Buzzsprout Monetization in Beta

[00:00:00] Brittany: There has been a really exciting update from Buzzsprout. Rob, have you heard anything about. 

[00:00:05] Rob: I heard some murmurings, but I'll let you break that news to our listeners. 

[00:00:11] Brittany: So they are in beta for monetization, which is super, super exciting because other platforms do have this Buzzsprout has been lacking when it comes to this.So very exciting that they have released this. It just came out in May, which is awesome. I know that I know a lot of people have been waiting for it. And now that it's in beta, you can earn money, however, you don't get paid out until the beta is over. So that's the drawback there. 

[00:00:37] Rob: So maybe just a little more information for myself and others. When we say monetization, I go directly to ads And I'm probably not alone. I think the traditional podcast model of inserting an ad, is it just that, or is there more to it that people can be earning potentially? 

[00:00:54] Brittany: So right now it is just, you get to pick what advertisements can be put into your [00:01:00] podcast.

[00:01:00] They're automatically added by Buzzsprout so you don't have to do anything. You just approve what podcasts you would want to advertise. I believe all of them currently the advertisements are for other podcasts, which is super cool, makes it easier. So you're not, advertising products right out the gate, but they've made it.

[00:01:16] So I think Jordan harbinger is one that's advertising. That's one that just always comes to the top. we are advertising with our podcast, which is super exciting, I don't know how much money we're going to make, but, we'll keep you posted on how much we end up making with our podcast through this beta program. 

[00:01:31] Rob: And I think you hit on something that makes it attractive to podcasters, especially those who are doing all the production work on their own. You mentioned that it's automatically added. So by participating in this. You're not adding any production time to your schedule. Is that safe to say for fair to say 

[00:01:51] Brittany: Correct. You will just upload your episodes, just like you normally do. And then you go click the monetize button. There are some requirements you have to meet in order to participate in beta, but after that you literally just go click through and either approve or decline each advertisement. And then they go through and put the mid roll in there for you. 

[00:02:10] Rob: Which sounds awesome. I like easy-peasy. 

[00:02:12] Brittany: Yes. 

[00:02:13] Rob: And you just mentioned requirements. So if somebody is suddenly interested and they want to try to enroll in this program, what are they got to do? And what minimum requirements do they have to hit?

[00:02:23] Brittany: So you do have to have at least five published episodes, which if you're just starting out. You might not be there. So that can be a drawback for some of the newbies in the podcasting space. The other thing that might be a little bit harder for people to hit is a thousand downloads in the last 30 days. So that is one that can be tougher to hit. If you are a newer podcaster and haven't quite grown your audience to that point. 

[00:02:49] Rob: And I would say with that one, there's a great opportunity to check out our other podcasts, pod drops, which is based all around learning podcasting in 60 seconds. And we give a ton of tips around marketing and self-promotion. So if you are the new podcasts or take a minute, literally a minute and check that out. 

[00:03:10] Brittany: Yes. And at 60 seconds or less. So some of them aren't even 62nd tips. They're less than that. So yes, you should go check it out. The other thing is that you have to have episodes that are at least 23 minutes long. It doesn't mean every episode has to be 23 minutes long, but you do have to have some that are longer than 23 minutes.

[00:03:26] Rob: And do we have any idea how picky Buzzsprout is being, say that I have only five episodes. And only one of them hit the 23 minute mark. Do we know if we would qualify or do we think they're being like, Hmm, at least 50% of your episodes gotta be over that 23 minute mark. 

[00:03:42] Brittany: They didn't specifically say they just said that you have to have episodes that are at least 23 minutes long.

I would assume that they're being a little bit picky because obviously, this is beta. They want to see how it works with podcasts that have, I guess more depth to them. like our PoDrops does not qualify for this beta because our episodes are 60 seconds or less. there is a drawback there to the PoDrops cause we have put a lot of production and things into that series. So it's unfortunate that we will not be able to monetize that through Buzzsprout. 

[00:04:11] Rob True. Maybe we'll just do a mega episode where we lump 23 of them together and say, we qualify now. I'm just kidding. 

[00:04:19] Brittany:  yeah, let me know how that goes. I'm not doing that. Your job 

[00:04:21] Rob: and onto the next project. Nevermind. 

[00:04:24] Brittany: Yes. You also have to verify your email through Buzzsprout. That's super easy. they send you a verification email, you click it. You're verified. So that's easy peasy stuff there.

[00:04:34] Rob: And I got to say it is interesting to see that they're just barely doing this when. Not necessarily their competitors, but there are so many tools out there to add in certain features. And that got me digging around in Buzzsprout. And I was like, how old is this company? I didn't realize Buzzsprout was actually founded in 2008.

[00:04:53] So they're actually a little bit on the older side, they do a pretty good job of marketing themselves as if they're a younger kind of newer company. I think that's just through really fresh faced advertising, but. I feel like they have done what a lot of companies do, where they get a little bit larger and old and set in their ways.

[00:05:11] And then they're not as quick to adapt. And I think this is, it's a great step forward and very exciting to see them getting into that space. I'm curious how long it's going to be a beta program before they work out all the bugs and kinks, and can really roll this out to all of their user base.

[00:05:26] Brittany: Yeah, I agree. A hundred percent. So. Buzzsprout is definitely more appealing to look at than something like Libsyn. I am so sorry that I named them, but it had to be done. They have a very old looking user profile. Is that what I would call it? A user profile? 

[00:05:41] Rob: Oh yeah. The user interface. I agree.

