You MUST disclose whenever you're compensated! Here's the why, what, when, and how.
Thank you for joining me for The Audacity to Podcast! I'm Daniel J. Lewis. There are
many ways to earn income through podcasting: affiliates, sponsorships, sales, and even
getting paid by your guests. Now whether you do any of these things is up to you. The most
important thing is to disclose. Disclosing when you get compensated is not only the law,
but it's also a very good way to earn your audience's trust and build your authority
and influence. Yeah, it can actually help you in that way. I'll talk more about that
near the end of this episode. If you'd like to follow along in the notes for this episode,
tap or swipe away inside of your podcast app or go to theaudacitytopodcast.com/disclose.
That's also where you can go to share this episode out if you think other podcasters
would benefit from it.
First and foremost, I recommend that instead of listening to me, which yes, please do listen
to this episode, look at what the government actually says about disclosures when you're
endorsing a product.
And when we're talking about affiliates recommending something, having a guest who's paid to be
on your podcast, sponsorships, that's all under this umbrella term of endorsements.
So read what, at least in the United States, we have the Federal Trade Commission and they
have some great resources on this.
They have a fantastic guide on working with endorsements.
This does apply to all of those things.
Sponsorships, affiliates, pay to play, and more.
Basically if you're being compensated in any way to do anything with anything, you
should probably disclose that and the FTC guidelines help cover that.
The FTC of course doesn't apply in other countries outside of the United States, but
these do still provide some great guidelines to give you some good answers.
I highly recommend that you read their guide from the FTC and consult with a lawyer if
you have further questions because none of the following is legal advice.
I'm only sharing things I think you should do to honor the laws and your audience, not
things you can get away with.
Like what's the bare minimum I need to do to maybe sweep under the radar?
No, don't worry about that.
Follow the laws.
And yes, the FTC stuff is free in the United States.
Look into your own local laws if you're outside the US, but they provide a great guideline
and always try to stay above the law.
Let's dig into this.
Why should you disclose compensation?
Many countries have laws and enforced guidelines requiring you to disclose any time you're
compensated for endorsing, mentioning, including, or referring to someone or something. Basically,
you should disclose if you're compensated in any way. The point is for your audience
to have the information they need to make their own decisions about your opinions and
whether your recommendations are tarnished by your being compensated. Even if your opinion
is not swayed by compensation, you still need to disclose when you're compensated. You
You might think, won't they stop caring if they know I get compensated?
And yes, that is a possibility, but it's the moral thing to do anyway.
Besides, there are many things you can do to earn your audience's trust anyway, and
I'll share more of those near the end of this episode.
Take Bluehost and its many relatives for example, and yes I earn from purchases through my own
Bluehost affiliate link.
These web hosting providers get highly recommended all over the internet and they are extremely
popular hosting companies because they're so often recommended.
But what you might not know is that they also pay some of the biggest affiliate fees of
all, which is probably why they're recommended so much.
So now that you know that, does it change your opinion of Bluehost or your opinion of
someone else recommends Bluehost? That's not to say Bluehost is horrible and should never be
recommended, only that you need to let your audience use their critical thinking skills
when you share an opinion and might get compensated in any way for it. The same goes for any guests
you might have in your podcast or at your events. Now, I'm not discussing whether you should do
what's called pay-to-play, but if you do, the same thing applies to that as well. Or any products
that you have visible in your videos or in your shots or even merely mention.
If your guest is compensating you in any way to be on your podcast, your audience needs
to know that.
And if you were given a product to show off or were paid to use it, you need to disclose that.
This is all because it helps your audience make their own decisions about how much to
trust your opinions.
Now you can win over that trust by how you handle all of this.
Put yourself in your audience's place.
Wouldn't you want to know if the person you were reading, watching, or listening to
had some kind of financial or other compensation relationship with the products, services,
and people that they showcase?
Wouldn't you want to know that?
Your audience should know that too.
Moving on, what kinds of compensation should you disclose?
While I'm not licensed to give legal advice and tell you what you're allowed to get
away with, I can recommend you always take a higher moral approach and disclose whenever
you're compensated in any way. Your compensation could be a discount, an affiliate fee paid
to you, a payment for mentioning, like a sponsorship, letting you keep something for free, or earning
some kind of perks like bonus credits that you get to use without having to pay for them.
