Get people to pay real money for your podcast

Lessons from three shows that have actually made me open my wallet (or want to).

I’ve had several questions recently about podcast monetisation. It’s a topic we’ve covered before in Podcast Strategy Weekly, but since it’s such a perennial issue, it’s worth revisiting.

There are a few shows I listen to that have successfully convinced me to pay for their premium offering. I thought it would be interesting to break down those shows, explore their strategies, and assess what they did well.

If you pay for podcasts yourself, I’d love to know what made you hit that ‘subscribe’ button. I’m building a database of shows with successful monetisation strategies so we can all learn from their best practices. If you have suggestions, just reply to this email.

Learn from three shows with successful paid strategies - read on…

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Kill List

What it is

By several charts and reviews, Kill List was one of the best podcasts of 2024—an incredible story about a scam murder-for-hire site and Karl Miller’s team’s attempts to find and protect people targeted for assassination.

It started as a six-part investigative narrative and later transitioned into a globe-trotting weekly procedural, with each episode focusing on a single case. The show was produced by UK-based production company Novel and published by Wondery.

What they offered

The first episodes were available for free, with subsequent episodes released weekly. However, listeners who wanted to binge the entire initial run could access all six episodes immediately by subscribing to Wondery. This also removed ads, allowing for uninterrupted listening.

When the show switched to a weekly procedural, Wondery subscribers could listen a week early and ad-free. Plus, a Wondery subscription unlocked access to other shows in its catalogue—similar to a Netflix-style model.

Why I paid

Novel and Wondery did a fantastic job promoting Kill List. They built buzz through:

• Heavy cross-promotion on other podcasts

• Trailers and social media clips

• A major out-of-home marketing campaign, including billboards in Times Square and Leicester Square

• Extensive earned media, including TV appearances by Karl Miller

This hype, combined with the uniqueness of the story, made me listen as soon as the first episodes dropped. And once I was hooked, I had to hear the rest. Like a dealer offering the first hit for free, they got me.

I was also more inclined to pay because I’d had positive experiences with other Wondery shows, meaning I already trusted the brand to give me something high-quality.

The lessons

1. The power of marketing – A strong pre-launch campaign across paid, earned, and owned media creates buzz and increases the likelihood of subscriptions.

2. Offer unique value – A truly one-of-a-kind story makes it much easier to justify paying for content.

3. Hook listeners with a freebie – A compelling first episode with a cliffhanger creates urgency. Combine that with FOMO from a well-executed marketing campaign and a trusted brand, and paying becomes an easy decision.

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Football for Kids

What it is

Sports journalist and football dad Darren Rees presents a weekly podcast about famous footballers, clubs, tournaments, and other football-related topics. As the name suggests, it’s aimed at children, with each episode lasting 10–15 minutes and starting with listener shout-outs.

What is offered

In addition to the free episodes, Darren launched a Patreon:

• £3/month (Super-listener): Access to an extra monthly episode, plus ad-free listening, early access to some episodes, listener interaction including polls and a comments board.

• £5/month (Club Captain): A guaranteed shout-out for kids on future episodes.

Why I paid

I discovered Football for Kids while searching for a podcast to enjoy with my then-eight-year-old football-mad son. It quickly became a staple of our bedtime routine.

Honestly, I subscribed because of my son’s relentless insistence (never underestimate pester power!). By the time Darren launched the Patreon, we’d already listened to every available episode, so the offer of additional content was an easy sell.

The price point made it easy to justify as an alternative to pocket money. Darren also does a great job promoting the Patreon just frequently enough to make you want to stay subscribed.

The lessons

1. Pester power is real – Kids are an underserved podcast audience, and parents place high value on quality children’s audio. Plus, kids are powerful spending motivators!

2. Exclusive content matters – Ad-free listening isn’t a strong enough incentive alone, but genuinely exclusive episodes add tangible value that justifies a subscription.