[00:05:44] It very much looks like something right out of the 1990's. I don't know, off the top of my head when they were founded or when they created their software, but, they have not invested in that particular area. And I know they have a lot of people that love them and I'm thinking back not to tangent too much.

[00:06:02] We recently built a podcast website for, Tyler Kameraman and he's his Libsyn and it was. A little bit difficult for him to even get the embed code out of their site for us to put into the new WordPress site where, you know, Buzzsprout, they've made it so easy to just grab that embed code it's right there in every podcast and not to pick on them any further, but even their player, it looks very dated when you compare it to this or some of the things we're doing with PodOps you're expecting these modern. Clean looking tools. And it's interesting that they're not investing in that component. 

[00:06:40] Brittany: Yeah. And I also think that there has just been in the last, two to three years, I think that there's just been more competition in the podcast space. So I think that they're like, oh crap, we didn't realize all the tools were going to be coming out and that we were going to be competing at this level.

[00:06:52] So I do think that they are playing catch up. I will say at least Buzzsprout is appealing to look at and they do a good job. making things easy. So I will say Libsyn is a little bit harder to use, but, I think that they are working on their interface and we'll see what comes from them in the future. I do know that they have bought a few other products that they're going to integrate. So we'll see what happens with that. 

[00:07:12] Rob: Oh good. They're going to Facebook model. Buy and conquer. Sometimes it's easier, that's fair. See, we like to do it the hard way. We just like to build things from scratch ourselves to make them better.

[00:07:23] Brittany: Yeah. And make us older 

[00:07:24] Rob: wrinkles, and gray hair. It's a sign of success. 

[00:07:27] Brittany: yeah, we'll say that. So I will say you also have to be listed under three podcasts categories, which isn't that big of a deal. So I think that those are the. The easy things and then have a paid plan. So you can not be on a free plan and also monetize. They're not going to let you do that. So those are the five things that you must have in order to monetize in Buzzsprout. 

[00:07:48] Rob: I think that's an interesting metric and I'm sure we will never know the answer to this, but , I would be curious to find out how many people, it forces off of the free plan into a paid plan to try and utilize that feature 

[00:08:00] Because I do believe they have that 90 day expiration on free plans and free episodes. So it would be interesting to see does that actually become a deciding factor for somebody who is dabbling in podcasting, that they would actually now pay for their hosting. And I actually, I was on their website today.

[00:08:19] I don't know how true this metric is, but it says on Buzzsprout, homepage. over 3000 new podcasts created on their platform in the last 30 days. So they're giving a rolling metric over the last 30 days, again, not sure how true that is or if it's one of those fun marketing numbers that a lot of companies like to use, but I assume they're being honest with that.

[00:08:39] Brittany: Yeah. And I will say, podcasting is growing, so it does make sense, the 90 day thing, I think it forces people to either decide that they're going to continue podcasting or that it's not worth it. Cause I think at 90 days you understand how much work goes into it. And if you're able to execute on episodes and this is a worth keeping it alive.

[00:08:57] Rob: No, I think that's a great point. And I don't know any better way to say it's like you got to shit or get off the pot at some point. So you got three months to decide. Make that move. 

[00:09:05] Brittany: Yeah. It's so funny. Cause I was going to say that and then I was like, don't say that and then you said it. at least someone was saying it.

[00:09:11] Rob: Yeah. Great minds think alike or horrible minds think alike, pick your poison. 

[00:09:15] Brittany:  Yeah, exactly. So anyways, with Buzzsprout this is really exciting because it does give people more access to monetization because it does get kinda. Hard to manage your podcasts in one platform and then advertising in another platform.

[00:09:29] And then you're managing stuff on apple. You're managing stuff on Spotify. You're trying to do, sometimes people are creating bonus content to monetize or they're managing a Patrion account, or they have a pod inbox fan page, which everyone should check out. We interviewed our friend pat, go check it out.

[00:09:45] Brittany: Such a cool product. Love it. Anyways. Look for Pat there. But I do you think this is a great way for Buzzsprout to number one, retain a lot of their users and number two, gain new users onto the platform because people are always looking for a monetization.

[00:10:01] Rob: I think you make a good point with that. And I think also most of us live in a space where we're used to choices. So even with our podcast host, we know there are other choices. So if they're not going to evolve, people are going to migrate to other platforms. So it is exciting to see that they're investing in something new, we'll see what comes of it and how long it sits in beta.

[00:10:21] That's one thing that does make me nervous when they put out beta and things, sit in beta for a really long time. It makes me think about what Facebook did with their podcasts, where they get a year. And then they're like, eh, nevermind. Let's just dump it. And then suddenly you're like, oh shit, there went that feature.

[00:10:36] Brittany: I don't think it was lucrative for Facebook, but I do think this will be lucrative for Buzzsprout because advertising is how you make money in podcasting in case people didn't know that's how you do it.

[00:10:46] Rob: Agreed. 

[00:10:47] Brittany: So anyways, do you have any notes you'd like to add on both sprout and their monetization, beta 

[00:10:52] Rob: exciting. I think it's going to be really cool to see that roll out., I think for us, it's exciting even to see how it's going to work into our episodes. And see what kind of reduction in time there is to the production schedule instead of having to source advertisements and do all of that extra work.

[00:11:10] So I think, again, a great feature looking forward to it, making its way out of beta and hopefully getting a few more bells and whistles. 

[00:11:17] Brittany: Absolutely. thanks so much for tuning in. Please listen, like and follow the podcast and we'll see you guys next week.