With over 104 million Americans aged 12 and older consuming podcast content daily, keeping your show in tip-top shape has never been more important. However, filtering through all of the tools, plugins, and platforms now available for podcasting presents a time-consuming challenge. Many podcasters look to generate revenue from their podcast.

Fortunately, with WordPress there are a few plugins that are worth recommending when it comes to generating revenue for your podcast. These plugins streamline and automate selling podcast subscriptions, and also help you limit access to certain content.

In this article, we’ll take a look at six plugins we think are useful in establishing a revenue-generating website for your podcast. If you’re ready, let’s jump right in!

1. WooCommerce

WooCommerce transforms your website into an e-commerce store. It is one of the most popular plugins of its type and offers various detailed support channels. Once installed, you can add products to your website, track sales, and much more.

WooCommerce offers a range of features, and has become a viable option for all manner of e-commerce sites. As such, there’s no limit on what you can sell, so you can use the plugin for podcasts and associated merchandise. You get a lot with WooCommerce and the base plugin is free. However, depending on your needs, you might end up purchasing extensions for further functionality.

Many podcasters use WooCommerce to create a store for merchandise. An example is DJ Rhadu who uses WooCommerce for his sticker store.

If you use SecondLine Themes, WooCommerce is compatible with every single one! As such, you can easily install the plugin and add a store to your podcast website.

2. WooCommerce Memberships

Speaking of extensions, we’d be remiss not to talk about one standout WooCommerce extension suited to generating revenue for your podcasting site. WooCommerce Memberships is an easy-to-use solution for turning your podcast website into a full-fledged membership site. This means you can bring your episodes, shop, and membership together into one cohesive unit.

While there are many features on offer, one of the most important is the ability to sell memberships to your listeners. The plugin also automates expiration and renewal emails. However, as you’d expect – and unlike its parent plugin WooCommerce – this plugin is not free, and costs $199 per year.

WooCommerce Memberships can streamline the sale and management of podcast subscriptions. You can set the membership plans and what each subscriber is able to see. If you have loyal subscribers, you can also reward them by setting up that functionality within the dashboard.

As this plugin is made by WooCommerce, it is also compatible with every themes in our collection. You can install it in the same manner as any other plugin and adjust it as needed.

3. MemberPress

MemberPress is another full-service membership plugin that transforms your website. The plugin provides you with complete control over your subscriptions. Subscribers are also able to manage their own plans.

MemberPress offers a host of features including community forums and content dripping. To control content access, there are access rules based on purchases. The plugin is also secure and uses the best practices set out by WordPress. MemberPress offers three plans to choose from, with the Basic plan costing $149 per year.

This plugin is ideal for podcasters because it streamlines your subscriptions. The access rules make it easy to offer different content to different subscribers. You can use clear reporting to better understand which podcast episodes draw the most attention.

MemberPress states that it works with all themes, and SecondLine Themes is listed in the known third-party integrations. As such, this plugin is fully integrated with our themes making it easy to use. What’s more, we may be able to offer support if something were to go wrong during the integration.

4. Memberful

If you are looking for a simpler plugin that focuses on one thing, Memberful might be the best option. This membership plugin doesn’t try to offer myriad options, and focuses on turning your podcast website into a membership site. You can use it to restrict areas of your website and collect payments for subscriptions. While this plugin is simpler, it is easy-to-use and offers just about everything you need.

One of the standout features is that Memberful is not just a plugin. It is a piece of software that you can use outside of WordPress if required. The service integrates with third-party email providers and payment gateways such as Stripe. There’s a free Starter plan, although the transaction fee is high and you’re only able to carry out website integrations.

A great Membeful feature in our opinion is the option to create private podcasts – ideal for podcasters. You can also easily manage your subscribers and take payments with Stripe. All plans help you collect tax to ensure your financial records are correct. As with other solutions on this list, Memberful is fully compatible with SecondLine Themes offerings.

5. Restrict Content Pro

If you are looking for a powerful membership solution, Restrict Content Pro might be the best option. The people behind this plugin also develop Easy Digital Downloads and AffiliateWP. This gives you an idea of the stability and sophistication of this plugin.

Restrict Content Pro offers a lot of features including a customer dashboard and prorated upgrades. It also offers built-in integration for payment gateways including Stripe and PayPal. You can also integrate with WooCommerce to create a full-service website. However, these features come at a price – the Personal plan costs $99 per year.

This plugin is one of the best options for podcasters, in our opinion. You can offer different membership levels and restrict access to content based on the levels you set. Discount codes can be provided and the robust reporting gives you a clear idea of your revenue.

Restrict Content Pro is used by many customers to section free and paid content on their podcast websites, and SecondLine Themes customers are no exception – it’s compatible with our entire product line.

6. Supercast

Finally, we wanted to talk quickly about Supercast. We’ve gone into detail about why we love the platform so much in a previous post, and we wanted to make sure it was featured here too.

In our opinion, it’s a great plugin for podcasters who are looking to monetize their website. Supercast stands out because it has been created with podcasting in mind. All features are geared toward podcasting, and making your membership website easy-to-use for the user.

As you may expect, Supercast is a great fit if you are using SecondLine Themes. This plugin not only helps you manage your subscribers, but it can also turn listeners into paid members.

Conclusion – Generating Podcast Revenue

As your podcast grows and produces more content, you might eventually think about a way to generate revenue from it. This is an important part of your podcast and one of the best ways to stay connected to your listeners. Exploring new way of generating revenue from your WordPress podcast website is one way to enhance the existing features of your site.

You can get started by checking out the following plugins, including:

• WooCommerce: Provides the ultimate all-around e-commerce solution.
• WooCommerce Memberships: Gives you the chance to create a full-service membership website easily.
• MemberPress: Lets you restrict access with purchase-based rules.
• Memberful: Offers more than just a straightforward membership plugin.
• Restrict Content Pro: Gives you a stable all-around way to restrict content.
• Supercast: Provides podcasters a solution tailor-made for the niche.

Give your listeners a truly engaging experience by creating an exclusive membership option on your podcast website. Integrating plugin features into a WordPress podcast-friendly theme like our SecondLine Themes has never been easier!