Do podcast guests get paid? The 3 ways guests earn from a show

Should you pay to be on a podcast?

My team pitches new shows every week, and when a host writes back asking for a fee, we don't reply. Pay-to-play shows also tend to send an intake form with 10 to 15 questions about your company's size, or come from a host who books guests to sell to them.

I've never paid to go on a show. I'd consider it for a show whose listeners are my buyers, if its reach matched the price.

How do podcast guests make money?

I kept detailed financial records but only added them up while writing my book. Of the $386,000 I traced to my guest spots, 70% came from hosts. Listeners who reached out after an episode brought in 15%, and reused content such as clips and posts brought in another 15%.

Hosts hire you, refer you or introduce you

Hosts have hired me to run paid ads for their company and to fix their offer. More of the money came through their networks. Raul Hernandez, who hosts Do Good Work, kept introducing me to other shows after my episode. Our services sit next to each other, so we started sending each other the clients we couldn't serve.

I tell each host the exact kind of client I want, so they know who to send. Then I write to them every 60 to 90 days with a reason, such as a guest their audience would like.

Listeners reach out after an episode

An investment firm contacted me after hearing me talk about making a business simpler to run. We did over $150,000 in work for that firm across three of its brands, most of it after 2023. I still get inquiries from episodes I recorded three years ago.

I've also been the buyer. I heard a coach named Roland on one episode and replied to his welcome email. Three days later I signed a $42,000 coaching contract with Roland.

Give listeners one link, and say it inside a story in the first 10 minutes and again at the end, when the host asks where people can find you.

You reuse the content

My marketing assistant pulls 3 to 7 clips from each episode I'm on and posts them on my channels. The show notes help too: most of the sites that link to mikemoll.co are podcast show notes from my guest spots.

Why one guest spot rarely pays on its own

My first guest spot paid $8,000 when someone in the host's network hired my agency. The 20 shows after it made no money. After that, the work came from hosts I kept in touch with and the people they introduced me to.

My Podcast Guesting Program works on the interview and on what you do with the host afterward. The free Get Booked on Podcasts workshop covers getting your first interviews.