The Content Funnel That Actually Converts with Chris Stone

How do you turn a podcast into a system that actually drives revenue?

Chris Stone has spent his career building audiences across legacy media and modern podcast ecosystems. From The Telegraph to the New Statesman, and now through Podcast Strategy Weekly and Podcast Crew, he’s focused on one thing: how content turns into trust, and how trust turns into business.

“The money in podcasting… it depends on where you are in podcasting. If you have massive reach, then obviously advertising and sponsorships… but I think for most people, the money… is using podcasting as a trust building layer within your content ecosystem.”

In this episode, Chris breaks down the layered structure behind high-performing content businesses, why most creators misunderstand monetization, and how to build something people actually want to be part of.

In this episode:

• Why podcasting works best as a trust layer, not a revenue stream on its own
• The “party” framework for building a content ecosystem
• How free content, newsletters, and community connect into monetization
• Why value-first content outperforms aggressive selling
• The role of video in scaling audience growth
• How legacy media strategies translate into podcasting today
• What indie creators get wrong about content and revenue
• Why failing fast is the only real way to grow

Episode Moments:

• (01:22) Where the money in podcasting actually is
• (05:59) The content ecosystem “party” framework
• (11:34) Building Podcast Strategy Weekly and paid conversion
• (16:15) Lessons from legacy media
• (19:03) Branded podcast trends
• (22:53) What works for indie creators
• (29:01) Podcast Crew and industry infrastructure
• (33:42) Video as the biggest growth lever
• (39:58) Audio vs YouTube packaging strategy
• (44:14) How news podcasts build audience
• (48:53) Community as the core driver
• (51:25) Why you have to fail fast

About Chris Stone

Chris Stone is the founder of Podcast Strategy Weekly and Podcast Crew, a professional hiring network for the podcast industry. He is also Executive Producer at the New Statesman, where he leads podcast and video strategy. With a background across The Telegraph and Evening Standard, Chris specializes in audience growth, content strategy, and monetization across media platforms.

Find Chris at Podcast Strategy Weekly: podcaststrategy.substack.com and The Podcast Crew: podcastcrew.co.uk

Some Additional PodBiz Buzz

“I have found that providing as much value up top and for free as possible is really beneficial. People need to know that your content is going to be worth the time.”

“Once a listener has been through those stages… they’re more likely to then go out and tell other people, hey, there’s this great party, come to this party next time with me.”

“And there are going to be… things that you will end up doing that don’t exist right now.”

PodBiz is the podcast about the business of podcasting. Hosted by industry veterans Norma Jean Belenky and John Kiernan, the show features conversations with creators, executives, and platform leaders to answer one question: Where’s the money in podcasting?

Each episode dives into monetization strategy, adtech, branded content, IP development, and audience growth. Guests include leaders from Acast, Captivate, Crooked Media, Buzzsprout, True Native Media, Podfest, and more.

Learn more: njbmedia.co | thepodhouseproductions.com

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