Listener Donations: Make it Easy!
I want you to imagine that you walk into a department store. You're looking for the perfect gift for your significant other, and you spend time looking for it. Eventually, finding again, this perfect gift. You walk up to the register credit card in hand presented to the cashier only to be shown a sign that says, ‘Cash Only’. Now, you have a decision to make. Put down the gift that you just painstakingly looked for, go to the bank or the ATM, and get cash, then come back. Or, abandon the gift and go somewhere else or try again at another time.
That much friction could lead you to abandon the gift and try again at another time or come back later and hope it's there. But either way, that business lost out on income that day. And if you are trying to make money with your podcast, especially with donations, it doesn't even take that much friction for you to lose out on a potential sale. That's why you need to make it as easy as possible.
Welcome to Podcast Workflows where you get daily tips to improve your process, grow your show, and maybe even make some money. Each week, I also do a daily dive into the process of the world's most successful podcasters and reveal their tools, processes, and systems to help you simplify the production of your own show and reclaim hours in your day. You can improve your own podcast production process by seeing how the pros do it. I'm your host, Joe Casabona. And today we're going to talk about how you should make donations as easy as possible.
One low barrier for entry these days when it comes to making money with your podcast is asking for donations from your listeners. It's a low barrier for entry because there are a lot of tools and all you need to do is ask. It likely won't be a huge money maker at first, but it's easier than selling a membership. When the listener really enjoys your content, they can send you a few bucks.
So what are some platforms that make it as easy as possible for listeners to donate? Here are three:
1. Buy Me a Coffee. Popular among podcasters, Buy Me a coffee allows you to create a profile, connect a Stripe account, and start accepting donations. Usually at $5 intervals, super fast. I was able to set up a buy me a coffee account in less than 10 minutes.
2. Convertkit. Convertkit is the email service provider for creators as evidenced by the fact that they have a ton of features to help creators. That includes a tip jar on a custom domain for people to send you money which is even included in the free plan. If you have a Convertkit account, you don't have to do anything extra to set this up.
3. GiveWP. If you use WordPress for your website, GiveWP is a fantastic option. It's free. You can set your own donation levels, and everything neatly integrates with your WordPress site. Now, this isn't as easy as Buy Me a Coffee or Convertkit, but again, it is free and it's very flexible.
Once you select your donation platform, you can add it to the show notes. A big benefit of GiveWP is the form on the show notes page can be embedded. And then you can make it your call to action, as well as include it in your newsletter. Be sure to say something to the effect of…
If you enjoyed this episode, you can show your support by sending a donation of your choosing over at and then the URL.
Using one of these tools or another tool that you may have found makes it as easy as possible for them. It prevents them from scouring the internet looking for someplace to donate money to you only to find that it's not as easy as they were hoping it would be and putting the proverbial donation back in their pocket.
If you liked this episode and want more content like it as well as bonus episodes, a newsletter, my automation database, and monthly workshops, you can become a member of the Podcast Foundry over at [podcastworkflows.com/join]. Or you can connect with me on just about any social network. X, Threads, Instagram, Linkedin even TikTok. I am @jcasabona on all of those networks.
Thanks so much for listening. And until next time. I can't wait to see what you make.
