Premium Content Seems the Way to Go
I had mentioned that I think Dan Klass is one of the best story tellers in podcasting. He has won numerous awards for a reason. Go listen now. You won't be sorry. Go meet Dan, Mellisa, Princess Tirade, and Hudson. I don't have many podcast that I listen to years after I started. This is one of those podcasts that the minute it hits my itunes I'm all over it.
Dan has written books on Podcasting and has a large audience. However, he has found what many of us have found. Selling advertisement takes time. CPM is not a way to put your kids through school.
A better solution is to provide a free version of your podcast, and a PREMIUM version. In Dan's case he is going to put out four episodes for Premium Listeners and once a month for "regular" listeners. He's charging $4 a month. (For those that are mathematically challenged that means a buck an episode). Order it here
Dan makes me laugh, cry, think. and more than likely.. smile. To me a smile is worth is a buck.
He is using Premiumcast.com if you're interested (a system that does everything in terms of monetizing your podcast, and I think the next version will do your laundry).