By: Elizabeth Coffey, Marketing G2 Digital Marketing Specialist

Podcasts are the latest way for news organizations to drive engagement and audience revenue. While the market seems to be swimming in an overabundance of podcasts, they’re still an easy way to make money once you understand your audience, what they need, and what makes them want to tune in.

Other reasons why podcasts are a great opportunity for your news organization include:

1. It's easy to get started – Once you’re sure you have the time and resources (journalists) to do a podcast, it’s not that difficult to get started. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment or a lot of startup money. You just need a working microphone, a way to record your conversation with guests, and a way to share your content with your audience.


2. You can re-package and re-purpose your podcast episodes – Once a podcast has been recorded, that doesn’t mean the end of its lifecycle. Since it’s audio, you can repurpose the material into other mediums like video, a written story, etc.


3. Podcasts help your audience establish a deeper connection with you – Help your audience connect and build a deep relationship with your news brand. Podcasts allow journalists' personalities to shine through and can help establish trust as well as awareness in your brand.


4. You can make money off of podcasts – Podcasts are easily monetized through sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and even product promotion, but it’s important to strike the right balance between these revenue generators and actual journalism so you don’t come across as one giant and annoying talking ad.


5. Podcasts can be used to drive traffic to your website - Podcasts can bolster your credibility and authority which will make your audience want to turn to you and your website when they have a question about what’s going on in the world. Another way podcasts boost website traffic is through show notes which usually contain references and resources of information in the way of backlinks to your site.


6. Podcasts are long-form content pieces that hold people’s attention – Unfortunately, attention spans are shrinking. While people sometimes stop reading halfway through an article, they’re less likely to stop listening to a podcast midway through. Podcasts yield better / longer engagements.

What podcasts are you listening to?