How to Create a Paid Member's Only Podcast

A podcast is a great way to share your message, build an audience and grow your business. But there’s also value in having a private podcast, especially if you run a membership site. In this article, we’ll show you how to create a private podcast for your membership.

Create a MemberSpace

Why Create a Private Podcast?

A private podcast works like a public podcast in that people can listen to your episodes from your website or using a podcast player app such as Apple Podcasts, Castro, Overcast, etc. But unlike public podcasts, your private podcast doesn’t show up in public directories. So no one can listen to your private podcast unless you’ve invited them and/or given them access. Creating a private podcast can be as simple as an ads-free version of your public podcast and/or you could create bonus content exclusively for your members. By providing a private podcast, you give people yet another reason to join your membership. And it can help you retain members for longer because they’ll lose access to updates in your private podcast as soon as they cancel their membership.

How to Create a Private Podcast

Here’s how you can create a private podcast for your membership.

1. MemberSpace

If you want to keep things really simple, you can create a private podcast on your membership site using MemberSpace. With this approach, your members can listen to your private content from your membership site, but they won’t be able to listen in a podcast player app. You’ll need a MemberSpace account to protect the private podcast page, manage who can access the page, and charge for access. You can also provide free access to your members if you want.

Step 1: Create a private podcast page on your website

Once you’ve recorded at least one episode, you’re ready to create a private podcast page on your website. This is where you’re going to embed your podcast audio files. In your CMS (e.g. WordPress, Squarespace, Webflow, etc.) create a new web page with a headline and brief description of your private podcast. example private podcast landing page

Step 2: Securely upload your audio file to MemberSpace

MemberSpace’s Content Links feature is a super-secure way to share audio files with your members. You can also use it to securely share videos, images, PDFs, and more. From the MemberSpace backend, click the ‘Member Pages’ link at the top of the page: Member Plans on MemberSpace Dashboard Next, select the ‘Manage Content Links’ button. If you’re creating a Content Link for the first time, click the ‘Add Content Links’ button. Then follow the instructions to upload your audio file to MemberSpace. Uploading podcast Files After uploading your file, click the ‘Edit Access’ link. Uploading podcast Files Select who can get access, how, and when. Grant access to members to podcast Files If you haven’t created any Member Plans yet, we’ll show you how to do that in a minute. For now, click ‘Done Uploading’ and then click ‘Copy’ next to your file name.

Step 3: Add your episode to your private podcast page

You will place this link on your podcast page like this: Add content links to Podcast landing page

Step 4: Protect your private podcast page so only members can access it

Now that your private podcast page is set up on your website, you need to protect it, so only specific people can access it. If you haven’t already set up your website to integrate with MemberSpace, you can find instructions on how to do that here or contact us ([email protected]), and we’ll help you with the setup. Now you’re ready to use MemberSpace to protect your private podcast page:
  1. In the MemberSpace backend, select your website from the list
  2. Click the ‘Member Page’ link in the top navigation
  3. Next click the ‘Add Member Page’ button
  4. Copy and paste the URL of your private podcast page
  5. Select which ‘Member Plans’ can access this page (if you don’t have an existing ‘Member Plan’, we’ll show you how to create one in the next step).
  6. Click the ‘Add Now’ button
protect your private podcast page

Step 5: Create a new Member Plan

The MemberSpace ‘Member Plans‘ are how you choose the cost and terms to access your Member Pages and Content Links. If you need to create a new ‘Member Plan’:
  1. In the MemberSpace backend, select your website from the list
  2. Click the ‘Member Plans’ link and then click the ‘Add Member Plan’ button
  3. Select the type of member plan e.g. free, one-time payment, recurring payment, etc.
  4. Enter the name and description (optional) of your new ‘Member Plan’
  5. Under ‘Which Member Page(s) can be accessed’ select your podcast page
  6. Complete the rest of the form and then click the ‘Create this plan’ button

