast as CAMPS. The CAMPS framework. 00:05:49.829 --> 00:05:53.829 Now, I'll say here that I came up with the methods 00:05:53.829 --> 00:05:59.149 and the exact words, but I did ask ChatGPT for 00:05:59.149 --> 00:06:02.769 help arranging the acronym. I kept coming up 00:06:02.769 --> 00:06:06.910 with spam or scam and that's, well, that's suboptimal. 00:06:08.170 --> 00:06:12.019 The method of CAMPS are the methods of camps 00:06:12.019 --> 00:06:14.879 are still largely the same, but they shake out 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:19.800 a little clearer than Smash. It's coaching, affiliates, 00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:24.079 membership, products, and sponsorship. Coaching 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:26.720 takes the place of helping and moves that to 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:30.500 the front. Helping was doing a lot of heavy lifting 00:06:30.500 --> 00:06:34.560 in Smash. Coaching, consulting, and courses. 00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:38.610 Plus it conflicted with selling. If you have 00:06:38.610 --> 00:06:41.250 a program for coaching and consulting or a mastermind 00:06:41.250 --> 00:06:45.129 group, leveraging your podcasts for that immediately 00:06:45.129 --> 00:06:49.389 is something you should do. Create authority 00:06:49.389 --> 00:06:53.589 building content, make the call to action to 00:06:53.589 --> 00:06:56.910 join your mailing list, and nurture listeners 00:06:56.910 --> 00:07:02.209 into becoming clients. The same thing goes for 00:07:02.209 --> 00:07:06.089 affiliates. This is the path of least resistance. 00:07:06.430 --> 00:07:09.870 though it's probably a slower build to appreciable 00:07:09.870 --> 00:07:13.910 revenue. I recommend picking three to six tools 00:07:13.910 --> 00:07:18.269 and services that you love that pay well in their 00:07:18.269 --> 00:07:22.610 affiliate program and talk about them a lot. 00:07:24.709 --> 00:07:29.350 The next three, membership, products, and sponsorship, 00:07:30.189 --> 00:07:33.550 all have something in common, though you can 00:07:33.550 --> 00:07:37.449 do them in any order. You need to talk to your 00:07:37.449 --> 00:07:42.930 audience to make these work. Membership and sponsorship 00:07:42.930 --> 00:07:46.610 I have talked about excessively on this podcast 00:07:46.610 --> 00:07:51.110 and in the articles. But I'll just say like a 00:07:51.110 --> 00:07:56.389 membership should have benefits that are valuable 00:07:56.389 --> 00:08:01.870 to your podcast audience. Don't just copy your 00:08:01.870 --> 00:08:06.040 favorite podcast's model for memberships. Build 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:11.240 a community around your show. I was in a mastermind 00:08:11.240 --> 00:08:15.300 group earlier this week as I record this with 00:08:15.300 --> 00:08:18.759 my friend Daryl Westerveldt, who was the speaker, 00:08:19.459 --> 00:08:21.759 and he highlighted a quote that he attributed 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:26.800 to Seth Godin. A community can be defined like 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:31.910 this. People like us do stuff like this. And 00:08:31.910 --> 00:08:34.850 I really like that. It's honestly a really good 00:08:34.850 --> 00:08:37.809 way to define your podcast too. Why are people 00:08:37.809 --> 00:08:39.389 listening to your podcast? What's your mission 00:08:39.389 --> 00:08:42.590 statement? You are looking to connect with people. 00:08:43.090 --> 00:08:48.269 People like us do stuff like this. So your membership 00:08:48.269 --> 00:08:52.309 needs to reflect that. And you can't possibly 00:08:52.309 --> 00:08:55.450 know that without talking to your audience. And 00:08:55.450 --> 00:08:57.889 the same thing with sponsorship. Again, go to 00:08:57.889 --> 00:08:59.850 sponsormagnet .com. Just buy Justin's book. He 00:08:59.850 --> 00:09:06.710 talks about all of this. Sponsorship should help, 00:09:07.169 --> 00:09:11.629 like when you do sponsors right, you as the creator 00:09:11.629 --> 00:09:17.129 are helping a brand reach your audience, which 00:09:17.129 --> 00:09:19.090 is a group of people they're trying to reach. 