Podcasts feel mandatory for publishers. Everyone’s doing audio, so you should too, right?

Not necessarily. Podcasting is expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to monetize directly. It makes strategic sense for some publications and audiences. For others, it’s resource drain producing minimal returns.

The Case for Publisher Podcasts

Audio enables content consumption during commute, exercise, household tasks—times when text consumption is impossible.

Some topics and formats work better in audio. Conversations, interviews, and storytelling often feel more natural spoken than written.

Podcasts build deeper audience connections. Hearing voices creates intimacy text doesn’t.

Growing podcast audience represents opportunity for publishers to serve existing readers through additional format.

Audio advertising CPMs can be favorable compared to display advertising, particularly for engaged audiences.

The Case Against

Production costs are substantial. Even “simple” podcasts require equipment, hosting, editing time, and promotion.

Discovery is difficult. Millions of podcasts compete for attention. Standing out requires significant marketing or existing audience.

Direct monetization is challenging unless you have substantial scale or niche valuable to advertisers.

Time investment is significant. Regular podcast schedules are demanding commitments.

Many podcast audiences don’t convert to readers. Audio listeners and text readers are sometimes different people.

When Podcasting Makes Sense

You have existing interview content that translates naturally to audio.

Your topics work well in conversational format—analysis, debate, storytelling.

You have staff or contributors comfortable and skilled at audio presentation.

Your audience is requesting audio content or consuming podcasts generally.

You can commit to consistent production schedule (most successful podcasts publish weekly or more).

You have promotion channels to build audience (email list, social following, website traffic).

When to Skip Podcasting

If you’re struggling to maintain core publishing operations, adding podcasts diverts scarce resources.

If your topics don’t suit audio format (highly visual content, data-heavy analysis, breaking news).

If you don’t have capabilities or budget for decent audio production quality.

If you can’t commit to consistent schedule. Sporadic podcast publishing fails to build audiences.

Many successful publishers don’t podcast. That’s perfectly fine. Not every medium suits every publication.

Production Approaches

In-house production with dedicated staff and equipment provides quality and control but requires significant investment.

Freelance producers handle recording and editing for per-episode fees. Flexible but coordination overhead.

Studio partnerships provide production services. Professional quality but expensive.

DIY production using affordable equipment and editing software. Lowest cost but learning curve and time investment.

Most small publishers start DIY and professionalize only if podcast proves valuable.

Equipment and Budget

Minimal setup:

• Decent USB microphones ($100-300 each)
• Headphones for monitoring
• Recording software (free options like Audacity or affordable like Adobe Audition)
• Hosting service ($10-50/month depending on download volume)

This gets you acceptable quality for under $1,000 initial investment.

Professional setups with soundproofing, mixing boards, multiple inputs quickly reach $5,000-20,000+.

Start modest. Upgrade if podcast performance justifies investment.

Format Options

Interview shows bringing interesting voices to your audience. Relatively easy production—record conversation, edit, publish.

Panel discussions with multiple hosts or guests. More dynamic but coordination complexity.

Solo commentary or analysis. Lower production complexity but presenter needs to carry episode alone.

Narrative storytelling for investigative or feature content. High production value but time-intensive.

News briefings summarizing recent coverage. Serves existing audience but less differentiated from core publishing.

Production Workflow

Planning: Topic selection, guest booking, research and prep.

Recording: Interview or content recording session (30-60 minutes typically produces 20-45 minute episode after editing).

Editing: Removing errors, tightening pacing, adding music or effects. This takes 2-4x recording length for basic editing, more for complex production.

Production: Finalizing audio, creating episode artwork, writing show notes and descriptions.

Distribution: Publishing to hosting platform which distributes to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.

Promotion: Social media, email, website, and other channels to drive listening.

This typically requires 6-15 hours per episode depending on complexity.

Distribution and Hosting

Hosting services like Libsyn, Podbean, or Transistor handle file hosting and distribution to podcast directories.

You upload episodes; hosting service generates RSS feed that podcast apps use.

Costs range from $10-50 monthly depending on download volume and features.

Self-hosting is possible but handling bandwidth and RSS feed technical requirements often isn’t worth the modest savings.

