Audio media is changing rapidly. Up until very recently to have your voice heard you needed a radio broadcaster, a broadcast licence and a studio, all of which require significant investment and a variety of occupations to function, including actors, presenters, producers, sound engineers, researchers and advertising salespeople. But now the internet means anyone can buy a microphone and record a show with their friends in their own home and post the podcast online.

This has resulted in an explosion of shows, dealing with specialist topics that radio traditionally wouldn’t have dealt with, or offering a new angle on common mass market tales such as politics or true crime stories. Radio stations now make as much of their content available online as podcasts, stretching the nature of radio work. 

Keeping up with these changes means radio stations need innovative proactive employees to get the most out of their resources, find new revenue sources and attract listeners who now have many more options.

Young people are increasingly accessing news through social media channels including podcasts. Setting up a podcast involves a lot of hard work, enthusiasm and a commitment to regularly post new content & episodes to keep your listeners engaged. Podcasts cover every subject imaginable including business, sport, crime , politics, history to comedy, ghosts, and beekeeping. You need to research your topic and target audience and be sure to choose an area which you are knowledgeable or passionate about.

Depending on the number of listeners you attract it can be possible to make money out of podcasting. Ways to do this include sponsored advertising, promoting your products or services to drive sales, having additional episodes available on a paid subscription basis, joining an advertising network that will promote your podcast, selling your own branded merchandise or asking your audience to donate to your platform. Whilst podcasting can be lucrative for some it is important to have another source of income as well as podcasting until you see how your business grows.

While anyone can make a podcast, it can be hard to commercialise, even with a significant audience, advertising revenue for podcasts isn’t at the scale of radio. Some ways you can make it a profitable form of income is by promoting other people's products and services as an affiliate which will enable you to earn a commission or by getting sponsors in the subject area that you are creating your podcast on. 

There are also opportunities to sell your services as a consultant or podcast producer to other more established creators.