You don't have to disclose the terms of your compensation agreement, like how much
you're paid, how much you earn, anything like that. You don't have to do that. But
But you do need to make it obvious that you were, are, or will be compensated, to the
best of your knowledge.
It doesn't really matter whether you're compensated for merely mentioning, using,
including, or displaying something or someone, or you're compensated only if someone takes
a particular action.
That doesn't matter.
You need to disclose it anyway.
For example, I record my audio podcast with an Electro-Voice RE320 microphone going into
a first generation Rodecaster Pro. Both of these were given to me free of charge and
with no conditions. Nothing like, "Hey if you talk nicely about us, we'll give you this
thing for free." No, there wasn't any condition. It was, "Hey, here's this microphone." In
the case of the microphone, it was a gift because I said that I wanted to get one someday
and I did really intend to buy one someday when I could afford it. And Electro-Voice
loved the video I already put out. They loved how much of a fan I am of the RE-320 and the
The person I was talking to just said, "Here, I want you to have this."
It was a gift and it was given to me for free.
I didn't pay for it.
The RODECaster Pro.
I have a good relationship with RODE and when the RODECaster Pro was coming out, they sent
one to me for free to keep before the RODECaster Pro was released.
And I loved the opportunity to test it and I love the gear and I recommend it.
No, I don't recommend that and use it because it was given to me.
I have lots of stuff sitting on a shelf that was given to me for free that I don't use,
either because I don't need to or I just don't like it.
I use these things because I do truly like them, but I don't have to tell you in every
podcast everything I was given when I'm merely using it.
I don't have to say in every episode of the Audacity podcast, "I'm talking to you through
an RE320 which was given to me for free, recording into a Rode Rodecaster Pro which was also
given to me for free, using a cable that was given to me at a discount, using plugins that
were given to me through incentives and earned.
I don't have to do all of that if I'm simply using it.
But it's when I'm endorsing these products, and endorsing is basically any time you are
talking specifically about that thing, giving your opinion or your outright endorsement
saying this is what I recommend.
But merely including that thing or talking positively about it is a form of endorsement
and will be seen as such by the law.
So it's when I'm endorsing these products in any way that I try to disclose that they
were given to me as well as discussing that I have affiliate relationships with the retailers
of these products when I point out certain things that I like.
So it's any kind of compensation, not just money.
Anything really.
You should disclose that.
strive to maintain the highest morality. Moving on, when should you disclose compensations?
I hope you understand by now the basic answer to "when should I disclose" is essentially
"always". But exactly when and where do you include that disclosure relative to the
thing you're endorsing or the guest who paid to be on your podcast? The first of two
most important things about disclosures, and I'll cover the second one in the next point,
is that they need to be prominently placed. For example, the following alone would not
be good disclosure placements. A mention in your Twitter bio that tweets may contain affiliate
links. A note in your website footer saying you earn commissions
from affiliate links. That's not good enough either. A disclosure page on your website.
That's not good enough. Or a message at the end of your podcast episodes, whether to cover
products or that you were guest paid to be on your podcast called pay to play, that's
not good enough either.
Instead, here are more ideal places to include your disclosures.
At the beginning of your content, including the person or thing for which you've been
compensated or within close proximity to your mention,
especially before I start praising or endorsing something.
Like if my episode is all about a single product, that disclosure needs to be up front in the
episode, not just waiting until the very end when I give my affiliate link or the link to purchase it.
if it's affiliate link or if I've been sponsored or anything like that, it needs to be up front
within close proximity to that endorsement, whatever style of endorsement that is. So also,
if you have a paid guest, I think before you get into the interview, you should say something
about the guest being on your podcast, having paid for or sponsored. In other words, disclosing
should not be an afterthought. But it doesn't have to be obnoxious either, like repeating your
your disclosure every couple of minutes, every time you say the name of a product or service.
It's really best to be upfront about it so your audience can keep that in mind if they
want to as they then consume your content. And then maybe a reminder here and there as
it's most relevant to the context.
Moving on to how should you disclose compensation. The second important thing about disclosures
is that they need to be easily understandable. This is a big reason I suggest avoiding the
word "may" as in "I may earn commissions from purchases through my links". Well,
which is it? Are you or are you not being paid?
