How Podcast Advertising Helps Brands Connect With Audiences (2024) – Shopify

If you listen to podcasts—and over half of Americans do—you’ve likely noticed there are a lot of ads. Some are traditional commercials, like radio spots. Other times, the podcast hosts read ads themselves (these are known as host-read ads). The relationship between podcasters and advertisers is symbiotic: Podcasts want to make money, and advertisers want the ears of an engaged audience.

Podcast ads don’t just offer reach—they build credibility. Audio is intimate, and audiences often trust their favorite podcast hosts. There’s nothing like a recommendation from a trusted voice. If podcast advertisements aren’t part of your marketing strategy, it’s time to explore the opportunity.

What is podcast advertising?

Podcast advertising is promoting your products or services by purchasing audio ads and placing them within podcast shows. Video podcasts allow for video ads in addition to audio ones.

In podcasting, there are a couple of main ad formats:

• Host read ads. Host reads, delivered by the podcast host, leverage the host’s unique connection with their listeners.

• Pre-recorded ads. Pre-recorded ads are separately recorded audio files inserted into the podcast episode, meaning the same ad can appear in several different podcasts or episodes.

Podcast ads can appear at different points of the episode:

• Pre-roll ads. A pre-roll ad appears at the start of the episode, either before it begins or after the host’s opening.

• Mid-roll ads. Mid-roll ads are a coveted spot, playing somewhere in the middle of the episode. Depending on the show, they may also play before a particularly interesting part, like a game, or right after a cliffhanger

• Post-roll ads. Post-roll ads play after the show and are typically the cheapest ad placement of the three.

Whether you choose pre-, mid-, or post-roll ads depends on your podcast ad spend and the show or platform with whom you’re working.

Benefits of podcast advertising

Podcast ads offer a range of benefits that set them apart from other types of advertising.

Increased credibility

Podcasting creates a bond through the listener’s direct—often solitary—engagement with the speaker’s voice. This can help build trust with audiences. A host read, for example, is a chance to speak to a loyal and attentive podcast audience.

Connection to niche audiences

With around three million active podcasts, you can find popular podcasts for virtually every interest. Investigative journalism, true crime, pop culture, science, or even potato chip reviews—there are countless podcasts out there for everyone. If you know your target audience, you can find a show for your message.

High engagement

We’ve all skipped a YouTube ad or tossed out junk mail. While you can skip past audio ads in podcast episodes, they’re often seamlessly integrated with the content, making it difficult to distinguish between the ad and the show—host-read ads make it even harder. Many podcast listeners also engage while commuting or working out, making it inconvenient to skip ads. Some shows even intentionally play ads during interesting parts—like cliffhangers or key plot moments—to help sponsors reach podcast listeners when they’re most engaged.

Brand awareness

Ads don’t always focus solely on direct sales; they’re often about shaping your company’s profile. Brands like Squarespace, Blue Apron, and Casper focus on building brand awareness by leveraging the credibility of hosts who read the ads. This approach helps connect with engaged podcast listeners through native ads that feel more personal than traditional commercials.

Affordability

Podcast ads vary in cost, but they’re generally cheaper to produce than video or TV ads, which often involve hefty production costs (for actors, sets, and post-production). A podcast ad, on the other hand might consist only of a host reading your podcast ad from a few lines of script.

How to run a successful podcast ad campaign

1. Identify your goals
2. Set a budget
3. Develop your message
4. Contact podcasts, networks, or platforms

Podcast advertising might seem daunting—but it doesn’t have to be. Keep these tips in mind as you get started:

1. Identify your goals

The metrics that make podcast advertising effective vary based on your company, and whether you want sales, clicks, or social media engagement. Identifying your desired outcomes helps you understand if your podcast advertising campaign is working, and what to adjust if it isn’t.

While some goals, like boosting brand awareness, can be hard to monitor, there are concrete key performance indicators (KPIs) you can track, like website traffic or sales. One way to track this day is through promo codes, which provides a unique identifier to measure the effectiveness of your campaign through purchases.

2. Set a budget

Podcast advertising rates vary, and are often calculated using CPM, which stands for “cost per thousand” listeners (“M” being the Roman numeral for 1,000). This metric is commonly used in advertising to standardize costs for reaching a set number of audience members. Here’s a common podcast advertising rate formula:

(Total listenership / 1,000) × CPM

In podcasting, CPM typically ranges from $25 to $40 for a 30- to 60-second ad. For example, an ad on a podcast with 15,000 listeners at a $25 CPM would cost $375.

Ad costs also vary depending on ad type—like host-read or pre-recorded—and the show. Niche shows might set podcast advertising rates at $40 to $50 CPM. In contrast, shows that use platforms like Spotify for pre-recorded ads often have lower rates, sacrificing the personal touch of a host-read ad for a broader reach.

3. Develop your message

Like all marketing campaigns, your sponsorship message depends on your desired outcome. If you’re trying to sell a specific item, you might include a call to action (CTA) with a promo code; if you’re focused on growing your social media following, offering a giveaway to new followers might be more effective.

Podcast advertising offers an intimacy other advertising channels lack, making it a great place to highlight your brand identity and story—often more effectively than traditional channels like print ads.

4. Contact podcasts, networks, or platforms

There are three key players in podcast advertising. First, the podcaster. For many shows—especially smaller, independent ones—you can buy ads directly by reaching out to them through their website or social media accounts. Look for a contact email on their site or send ad requests through their social media channels.

Second, the podcast network. Like a record label with various bands, a podcast network manages multiple shows. You can contact networks like Radiotopia or Earwolf to purchase ads on specific shows or across several. You can find contact information on their websites, and many podcast networks have dedicated ad managers to help you choose the best advertising options.

Finally, third-party tools like Sirius XM, Overcast, and Spotify’s ad studio enable ad purchases through dynamic ad insertion, allowing ads to be placed in some downloads but not others.