14 Podcasting Business Success Stories [2024]
Podcasting businesses often start as a hobby. You publish a few episodes and posts, and soon you will start getting engagements from interested parties.
However, to earn money from your podcasting business, you need to put a lot of effort and time into producing quality shows that address your audience's concerns.
To grow your podcast business, ensure regular publishing, which brings better growth, more listeners to your channel, and a higher income.
Here is a list of steps to help you transition the podcast from a hobby to a full-time podcast business:
- Ensure a focused effort and adjust the tone of each podcast episode
- Make podcasting your priority
- Focus on building
- Grow a mailing list
- Aim at building a trusted brand
- Develop a long-term growth and marketing plan
Here are some real life success stories of starting a podcasting business:
1. Influence Podium ($480K/year)
Marti Sanchez, the CEO of Influence Podium, came up with the idea for his business after ghostwriting papers for B2B CEOs in college. He realized the power of personal branding and content, and eventually launched Influence Podium to help B2B CEOs grow their personal brands and create content at scale. Now in its 3rd year, Influence Podium has crossed $30k MRR and aims to hit seven figures by the end of the year.
How much they make: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 6
Influence Podium CEO Marti Sanchez started his content service for B2B CEOs three years ago, which now helps get CEOs of companies on podcasts and repurposes those episodes. They have crossed $30k MRR and their next goal is to hit seven figures by the end of the year, while completely self-funded.
2. Ask Holly Hall ($72K/year)
Holly Hall, a clairvoyant life coach, was introduced to the world of astrology and spiritual therapy through a book lent by a co-worker. With her unique abilities and a deep understanding of individuals, she launched her business, Ask Holly Hall, and has since garnered endorsements from esteemed figures like Dr. Shefali. With an average income of $5,000-8,000 per month, she aims to expand her reach through podcasting and publishing her book with a publishing company.
How much they make: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
Current team size:
Meet the Clairvoyant life coach who has built a highly successful business generating an average income of $5,000-8,000 a month through her talents as an Author, LifeCoach Astropsychologist, Spiritual Therapist, astrologer, and Clairvoyant with the ability in remote viewing to help clients understand their existence, relationships, careers, and connection with the universe or source.
So... can you actually make money with a podcasting business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. JAR Audio ($1.44M/year)
How much they make: $1.44M/year
Current team size: 24
JAR Audio: The podcast agency achieving listen-through rates of 95-100%.
4. Castos ($1.5M/year)
How much they make: $1.5M/year
Current team size: 17
Castos, a podcasting platform founded in 2017 by Craig Hewitt, boasts over 10 million podcast downloads, with Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin installed over 30,000 times and 10,000 active users, generating $1.5M in ARR.
So... can you actually make money with a podcasting business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
5. Journey To Launch ($252K/year)
How much they make: $252K/year
Current team size:
Jamila Souffrant's Journey to Launch podcast amassed over 2 million downloads in a year, made it to the Forbes feature, and has helped many listeners come out of debt, stop living paycheck to paycheck and build-savings.
6. Guestio ($1.8M/year)
Travis Chappell came up with the idea for Guestio after realizing the difficulty entrepreneurs faced in getting booked on good podcasts for promotion. He leveraged his experience as a podcast host and created a Saas marketplace that connects podcast guests to hosts, helping them have better conversations. With an initial investment of $1.3 million and a recent $220k month in revenue, Guestio is rapidly growing in the podcasting industry.
How much they make: $1.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $90K
Current team size: 7
Guestio, a Saas marketplace connecting podcast guests to podcast hosts, founded by Travis Chappell, recently raised $1.3 million in a pre-seed round and clocked in a $220k month in August 2022 through their software subscription and agency, featuring an impressive marketing funnel strategy.
So... can you actually make money with a podcasting business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
7. Sober Powered Media ($60K/year)
Gill, the founder of Sober Powered Media, came up with the idea for her business after growing her own podcast to become a top mental health podcast in just two years. She saw an opportunity to bring together other top mental health podcasts to monetize their shows with sponsorships and share their expertise in a mastermind group. With her background in biochemistry and a passion for helping others, Gill launched Sober Powered Media to support and connect mental health podcasters.
How much they make: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
Current team size: 0
With a successful podcast already under her belt, Gill founded Sober Powered Media to monetize mental health podcasts through sponsorships, cross-promotion, and a mastermind group, with income streams from podcast and Instagram coaching, writing, and a membership for her listeners.
8. Afford Anything ($126K/year)
How much they make: $126K/year
Current team size: 14
How Paula left behind a high-powered, high-stress job to become a self-employed writer, built a six-figure income, then invested in real estate, allowing her to travel the world while her properties earn her money.
9. BrandonGaille.com ($300K/year)
How much they make: $300K/year
Current team size:
Learn how Brandon Gaille built a blogging empire from the 1990s, amassing enormous wealth and now getting a combined 6 million visits/month across three websites by utilizing AI-powered SEO tools and podcasting.
10. Empire Flippers ($4.2M/year)
Gregory Elfrink came up with the idea for Empire Flippers when his outsourcing company in the Philippines lost a major client, leading him to explore the world of niche sites. After finding success with his own niche sites and receiving requests from others to sell their websites, Elfrink pivoted to become a full-time broker. With a focus on transparency and content marketing, Empire Flippers has become a leading M&A advisory business for online businesses, brokering over $50 million worth of deals.
How much they make: $4.2M/year
Current team size: 53
Empire Flippers is a thought leader in brokering online business deals, having brokered over $50 million worth of deals and grown their pool of potential buyers by hundreds every month through a focus on content marketing and middle-of-funnel content.
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
