Monetize This! May Newsletter
What's happening inside Monetize This! HQ.
Welcome back to the only podcast newsletter where growth is optional, monetization is suspicious, and “content ecosystem” is considered a cry for help.
This Month’s Big Lie
The Lie:
”In this economy, you can’t afford to miss this webinar!”
Why It’s Dumb:
“This economy” has become the adult version of “because I said so.” It sounds serious, but it’s doing zero actual work. Which economy? What changed? Why does this specific webinar suddenly become financially essential?
It’s not insight—it’s a pressure tactic dressed up as macroeconomics.
What they’re really saying:
“I need this to feel urgent so you stop thinking critically.”
What to do instead:
If someone invokes “this economy” without specifics, assume it’s marketing seasoning, not substance. The more urgent the tone, the less likely it is to matter tomorrow.
Guru Watch
Recent nonsense from the podcast-industrial complex.
“you don't need more content. you need this.”
Do I though?“Did you know that many people will spend 7 HOURS reading or listening to your content before they buy from you?”
What if I’m not selling anything?“Podcast Growth OS”
Appears to be a Notion template and emotional dependence
When Amazon product pages have “co-hosts,” the format itself stops meaning anything.
Take: Podcasting didn’t get disrupted—it got diluted into background noise.
Things That Actually Help
This article about “internet ugly” coming for podcasting from Chris Stone hit something I’ve been feeling for a while but couldn’t quite articulate.
A lot of podcast advice still assumes listeners want everything smoother, tighter, more polished, more optimized. But there’s growing evidence that people are getting tired of content that feels professionally engineered to death.
The piece connects that shift to podcasting in a way that’s funny, slightly uncomfortable, and honestly kind of encouraging if you’ve ever felt like your show was “too real” compared to the hyper-produced guru podcasts.
Read: Podcast Intro Music, OK Boomer
Small Win Of The Month
Loving the Spotify comments!
I loved the story Donald shared about a male podcaster who reads books on his episodes for kids that don’t have a father to read to them.
I like how you share that your podcast doesn’t have to lead to something else.
Plus Podcast Hall of Fame podcaster, Dave Jackson, subscribed to the Substack, roasted me about a domain for the podcast, and has agreed to be a guest for a future episode!
Hit reply with your small win.
Ask Monetize This!
Reader Q&A with light mockery.
Q: A guru told me every episode should be under 12 minutes because “attention spans are shrinking.” Thoughts?
A: People sat through three-hour podcasts about medieval grain taxes last week.
Attention spans are fine. Boring spans are shrinking.
Q: I released 12 episodes and literally no one is listening. Should I be worried?
A: No. “Literally no one” is doing a lot of emotional heavy lifting here.
Podcasting is weirdly front-loaded with silence.
The real question isn’t “why is no one listening?”
It’s “am I going to keep going long enough for people to discover I’m worth ignoring more intentionally?”
Got a podcasting question, dilemma, or petty grievance? Send it in and I may answer it with varying levels of wisdom.
This Month’s Recommendation
A Surprisingly Reasonable Take on Video
A lot of podcast advice right now sounds like: “Do video or disappear.” This article from The Podcast Tech Stack offers a much more useful framing.
The core argument: podcasting hasn’t simply “grown” — it’s split into two different businesses. There’s the RSS/audio world most podcasters know, and there’s the platform-video world driven by YouTube, TikTok clips, and algorithmic discovery. Both are valid. But they reward completely different strategies.
It’s a smart reminder that huge video numbers don’t automatically translate into podcast subscribers, and that “podcasting” now means very different things depending on where the audience is consuming it.
Worth reading if you’re tired of hearing that every show needs to become a YouTube channel immediately.
We’re Watching the Unbundling of ‘Podcasting’ in Real Time
Know a podcast, creator, tool, or weird little gem worth sharing? Send it my way.
Quote To Ignore This Month
“Create a torrential downpour of buyers that DEMAND you sell to them.”
There’s something admirable about treating customers like a natural disaster.
Less admirable: the implication that if this isn’t happening, you’re doing life incorrectly.
Seen an absurd guru quote, hustle cliché, or advice-post masterpiece? Forward it for possible public ridicule.
What I’m Working On
I take a look at some content repurposing advice that sounds harmless until you see what it actually means in practice. One podcast episode becomes five different posts, each requiring editing, writing, design, formatting, and tracking performance. On paper it’s “repurposing.” In reality, it’s a full content assembly line built for teams, not solo creators.
For indie podcasters, this quietly turns into a second job layered on top of the first one we’re barely keeping up with. And the assumption underneath—that you must be posting everywhere to be legitimate—doesn’t really hold up. There’s no requirement to turn your podcast into a content factory. Sometimes the most sustainable strategy is simply making the podcast.
Ask yourself, are you trying to grow your podcast or build a social media following?
Here’s Alex Sanfilippo:
As always, plans are subject to scheduling chaos, changing moods, and me deciding to record something completely different at the last minute.
Send your ideas or requests. Also, if you have a podcast and have been approached by podcast gurus, you would be the perfect guest. Likewise if your’e a brave guru or just somebody with a good sense of humor about podcasting or other creative endeavors.
Until Next Month
Join In
Reply anytime with questions, wins, complaints, bad advice, or things podcasting people should be embarrassed to say out loud.