To monetize or not to monetize? It’s a looming question in the back of any podcaster’s head. 

Ads are an obvious option, but the podcast ad market is complicated—and its returns can be pretty underwhelming. But podcasters can always turn to membership and subscription platforms. And in 2024, everyone knows about Patreon, the Kleenex of digital membership. 

However, some audio creators are hesitant to embrace Patreon. As an eight-years-and-counting Patreon artist and user, I’m here to answer your frequently asked questions about the friendliest way to monetize a podcast. 

Should I have a Patreon?

Yes. You should. If you didn’t start your show with one, you should get one ASAP.

Why should I have a Patreon as a podcaster?

The Patreon premise makes sense for the current digital creator. 

In the essay 1,000 True Fans—the ideological backbone of the independent artist movement of the 21st century, no big deal—Wired founding executive editor Kevin Kelly puts it this way: To be a successful creator, you don’t need millions of fans packing stadiums; you only need about 1000 people who really believe in you and will buy your merch, come to streams, see you at live shows, and more. 

This essay was published in 2008. Especially post-2020, when many realized that independent businesses needed to explicitly be supported, more and more people are now prepared to be true fans and support financially. And that extends to their favorite creators.

Podcasts foster a deep connection between the creator and the audience. 

Podcasts literally speak into listeners’ brains and accompany them through their most mundane tasks. Of course listeners feel close to their podcast friends! Patreon allows listeners to express that closeness through participation and financial support. 

Not only that, podcasts are inherently free, so for those who are motivated to do so, it’s easy to give $5 a month to their favorite podcaster.

It works (and Patreon has the numbers to prove it). 

Patreon published a report in August 2024 about how well podcasters are doing on their platform, and it confirmed the vibes I’ve had for a while. More than 40,000 podcasters are earning money on the platform, and racked up $350 million from their fans in 2023. That makes podcasting the second biggest category on the website, and I bet it’s the largest revenue per capita. 40,000 podcasts can’t be wrong, can they?

But what do I offer people to join my Patreon?

Answering this question is easier than you think if you keep two ideas in mind. 

The first is that people only want two things from their Patreon: bonus content and hearing their name on the show. Maybe they’ll enjoy a Discord, but only if you don’t already have an active Facebook group or somewhere else for folks to talk about the show. Don’t weigh yourself down with behind-the-scenes videos, playlists, exclusive merch, research notes, weekly recommendations and the like. This will feel like an overload and you won’t want to put up Patreon content anymore, which is bad for everyone.

The second thing is to keep tier rewards simple and fair for you. If you want to have a $1 tier, make it a Thank You tier. Actual rewards should start at $5 a month. Why? Well, ask yourself: is my time worth 25 cents a week? No, it’s not.

We recommend a four-tier Patreon as something like this:

• $1/mo: Thank you! No rewards, but you’re supporting a creator and that’s great!
• $5/mo: a bonus podcast where you talk about personal interests or a spin-off of what the podcast is already about. This should be unedited and much less work than your actual show.
• $15/mo: They become a Producer! Every episode, you thank producers for everything they do and you read their names out loud. Plus, the bonus podcast.
• $50 or $69 or $100/mo: I know this looks ridiculous, but it’s supposed to. Psychologically, this is here to make the other tiers look more appealing, but if someone wants to sign up, let them. Because there will only be a few folks who ever get to this level, think of something personalized you can do with them. Let them give you a topic for an episode or run a special (non-recorded) game just for them. Be sure to clarify they must be at this level for a certain amount of time before you plan the special prize. Plus all the other rewards!

How to make a bonus podcast on Patreon:

• Enable podcast settings: It’s super simple to turn your audio posts into podcast episodes. You just have to properly turn on the podcast settings so they create an RSS feed that anyone can copy into nearly any podcast player.
• Set your cover art: Open up Canva because you get to make new podcast cover art! Since your bonus podcast will be a separate show with its own feed, you can create a new name and art. Just make it 3000 x 3000 pixels and you’re good to go.

I don’t even know what I’d write on my Patreon page.

Yes, you do! You already wrote your show description; this is just an expansion of that. Expand it into your first-person voice to fully introduce your hosts and producers, tell them generally what goodies they’ll get from the Patreon, and how this will make your creative job sustainable. It’s that simple. 

Just avoid needy language. This is an ongoing relationship with your Patrons, not a Kickstarter that has to be fulfilled or it fails. So you should avoid words like “support,” “help,” and “donate” that make it feel like you’re clinging to them or it will all fall apart. 

Podcasts are already beacons of the community; this is the group inside that community that will encourage long-term participation. Plus, you get to emphasize your commitment to your audience and foster community at the same time.