Podcast sponsorships are usually easy because they can include things like "this podcast
is sponsored by" or "here's an ad from our sponsors" or the radically different
production makes it obvious it's an ad, like commercials on TV compared to the actual
show you're watching. Nonetheless, I still sometimes hear podcasters do this wrong because
they start recommending something or talking about something and it's not clear whether
they're merely recommending that thing because they like it or they are being compensated
to talk about it or to refer business.
Some affiliate programs have very specific language they require or maybe they're more
like guidelines.
But the point is that you must be clear about it.
Here's a way I like to say it so much that it's a text expander snippet.
And yes, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases through TextExpander.
And hey, I just spoiled it.
That's close to what my TextExpander snippet says.
It actually says, in parentheses, "As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases through this
link or these links."
And I change that depending on whether it's a single link or multiple links that I've
just shared.
I think that's concise and clear.
Sure, a "qualifying purchase," as I mentioned, doesn't give every possible detail.
For example, only if you purchase within 30 days of clicking or only if you're from the
United States of America and such.
But this kind of thing, saying qualifying purchase, is still good enough to make it
clear that I do earn, instead of I may earn.
I also have shorter versions I can use depending on the clarity of the context already.
Like I have another snippet that is simply, in parentheses, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I see some people recommend adding merely #ad or #sponsored or #affiliate or even abbreviating
that as #aff and some of these might be with or without the hashtag itself.
But I think these are either inaccurate or not easily understood.
They are better than nothing but they're just not all that great by themselves.
For example, imagine you really like a book you just read so you're posting about it
on Twitter using an affiliate link.
If you include #ad in your tweet, it sounds like it's a paid advertisement in that you
are being paid to simply mention it.
Yes, that's sometimes the case, but it's not true with affiliate links because you
would get paid only if someone takes the appropriate action, not if you simply mention the product.
On the flip side, saying #affiliate or #aff would make sense probably only to people already
familiar with affiliate programs, like you probably are. Would your grandma know that
you get paid if she purchases the book through your link? If not, then you need to make your
disclosure more clear and more understandable. Yes, some places are very limited in how long
your messages can be. In such cases, even #AFF or #ADD would be better than nothing
and also better than something like pushing your disclosure to a landing page or a follow
up conment. It needs to stay in close proximity and it needs to be clear and understandable.
When it comes to products or services I get to test or review, I disclose things a little
bit differently. Like if I get to keep the thing, I would say something like the following
early in my review. "Company provided this to me free, but I don't let that affect my
opinions." Or if it's something I get to try for free, but only for a short time and then
I have to return it, I might say something like "Company provided this for me to review
at no cost but I don't get to keep it."
You can see me and hear me do this in one of my videos when I did a review of the Sound
Devices MixPre series.
Before I get too deep into my review, thanks to Sound Devices for loaning me this MixPre 6.
I didn't pay for this but I also don't get to keep it.
However, I like the MixPre 6 so much that if my disappointments were resolved, which
is a real possibility, I would immediately go and buy my own MixPre 6.
So there you could hear that in that video I disclosed that I got to try it for free,
I didn't get to keep it, and I also added on a little bit of my own opinion that yes,
I would buy it because I had some negative thoughts about it back then, but I'd said
that I would buy it if my issues were addressed and they were addressed. And so I did actually
buy one, but I don't use it anymore. Oh, because then the RODECaster Pro came along and I realized
this thing is so much better and meets my needs so much better. The MixPre is still great for
other things, but that's why you don't see me talking about it so much anymore. The RODECaster
Pro came out after the MixPre series and now I love the RODECaster Pro, both first generation
and second generation. Another thing to account for is if your podcast guest compensated you
to be on your podcast. You could start the episode saying something like one of the following
"This episode is sponsored by company and my guest is name from company." So there
you've made it clear that they are from that company that is sponsoring your podcast.
You're not outright saying "This person sponsored to be on my show." That's kind
of weird and it kind of reflects badly on them and also on you to say it like that.
Another way you could say it is, "This episode is brought to you by product from name and
I got to interview name."
For example, say I sponsored your podcast with my product, My Podcast Reviews.
You might say, "This episode is brought to you by My Podcast Reviews from Daniel J. Lewis
and I got to interview Daniel J. Lewis."
And then you can move on from there.
Another way you could do it is to say, "Thanks to name for sponsoring this episode and I'm
thrilled to be talking with him or her about..." and then you move on with your episode.
These are just some suggestions of ways that you could do this if you're in that kind of
pay-to-play game.
