Summary: Learn how you can earn money when someone uses your iTunes subscription link to subscribe to your podcast. Every podcaster should have a link to their podcast in the iTunes store on their website. You can see mine in the upper right hand corner widget area of this site. It's important to make it easy for people to find and subscribe to your podcast when they arrive on your website. Often times when people visit your site, if they can't find what they're looking for in the first few seconds, they're gone. Likely you've just lost your chance at getting a new listener/viewer for your show. Once you have a link to iTunes on your site, you'll want to sign up with the iTunes affiliate program run by Linkshare. This gives you the opportunity to connect your subscription icon with a special hyperlink that lets Apple know the person clicking the subscription icon came from your affiliate link. When that person buys anything in the iTunes store (podcasts aren't free so you don't earn a commission for the actual subscription) you get a 5% commission on the total of their purchase. You'll receive credit for any of their purchases up to three days after they click your link. This adds no additional cost to the person using your link. It simply gives you a small credit for being responsible for that person using the iTunes store. Connecting an affiliate link to your iTunes subscription button is another way to help monetize your podcast and blog. This isn't about getting rich. With a little luck you'll be able to mitigate the costs of running a podcast such as media and website hosting. To be successful doing so, you'll likely need to have several revenue streams (affiliates, services, ads, etc) incorporated into your site and/or podcast. The key is to choose revenue streams that fit with your content and values. In this case, having an affilate link connected to your iTunes subscription icon is a great way for your community to help support your show without any additional costs to them. Please visit www.ThePodcastersStudio.com to see my post about the iTunes affiliate program for more in depth features such as the link maker and widget builder tools and how to get started making money with your iTunes subscriptions.
