How I Made $8,000 per Month Podcasting, and Why You Probably Don’t Want To

Small podcasts can make real money.

I run the Disrupting Japan podcast. Like many podcasts, the show dives deep into a small niche. It has no real hope of mass-market appeal.

It turns out that if you want to make a living from a small podcast, its best to ignore most conventional advice. At least, that’s what I had to do.

But before I explain, let me back up a bit.

Podcast Nation

Japan is not a podcasting nation. Most popular podcasts are recycled radio produced by major media companies. Good independent shows exist, but you need to look for them.

I’ve built a few startups in Japan, and the podcast was supposed to be me just talking with my founder friends about startups and innovation in Japan; about what it’s like to be an innovator in a culture that prizes conformity.

I christened the show Disrupting Japan, and launched to decidedly little fanfare in September 2014.

The podcast totaled 42 downloads that month. I thought that was great.

How Not to Grow a Podcast

My audience rose steadily each month, and after six months I had about 400 listeners. At this point, I…