Again, whether you do that is up to you and it's a completely separate issue to discuss
that I might do an episode on someday.
But if you do, you have to disclose it.
But if you paid your guest to be on your podcast, you're not the one being compensated.
You're paying them.
Nothing has to be disclosed there.
You're paying to bring value to your guest.
Just like you probably pay for other things in your podcast.
You don't have to tell people that you paid for your microphone or you paid for your podcast
hosting or you paid for your podcast cover art design or your music or anything like that.
You don't have to disclose the stuff you've paid for for your podcast, including your guests.
You are being compensated because you are the host and people need to know in case that might tarnish
your recommendations or they need to know so they can make their own decisions about your
recommendations and endorsements, you need to disclose that. I've mentioned a couple times
here that you can actually use disclosures to earn trust instead of losing it because I know
you're probably thinking, "Oh man, if I'm telling people I earn money from this, they're just going
to think I'm only recommending things because I earn money from it. Yes, that's a possibility.
But if you do this well, then that won't be so much of a possibility and you can actually use
these disclosures to further build trust because your audience needs to know whether you're being
compensated so they can make their own decisions on whether that tarnishes the value of your
opinions. But there are plenty of things you can do to prevent that from giving negative perceptions
or helping you to demonstrate even greater value in your podcast and what you do actually recommend.
So here's a quick list of some tips here. Number one, always disclose. This is not only the law
in many places, but it also demonstrates your transparency. Your audience will learn that
you're not trying to hide the fact that you earn something. Number two, don't be swayed by earnings.
It shouldn't matter how much a company pays you to talk about or promote something.
If you don't like something or you find a fault, be honest and say so. Always prioritize morals
over money. That's the takeaway from this episode. I could almost make an episode just saying that
after especially last episode that was under five minutes long and a lot of people like that episode
because of what was in it not because of how long it was. Number three, reinforce your ethics to
your audience. Almost wherever I include an affiliate link, I also reinforce that I don't
let earnings affect my opinion. In fact, it's in my full primary text expander snippet for
disclosures, which I quoted partially from earlier and you may have seen me use this
exact snippet in places if you followed me around online or read things that I've written.
It's in parentheses. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases through this link or these
links depending on whether it's one link or multiple links, but I recommend things I truly
believe in, regardless of earnings.
Now if I'm talking about something and not actually recommending it but I am still using
an affiliate link for it, then I wouldn't include that part where I say "but I recommend
things I truly believe in", I would just say "I earn from qualifying purchases through
this link" because I'm not actually recommending the thing but I am using an affiliate link
so I need to disclose that I earn from purchases.
Then moving on to number four, mandate your policy with companies.
When you're given or loaned something for review, ensure the company knows and accepts
that you will be honest with what you say, as if you weren't compensated at all, and
that you will disclose that you're being compensated.
Number five, recommend things you don't earn from, and disclose that.
I think it's good for your audience to also know when you are not being compensated in
any way because that helps them see your genuineness.
For example, consider what I said about Hindenburg in my recent episode about the best audio
editing apps for podcasting.
The link for that is in the notes.
I showered praise on Hindenburg as it took my number one spot, where it's been for
actually several years, I just hadn't done an episode about it.
And yet, I earn nothing from them, at least currently.
But I certainly want to earn from Hindenburg because I recommend it so much.
So do you see what just happened there?
I told you, I recommend it even though I don't earn from it.
But I would love to earn from it because I recommend it.
Do you see that order there?
That's not "I recommend it because I earn from it."
It's "I want to earn from it because I recommend it."
But I don't earn from it right now.
And so I still disclose that anyway so that you get to hear, "Oh, you recommend things
you don't earn from."
And in fact, very highly recommend several things you don't earn from.
That's the same kind of thing your audience should think too.
Number six, never endorse something merely because of earning potential.
You might have multiple options you can recommend or guess you could accept, but include what
is truly better, not merely what earns you more.
For example, going back to Bluehost, Bluehost referrals pay many times more than what SiteGround
referrals do, at least on my current level of affiliate relationship with these programs.
But I recommend SiteGround more highly because I think their service is better and they're
not part of that massive EIG group that owns Bluehost, HostGator, and many, many other
hosting companies that all have these super generous affiliate programs.
Sure, they still are fine for certain customers and plenty of customers and I recommend them
in certain cases, but I more highly recommend SiteGround because I think it's better than Bluehost.
