9 Podcasting Business Success Stories [2024]
Podcasting businesses often start as a hobby. You publish a few episodes and posts, and soon you will start getting engagements from interested parties.
However, to earn money from your podcasting business, you need to put a lot of effort and time into producing quality shows that address your audience's concerns.
To grow your podcast business, ensure regular publishing, which brings better growth, more listeners to your channel, and a higher income.
Here is a list of steps to help you transition the podcast from a hobby to a full-time podcast business:
- Ensure a focused effort and adjust the tone of each podcast episode
- Make podcasting your priority
- Focus on building
- Grow a mailing list
- Aim at building a trusted brand
- Develop a long-term growth and marketing plan
In this list, you'll find real-world podcasting business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a podcasting business that makes money.
1. Empire Flippers ($4.2M/year)
Gregory Elfrink came up with the idea for Empire Flippers when his outsourcing company in the Philippines lost a major client, leading him to explore the world of niche sites. After finding success with his own niche sites and receiving requests from others to sell their websites, Elfrink pivoted to become a full-time broker. With a focus on transparency and content marketing, Empire Flippers has become a leading M&A advisory business for online businesses, brokering over $50 million worth of deals.
How much money it makes: $4.2M/year
How many people on the team: 53
Empire Flippers is a thought leader in brokering online business deals, having brokered over $50 million worth of deals and grown their pool of potential buyers by hundreds every month through a focus on content marketing and middle-of-funnel content.
2. Guestio ($1.8M/year)
Travis Chappell came up with the idea for Guestio after realizing the difficulty entrepreneurs faced in getting booked on good podcasts for promotion. He leveraged his experience as a podcast host and created a Saas marketplace that connects podcast guests to hosts, helping them have better conversations. With an initial investment of $1.3 million and a recent $220k month in revenue, Guestio is rapidly growing in the podcasting industry.
How much money it makes: $1.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $90K
How many people on the team: 7
Guestio, a Saas marketplace connecting podcast guests to podcast hosts, founded by Travis Chappell, recently raised $1.3 million in a pre-seed round and clocked in a $220k month in August 2022 through their software subscription and agency, featuring an impressive marketing funnel strategy.
3. Influence Podium ($480K/year)
Marti Sanchez, the CEO of Influence Podium, came up with the idea for his business after ghostwriting papers for B2B CEOs in college. He realized the power of personal branding and content, and eventually launched Influence Podium to help B2B CEOs grow their personal brands and create content at scale. Now in its 3rd year, Influence Podium has crossed $30k MRR and aims to hit seven figures by the end of the year.
How much money it makes: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 6
Influence Podium CEO Marti Sanchez started his content service for B2B CEOs three years ago, which now helps get CEOs of companies on podcasts and repurposes those episodes. They have crossed $30k MRR and their next goal is to hit seven figures by the end of the year, while completely self-funded.
4. ryrob.com ($480K/year)
Ryan Robinson started his blog ryrob.com in college as a way to share the lessons he learned from starting a business around his product, the iStash. After a viral post on HackerNews and Twitter, Ryan saw the potential to build a community around his blog and turned it into a full-time business. Now, his blog has around 500,000 monthly readers and generates between $25,000 to $55,000 in revenue each month through affiliate partnerships, sponsorships, and the sale of his own digital products.
How much money it makes: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 1
Ryan Robinson explains how he built a blog with over 500k monthly visitors and generates $25,000-$55,000 in revenue each month through affiliate partnerships, sponsorships, and his own digital products like courses and books.
5. Ecom Crew Podcast ($420K/year)
EcomCrew, an ecommerce blog and podcast, was founded by Mike Jackness and an unnamed co-founder in 2014. With a passion for content creation and a desire to share ecommerce knowledge, they started EcomCrew and eventually monetized it through a membership program. They now generate around $35,000 a month in revenue.
How much money it makes: $420K/year
How many people on the team: 3
EcomCrew is an ecommerce blog and podcast that took three years to monetize and now brings in around $35,000 a month by selling a membership to a private ecommerce group that includes exclusive access to ecommerce courses, webinars, events and more, with plans slowly becoming more expensive to expand with new content.
6. Audivita Studios ($360K/year)
David Wolf, a long-time music composer and audio producer, recognized the growing market for spoken word audio content and decided to start Audivita Studios, an audio production company that produces audiobooks and podcasts. With $400k in annualized revenues in 2021 and a team of 4 core members, Audivita is experiencing rapid growth and expanding its reach in markets like India, Europe, and Australia.
How much money it makes: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 4
Audivita Studios, a podcast and audiobook production company, was founded by David Wolf and is rapidly growing with $400k annualized revenues in 2021, a team of a dozen freelance contractors and some 300+ clients, with a core team of four independent contractors.
7. Fame ($204K/year)
Tom Hunt, the founder of Fame, came up with the idea for his podcast growth service while working as the head of marketing at a B2B SaaS business. After experiencing success with their own podcast, Tom decided to launch Fame and offer the same growth process to other B2B brands. He validated the idea by converting his ex-employer into his first client and finding two more clients through a blog he had built on the side.
How much money it makes: $204K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 3
Fame's founder, Tom Hunt, shares how he started a $17k/month podcast growth service for B2B SaaS and service businesses, and provides insights on how he grew the business to $20k MRR and his plans to hit $50k MRR by the end of 2021 through prioritizing revenue and customer satisfaction.
8. Ask Holly Hall ($72K/year)
Holly Hall, a clairvoyant life coach, was introduced to the world of astrology and spiritual therapy through a book lent by a co-worker. With her unique abilities and a deep understanding of individuals, she launched her business, Ask Holly Hall, and has since garnered endorsements from esteemed figures like Dr. Shefali. With an average income of $5,000-8,000 per month, she aims to expand her reach through podcasting and publishing her book with a publishing company.
How much money it makes: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
Meet the Clairvoyant life coach who has built a highly successful business generating an average income of $5,000-8,000 a month through her talents as an Author, LifeCoach Astropsychologist, Spiritual Therapist, astrologer, and Clairvoyant with the ability in remote viewing to help clients understand their existence, relationships, careers, and connection with the universe or source.
9. Sober Powered Media ($60K/year)
Gill, the founder of Sober Powered Media, came up with the idea for her business after growing her own podcast to become a top mental health podcast in just two years. She saw an opportunity to bring together other top mental health podcasts to monetize their shows with sponsorships and share their expertise in a mastermind group. With her background in biochemistry and a passion for helping others, Gill launched Sober Powered Media to support and connect mental health podcasters.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 0
With a successful podcast already under her belt, Gill founded Sober Powered Media to monetize mental health podcasts through sponsorships, cross-promotion, and a mastermind group, with income streams from podcast and Instagram coaching, writing, and a membership for her listeners.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
