The Top 10 Subscription Pitches We've Heard

What do all successful podcast subscriptions have in common? They consistently pitch their subscription on their public podcast, and better yet, they pitch in style. From dedicated launch episodes, to teasers, to ongoing reminders - we’ve collected the best of the best for you to learn from.

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Get your notepad out - it’s time to take notes for your next subscription pitch!

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If you’d like to see our framework for constructing a pitch, you should also check out: Crafting the Perfect Sales Pitch for Your Podcast Subscription

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Now let’s dive into our top 10…

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10) Get Sleepy 

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This Get Sleepy Premium pitch hits all the right notes. With impressive word economy, it explains not only why support is needed (“to keep the show going”), but why a subscription will make the listener’s life so much better (“Get Sleepy premium is all about giving you better sleep.”) Only after detailing the “why” does the pitch move onto the “what” - an impressive list of subscriber perks.

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The pitch also taps into FOMO by teasing a premium episode that will only be available to subscribers the following night.

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Ahhhh….a restful night awaits!

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What we love:

• Get Sleepy’s tease of the premium episode
• The emphasis on why premium is all about helping the subscriber get better sleepy

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9) FoundMyFitness

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There’s so much to love about this FoundMyFitness Premium pitch. Dr Rhonda Patrick cuts to the chase about why you should sign up: if you’re getting value from the podcast, you should be paying for it. Simple!

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She goes deeper into explaining why this is so important (hint: her podcast does not run ads.) Her final technique is to seamlessly articulate not only the member benefits, but to provide explicit examples of some of the best questions she has already answered on a range of member-only Q+A episodes.

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Ready to sign up?

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What we love:

• Rhonda’s simple frame of the deal (“if you get value from this or any other episode, you should pay for it”)
• Rhonda provides specific examples of the questions she’s answered on Q+A episodes

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8) Peter Attia 

This Peter Attia membership pitch does an excellent job of selling the subscription.

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Full of compelling one-lines - “our goals is to ensure members get back much more than the price of the subscription” or “the word on the street is that nobody’s show notes rival these” - you can’t help but visit his site to learn more. 

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What we love:

• Peter is unafraid to talk up his subscription (“nobody’s show notes rival these”)
• Peter’s frame of the deal (“you’ll get more value than the price”)

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7) Realignment 

Marshall Kosloff’s pitch to become a Realignment subscriber is a master-class on how to answer the question: “well, why do I need to sign up?”

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Well, if you care about things like getting more episodes, improving the YouTube content or staff getting paid, you might want to put your money where your mouth is. Like the Get Sleepy and FoundMyFitness examples above, Marshall seamlessly teases the subscriber-only episode with his father that will only air on the subscriber feed tomorrow night.

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Nothing like a father-son chat on climate change!

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What we love:

• Marshall breaks down exactly what subscription revenue will fund
• Marshall’s tease of the premium episode with his father

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6) Politicology 

This launch announcement for Politicology+ - coming in just under 4 minutes - is a gem. Ron Steslow immediately grabs your attention with his clever frame for the subscription...“part laboratory, part masterclass, part war room”.

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Now that you’re listening, Ron hits you with some of the incredible member-only content that awaits, such as “The Enemies of Democracy Series”, which looks into the people who present the gravest threats to democracy.

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Most importantly, about half way in, Ron directly addresses that all-important ‘why’ question (he explicitly says “Why are we doing this?”). After painting a troubling picture for democracy, he highlights the mission of Politicology+ to fight for democracy and “make you the smartest person in the room”.

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And who doesn’t want that?

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What we love:

• Ron’s compelling description of what the subscription is (“part laboratory, part masterclass, part war room”)
• How Ron presents the subscription’s benefits as one of the solutions to the ‘democracy crisis’ he articulates

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5) CANADALAND‍

We could write a thesis on why the crowdfunding pitches from CANADALAND’s Jesse Brown are legendary around here, but let’s keep this short.

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Put simply, Jesse is able to explain why if you support CANADALAND’s mission, then it’s simple: you need to become a subscriber. He masterfully demonstrates the impact of subscriber funded work (“These were international headlines” and “stories that rocked the nation.”) Jesse articulates the subscriber goals he’s setting for crowdfunding month, and what extra content CANADALAND listeners will get if they unlock those targets. He also plays on social proof (“it’s not quite 7000 people”) to subtly remind the listener to copy the actions of fellow CANADALAND fans.

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Enough said.

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What we love:

• Jesse’s quantifies the impact their subscribers have on the world 
• Jesse’s use of social proof

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4) Sam Harris

In typical Sam Harris fashion, this pitch to support the The Making Sense Podcast is an air-tight dissertation on why a subscriber model is superior to ads. Of course, the content of the pitch won’t be relevant to most podcasts (who choose run ads), but there are still lessons to be learned.

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The biggest of these is that listeners will choose to support your work if you can clearly articulate “why” you’re running a subscription program. In Sam’s case, the subscription model is the only way he can construct incentives to align his podcast with the pursuit of truth, and away from click-bait conversations.

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What’s your “why”?

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Why we love it:

• Sam makes a compelling, intellectual case for subscription, placing the subscription model within its societal context.
• Sam’s style of pitch is perfectly suited to his audience and podcast.

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3) Founders 

Looking to sign up for Founders? Don’t take host David Senra’s word for it. Instead, David reads quotes from two billionaire founders about why the best activity you can do is read biographies of the world’s smartest people. I believe Aristotle termed this “ethos” - an appeal to authority.

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This pitch works so well because the Founders’ audience is, by and large, made up of listeners who aspire to the success of the billionaires quoted. It’s so much easier to sell something when it has the seal of approval from someone you admire. David then explains how much value is packed into the lifetime plan with clear logic (“lifetime subscribers will eventually be paying a dime per book”).

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You can't help but click the link in the show notes!

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What we love:

• David’s ability to find quotes (from two well-respected individuals) to do the selling for him.
• The way David communicates the value of a lifetime subscription.

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2) CANADALAND

We did mention Jesse Brown’s crowdfunding pitches are legendary, didn’t we? Well, this is why Jesse is the only host with two pitches listed in our top 10.

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The genius of this CANADALAND pitch is that it distills the logic of subscription with a memorable analogy you’ll never forget. I’m surely not the first one to say it, but stories sell! And the story of being “that guy” who always rocks up to a dinner party empty handed will surely get you to sign up.

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Don’t be that guy!

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What we love:

• Jesse’s use of humor to convey the necessity of paying for the podcast you consume.
• Jesse’s concise summary of his previous pitches.

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1) Breaking Points

Anyone who can sell 10,000 subscriptions in two days is doing something right, and undoubtedly has a pitch deserving of the number one spot on our list. What’s Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti’s secret sauce?

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First, they have an incredibly strong mission (“hate each other less, hate the ruling class more.”)

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Second, they aren’t afraid to throw stones at giants to make you feel part of their tribe (“CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC are ripping us apart.”)

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Finally, they’re upfront about why it’s so important that you support them (“we took a big risk going independent, so we need your support.”) This combination of mission, partisanship, and telling listeners why support is needed is incredibly effective.

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What we love:

• Everything!
• Jokes aside, Saagar’s storytelling ability. Not only does he paint a powerful image of what's wrong with mainstream media, but why he's also able to effectively sell you on why Breaking Points is the answer.

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