Step 6: Add members to your plan

Now you’re ready to add members to your plan. You can do this in 2 ways:
  1. Manually inviting people to join and access your podcast
  2. Giving people a link to signup
To manually add a member to your plan:
  1. In the MemberSpace backend, select your website from the list
  2. Click the ‘Members’ link and then click the ‘Invite New Member’ button
  3. Type in the name, email and select which plan you’re inviting them to join.
  4. Click the ‘Invite Member Now’ button
Your members will receive an invitation email (which you can customize) and when they click the join link they’ll be asked to enter their credit card details (if the plan is not free). To give people the signup link:
  1. In the MemberSpace backend, select your website from the list
  2. Click the ‘Member Plans’ link at the top of the page
  3. Click the ‘Get sign-up link’ button next to the relevant plan and click ‘Copy’
  4. Add the link you just copied to your website sales page or share it by email
Copy Plan Signup Links

2. Transistor

You can use Transistor to create a private podcast for your membership. We don’t have a direct integration with Transistor, but you can use Zapier to connect your membership site with your private podcast on Transistor. To set up a private feed, you’ll need a Transistor ‘Pro’ or ‘Business’ account.

Step 1: Create a private podcast in Transistor

The first step is to log in to Transistor and create a private podcast: Create a private podcast in Transistor Next, upload your first episode and provide the episode title and description.

Step 2: Connect MemberSpace and Transistor using Zapier

You’ll need a Zapier account to set up this integration. Then click the ‘Make a Zap’ button. You’ll first need to create a ‘Trigger’ like this:
  1. Search for MemberSpace and select it as the ‘Trigger’
  2. Select ‘New Membership’ as the ‘Trigger Event’
Set up a New Membership as the Trigger Event
  1. Then click the ‘Continue’ button.
  2. Select your MemberSpace account from the drop-down menu.
  3. Select the Member Plans that can access the private podcast.
  4. Click ‘Continue’ and then click ‘Test Trigger’ to make sure it’s working
Next, you’ll be asked to setup the ‘Action’ event i.e. what should Zapier do when a new member joins one of the plans you just selected in the ‘Trigger’ event?
  1. Search for Transistor.fm and select it as the ‘Action’
  2. Select ‘Create Subscriber’ as the ‘Action Event’
  3. Click ‘Continue’ and then click ‘Test Action’ to make sure it’s working
Test action in Zapier If it all looks good, you can turn on the zap.

Step 3: Setup a Zap for Member Cancellations

When a member cancels, you want to make sure that their access to the private podcast in Transistor is also cancelled. To do this, click the ‘Make a Zap’ button again. Cancel Membership Trigger in Zapier
  1. Search for MemberSpace and select it as the ‘Trigger’ again
  2. Select ‘Canceled Membership’ as the ‘Trigger Event’
  3. Click ‘Continue’ and complete the ‘Trigger’ setup
Next, you’ll be asked to setup the ‘Action’ event again i.e. what should Zapier do when a member cancels one of the plans you just selected in the ‘Trigger’ event?
  1. Search for Transistor.fm and select it as the ‘Action’
  2. Select ‘Remove Subscriber’ as the ‘Action Event’
  3. Click ‘Continue’ and then click ‘Test Action’ to make sure it’s working
When a new member joins one of your selected MemberSpace Member Plans, they’ll also receive an email inviting them to the private podcast on Transistor. And when a member cancels their membership, they will automatically also have their Transistor private podcast access canceled. You can get more details on how to set up a private podcast feed on the Transistor site. As you can see, there are several ways to create a private podcast for your membership. You can create a members-only private podcast page in your membership site, create a private feed for your members or create a combination of the two. The best thing about a private podcast is that it helps improve your membership offering and potentially grow revenue. And you can manage it all from the convenience of your MemberSpace backend!

Make More Money from Your Membership Site with a Members-Only Podcast

January 20, 2023 / By

As the owner of a membership site, you know the value of cultivating an audience. A strong community of fans is key to growing – and earning – from your memberships.

Your content is undoubtedly great, but you should always strive to make it better. Better content means more value for your members, which prevents churn and attracts even more people.

