BRISBANE, Australia — Over the past few years during which I have been hosting my own podcast, “Media Sales Mastery,” I’ve had audio sales professionals and independent publishers around the world reach out with their queries. One of the most common challenges they face is how to monetize a podcast effectively.
Typical examples of these listeners are a radio salesperson struggling to justify why 2000 podcast listens should cost more than reaching 200,000 radio listeners; an independent podcast creator who doesn’t feel like AU$55 CPM [cost per thousand] is economically viable for their modest monthly listens; and someone like myself, who ironically has a podcast on media sales, but is hard pressed to think of anyone who’d be remotely interested in sponsoring me!
Using broadcast radio or even digital media metrics to dictate your pricing model likely won’t translate to a viable commercial model.
The central challenge we all face is this: Podcasts are inherently niched. Unless you’ve got the latest Wondery-style blockbuster on your hands, using broadcast radio or even digital media metrics to dictate your pricing model likely won’t translate to a viable commercial model.
It’s not all doom and gloom; while this creates challenges, it also creates unique opportunities to think differently about podcast monetization. Here are three approaches you might consider when going to market with a podcast advertising proposition.
1. Sell the podcast series before you produce it
I must credit Jay Walkerden of Podshape with this one. In the same way that Hollywood pitches a screenplay before they invest millions into making a movie, why not test the market appetite for your podcast before you create it? All you need is a quick pitch deck showing who the target audience is, where you can find them and how this podcast will serve them. This style of selling can be very effective, particularly if you produce an amazing podcast “trailer.” The benefit here is twofold: You minimize your downside, and you can likely partner with a brand that has a vested interest in helping you grow the listenership via their own promotional channels.
2. Quantify the value of one converted listener
Have you got an influential niched audience? Ask the advertiser some basic questions about their average sale price, customer lifetime value and customer referral program. Tread carefully, as you don’t want to go down the “cost per lead” or “direct response” path. But if you can demonstrate that your audience aligns with their ideal customer base, you can create a common currency around what the audience value is. Not convinced? I’ll fathom a guess that a financial planner will see more merit advertising in a property investment podcast that gets 1,000 – 3,000 monthly downloads than buying 10,000 impressions in a comedy or sports podcast.
[Read: Seven golden rules of podcasting]
3. Innovate, integrate, iterate
Most products that charge a premium have good packaging; why should a podcast sponsorship be any different? It’s easier said than done, but who said podcast advertising must be a 30-second commercial?
You don’t have the same bandwidth, regulatory, format or clock restrictions of commercial radio in podcasts; you can completely reimagine your entire advertising model.
Can you break your podcast into various segments and offer multiple-tiered sponsorships? Could you sell a long-form conversation with the sponsor that is tacked onto the end of the podcast and teased throughout? Perhaps you could give your audience a free sample of the client’s product and splice audio of their testimonials throughout the episode.
Most marketers happen to love podcasts; imagine being able to go to them with a “market first innovation in the on-demand audio space.” Who wouldn’t want to hear more about that?
Despite some exciting technological advancements, podcast advertising is still in its infancy.
Despite some exciting technological advancements, podcast advertising is still in its infancy. Advertising spend follows consumer attention. With the right sales approach, I think you’ll find that the devoted habitual listening of a passionate few is worth a lot more than we may think.
The author is a career media sales specialist with more than 13 years of experience spanning radio, digital, podcasting and out of home. His Media Sales Mastery is one of the world’s top-rated podcasts on media sales.
