HOW TO GET A PODCAST SPONSORSHIP
Podcast sponsorship is a great way for podcasters to turn their side-hustle and passion into something even more valuable. Financial freedom.
In this webinar, Heather Osgood, Founder of True Native Media, shares her formula for being successful with podcast sponsorship.
Topics covered in the masterclass webinar:
- Why your hosting provider matters and how to determine which one is best for you.
- Understanding your download numbers so you can clearly explain them to advertisers.
- Preparing your podcast for advertisers so you look professional.
- What Dynamic Insertion Ads and Evergreen Ads are, and which one is best for you.
- The best way to price your podcast, especially if you have small download numbers.
- Why a media kit is crucial. And the best approach for podcast sponsor outreach.
A big thanks to Chris Krimitsos from Podfest for hosting this masterclass webinar.
Below are the bullets points covered in each section. To learn more details, please watch the video.
YOUR HOSTING PROVIDER MATTERS
- Your hosting platform deliver the correct number of downloads and your audience size. This is critical information for advertisers.
- There are many excellent platforms, and then lots of bad ones. You must choose carefully and dig deep into the analytics they provide you.
- Choose a hosting provider that is IAB compliant – they set the standards on how to measure downloads.
- This gives you the confidence you to know your numbers are correct.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR DOWNLOADS
- Providing the correct download numbers is crucial to podcast sponsorship.
- When you go into the stats section in your hosting provider you will see the total number of downloads.
- The numbers that really matter to advertisers – is NOT the total, but rather the downloads PER EPISODE.
- How many downloads are happening on one episode. That is how many listeners the advertiser will reach.
PREPARING FOR PODCAST SPONSORSHIP
- Format your podcast to accommodate ads.
- You don’t want your listener experience to be abruptly interrupted.
- You don’t need to announce the ad, just make sure there is an appropriate time to switch to the ad and then right back into your episode.
- This makes the ad feel more part of the content and that it’s meant to be there.
PRICING FOR PODCAST SPONSORSHIP
- The general pricing method is CPM/Cost per thousand downloads.
- Pricing varies $20-$50 CPM, depending on the podcast downloads.
- Smaller podcasts rather go with a more curated price.
- Most podcasters are reaching valuable listeners, but their topic is broad e.g parenting. If the advertisers can reach them on a variety of other platforms they are not as coveted. This will determine the value you place on your ad read.
- Niche topics and listeners e.g software developers/doctors, who are really hard to reach, bring a higher value to advertisers. Therefore, the CPM may be higher.
- Think about packaging your assets together – podcast, social platforms, newsletters, email marketing, website, etc.
- More touch points to reach a larger audience has greater worth to advertisers.
MEDIA KITS
- A well designed media kit creates a compelling reason for advertisers to choose you.
- Make it look professional. You can hire a graphic designer or do it yourself on software such a Canva.com
Things to cover:
- The podcast description.
- The listener audience – demographic insights (this is very important)
- The host/co-host (just a snippet)
- Stats – downloads per episode (no vanity metrics)
- Pricing/packages (optional)
PODCAST SPONSORSHIP OUTREACH
- Bigger companies are harder to connect with; and their expectations are strict and inflexible.
- Target mid-level companies – somewhat established, or startups with funding.
- Companies who sell nationwide or online.
- Apps and software are popular.
- Connect with the correct contact on LinkedIn – preferably a marketing position.
- Persistence – send messages, emails, and comments.
- Show how they will benefit from having a conversation with you and why podcast sponsorship will be successful with you.
FINAL THOUGHTS
- Do the legwork and prepare your show for podcast sponsorship before you begin outreach.
- Know your numbers. Downloads per episode are the key metric of measurement for advertisers.
- Always offer added value to increase the worth of your podcast to the advertiser.
- Be persistent.
- Build a relationship with the advertiser on social media so they are more likely to respond to your email outreach.
If you have +10K downloads per episode or you are using dynamic insertion, please reach out to True Native Media. We can get advertisers for you.
If you enjoyed this article, you will love this one: Podcast Advertising Contract: What to include.
Optimizing Your Podcast SEO Is More Important Now Than Ever Before is another great resource to grow your podcast.
True Native Media is an advertising agency that specializes in connecting brands with podcasters to develop engaging content hand-crafted for audiences around the globe. truenativemedia.com