From community boards to our own inboxes, we’ve seen podcasters ask time and time again what’s the best way to monetize their shows. We give them the same advice we give all of our podcasters – a strong foundation is absolutely essential in setting yourself up for success when monetizing your podcast.
It all starts with the way you set up your Advertising Profile! Something we often notice is the lack of upkeep when it comes to Advertising Profiles. Setting it once and forgetting about it doesn’t do you any favors, especially as time often changes many aspects of our lives. For example, you may initially sign up for RAP and provide your personal social media accounts. But as time moves forward, you may create social media profiles specifically for your show. You want to ensure potential brand partners can easily find your new social media accounts so they can review the engagement of your show. If you leave your RAP profile untouched, then those brands have no way of checking out your new social accounts.
Don’t let yourself miss out on opportunities just because you haven’t updated your RAP profile!
Info On Your Podcast
It’s impossible for a podcast to stay exactly the same as it always was. You may gain new listeners, grow in popularity, and even switch up your content to something else. All of these changes should be reflected in your RAP Profile to ensure brand partners can get the most accurate picture of your show!
CPM Rates
As your show grows, so does the value of your Host-Read Ads. Let’s say when you first signed up for RAP you had an average of 1,000 weekly downloads. The recommended CPM for a Pre-Roll Spot would be $7 to $15 USD. Now let’s say your show jumped in popularity and your average weekly downloads have soared to 10,000. The recommended CPMs jump to $13 to $25 USD.
Know your worth! If you notice a climb in your downloads, then review your RAP Profile to ensure the changes are reflected here, too.
Promo Code
While this may not apply to everyone, it is important for shows that change their name in any way. If you change the title of your show from “Tantalizing Talks with Fine Folks” to “Amazing Anecdotes with Positive People” then you’ll want to update your show’s promo code to align with your new show name.
Listener Demographics
Similar to CPM Rates, the demographics of your listeners may change depending on the growth of your podcast. It’s always a good idea to review these stats when your show begins to take off. Your demographics may be wildly different today than they were last year. You want to provide potential brand partners with the most accurate information on your listeners, otherwise, you could lose out on a potential deal due to the inaccuracies!
Personal Details
Change is a natural part of life, so it wouldn’t be surprising if you needed to make some personal updates to your RAP Profile. If you ever change your primary email address, move to a new place, or create new social media accounts, then we always recommend updating those fields in your RAP Profile!
Email Address
This piece of information, above all else, is the most important to keep updated! If we don’t have your preferred email address as your main contact, then you may miss out on crucial information like changes to an upcoming campaign, brand opportunities, updates to your account, and pretty much anything to do with your podcast on RedCircle.
If you ever change your email address, then be sure to update it in your Account Settings. We have a Help Center article that walks you through the process.
Mailing Address
Another important piece of information to keep updated is your mailing address! This is especially important for receiving samples from brands in order to fulfill Host-Read Ad campaigns. If you move, or simply want to open a PO Box, be sure to update this field to reflect those changes. Otherwise, sample packages may end up getting lost and campaigns you’re actively participating in might be significantly delayed.
Social Media
Finally, one last piece of personal information that could require updating is your social media accounts. If you ever change your social media accounts to something new, then be sure to add this change to your RAP Profile. Adding social media accounts to your RAP Profile can help brand partners better understand your content as a whole (and could even lead to multi-platform campaigns!)
Podcast Preferences
The last section to keep an eye on are your podcast preferences. More specifically, the inclusion of Programmatic Ads and exclusion of specific brands and ad categories. Having these up-to-date ensures that you’re working with the brands you want and not the brands you don’t!
Programmatic Ads
You’re given the opportunity to make some adjustments when first opting in to Programmatic Ads. These adjustments are available to you at all times while opted in to RAP, so take advantage of them!
You can change your podcast’s primary category (which is very useful if you make any significant changes to your show!) Additionally, you can even decide to toggle on and off Programmatic Ads in specific positions. We always recommend toggling on all three so there are no gaps in advertising, but it’s ultimately up to you!
Exclusions
Last but not least is the ability to exclude specific ad categories and entire brands. It’s important to note, though, that the excluded brands currently only apply to Host-Read Ads.
You can exclude whatever ad categories you feel clash with your podcast. Simply click the drop-down and mark the checkbox next to the ad category:
You’re also welcome to exclude specific brands if you have an exclusive deal with a competitor, for example. Marking them as “excluded” prevents you from receiving Host-Read Ad opportunities from these brands. All you need to do is type the brand in the text field, select the brand (or simply hit the ‘enter’ key if the brand doesn’t populate), and click the red Save button.
Making sure to keep your RAP Profile up to date is a key component of podcast advertising. If you set it up once and never touch it again, then you may end up missing exciting ad opportunities! We recommend checking it over at a minimum once a year and ensuring that all information is current.
Have questions on RAP or podcast advertising in general? We’re here to help! Contact us whenever you need and you’ll hear back ASAP!