And yes, the links and the notes for both of these I'm mentioning, they'll auto-link
so the affiliate links go in automatically and I do earn from purchases through those
links as well.
But recommend something because it's better, not because you earn more from it.
And number seven, always be honest and do what's right.
This is really what it's about.
Don't deceive your audience so you can earn more.
And don't try to hide things.
The right morals will always be right.
This is why I'm recommending don't try to see what can you get away with.
How can you fly just under the radar of the law and not get in trouble.
No, don't even try to do that.
Be above that.
Have higher morals so that you don't have to worry at all about things.
You don't have to try to think how can you squeeze this in without possibly getting in trouble.
It's just, you know, I'm doing the right thing.
I'm not going to get in trouble from it.
These seven tips mostly apply to sponsorships too, although I did focus them more on affiliates
and that kind of thing.
But with the exception for sponsorships that you are being paid to say good things, not
bad things. So do write by your sponsor and your contract and just make it obvious to
your audience that it is a sponsorship, not necessarily a personal endorsement. Unless
it truly is. And if it is, that might be able to fetch a higher price. Like if Hindenburg
came to me wanting to sponsor the Audacity 2 podcast, I would seriously consider that.
And since I've already so highly personally endorsed Hindenburg, a sponsorship placement
in The Audacity to Podcast would be worth a lot more to them because I do personally
endorse Hindenburg. But if it's just some Joe Schmoe product out there that I accept
as a sponsor, which I wouldn't actually do, but if I did, then it would be a lower
value to them because it wouldn't have such raving reviews from me. But in any case, I
would still seek to do right by the sponsor and the contract and make it obvious to you,
audience that it's a sponsorship, not a personal endorsement or an affiliate relationship or
anything like that.
And remember to apply this to the pay-to-play guest spots too.
Your audience needs to know if you're being compensated to have a particular guest in
your podcast.
And you should mandate the same kind of policy if you ever pay to be a guest on someone else's
show or you compensate someone else for endorsing, using, or talking about your own products
or services.
Like you have your own affiliate program, you need to make sure that the people who
join that and use that and promote it are also following these good ethics.
And lastly, how to account for potential future earnings.
Things change.
What you recommend without compensation today may offer compensation later.
For example, I've recommended aphonic for many, many years and I still do.
All those years of recommendation were with absolutely no compensation.
I even paid for the product myself and I got no compensation for all of those recommendations
until 2022 when they finally launched an affiliate program that I was happy to join.
Now I do earn from qualifying purchases through my affiliate link for a Phonic.
If you're interested in Phonic you can get that link in the notes for this episode.
It is my affiliate link.
I do earn from it.
You can account for this kind of thing where you didn't earn and weren't earning, there
wasn't even the potential to earn, and then later there is.
You can account for that with some good planning.
One way of doing this is by outright saying you might someday earn, just like I did in
my previous mentions of Hindenburg and Cap Show in recent episodes where I mentioned
those products.
I didn't earn anything then, but I did say in those episodes, because I was showering
so much praise on those products that I would absolutely join and use the affiliate programs
if they were ever offered and I would earn from purchases after that.
And I said those things because I so highly praise those things so I wanted you to know
that if I can ever earn from those because I love them so much, I would seek to earn
from those referrals.
But even if I don't, I'll still recommend those things.
And as it turns out, CapShow actually does have an affiliate program, but I'm still
awaiting the invitation to that.
So if you are wanting to support me, but you're waiting until I have an affiliate link to
CapShow, I just don't yet, but I will at some point.
The other thing you can do is to send your audience somewhere that can easily be changed
as necessary.
For example, I promote Hindenburg Pro with my link, theaudacitytopodcast.com/hindenburg.
currently a 307 temporary redirect with Pretty Links Pro. 301 redirect should be
only for something that will never change. And by the way Pretty Links Pro
is another thing I earn commissions from through qualifying purchases. So if
Hindenburg ever offers an affiliate program I can easily change that 307
temporary redirect. That's why I really recommend temporary redirects for
affiliate links. So I can change that to then use my affiliate link. You can use
307 redirects or 302 temporary redirects.
307 is better in this case.