💰 Ultimately, great content = more money in your pocket.

A members-only podcast is a unique way to add value to your membership platform, connect with your audience, and deliver exceptional content. These types of podcasts are private, meaning the episodes are only available to your members.

In this article, we’re going to talk about the benefits of producing a members-only podcast and the different types of podcasts you can create. Then we’ll show you how to get started creating your own.

Benefits of a Members-Only Podcast

First, let’s talk about why your membership needs a podcast:

Connect with your audience on a human level

While written content is valuable, there’s something magic about the spoken word. Your voice helps you connect with your audience on a personal level. They become your friend; a part of your inner circle. They develop a kinship with you that’s hard to form with text-based content.

Boost your membership revenue

Adding a private podcast to your membership platform increases the value of your membership, which will attract more members. More members means more revenue. If you offer multiple membership tiers, you could add your members-only podcast to one of the upper tiers, thereby urging your members to upgrade to a higher plan.’

Get more value from your existing content

If you have already created content of some kind, turning it into podcast episodes is quick and simple. To your members, however, it’s entirely new material. This gives you more mileage out of the content you’ve already created, and saves time and money you would spend creating new stuff.’

Keep everything on your membership site

You already have a membership site, so there’s no sense in directing your members to a separate platform like Patreon. You can distribute a private podcast right through your MemberSpace site. Plus, Patreon doesn’t offer the right set of features for an integrated community and it charges an additional layer of fees.’

Podcast content isn’t hard to create

Podcasting may seem a bit intimidating at first, but once you get to the technical details squared away, creating a podcast content is actually quite faster then producing videos or writing articles. It will only take a few episodes before you become comfortable behind the microphone. If you outsource certain components of the podcasting process (like show notes, editing, and transcriptions), you’ll be able to produce content as fast as you can talk.

The Different Types of Members-Only Podcasts

If those benefits of members-only podcasts sound good to you, you’re probably wondering what you should create. Fortunately, you have a lot of freedom here. Here are some ideas of the different kinds of private podcast content you might publish. You could pick one or combine them all.

Bonus content

If you produce any public content (to attract members to your membership site), you could use a members-only podcast to offer supplementary material to your members. For instance, if you write an article about event planning, you could offer bonus content to members where you interview an event planner. This creates an incredible level of value for your members.

Behind the scenes content

If your audience loves you and your brand, they’ll be delighted to see how it all comes together. Use your podcast to tell them about what happens behind the scenes. Keep it casual and laid back. Bring on some people in your organization that your audience rarely sees. Long time listeners who are invested love this stuff.’

Repurposed IP

If you already have a lot of existing content (videos, blog posts, newsletters, etc.), adding a members-only podcast is a great way to get more value out of it. You just have to turn those assets into an audio episode.

For instance, you could simply read an old blog post or newsletter into a microphone to create a podcast episode (though you might want to add some additional commentary to keep it fresh). You could use the narration of a video or webinar as the basis for an episode, too. Made a cool infographic? Pull out your mic and talk about it!

Ad-free content

If you already have a public podcast, you probably sell ad space to create more revenue. A private podcast is a great way to offer an ad-free version to your members. Your long-time listeners will be eager to join your membership to get access to a version of your show that’s focused entirely on your content. Just like bonus content, this is a useful way to convert non-members into members.

Community involvement

A members-only podcast is an easy way to get your community involved. Use your episodes to answer their questions and respond to their comments. You could even invite members on to your show to share their opinions and unique views.

For instance, if you notice a lot of comments on one of your members-only articles, you might offer your thoughts in an episode. With a little coordination, you could bring some of the commenters on to show your community how much you care. This is especially powerful if your members have special expertise to teach.

Industry news

No matter what industry you’re in, there’s usually something happening. A members-only podcast is a great way to comment on the news of the day. These types of episodes are usually easy to create because they aren’t very long and you don’t need to plan much: Just explain the topic and provide your reaction.

