There are several reasons why you should incorporate podcasts affiliate programs in your online business. Podcasts are much cheaper to start nowadays compared to 10 years ago and it’s a great launching pad for entrepreneurs to better engage with their audience.
This industry has got some of the coolest and sophisticated products and services so if you are interested in this niche, you will be delighted with the offers that I am about to show you. For better understanding, I’ve categorized each into specific categories so that you know what purpose they serve.
Website Hosting and Building
Podcasts are a league on their own when it comes to hosting. Audio recordings make very big files and can take up a lot of storage space (bandwidth) to run smoothly. In most cases, regular website hostings or even the free ones, do not support the load and the speed required by broadcasting activities. It’s just like embedding YouTube on a website – the video is actually hosted on the YouTube platform, not on your website server.
That’s why specialized platforms exist for that purpose because they have the technology and technical support to accommodate for things like fast streaming and downloads. These features will ensure that the audience stays engaged, creates a good user experience for the listeners and help to increase the number of subscribers.
Besides hosting, most services also include integration with WordPress website, plugins, republishing to other podcast directories, and analytics to keep track of the audience’s behaviors. The companies listed below are reputable in the industry and they offer reasonable pricing and very attractive affiliate offers worth checking out.
#1 – Blubrry
- Been around since 2005
- Operation is based 100% in the US
- Offers free phone support for users
- The commission is equivalent to the payment of one month’s service by the customer, ranging from $12 to $80 per month.
#2 – Buzzsprout
- Been around since 2009
- Highly recommended by Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income
- Offers 90 days free trial with no credit card or contracts required.
- Earn $25 for every new customer who signs up for a plan or…
- Earn a 20% recurring commissions through partnership. The partnership offers customers a $20 Amazon gift card bonus when they sign up through your affiliate link.
#3 – Castos
- Offers a 14 day free trial with no credit card required.
- Offers unlimited storage and automated transcription for podcasts.
- Affiliate earns 20% commission per sale.
#4 – Podbean
- Offers a free and premium hosting account for customers.
- Refer customers and earn a one-month payment of service or 20% per sale for an annual subscription.
- Refer advertisers and earn 10% per sale for the first 6 months.
#5 – Podcast Websites
- Offers professional-looking podcast WordPress themes.
- Has a marketplace that offers a discount for podcasting tools and services.
- Highly recommended by John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire
- Affiliate earn $10 per month recurring for every customer referral.
#6 – Smart Podcast Player
- Created by Pat Flynn, the Smart Podcast Player is a premium software that can be embedded on a WordPress website and effectively collects listener’s emails.
- Highly recommended by many professional podcasters.
- Earn 50% recurring commissions for every paid customer.
For more resources by our awesome podcaster, check out Pat Flynn’s affiliate marketing guide here.
Gadgets
Electronic gadgets are a big topic when it comes to podcasting. At any given time, newbies will want to know what are the basic setups and veterans will want to upgrade their settings for better recording quality. Hence product reviews are crucial for helping users make decisions on what they should or shouldn’t invest. Luckily, there are several eCommerce stores that offer plenty of gadget selections in this niche and that means more opportunity to monetize as an affiliate.
#7 – Adorama
Those from New York will know this store very well as it has been around since the 1970s. Carrying over 250,000+ products in their catalog, it’s one of the most reputable electronics retailers out there. They offer in-store pickup and also ships internationally for the customers.
The affiliate program starts from 2% commission with performance-based incentives so, with an average order of $500, you can make about $10 per sale or more. It comes with a 30 days cookie window and you can sign up for free through Impact Radius.
#8 – Amazon
If you are looking for a higher payout with a site that’s more popular, then the Amazon marketplace would be a better choice as it pays a 4% commission for electronic purchases. In fact, most podcasters join the Amazon Associate Program and frequently use their affiliate links when talking about gadget setups.
Given the fact that many people own a Prime account, it’s a lot easier to send customers to this outlet than anywhere else especially during Black Friday and Cyber Monday when sales are expected to peak. Read these affiliate marketing strategies to learn more about promoting Amazon products – the smart way.
Education and Resources
Even though podcasting seems very popular, it’s still a fairly new media and tends to get a lot of questions from newbies. I noticed many hosting platforms mentioned above are generous in providing free start-up guides and that’s good information for people who just want to get a rough idea.
However, for entrepreneurs who are serious about expanding their business through podcasting, it’s best to invest in books and paid courses to fully master the skills. The resources below have some good quality training materials and thus, recommended.
#9 – Audible Creator Program
Audible is basically a subscription program that offers more than 180,000 audiobooks across various genres so your listeners are bound to find something useful in the huge depository. During the 30-day trial, new members not only get to listen to a book for free, but you also get to earn a $15 commission by just referring to the trial membership.
This is a stark difference from the regular Audible Affiliate program that only pays $5 per trial generated if you are an Amazon Associate. That’s $10 more. The only downside is that a $30 threshold is required before payment can be made to you, but hey, if you have a high number of subscribers, that shouldn’t be a problem.
People who crave knowledge will enjoy a good book and busy hustlers will certainly appreciate the convenience of an audiobook. So, find a title you think can benefit your audience or better yet, create a virtual library for them to go through your selected choices.
