Thinking about charging guests an appearance fee to be on your show? Or, maybe you're a guest who wants to charge shows for your time and expertise?
Whichever scenario applies to you, there are some legal obligations that come with it.
If you're not sure what we're talking about, don't panic. You’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we’ll run through why you might want to charge appearance fees, what to consider when deciding if it’s right for you, and how to disclose your fee on the MatchMaker.fm platform (which by the way is required by law, but we’ll cover this below).
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Join MatchMaker todayWhy Might You Charge an Appearance Fee?
We’ll keep it short and sweet. If you're a show, securing paying guests is a way to monetise your content and generate a financial return from the hours you spend creating, producing, and editing your show. And if you're a guest, charging shows for your time and expertise can be a nice little earner.
What to Consider When Deciding Whether to Charge Appearance Fees
If you’re tempted by the thought of charging an appearance fee, there are a couple of things to consider before diving in. We’ve listed them below.
1. The Size of Your Audience
To actually find guests willing to pay to appear on your show, or to find a show happy to pay you for your time, you’ll need to have a somewhat established audience. A pool of regular followers you can count on to tune in.
Getting to this point isn’t an easy thing to do. It usually takes somewhere between 12 and 24 months for shows or personal brands to see this much growth. Unless you’re a celebrity with a dedicated fan base, that is. In which case you’ll see your audience grow at a much faster rate. If you’re not already a big name, it takes time, dedication, and a consistent publishing schedule or presence.
Paying guests will predominantly look at your metrics when deciding if you’re the right partner for them. You should be ready to communicate your download stats and listening figures within 30 days of each episode’s publication. This will give a realistic overview of how your show performs. Try to keep on top of your data where possible, so it’s always to hand when needed.
The same applies for paying shows. When determining whether you're the right guest for their show, they'll likely look at your social media presence, engagement rates, and examples of past interviews. Again, have these to hand so they're ready to share if requested.
2. It’s a Form of Paid Advertisement
Let’s not sugar coat it. Entering into a paid partnership is a form of paid advertisement. And this means that due to FTC (Federal Trade Commission) regulations, any paid partnership is required to be clearly disclosed by law. In other words, if a guest is paying to appear on your show, or a show is paying you to speak, you’re legally obliged to be transparent about it. Not doing so will be seen as deception and appear distrustful, which can (and will) have many negative effects on your show or brand both in the short and long run.
3. It Might Come Across as Inauthentic
As covered above, because you’re required by law to disclose paid partnerships, you run the risk of the content you produce appearing inauthentic. Especially as advertising continues to be the main means of income for podcasts or radio shows, episodes can sometimes feel a little saturated with sales pitches. This can be worrying for hosts. The last thing they want to do is annoy listeners, disrupt the episode’s flow, or be accused of ‘selling out’.
In reality, you don’t need to worry about this if you stick to industry norms. Don’t over-do it, basically. Listeners more often than not expect to hear ads on popular podcasts, just as loyal followers will expect to hear you speak on other outlets. And it does actually give you a level of credibility if a guest or show is paying to work with you.
That being said, listeners might get annoyed if you have a paying guest on every episode. Or, if you let them speak for too long. And followers might get tired of you constantly promoting various paid appearances. With this in mind, keep paid appearances short, entertaining, and as fluid as you possibly can.
Lastly, make sure your paying guests or shows are relevant to your audience. It’s important to have an idea of who is the right fit. Don’t just go with anyone for money’s sake. You’ll have worked hard to build rapport with your fan base, so completely missing the mark and working with irrelevant guests or shows won’t get you very far. Who would your audience genuinely be interested in hearing from?
How to List Appearance Fees on MatchMaker
If you’ve read through the above and still want to charge appearance fees, the next step is to disclose it on your MatchMaker profile. Again, this is a requirement of not only our community guidelines, but also the Federal Trade Commission.
So, how do you do it?
It’s pretty easy, really. All you need to do is select the “I charge a fee” checkbox when setting up or editing your profile.
And once you have, you’ll then be prompted to add further details like what the fee actually is, why you’re asking for one, and what it includes.
It looks like this:
From there, users viewing your profile will see a disclaimer that you charge a fee, along with the details you entered above.
You can see how the disclaimer and Fee Details section will look on your profile below:
It’s worth noting here too that when searching for profiles on the main menu, users will be able to see whether you may charge an appearance fee or not.
Users will be able to filter their searches using the May Charge a Fee tag accessible via the drop down menu. Any shows or guests that match the criteria will have a disclaimer icon on their listing card, making it easy for users to see.
Like this:
Finally, if you’ve advertised your appearance fee on your profile, users will be reminded of it before they start a conversation with you. So, they’ll see this:
Ready to Start Charging Appearance Fees?
Now you’re an expert at the why and how of charging appearance fees, it’s time to start putting it into practice.
Log into your MatchMaker account to start telling potential partners about your fee today. Not got a profile? Don’t worry, just click this link to sign up.
Book Your Next Guest the Easy Way
With more than 70,000 members, MatchMaker.fm is the largest online community connecting shows & guests.
Join MatchMaker today
