When it comes to podcasting, there’s no shortage of options — or listeners.The most recent data comes from Insider information There will be approximately 424.2 million podcast listeners worldwide by 2022, accounting for 20.3% of Internet users.
Although podcasting has been around for almost 20 years, it has become more popular over the past 10 years. As the number of habitual listeners continues to grow, the variety becomes endless, and huge investments from companies like Spotify have exponentially expanded the accessibility of the medium.
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Some of the most popular shows now attract thousands of listeners per episode, providing guests with valuable news opportunities — meaning some podcasters charge exorbitant prices for interview spots.
Dave Asprey, host of the Biohacking Podcast, human upgradeCharge guests an average of $50,000, Bloomberg reports. However, he told the outlet that only about 1% of the guests on his episodes pay for the privilege, and he adheres to strict criteria to determine who qualifies.
“Appearance fees only make sense in certain circumstances,” Asprey told Bloomberg. “It has to be a weird fusion of a real expert who is doing something new and interesting. I’ll try to meet as many of my criteria as possible.”
At the end of each episode, Asprey revealed to listeners that podcasters may feature guests who have a “direct or indirect” financial interest in the products and services mentioned on the show — but not all hosts have the same pay-as-you-go Honesty guests.
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Michael Bosstick and Lauryn Evarts Bosstick, hosts of Dear Media Skinny Confidential His and Hers Podcastcharges about $20,000 to $40,000 per interview, and acknowledges that guests must be relevant to the show’s audience.
In one case, when Lauren interviewed Robert Slovak, co-founder of supplement and mineral company Water and Wellness, she gushed about how she was “shocked” by the “importance” of minerals, and went on to say that she changed his opinion. The whole family is on them. However, the episode failed to disclose Slovakia’s investment as a paying guest — until Bloomberg reached out to Lauren and Michael in July. When they sought comment, Michael retroactively recorded the disclosure and added it to older episodes.
Still, in some cases, the pay-to-play approach isn’t all bad.John Lee Dumas, host entrepreneur on fire, believes that paying guests are often engaged and ready to “play” in an inherently efficient way. “Like, they prepare for interviews. They show up on time. They provide great value. They provide great giveaways and calls to action for my audience,” Dumars told Bloomberg.
Dumas ends each episode with: “Today’s value bomb content is brought about by…”
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