Podcast Crowdfunding in the UK in 2021

Imagine having a list of subscribers who are willing to pay you to listen to your awesome content! In this article we will discuss a short step by step guide on how increase your income from your podcast using crowdfunding as your chosen monetizing method. For more information on podcast advertising, go check out our previous post here.

Contents:

• What is podcast crowdfunding?
• Starting off your crowdfunding campaign –
• Step One: Specify your needs
• Step Two: Explain your crowdfunding motivation
• Step Three: Outline your Goals
• Step Four: Give your audience an opportunity to donate
• How to promote a crowdfund

What is podcast crowdfunding?

Podcast crowdfunding is similar to asking for donations in that it is a go fund me method of monetizing a podcast. It is an opportunity for your audience to financially reward your podcast and show their gratitude for all your awesome content.

Starting off your crowdfunding campaign

As a podcaster you will outline a certain monetary target to your audience that you would like to hit in a specific time frame. Nearly two thirds of all UK adults use podcasting as a secondary income alongside their day job. They can enjoy the creative process whilst also showcasing their knowledge on their favourite subject and profiting from it. So – what are you waiting for?

Step One: Specify your needs:

To start off your campaign you will need to be specific about your needs. Establish the compelling reasons why your audience should donate to your fund in return for your awesome content.

It is essential that by this point your podcast already has an established brand and you have regular listeners. If you are just starting your podcast, then you will need to wait until you have built up your show and have a reliable and steady rate of listeners.

It is also important that you have a good interaction and engagement rate with your listeners as this will help you gain more income. You also don’t want your listeners to feel like you are taking advantage of them, so establish a good relation and after a while you can ask for financial rewards for your content.

Step Two: Explain your crowdfunding motivation

In order to hand over their money, your audience will want to know exactly what they are getting for their money’s worth. Explain your intentions behind doing a crowdfund.

Do you need this money to afford for new equipment and therefore improving the listener’s audio experience?

Do you want to create juicer more exclusive and elaborate content for your audience’s pleasure?

Many podcasters use a ‘subscribe’ approach to crowdfunding where if you contribute to the fund, you will be sent a special access code where you will be privy to exclusive content.

More often than not, if you have an established podcast with regular listeners, then you will find that your listeners will want to continue listening to your awesome content and therefore will pay a small donation.

Step Three: Outline your goals

Outline what you will need to achieve your goals. Set out a clear monetary target and set price with a certain time frame for your audience. When setting the time, make sure you leave enough time i.e.. a week for all your audience to be able to hear and download your podcast. You want to give all your audience the opportunity to contribute to the crowdfund.

Similarly, when setting the monetary target for your podcast, don’t go crazy and ask for thousands of pounds in your crowdfund. You want your audience to feel like it’s an equal transaction and not taken for granted.

If you have promised your audience something like exclusive content or better quality content in return for the crowdfund then ensure that you follow through with your promise. This will determine the likelihood of whether your audience will be more or less inclined to contribute to your crowdfund in the future.

Step Four: Give your audience an opportunity

When you have completed your campaign and you’ve decided for example; that you would like to raise £150 in two weeks to be able to buy a new sound recording system to bring better content to your audience; you will need to give your audience the opportunity to be involved.

There are two main ways of doing this.

1 – Send a link to your go fund me page to your audience in your newsletter.

2 – Set up a donate button on your page or social media where your audience can swipe up to donate or press the button with an imbedded link to your page.

How to promote a crowdfund

If at this point you have 1. Your crowdfund campaign sorted and organized and 2. A healthy rate of engaged listeners ready to reward you for your awesome content, then all that’s left to do is promote your crowdfund.

There are three ways of doing this:

1. Promote your crowdfund through your shows. Don’t forget that your listeners download your podcasts every time to listen to you and your knowledge. Mention your crowdfund in your podcast to get your audience’s attention and increase your fund!
2. If you have quite a few listeners engaged on your podcast then you should also have quite a few followers on your social media pages! Use your social media like Instagram and twitter to promote your crowdfund with stories and posts saying that your audience can find the link to your fund me page in your bio.
3. Don’t forget the power of your newsletter. It may seem old fashioned but newsletters and emails work! At the end of your podcast, don’t forget to send your audience a newsletter containing the link to your crowdfund

Go give this a try and let us know how you get on! If you’ve found this article useful, check out our step by step guide on the similar monetization method of asking for donations in your podcast. For more information on how to monetize your podcast go visit our website here. If you liked this article, check out another one on how to find a sponsor for your podcast.