Can You Make a Living from Podcasting?
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1000 True Fans for Podcasting
Can you make a living from podcasting? The answer is yes, but it’s challenging. Lots of podcasters gauge their success by their download numbers, but it's extremely rare to have a podcast that gets millions of downloads a month, or even 10s of 1000s of downloads a month or 10,000 downloads a month. But that doesn't mean you can't make a living from podcasting.
In 2008, author Kevin Kelly wrote a blog post about a concept he'd come up with that has now become very popular called 1000 True Fans.
1000 True Fans is the idea that in order to make a living, not a fortune, from your work, you only need 1000 True Fans. Kevin Kelley defines a True Fan as someone who will "buy anything you produce." In podcasting, a True Fan is someone who joins your Patreon, buys your merch, purchases tickets to your live shows, and so on.
Here's how this breaks down. Every year, you must create enough to earn at least $100 from each True Fan. $100 times 1000 True Fans equals $100,000 a year. Of course, you might have to adjust if you have multiple people working on your podcast. Kevin Kelley points out 1000 fans is a much more feasible goal than millions of fans.
The other thing to consider is that while you might have a group of True Fans, you probably also have regular fans, people who won't buy everything you offer, but we'll buy some things. Kelly points out that while regular fans will support you as well, cater to your True Fans because they are the direct source of your income.
True Fans are also your best marketers. True Fans are the ones that will share your podcast with everyone.
So if you want to make a living creating your podcast, you just need two things:
Stop caring so much about your download numbers and start caring more about creating a connection with your listeners. By getting better at fostering those relationships, you'll get better at gaining and retaining True Fans.
Create enough that you can make $100 a year from each true fan. Hey on Patreon, a $10 a month patron adds up to $120 a year.
It might take time to grow your true fan base. But once you do, you'll be making a good living doing what you love. You can do this.