302 is also temporary and would also
generally work. So
just make it a temporary. That's the main
point. And this is why I recommend for
anything you're linking to
externally, make it a 307 or a temporary redirect
so that you can change it anytime you
need to. 301
permanent redirects are cached and they
are supposed to be
permanent. So only use those for what
will never
change. In affiliate links, affiliate programs can change. That's why affiliate links make them all
307s. That's your assignment. If you're not disclosing things, disclose things. Also go
back and make any of your external redirects 307s or 302s. Make them temporary. Another and even
better option with these URLs is that I can point that link to a page on my site with more information
about why I recommend like Hindenburg Pro in this case and prominently include my affiliate
disclosure on that page.
For example, check out my short landing page for my Captivate podcast hosting affiliate
link at theaudacitytopodcast.com/captivate link in the notes or my landing page for the
Jasper AI writing assistant at theaudacitytopodcast.com/jasper.
That link is also in the notes.
These are pages where I explain a little bit about why I like these products as well as
include my disclosure and I include my affiliate links on there. Like the Jasper page in particular,
I've released several pieces of content because when I first started using Jasper I was such a
huge fan. It was so revolutionary to me that I created multiple pieces of content demonstrating
different ways to use it and different thoughts and approaches and such. So I've put all of those
resources on that landing page so it's not just an affiliate link anymore. It's a resource page
with my affiliate link on it and my disclosure on it. So any of those older things that you very
prominently promoted, you can then redirect to a page on your site where then that page has the
affiliate link inside of the page but the page can also have your disclosure on it. Although you
should always disclose whenever talking about or outright promoting a product you could earn from,
Making landing pages like this will help you to make those old, non-compensated promotions
more compliant by letting you prominently disclose your present affiliate or other relationship on
the landing page. But this kind of deferring to the landing page alone is not good enough for
things you do right now earn from. And this was something that talking with my lawyer Gordon
Firemark, who I'll mention more about in a moment, but something that he corrected my thinking on.
I was thinking, well if I just make a landing page and I always point people to that landing
page and that landing page very prominently says "my disclosure" then that should be enough, right?
Then I don't have to include my disclosure when I'm linking to that landing page because the
landing page is linking to it. And he pointed out that no, I'm still being compensated in some way,
so there is still some financial incentive for me to talk about that thing or get people to purchase
it, even through my links or not, so I should still be very clear and up front.
So if you are currently earning or will earn a commission of any sort or a compensation
of any sort, don't defer that disclosure to somewhere else.
It needs to be in close proximity to your recommendation.
This is another good reason to send people back to your site or at least your domain
for the actual affiliate link instead of giving the direct link in your podcast, regardless
of whether it's an affiliate.
For example, instead of my telling you to visit Auphonic's website, I can either tell
you to get the link from my notes or point you to theaudacitytopodcast.com/auphonic which
is my landing page that contains more information and my disclosure.
Because I was pointing you to a URL I own and control, when Auphonic finally did offer
an affiliate program after my years of using and promoting their service, I can easily
update my landing page and external link with the appropriate disclosure and affiliate tracking URL.
And now from now on, when I talk about Auphonic, I do disclose that I earn from qualifying purchases.
I couldn't go back and edit all of the past places, I've mentioned that in my podcast,
but where I've written recommendations, I'm trying to go back and add those disclosures
in writing and it's on the landing page now. So even if someone heard an episode from years
ago before I was an affiliate and they visit the Auphonic page, they'll see, "Oh, Daniel's
an affiliate" and now it's obvious that I earn from qualifying purchases through that
link. In summary, I know it can be annoying to disclose these things, but it's the right
thing to do. And, as I hope you've seen, when done properly, it can actually boost
your authority and influence, not tear it down. Always try to be above reproach instead
of trying to figure out the bare minimum you can get away with. And a great starting place,
even if you're not in the United States, but a great starting place is the FTC's Endorsement
Guide, which I've linked to in the notes for this episode, at theaudacitytotopodcast.com/disclose.
And your own locale, if you're outside of the United States, might have its own guides
as well, look for those and seek to follow them.
And I mentioned him already, but I want to give a special thanks and shout out to my
own lawyer, Gordon Firemark, also known as The Podcast Lawyer, for reviewing this content
before I published it.
