It may seem foreign and complicated, but there are many ways for meditation teachers to get paid. Selling meditation recordings online is easier than you might think. Here, we offer 5 tips to sell your meditation audios online.
Modern life is uncertain, busy, and challenging, leaving many people feeling on edge or under the pump. Many are not surprisingly, looking for ways to relax, sleep better and de-stress. The Gallup Global Emotions 2022 Report suggests global stress, unhappiness and sadness levels are at their highest recorded levels worldwide. With a record 41% of people experiencing high levels of daily stress.
The global wellness market is booming.
In 2020, the global Mental Wellness market was estimated at US$131 billion. While the global Mindfulness Meditation Apps Market was valued at US$1.1 Billion in 2021. It is estimated to grow to over US$ 6.8 Billion by 2030.
If you create guided meditation recordings for sale, there is a large and growing market for your meditation content online.
The first step is to become a qualified meditation teacher. Once you work out the technology, digital downloads are an easy way to share and sell guided meditation audios online. They can provide a source of income. They can also add value to meditation programs, workshops, and other services. Meditation audio recordings generally involve low associated overhead costs. No physical storage or postage required. They also open you up to global markets, thanks to the internet.
How to sell your meditation audio recordings online
While it may seem foreign and complicated, there are many ways for meditation teachers to get paid or for selling your meditations online. Many are easier to navigate than you might think. Here are some tips to get you started. It is recommended that you continue your own research online to find the platforms that will suit you best.
From your training and practical exercises completed in your ACMM Meditation Teacher Training), you will have gathered a range of meditation scripts (and recordings).
Why not use these as another income stream?
If you have trained with ACMM, your scripts will all have been written by you. They will be completely original and of high quality. This means you can multiply their value in many ways. If you have trained with another institution, please check whether the scripts they have provided are copyrighted.
You don’t need a website to sell your meditations online. If you have one, it will give you full control over organisation, promotion, and sales of your audios.
Tip 1: There are several broad options to sell your meditations online for no or low cost.
Use as many options as possible to reach the largest number of listeners and potential customers. Ensure pricing is consistent across different platforms.
No website? No problem
If you are a new Meditation Teacher and don’t have your own website, you can use a free digital storage platform such as Dropbox or Google Drive. These will enable you to save the audio file (mp3) online (in the ‘cloud’). Importantly, you may want to restrict access to the file so it is not publicly available. Enable file downloads such that you can share the file link with customers after they have paid you.
Alternatively, you might share the audio download link to add value to another service, program, or workshop. Or as a marketing opt-in (see below for more info). Whilst this is the cheapest (free) option, there may be storage limits restricting how many audios you can save on the digital storage platform. You will have to manually perform all actions involved in selling and delivering meditation downloads online to your customers.
Create an Online Shop
For an easier and more professional looking option, you might consider using a digital marketplace (e-commerce) platform. Some options are: Shopify, Gumroad, Sellfy, Easy Digital Downloads, or Soundwise . These platforms either charge you a commission on sales or a subscription fee. They allow you to add meditation recordings and other digital products (courses, memberships and subscriptions, and other digital services) to your account. Set a price, provide a description and image, and start securely selling and delivering your audios. This is done through their platform, to your customers, with support to help at every step.
Tip 2. Most e-commerce platforms have a free trial period to learn the ropes & experiment before launching your online shop or product.
There are hundreds of different platforms. It’s worth taking time to research and trial them before you decide which one is best suited to you.
Should I have my own website?
If you don’t currently have a website, but are considering one, you can use a DIY website building platform with e-commerce functionality. Such as Wix, Squarespace, and many others, allowing you to build your own online shop. This is a great starting point for new Meditation Teachers. Again, it is important to do your own research to find a platform that suits you best. You will also need to purchase a domain name. This is the actual website address you will use. Spend the time (or pay someone) to build the site yourself. Make sure you have registered any name that you use commercially with the relevant government business bodies . This is ASIC in Australia.
For a website without an online shop (e-commerce), you can add a widget or plug-in from your e-commerce platform to your website. This creates a seamless and professional looking purchasing experience for your customers.