Monetization Options

Sponsorship ads—pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll advertisements. Typical rates $15-30 CPM for niche audiences.

Affiliate marketing mentions with tracking links for commission.

Listener support through Patreon, membership programs, or direct donations.

Premium subscriber content offering bonus episodes or ad-free listening.

Lead generation for other revenue streams (events, subscriptions, services).

Direct monetization is difficult until you have thousands of regular listeners. Indirect value—audience building, brand awareness—matters more initially.

Audience Development

Existing audience is biggest advantage. Promote podcast to email list, website visitors, and social followers.

Guest appearances on other podcasts introduce your show to new audiences.

Cross-promotion partnerships with complementary podcasts.

Social media clips and audiograms (visual waveform videos with captions) for shareability.

Podcast directories and charts for discovery (though exceedingly competitive).

SEO for show notes and transcripts helps search discovery.

Growing podcast audiences takes time. Most shows require 6-12 months of consistent publishing before meaningful audiences develop.

Technical Quality Expectations

Audiences tolerate less-than-perfect audio if content is valuable, but distractingly poor quality drives listeners away.

Minimum standards:

• Clear, audible voices without excessive background noise
• Consistent volume levels
• Minimal dead air or awkward pauses
• No persistent audio artifacts or distortion

Professional polish isn’t mandatory, but basic competence is.

Integrating with Publishing

Podcast content should complement, not duplicate, written coverage.

Options:

• Audio versions of written interviews (though pure reading is boring—conversational interviews work better)
• Deeper dives into topics covered briefly in written form
• Behind-the-scenes discussions about reporting process
• Conversations with writers about their stories
• Expanded coverage of topics newsletter or website introduce

The goal is creating distinct value in audio format, not just repurposing existing content.

The Consistency Challenge

Successful podcasts publish regularly. Weekly is most common, though daily or biweekly work depending on audience and format.

Inconsistent publishing confuses audiences and reduces discovery. If you can’t maintain schedule, don’t start.

Build buffer of episodes before launching so you have runway if production problems arise.

Plan for holidays, vacations, and sick time. Podcasts require ongoing commitment.

Measuring Success

Download numbers are obvious metric but context matters. 500 downloads per episode might be great for niche B2B podcast, disappointing for general interest show.

Listener retention—what percentage finish episodes? High completion rates indicate engaged audience.

Subscriber growth trajectory. Is audience building?

Revenue generation or attribution to other goals (website traffic, subscriptions, brand awareness).

Listener feedback and reviews provide qualitative insights numbers don’t.

Common Podcast Mistakes

Launching without clear purpose or audience. Why does this podcast need to exist?

Inconsistent publishing schedule that prevents audience building.

Poor audio quality that drives listeners away despite good content.

Overly promotional content that serves publisher more than audience.

Treating podcasting as low-effort side project rather than serious commitment.

No promotion strategy beyond publishing and hoping people find it.

Australian Podcast Landscape

Australians are active podcast consumers, though market is smaller than US or UK.

Local perspectives and Australian-focused content can differentiate in crowded global podcast market.

Australian advertisers are less sophisticated about podcast advertising than international markets, which affects monetization.

Some topics work better locally (Australian politics, regional business) while others need international appeal for scale.

Alternatives to Full Podcasts

Audio versions of written articles using text-to-speech or journalist-read versions. Lower production cost than full podcasts.

Occasional special audio content rather than regular podcast schedule.

Guest appearances on other podcasts instead of running your own.

Partnering with existing podcasts rather than building from scratch.

These provide audio presence without full production commitment.

Making the Decision

Consider podcasting if:

• You have content and format that work in audio
• You can commit to consistent production schedule
• You have budget for at least minimal production quality
• Your audience is likely to consume podcasts
• You have promotion channels to build audience

Skip podcasting if:

• Resources are better invested in core publishing
• Your content doesn’t suit audio format
• You can’t maintain consistent schedule
• Audience development seems improbable

Many successful publishers operate without podcasts. Others have made podcasting central to strategy. Neither is universally correct—it depends on specific circumstances and strategic choices.

Podcasting because competitors do or because it seems like what modern publishers should do is wrong reason. Do it because it serves your audience and business in ways that justify the significant investment required.