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Before I even began my journey as a podcaster, I was completely lost, confused and on the verge of a breakdown.

I wanted to do something meaningful and didn’t know where I can make an impact.

I knew I wanted to have a creative outlet to share the incredible stories I was hearing during my travels in order to inspire others. So, instead of blogging, I decided to do a podcast.

I had no idea what to do. I am not technically savvy so choosing this medium was so foreign to me.

But my passion and determination always trump my cluelessness.

My first few episodes were, for the lack of a better word – crap. The audio was horrible, but the joy I got from speaking to amazing and inspiring people kept me going.

As I was getting more involved in the podcasting community, I kept seeing the same theme on creating income from so many podcasters.

A few that kept popping up were:

“It is hard and almost impossible to create income as a podcaster. You either need to have a huge audience from the start, have a ton of downloads or would need to create a coaching business or courses to make money.”

“Don’t even think about sponsorships when you’re first starting out. That is the hardest way to create income!”

“It takes years to make money”.

Hearing all of this, I was not expecting to actually create income my first year as a podcaster – let alone make 11K in a month from sponsorships- but I have!

Here are the 3 reasons why I’ve made 11K in a month as a podcaster:

I’ve listened to the people who make money – not the ones who can’t.

Have you ever heard of the quote by Jim Rohn — ‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.’

Well, if you keep hanging out with people who tell you-you cant create income, then guess what. You won’t.

When I was listening to those naysayers, I knew that there had to be another way to approach this industry.

So, I used my platform to start talking to the right people. I was interviewing so many freelancers and entrepreneurs who gave me solid advice on how to approach sponsors, how to reach out to clients and how to negotiate -that even with the little downloads I had, I was getting noticed.

Start approaching people who are able to thrive in their industry. They do not have to be in a similar niche as you, they just need to be successful at creating income.

Once you find them, ask how they approach clients and the tricks that have worked for them.

Write down all their answers and start experimenting to see which techniques will work for you and your business.

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I’ve learned how to negotiate and sell my brand.

When you are first starting out, it can be extremely intimidating to approach and sell your brand to potential sponsors.

With every pitch I make, I don’t think about the “no’s” and believe me I have received so many.

I think of it as a job interview. The more I practice, the better I will be and when I find the right brands I’ll know how to answer their questions, and sell my product.

In the last 3 months I have emailed over 200 companies, and only received a handful of replies – many were rejections.

From that handful of replies, I was able to get several calls and have made thousands of dollars because I took the initiative and practiced my approach.

Remember, you do not need to land all 200 companies- you need less than a handful to make thousands of dollars if you know how to negotiate.

I know many of you are still in your 9-5, so you have the luxury of not having the pressure of creating income solely from your podcast, blog, vlog or whatever medium you are pursuing.

Take advantage of this opportunity and practice, practice, practice.

Like with any job interviews, you will be getting similar questions from sponsors and clients, so learn, practice and perfect your pitch.

How did I learn how to pitch and negotiate you ask?

Well, I was fortunate enough to meet Jacob Fu and Esther Julee who are the founders of localadventurer.com – they have one of the top travel blogs in the world and have made a career from their blog.

I started asking questions and Jacob luckily has an e-course that explained everything I needed to know.

I can not talk enough great things about their e-course because it has completely changed my mindset and allowed me to become confident to ask for what I want.

By using Jacob’s techniques I was able to negotiate deals and tripled a budget that my client had, which allowed me to create more income!

Some of the incredible techniques that he has shown me were how to always close the deal on the phone, not via email. 

When you get on the call, you build a better relationship with the individuals. So I can not say this enough…

Get them on the phone to land the deal.

Another valuable lesson that I learned was the importance of pricing myself by testing rather than following the industry standard. 

This is how I was able to create sustainable income right from the beginning as a podcaster. 

If you want to check out Jacob and Esther’s e-course visit localadventurer.com/offbeat and enter the code OFFBEAT100 to get $100 off your purchase.

But with anything else, Jacob will teach you the techniques but you still have to do the leg work.

It is not easy, but if you are persistent, you will achieve it!

I don’t chase the sexy.

If you are in the travel, beauty, and lifestyle industry- there is A LOT of competition.

You will find that sexy brands will never run out of people who will give them content for free.

Right now you’re asking “What is sexy and why shouldn’t I be chasing them?”.

Think about all the companies that the people in your niche are all vying for – luxury hotels, lux fashion, airlines, and tourism boards to name a few.

Now think, how many of those influencers or content creators are actually getting paid versus the ones who are just getting them for free?

For the most part, unless you have amassed a huge following – you will be getting these perks for free but are never paid.

Resulting in you never actually creating income so you can never leave your 9-5.

So, start thinking out of the box.

Instead of going after what you want, start getting to know your audience and start asking them what they need and want.

Learn their pain points. What will make their life easier? What type of products do they already invest in?

Once you find this out, it will be easier for you to compile a list of companies that you can pitch your services to- resulting in the much-needed income you need to thrive as a freelancer and business owner.

If you want to get more info on how to create a sponsor list, where and how I find my contacts click here to get it.

Becoming a pro podcaster is not easy folks, it is not for everyone. But if you are willing to do the work and are persistent, you can become very successful.

I love hearing all your stories, so make sure to reach out to me, and of course, if you have any questions I am always here to help.

If you are a business that needs help to generate leads from their podcasts or to automate your production, schedule a call here and we can talk more about your needs and how I can help. 

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