Benefits of having your own e-commerce website
Having your own website provides your business with credibility. Your customers can easily access information, support, and all your guided meditation audios for sale in one place. You will also own the data and emails you collect through your website sales and opt-ins. So you can keep in touch with your customers. Letting them know when you create new meditations, or other offerings.
Provided your content is original, you will also have:
- more control over the selling process,
- more control over marketing, content,
- complete control over pricing,
- to pay less fees to e-commerce and distribution platforms,
- the ability to market your other services and products
In your online activities , direct your listeners back to this page to engage with and purchase your meditations.
Build your reach with Streaming Services
Uploading your audio(s) to distribution platforms (streaming services) such as:
- SoundCloud,
- Insight Timer,
- YouTube,
- Tidal,
- Spotify,
- and many others allow large audiences to listen to and enjoy your meditations.
The benefits of streaming services
The amount of money you might make from streaming may be small. (Or nothing in the case of SoundCloud as it is not a sales platform. ) However, these platforms encourage and recommend new audio discovery for their users. So they can boost your exposure and expand your audience of meditation enthusiasts and potential customers.
Using a streaming service also acts as an online storage location for your mp3 files. Whichever streaming service you use, you will want to direct listeners back to your website or online shop for sales. Many of these platforms have integration tools to include on your website. Making the process of listening to and purchasing your meditations easy for your customers.
TIP 3. Don’t save your audio (mp3) files to your website directly. They tend to be large files and can slow your website down.
Instead, save the files to an online storage, streaming or e-commerce platform. Link back or add their widget, plug-in, or audio player to your website for a seamless experience for your customers.
Use meditation audios to add value to existing services
Beyond directly selling your meditations online, you can use them to add value to your:
- meditation teaching programs,
- workshops,
- courses,
- coaching services,
- memberships,
- or podcasts.
TIP 4. Use your meditation recordings to add value to an existing program, course, workshop, or coaching service.
Instead of discounting your prices to entice more customers to purchase your services, increase the perceived value of the offering by including meditation downloads in the sales package.
Use meditations to grow your mailing list
Offering free downloadable meditation recordings are a great incentive for people to join your mailing list or share a testimonial online. Known as marketing opt-ins or lead magnets, giving away your audio downloads in exchange for people’s contact details, to provide reviews or expand your mailing list for future sales leads is extremely valuable.
The easiest way to share your meditations as a lead magnet or opt-in freebie, is to save your meditation to a free cloud storage service (see above) and include the link in the thank you, welcome or follow-up email that is sent after the customer signs up to your emailing list. Alternatively, you can upload the .mp3 file directly to your website opt-in form if you have one to instantly share with your new subscribers.
But wait, there’s more … Marketing
Whatever online options you choose, it is important to promote your audios and online shop along with engaging information so customers can read, learn, visit your site, and purchase your meditations.
Drive traffic to your online store by sharing the relevant ‘product’ links on:
- social media,
- your website,
- in a blog post,
- your newsletter,
- on streaming services
- and in your business communications (e.g., your email signature).
TIP 5. Marketing is important.
Once you’ve uploaded your audio to your chosen platform(s), create a link to it and share it with your audience via your website, blogs, newsletters, emails, and social media accounts.
Being able to sell your meditations online can be a great way to boost your audience and generate income. This is best done by using a mix of online services, while focusing on your website if you have one and your mailing list to maximise sales. Remember that any meditation audio that you distribute will need to be a good quality recording, so investing in a good quality microphone is essential. Sounds like the topic for another blog!
At ACMM you will learn to guide original full-length meditations, with and without a script.
By the end of your training, you will have many meditation scripts that you have written and some that you have recorded. So this is a great start! You will also be confident at creating original guided meditations across a variety of meditation techniques. We offer Certificate, Advanced Certificate https://calendly.com/acmm/discoverycalland Diploma Training Options, with optional Business Development Support alongside and after your training.
Find out if our courses are the right fit for you. Book a Zoom Discovery Call with Lisa Forde, ACMM Founder today!
