Curious about bonus content? It’s an often underrated part of podcasting that can help to grow your audience and connect with them on a deeper level which, in turn, creates a ton of value for your show. Here are 5 reasons why you should consider creating bonus content.
Diversify Your Revenue
We talked about the reasons you should diversify your revenue streams in a previous article. In short, revenue earned from different sources such as ads, bonus content, donations/subscriptions, live events, merchandise, and more can help to move your podcast from a side project to a full-time gig.
Bonus content in particular is a huge boon as it’s fairly simple to set up and maintain as you’re just creating exclusive episodes after all! Check out our Exclusive Content feature (available for all plan levels) if you’re interested in opening up another revenue stream!
Grow Your Show
You might think exclusivity of your episodes would cause the opposite effect, but having bonus content locked behind a paywall can help to actually grow your audience. Bonus content allows you to create a larger catalog and the allure of unique & interesting content is often enough to entice potential listeners to become dedicated fans.
You can even create ad-free versions of your episodes and mark them as exclusive, encouraging folks to tune in to these more exclusive episodes.
Plus, your community can help to spread the word about your show and introduce their friends & family to it through bonus content.
Connect with Your Community
Speaking of community! Creating bonus content is an easy and effective way to engage with your community. There are dozens of ways that bonus content can help to engage with your community, including:
- Behind-the-scenes episodes that allow listeners to see what it’s like to create one of your episodes. This is great for fiction shows and other scripted shows.
- Ask-Me-Anythings are an excellent way to provide your listeners with a more intimate look at you and your show. Open the floor up for listener questions to allow your community to peek behind the persona.
- Extended interviews are a fantastic candidate for bonus episodes. Give your most dedicated listeners the full, uncut version of interviews as a special bonus.
- Early access versions of your episodes are a wonderful treat for your subscribed listeners.
- Entice potential subscribers by posting teasers for bonus episodes and encourage them to subscribe so they can unlock the full episode.
There are so many different ways bonus content can help you engage more with your community and create a dedicated audience. Test it out with our Exclusive Content feature!
Take Risks
A dedicated community is a great place to test out new ideas for your content. Treat your listeners to some more experimental bonus content and test out new ideas in a safer space. Solicit their feedback, too, so you know what works and what doesn’t. Testing content out in this environment can help to further grow your show as you’ll have a real audience that can help you to fine-tune your content and make it more appealing to a wider audience.
Add Overall Value
The value of your podcast can increase when introducing bonus content. For one, it can help to create a more engaging experience with your audience and create dedicated listeners (which is ideal for Host-Read Ads!) It also creates value for new listeners as they can dive deep into your catalog and become active members of your community. Bonus content also provides your listeners with more reasons to love your show!
Investing in bonus content is a great way to boost your podcast and connect with your listeners. Try it out today with RedCircle!
