Podcasts for creators: worth starting one to sell courses?
When a podcast helps sell a video course, formats that last, how to move listeners to your email list and what Infinite Dial 2025 says about podcast listening.
A 20-minute podcast episode keeps someone company with your voice longer than any post. For creators selling courses it's a powerful trust-builder. It's also one of the slowest formats to grow.
This guide covers when a podcast makes sense, which formats last and how to turn listeners into subscribers and then students.
How many people listen to podcasts?
The most solid data we read is from the US. According to Infinite Dial 2025, Edison Research's annual study published on 20 March 2025, based on 5,020 people aged 12 and over surveyed in January 2025, 70% of Americans have listened to a podcast and 51% have watched one. Counting audio or video, 73% have consumed a podcast, about 210 million people, and 55% are monthly consumers.
- % who have listened to or watched a podcast
- 73
- % who consume podcasts monthly
- 55
- % who have watched a video podcast
- 51
The useful point for a creator is the trend: podcasts are a widespread habit, and video is increasingly part of them.
When does a podcast make sense for course creators?
When three things are true: you can publish regularly for at least a year, your topic works when explained out loud and you already have free content to send listeners to. If one is missing, a podcast can eat time without bringing students.
Podcasts suit topics where reasoning matters more than visual demonstration: business, communication, personal growth, languages. For very visual topics (editing, drawing, photography), short or long video works better, as we explain in how to grow a YouTube channel from zero.
Which format should you choose?
| Sustainable over time | Brings new audience | |
|---|---|---|
| Short solo episode on an audience question | Very | Little |
| Guest interview | Fairly | Very |
| Regular conversation with a co-host | Fairly | Fairly |
| Episodes in a series following a path | Fairly | Little |
| Recordings of lives or webinars | Very | Little |
Our editorial assessment, not a study.
Interviews bring the guest's audience, because guests usually share the episode: they're a form of creator collaboration, as we explain in creator collaborations.
An example plan
A consultant who teaches small-business finances decides to try a podcast for six months. She chooses one short episode a week, 15-20 minutes, each answering a question from her audience, plus one interview a month with a professional in the field. She records audio and video together and cuts two short clips per episode for social. In every episode she repeats a single invitation, a free month-end checklist, with a short address that's easy to say. After six months she looks at three numbers: average plays per episode, sign-ups coming from the address mentioned in the podcast and course sales among those subscribers. If sign-ups are low, she changes the invitation before changing the format. In practice, the podcast is judged by the people it brings onto the list, not by plays alone. The plan is our example.
How do you move listeners to the course?
With a simple, repeated invitation tied to the episode. Listeners often can't click: they're driving, at the gym, cooking. You need a short address that's easy to say and remember, repeated at the start or end of the episode and written in the show notes.
The free content should relate to the episode, as we explain in lead magnet ideas for creators. To know how many sign-ups come from the podcast, use a dedicated address or a link with UTM parameters, as we explain in UTM tracking for creators.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
- Starting without a sustainable pace. A podcast abandoned after eight episodes leaves little behind.
- No invitation. Listeners stay listeners.
- Long addresses spoken aloud. Nobody remembers them.
- Judging after a month. A podcast is assessed over months, not weeks.
- Ignoring video. Even just for clips, recording it costs little extra.
Key terms. A podcast is a series of audio or video episodes published regularly. A call to action is the specific request you make to listeners. Show notes are the text that accompanies each episode on platforms.
How we checked. We found no comparable European figure we could read, so we only cite US data. We read the Infinite Dial 2025 summary page (Edison Research, hosted on ssrs.com). These are US figures. Formats and the example are ours. Contact: hi@heytea.app. Editorial note: we check every figure against the sources listed below and correct mistakes openly.
Frequently asked questions
Does a podcast help sell an online course?
It can, because listeners spend a lot of time with your voice and ideas, which builds trust. But a podcast is slow: it grows over months, not weeks. It makes sense if you can publish regularly and link it to free content that brings listeners onto your list.
How many people listen to podcasts?
In the US, according to Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2025, 73% of people aged 12 and over have listened to or watched a podcast, and 55% do so monthly. These are US figures; other countries differ.
Audio only or video too?
It depends on your audience and your time. Infinite Dial 2025 found that 51% of Americans aged 12+ have watched a podcast: video is becoming part of the format. Recording video lets you cut social clips, but it adds production work.
Which format suits a creator podcast?
The one you can keep up for a year. A short solo episode of 15-20 minutes on an audience question is the most sustainable. Interviews bring new voices and the guest's audience, but take organising. Many creators alternate the two.
How do you move listeners to the course?
With one simple, repeated invitation: free content tied to the episode, with an address that's easy to remember when spoken. Listeners are often driving or at the gym, so the address must be short and also written in the show notes.
Sources
- Edison Research, "The Infinite Dial 2025", 20 March 2025. Accessed 19 October 2026. ssrs.com