Ravi Handa, the founder of Handa Education Services and an IIT Kharagpur graduate, has candidly shared his insights on the financial realities of podcasting, cautioning aspiring podcasters against pursuing the medium as a career option.
In a detailed post on X, Handa highlighted his personal struggles with monetising podcasts, suggesting that the business is unlikely to yield significant financial returns for most creators. "Podcasting does not make money. I have tried multiple ways to make money via podcasts. Here are the ones that have not really worked (skill issue?),” he wrote.
Handa outlined three key challenges he faced in his attempts to monetise podcasting. He explained that platforms offer minimal payouts for ads and sponsors, making it extremely challenging to secure sponsors for each episode — a task he finds even tougher than lining up guests.
Attempts to charge guests for appearing on his podcasts have also failed, as most people view it as an ethical or policy violation, despite acknowledging the value it could add. Additionally, Handa pointed out that brands looking to use podcasts for content marketing typically prefer to rely on their own teams — such as founders or marketing heads — rather than hiring external hosts, as hosting is perceived as requiring little talent.
He stressed that podcasting is unlikely to bring wealth or fame for the vast majority of people. "Bottom line - if you are planning to get into podcasting to become rich and famous, it isn’t going to work out for 99% of you,” he stated.
Despite the lack of monetary rewards, Handa, who hosts Desi FIRE Podcast, explained that his motivation for podcasting lies elsewhere. "I am not doing podcasting to make money. I am doing it because it gives me something to do and an opportunity to meet people who I wouldn’t have met otherwise.”
Handa also revealed his annual income from podcasting, which he said is less than Rs 2 lakh. “A few friends think that I am making a lot of money doing this. Even my financial advisor was surprised and disappointed when he found out,” he shared, adding humorously, “I want those guys to stop pulling my leg.”
Addressing fresh graduates and young professionals, Handa warned against viewing podcasting as a viable side hustle or career alternative. "I often come in touch with fresh graduates/MBA aspirants/young professionals. A few of them think that they can get into podcasting as a side hustle or alternative career. I want to warn them.”