I keep seeing statements like, "Well, I've done this podcast for 2 years and it's time to start monetizing." With this type of mindset, I can see many podcasters getting discouraged or even burned out. I played music in local bars from the age of 16 to 50. 34 years I played music, but I never fell delusional enough to think I would make the big time playing local bars in Northeast Ohio. If I wanted a career I would've had to move to a city like Los Angelas, Nashville, or anything that wasn't Akron, Ohio. While it's commendable to commit to something for a long period, it's not the longevity that inspires people to share your episodes. It's the content. Nobody has ever said, "Hey Dave you have to listen to this show!" and when I ask why they say, "They've been podcasting since 2014!" With that said, as I write the updated version to my book More Podcast Money, here are the ways you make money with podcasting. SPONSOR: Podcast Engineering School Be equipped to start their own podcast production company or be hired as an employee. Program Includes: LIVE Interactive Online Training Two Mentoring Sessions with Chris Curran Major Discounts on Software and Plugins Lifetime Access to the PES closed community Certificate of Completion Super Early Bird Specials Apply and prices WILL GO UP. Check it out at www.podcastengineeringschoool.com [click_to_tweet tweet="The Top Five Ways to Make Money With a Podcast @davejackson " quote=" The Top Five Ways To Make Money With a Podcast" theme="style3"] The Top Ways to Make Money With Your Podcast Sell Your Own Products or Services This is the top way to make money with your podcast. You harness the power of influence. As you have lived and breathed in your target audience for a while, you should know what they need or want. I was amazed at a WordCamp I attended recently that the documentation for the new Gutenberg is sparse at best. Everyone hates it. Nobody understands it. That is one learning curve that needs to be flattened and if I had time I would dive into it myself. Why some of your audience will buy from you is due to you bringing value on a consistent basis. This triggers the law of reciprocity. You've done something nice for them, and now your audience feels a need to do something nice for you. If you've shared a little about yourself then they probably like you (if they didn't they wouldn't be listening). If the information you provide is solid then they trust you. When you are known, liked, and trusted the buzz phrase for this is you are an "influencer." When you launch a product or service you can influence them to purchase your product. This could be a book, a course, a membership site, a crowdfunding campaign, a live webinar, etc. These products should fill a need in your space, or entertain them. Sell Other People's Products or Services (affiliate sales) Affiliate sales are when you sign up with a company to promote its products. You are given a link (or a code) that proves the traffic/customer came from you. If a sale is made, you earn a commission. When you match the right product with the right audience, you can make decent money. I once made hundreds of dollars a month promoting fitness cards on my weight loss show. The commission was $1.50 per deck. This product fit my audience. I later would do the same when the Fitbit first came on the scene. I bought one and loved it. This is a great place to start. Find a product that you love that your audience ( a weight loss show in this case) would love. I was able to openly and honestly talk about how I loved my Fitbit and ever since I bought it I was more active. Again, I was earning hundreds of dollars per month when the commission was $9 per sale. Pat Flynn makes a TON of money with Affiliate sales. He created a video tutorial showing how easy it was to install WordPress on a web hosting company. The video was short. It made building a website look super easy, and his affiliate link was right beneath the video. Find the right pr