00:09:19.470 --> 00:09:23.529 You are helping them achieve their goals. And 00:09:23.529 --> 00:09:30.350 so you can't really know what your audience needs. 00:09:31.820 --> 00:09:38.879 without talking to them. When it comes to products, 00:09:39.299 --> 00:09:43.080 you might think that, you know, as far as the 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:47.039 Camps framework goes, this belongs with coaching 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:50.919 and affiliates. And if you've been successfully 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:54.200 selling physical or digital products before you 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:58.610 had a podcast, you'd be right. But you can use 00:09:58.610 --> 00:10:01.450 your show to talk behind the scenes work or talk 00:10:01.450 --> 00:10:04.250 about new ideas, which you can also get feedback 00:10:04.250 --> 00:10:08.950 for. Maybe you're just getting into the product 00:10:08.950 --> 00:10:12.129 game though. Perhaps none of your products have 00:10:12.129 --> 00:10:15.690 sold as well as you would have liked. Now you 00:10:15.690 --> 00:10:18.330 have a warm audience that you can ask for feedback, 00:10:18.409 --> 00:10:20.950 learn from, then create a product that actually 00:10:20.950 --> 00:10:25.570 helps them. I'm happy to add this to the Camps 00:10:25.570 --> 00:10:28.289 Framework now. because I've done it for years. 00:10:29.070 --> 00:10:32.090 Just making a course or digital product I thought 00:10:32.090 --> 00:10:36.710 would be good and easy to sell was my original 00:10:36.710 --> 00:10:39.570 approach and I can count on one hand the amount 00:10:39.570 --> 00:10:46.070 of times it actually worked. But starting in 00:10:46.070 --> 00:10:49.009 2024, I started getting real feedback from my 00:10:49.009 --> 00:10:51.809 audience. Talking to them about their issues, 00:10:51.850 --> 00:10:55.149 why they listen to the show, why they joined 00:10:55.149 --> 00:11:00.509 my mailing list. It's how I came up with my current 00:11:00.509 --> 00:11:03.789 sort of on -demand coaching program, which I'm 00:11:03.789 --> 00:11:07.549 calling the control room. It's a way for people 00:11:07.549 --> 00:11:11.169 to get more personalized help without getting 00:11:11.169 --> 00:11:14.789 my expensive coaching program. This is going 00:11:14.789 --> 00:11:17.710 to be the basis on which I build my community 00:11:17.710 --> 00:11:21.840 and you can learn more about that over at Casabona 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:27.559 .org slash support. I trust that as 2025 goes 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:31.080 on and we eventually move into 2026, I'll come 00:11:31.080 --> 00:11:33.399 up with a few other products. Thanks to the feedback 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:38.580 I'm getting from my podcast audience. So which 00:11:38.580 --> 00:11:41.820 camp are you joining first? I encourage you to 00:11:41.820 --> 00:11:44.139 think about the camps framework. Again, that's 00:11:44.139 --> 00:11:48.340 coaching affiliates, membership, products, and 00:11:48.340 --> 00:11:51.389 sponsorship. Are you ready to form relationships 00:11:51.389 --> 00:11:53.690 and become a true partner to a select number 00:11:53.690 --> 00:11:56.529 of brands? Are you going to try your hand at 00:11:56.529 --> 00:11:59.049 memberships? Are you ready to finally develop 00:11:59.049 --> 00:12:01.470 a product or coaching program that your listeners 00:12:01.470 --> 00:12:07.169 truly need? Let me know by writing in at streamlinedfeedback 00:12:07.169 --> 00:12:10.190 .com, that's streamlined with a D, feedback .com. 00:12:10.909 --> 00:12:13.350 I'd love to hear from you. Thank you so much 00:12:13.350 --> 00:12:16.429 for listening. And until next time, I hope you 00:12:16.429 --> 00:12:18.289 find some space in your week.