Something entirely unique

These are just a few suggestions, but you aren’t limited to this list. You have complete freedom to create whatever you think your membership will enjoy. Don’t be afraid to explore ideas until you find something suitable. If you can’t come up with a decent topic, ask your members what type of podcast content they would enjoy.’

How to Create a Members-Only Podcast with Castos

Now that you understand why you should start a members-only podcast and the types of content you could produce, it’s time to create your own show.

Step 1: Choose a podcast host

Your first step is to choose a podcast hosting service. This is a cloud-based storage space for your audio files. A podcast host keeps your episodes optimized for your listeners and provides you with an RSS feed so people and services can access your show.

Look for a host that offers these features:

  • An easy-to-use platform so you don’t spend an excessive amount of time managing your podcast. Uploading episodes should be especially easy.
  • Unlimited storage and bandwidth so you can publish as much as you want.
  • Clear analytics so you can track your podcasts performance
  • A quality listening experience that understands that most users are listening to podcasts on mobile devices.

Castos specializes in private podcasts, and thanks to the MemberSpace integration with Zapier, you can easily connect your membership site with your private podcast on Castos. We are recommending Castos through an affiliate link, which means we earn a commission if you choose to purchase, at no additional cost to you.

Step 2: Create a podcast in Castos

  1. Sign up for Castos (or log in if you have an existing account).
  2. Click “New Podcast”:

3. Give your podcast a title and click “Continue”:

Step 3: Add your first episode to your podcast

  1. Click “New Episode” to upload your first podcast episode:
  2. Complete the episode details (i.e. title, description, etc.) > upload your podcast episode > determine when you would like to publish the episode > then click the “Publish Episode” button at the bottom:

Step 4: Update your podcast details

Follow the steps under the “Getting Started Checklist” on the right to finish setting up your new podcast:

Step 5: Set your podcast to private

Click “Distribution” > “Visibility” > “Private”:

Step 6: Connect MemberSpace and Castos using Zapier

You’ll need a Zapier account to set up this integration.

Once you create a new Zapier account or log in to an existing one, click the “Create Zap” button:

From there, you’ll need to create a “Trigger.”

  1. Search for MemberSpace and select it as the “Trigger.”
  2. Select “New Membership” as the “Trigger Event”:
  3. Next, click the “Continue” button.
  4. Connect your MemberSpace account > choose your website > click “Allow Access”:Then, click “Continue”:
  5. Select the Member Plans that can access the private podcast:
  6. Click “Continue” > “Test Trigger” to make sure it’s working.
  7. Search for Castos and select it as the “Action.”
  8. Select “Create Private Subscriber” as the “Action Event”:
  9. Click “Continue” and sign in to your Castos account. You can find the API Key in Castos under Integrations > API (on the left):
  10. After, click “Continue” > add your podcast details > click “Continue” again:
  11. Then, click “Test & continue” to make sure it’s working.

If it all looks good, you can publish the zap.

Step 7: Setup a Zap for Member Cancellations

When a member cancels, you want to make sure that their access to the private podcast in Castos is also revoked.

To do this, click the “Create Zap” button again:

API Key Castos

From there, you’ll need to create a “Trigger.”

  1. Search for MemberSpace and select it as the “Trigger.”
  2. Select “Canceled Membership” as the “Trigger Event”:
  3. Click “Continue” and complete the “Trigger” setup.
  4. Search for Castos and select it as the “Action.”
  5. Select “Revoke Private Subscriber” as the “Action Event”:
  6. Click “Continue” > choose your account > click “Continue” again.
  7. Add your podcast details and click “Continue”:
  8. Finally, click “Test & continue” to make sure it’s working.

Now, when a new member joins one of your selected MemberSpace Member Plans, they’ll automatically receive an invite email from Castos with information on how to access your private podcast feed.

When a member cancels their membership, they will automatically lose access to the private podcast feed from Castos.

Start Your Members-Only Podcast Today

We’ve shown you the benefits of producing a members-only podcast, offered some content ideas, and explained how to get started using Zapier to connect your membership site with your private podcast on Castos. Now it’s up to you to get started!