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The Rest is Entertainment

What it is

One of many “The Rest Is…” podcasts from Goalhanger, The Rest is Entertainment features Marina Hyde and Richard Osman discussing media, showbiz, and entertainment. It’s knowledgeable, insightful, and funny - a twice-weekly breakdown of the biggest stories in entertainment.

What is offered

Goalhanger has standardised a smart subscription model across all its shows, using Supporting Cast to offer two tiers:

• £5.99/month (VIP): Ad-free listening, early access to live show tickets, early access to weekly Q&A episodes, and access to the newsletter archive.

• £7.99/month (AAA): All of the above, plus a subscriber-only chat and book discounts.

But the thing that really made me sit up and take notice was one specific offer they made. One week, during the finale of The Traitors, they announced a subscriber-only special Q&A about the show - hitting right when demand was highest.

Why I almost paid - but didn't

Honestly, the only reason I didn’t open my wallet for this one was timing: I was listening at the time on my motorbike, and that’s not exactly conducive for making online payments! Had I received a subsequent prompt at another time, they would have had me.

Plus, the offering was appealing for a single episode, but it wasn’t clear that there would be additional value beyond that. A special series, more exclusive content - maybe those would have tipped it over for me.

Edit: Goalhanger have been in touch to confirm that The Rest is Entertainment do indeed offer regular subscriber-only episodes. This week (w/c March 3) they’re running a special on the Ryan Murphy TV empire. So I guess the point I’m really making is about the topicality and timing of the Traitors episode offer, and that by timing your offer well you can attract attention.

The lessons

1. Timely exclusivity drives action – Making premium content available at the peak of audience interest (e.g., a special Q&A right after a major TV event) is a great way to convert free listeners into paying subscribers.

2. But it needs to be consistent - Asking listeners to pay based on one particular special episode can be powerful, but they’re signing up to pay every month, so they should be getting something valuable on a regular basis.

3. Leverage replicable scalability - developing a model that can be applied across multiple shows makes an offering easy to roll out, and allows you to monetise your whole catalogue fast.

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Actions you can take right now

1. Audit your offering – What’s your hook? Do you have a compelling reason for people to pay? Review your show’s unique value and think about what exclusive content, perks, or early access you could offer.

2. Test a subscription model – Whether it’s Patreon, Supporting Cast, Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, or another platform, consider trialling a paid tier. Even a simple ad-free version or occasional bonus episode can be a starting point.

3. Create a FOMO moment – Plan a limited-time, exclusive episode tied to a cultural moment. If there’s a major event in your niche coming up, brainstorm a premium offer around it.

4. Tweak your marketing – Are you promoting your monetisation options enough? Make sure you’re reminding listeners about your premium offering at natural points in your show—without overdoing it.

5. Learn from the best – Check out the podcasts mentioned in this newsletter and others that are successfully monetising. What tactics could you adapt for your own show?

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Founding members

Thanks so much to the paying subscribers who support Podcast Strategy Weekly. In particular, thank you to our founding members:

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Worth your time

There have been many, many articles written about YouTube’s claim to have reached 1 billion monthly podcast users, with responses ranging from unbridled enthusiasm to outright cynicism. James Cridland, on the ever-excellent PodNews, put together a helpful article digging deeper into the context of YouTube’s claims and aggregating some of the more useful responses.

Julia Alexander also provided some useful context exploring why YouTube is obsessed with messaging around the number “1 billion” - and what it tells us about YouTube’s future podcast plans:

All those “one billion” figures keep popping up. We heard it originally for how many visitors were coming to YouTube for music. And then again for the number of people watching YouTube on TV. Therefore, it should surprise anyone that it’s the same figure that YouTube disclosed for its podcast business. All this data and proactive narrative storytelling tells us what we can expect to see out of YouTube with podcasts going forward.

Read the full article on her substack Posting Nexus.

What do you make of YouTube’s claims? Are you investing more in YouTube for your podcast, or focusing elsewhere?

As ever, thanks so much for reading.

See you next week!

Chris