What podcast monetization actually looks like in 2026
A clear-eyed map of how independent shows actually earn money in 2026 — the real revenue streams, honest numbers, and where most creators quietly leave money on the table.
The five ways a small show makes money
A practical breakdown of the five real income streams for small podcasts — what each pays, when it switches on, the honest downsides, and how to stack them into a real living.
You don't need 100k downloads to get sponsors
The 100k-download rule is a myth. Here is what advertisers actually pay for, why niche shows win, and how a few hundred of the right listeners can land real, well-paid sponsorships.
How to buy podcast ads without a media agency
A direct-buying playbook for brands that want to run podcast ads themselves, keep the agency margin, and know exactly when hiring one still pays off.
Targeting by meaning, not keywords
Why keyword and category targeting quietly misses the shows that convert, how meaning-based matching finds them, and the failure cases nobody advertises.
Reading CPM, reach, and fill
A plain-English decoder for the three numbers every podcast buyer sees — with worked CPM math and what a good buy versus a bad buy actually looks like.
Measuring podcast ad performance honestly
Pixels, promo codes, surveys, and brand lift each tell a partial truth about podcast ads — here is why any single number lies and what an honest measurement stack looks like.
Why niche beats reach
The math of relevance: how a small, engaged podcast can out-convert a big passive one, when reach still wins, and how to tell which game you are actually playing.
Host-read vs. produced vs. DAI, explained
The three podcast ad formats decoded — what each costs, what each is good at, and the honest tradeoffs between a host's trust and a producer's control.
The honest guide to podcast sponsorship
A plain-spoken, no-hype guide to how podcast sponsorship actually works — download math, ad positions, host-read versus programmatic, honest attribution, disclosure law, and the tradeoffs nobody puts in the sales deck.
Migrating your show to 10AM without losing subscribers
A calm, detailed walkthrough of moving your podcast to 10AM while every subscriber keeps listening — how the redirect works, the real timeline, and the mistakes that actually lose listeners.
Dynamic ad insertion in plain English
What dynamic ad insertion actually is, the real economics behind it, how the margin math works on a mid-roll, and the honest tradeoffs between dynamic and host-read ads.
Own your audience: RSS and why it matters
RSS is the quiet backbone of podcasting and the single reason you — not a platform — can truly own your audience. Here is how it works and what owning it protects.
Analytics that matter (and ones that don't)
A no-nonsense guide to which podcast numbers actually change your decisions, how downloads are really counted, and how to read a drop-off chart instead of panicking at it.
Your show, everywhere: distribution 101
How podcast distribution really works, how one feed reaches every major app, where listening actually happens today, and the metadata that decides whether you get found.
Pricing your first product
A no-nonsense guide to setting your first price — why you should price on value not cost, how anchoring and charm pricing quietly shift what buyers will pay, and the common mistakes that leave money on the table.
UTMs for people who hate UTMs
A no-jargon guide to the five little tags that tell you where your listeners actually came from — with the small, unforgiving rules that make the difference between clean data and a useless mess.
Find your niche and own it
Trying to reach everyone reaches no one. This guide shows how to find a niche specific enough to own, prove there's demand, and then grow outward from a base of people who actually care.
The bi-weekly from 10AM
One email, twice a month — what we shipped and what we learned. No spam.