Anchor Podcast: Should You Use Anchor to Podcast?

Podcasting is a hot industry, with more than ​one-third​ of Americans aged ​12​ and older listening to podcasts regularly. Although it takes hard work and time, you can start a podcast of your own and eventually see income from your efforts. Anchor can help you get started, providing hosting for your episodes for free while you work to monetize your podcast.

If you're starting a podcast, the first steps you'll take are to create your episodes. But to get those episodes in front of listeners, you'll need a way to distribute them. Anchor provides its platform for free, with built-in uploading, recording and editing tools that help you make the podcast, as well as publishing tools to get them on popular platforms.

For a fee-free service, Anchor builds in an impressive range of features, including a tool that helps you set your subscription pricing. Anchor also brings the sponsors, which means you can start making money on ads immediately. Once you've earned ​50​ or more listeners, you'll qualify for Ambassador ads to further increase your income.

Obviously, Anchor doesn't just provide hosting and tools out of the goodness of its founders' hearts. Like many free podcasting platforms, Anchor's monetization strategy involves taking fees from the money hosts make. Below is Anchor's fee schedule.

• ​Payment processing fee​: ​5.5​ ​percent​
• ​Foreign exchange fee​: ​0.8​ to ​1.6​ ​percent​
• ​Host-read ads fee: 30 percent​ plus ​20 cents​ for payout processing
• ​Cashout fee: 20 cents​ of every balance transfer (​$10​ minimum)

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Advertising is only one of the ways podcasters make money. Many podcast hosts use donation services like Patreon. Listeners support their favorite hosts by pledging a small monthly subscription fee each month, and those donations can quickly add up.

Anchor now builds this type of support into its platform with a feature called Listener Support, as detailed on the Anchor blog. An invitation to "become a supporter of this podcast" will be embedded on your Anchor profile page. You will pay a ​4.5​ percent fee on the funds when you cash out, along with the ​5​ percent plus ​10 cent​ processing fee Stripe takes and the ​25 cent​ Stripe payout fee.

Anchor provides all the tools a newcomer needs to get started, making it a great option.

With Anchor, you can easily record, edit and publish your podcast on a variety of platforms, including Spotify, Apple and Google. With Anchor's analytics dashboard, you can keep an eye on your audience demographics, including age range, gender, location and listening apps.

Perhaps the best thing about Anchor, though, is its creation tools. Using your computer or mobile device, you can record your audio from wherever you are. All you'll need is a high-quality microphone. There are even built-in tools for creating cover art and adding music from Spotify.

Anchor is a great tool for beginners, primarily because of the fees and analytics. Once you've built an audience, you can easily transition off the platform and post your episodes directly to the various stores. You'll still pay processing fees but bringing your own recording and editing tools will help you look around for lower-cost advertising options.

Once you're ready to scale your podcast earnings, you'll want more accurate, reliable data. Anchor's tools provide the bare minimum. If you want in-depth engagement insights and audience breakdowns, you'll probably want to switch to a platform that prioritizes analytics.

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As podcasts have grown in popularity, many entrepreneurs are looking for ways to use the medium to bring in some income. Anchor provides all the tools a newcomer needs to get started, making it a great option. As your podcast becomes more established, though, you might benefit from switching off the platform and gaining access to better analytics and lower payment processing fees elsewhere.

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