I don't get compensated for endorsing his personal legal services, that would actually
be illegal if I was compensated for that, but he's been a good friend for many years
before I hired him to be my lawyer and now he's a business associate with me too. I do however
earn from qualifying purchases of his great courses and products for podcasters like his
Easy Legal for Podcasters course or his Legal Forms and Templates for Podcasters. Both of these
and his other resources, pretty much anything he makes, I do highly recommend. And I have affiliate
links for those products in the notes for this episode if you're interested, especially those
two things, Easy Legal for Podcasters and the Legal Forms and Templates package. Those
are fantastic and can really help you make sure that you are doing things above reproach.
And if you purchase from those links, I do earn a commission. But as you can see in my
history, I've had Gordon on this podcast before. I do not do interviews on the Audacity
Podcast. I did in the very, very early days do a few interviews and he was one who made
it into four episodes of the Audacity podcast. I've trusted and respected his opinion for
a long time. He's been in podcasting for a long time. I'm giving him so many glowing
reviews because he is very good at this. So if you hire him, I get nothing from that.
But I am very grateful for his friendship and for his help in my business and with this
very episode. And that's why I wanted to give him a shout out, which he didn't know was
coming because I didn't include this little section in the preview that I gave him of
this episode.
And if you found this episode helpful, I would really appreciate it if you would share it
out a tap or swipe away inside of your podcast app or go to theaudacitytopodcast.com/disclose.
That's also where you can find the links to the many, many things that I mentioned in
this episode that you might want to get from those links.
Products, services, some of them I earn commissions from, some of them I don't.
And speaking of shoutouts, I want to catch up with some of the boostagrams I've received.
A reminder that if you have a Podcasting 2.0 app that's value for value enabled, I give
shoutouts to you and your podcast for boosts of around 10,000 sats or more.
Don't worry, that's not like $10,000, much less than that.
First and foremost, in response to my recent episode about Podcasting 2.0 micropayments,
Adam Curry, THE podfather and host of Podcasting 2.0 Show and No Agenda sent 77,777, that's
considered the Striper Boost, 77777, and he said, "By far the best explanation of value
for value.
This needs to be a video animation and I'm going to ask Dame Jennifer about doing this
if okay with you."
Excellent work, Daniel.
Thank you, Adam.
And yes, I already told him, that's okay with me.
I was thrilled that he loved the episode so much.
And in response to the same episode, actually all of these comments are in response to the
same episode, Mary Oscar, creator of the Fountain Podcast app, which is podcasting 2.0 compliant
and supports value for value, sent a hundred thousand satoshis. Whoa!
Thank you.
That's right now that's worth about $30.
Thank you.
That's so generous.
And Mary Oscar said, "Incredible overview of how micropayments and value for value are
a better monetization option for podcasters.
Thanks so much for putting this together Daniel.
And then, although this is below my current threshold of 10,000 sats for a shoutout, I
really like what ilovesushi said with 5,000 sats.
Here he or she said "Although this is a podcast aimed at podcasters, I wanted you
to know that it inspired me, a listener, to see micropayments in a new way, very timely
since I was just questioning whether or not the meager amount I can afford to send is
even worth it to the podcaster. Thank you for the clear and helpful explanation."
Well, yeah, that meager amount really isn't so meager when you compare what you're worth
to a sponsor of that 2.5 cents. Like 5,000 satoshis right now is worth about $1.50. That
might seem like a meager amount to you, but that's worth much more than if I had a sponsor.
And then Kyren from Mere Mortals sent 12,345 sats and said, "I quite like the idea of
asking for 10,000 sats for a review. Very novel. I'll put my hand up and be first in
line if you want to check out the Mere Mortals podcast. We do our value for value segment
once a week on our live episodes with the dark grey episode cover art. Hope you enjoy.
Thank you so much for those kind booster grams. If you want your podcast shouted out on the
Audacity podcast, I have to reserve the right to edit or omit as is appropriate for the
podcast. But if you'd like a shout out or like your message read in the podcast, send
And a boost, in your Podcasting 2.0 app, the current limit is around 10,000.
I'm not going to say if it's 9,999 that you can't get a shout out.
But please make sure that you include the name of your podcast or your podcast domain
in your comment so it will be really easy for me to link to it and also give it a shout
out in the podcast.
Thank you so much for those booster grams.
Now that I've given you some of the guts and taught you some of the tools, it's time for
you to go start and grow your own podcast for passion and profit.
Just remember to disclose!
I'm Daniel J. Lewis from theaudacitytopodcast.com.
Thanks for listening!
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