#10 – The Podcast Host Academy
This premium training site is created by Colin Gray and has been around since 2011. Designed to help entrepreneurs launch and run successful podcasts, it is fully equipped with tools, community support and most importantly, step-by-step courses that teach the basic setups to advanced monetizing techniques.
The 30-day money-back guarantee membership comes with a monthly and annual plan to choose from. As an affiliate, you get to earn 50% of the first payment for monthly plans and 20% of the first payment for the annual plans.
#11 – Udemy
If you’ve been doing online marketing for a while, you’ll be familiar with the Udemy learning platform. Some experts and veterans actually use the site to teach about podcasting at fairly reasonable prices. All courses are video guided and self-paced with occasional notes for downloads.
When choosing a course to recommend, make sure to verify the profile of the instructor and review the ratings left by previous students. To better authenticate the quality of the training, it’s best to take the course yourself. The Udemy affiliate program offers a 15% commission per sale, 7 days cookie and it’s available through Rakuten Marketing and FlexOffers.
Podcast Services
When someone ventures into podcasting, it’s very clear they want their business to stand out but that usually requires a lot of marketing work behind the scenes. Not everyone has the time and skills to accomplish it all and that’s where outsourcing technical tasks can help get the job done a lot faster and more efficient.
#12 – Design Crowd
As the name suggests, Design Crowd is a site that provides professional design services for businesses through crowdsourcing. Businesses get to select the most unique work from various designers around the world at a fairly reasonable price. The site is endorsed by Unicef and Virgin Airlines and now, it’s made available for podcasters too.
The affiliate program pays $35 per sale and comes with a 60 days cookie window. You can sign up for free via CJ Affiliate.
#13 – Cashflow Podcasting
This company specializes in planning and creating podcasts for busy entrepreneurs. That includes editing, production, and publishing on an ongoing basis. Just let them know the concept of your business, record the podcasts and the team will launch the rest for you within 30 days.
Their partnership offers very lucrative payout as outlined below;
- $500 per referral for the first 10 referrals (10 referrals = You earn $5,000)
- $750 per referral for the next 10 referrals (20 referrals = You earn $12,500)
- $1,000 per referral over 20 referrals (40 referrals = You earn $32,500)
Having said that, they are looking for podcasters who are experienced and already have an audience base to join their referral program. If you feel like you are one of them, get in touch with the team to schedule a phone call.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, the offerings from the podcast industry alone are pretty diverse. Many pay attractive commissions and with digital services especially, you can expect higher and potential recurring payouts. And we haven’t even dive into specific niches yet where there are even more verticals to venture.
If you are podcast enthusiasts or thinking about launching one soon, you should definitely take advantage of these podcast affiliate programs. The effort put into reviewing these products and services will be very helpful for the audience who are trying to create a successful podcast channel. While you are at that, check out this awesome community business platform to learn more about diversifying your affiliate income.
Do you know of any podcast affiliate program worth adding to this list? Let us know in the comment space below.
Fantastic posts Cathy. I’m totally new to podcasting and have been looking for a good resource on the topic to help guide me. Found it and now bookmarked.
For someone starting out in this space, the temptation would be to sign up for as many programs as possible to get the coverage. I’m thinking a targeted approach would be more effective. You mention that many programs are looking for members who already have an established audience.
What program would you recommend a complete newbie investigate first?
Definitely go with the Amazon Associate Program first. It has lesser requirements than other sites and the approval should come easy as long as you’ve got a good amount of content and some traffic to your blog. Just take note that if you don’t make any sales within 180 days, your account will be closed. However, you can always reactivate it at a later date.
Interesting list of podcast affiliate programs you have there. After reading this, I am starting to get an idea of how to make money from podcasts. As a beginner, which program would you recommend I get started with? Thanks.
I would say the Amazon Associate Program is probably a good starting point especially when you’re talking about setups. You can literally find all the stuff you need there. As for podcasts training and services, those are the things you need to try out individually and see what works for your audience.
The main issue with podcasting is that it consumes a lot of space and this means requiring a lot of storage space to properly run streaming. The hosting companies you suggested are experts in this field and I have no doubt they do a good job with it.
If I may ask, please what are the major things to look out for in a Podcast affiliate program?
I would say authority and some experience in the niche are important to get approval for the programs. Many deal with sophisticated and pricey services thus your blog has to be able to attract highly targeted customers for these companies. As you can see, some will want to have a chat with you first before letting you into the program. That’s how serious they are about the business.
It’s of no doubt that podcast has grown into a very important part of marketing and business. It helps with some cogent things like for business personnel to engage with their audience.
It’s interesting what these 13 podcast affiliate programs could offer – some of them I’ve never even heard of. The hosting features that come with some of these platforms will make it easier for your audience to engage by the virtue of other tools they provide.
There are a lot of people who don’t have the time to watch videos or read articles nowadays. So podcast channels are a good alternative to explore. It’s just like listening to audiobooks. I think there’s a huge market for this, considering that people are so attached to their phones nowadays. Pat Flynn is really the trailblazer for the podcast niche!
Yup, what he does is pretty cool and he continues to share and teach other people to do the same thing.