Podcast advertising ebbs and flows with the changing of the seasons. It lays dormant in late winter, then blooms again like a spring flower. If you’re a podcaster interested in monetizing their show, then understanding this cycle can help you to better understand the podcast advertising ecosystem and how to take advantage of it.
We covered this cycle as a whole in an earlier blog, so we’ll instead focus on the most exciting part of it – the last few months of the year!
Crucial Timing of Ads
The last few months of the year, starting around September, is when podcast advertising really comes to life. Brands have spent a good portion of the year planning for the upcoming holiday season. By September, most brands are finalizing the concepts of their campaigns, agreeing on a budget, and committing to it all. As a podcaster, you may start to notice an influx of brand inquiries in your RAP inbox. You should continue to see an increase in opportunities from now until around December.
Because this is such a popular time for campaigns, most hosting platforms recommend either migrating in August (and even early September) or waiting until after the New Year to migrate your show. You don’t want to miss out on any potential ad revenue!
The best way to improve your chances of receiving campaign invites is to ensure you’re fully prepared, though!
How to Prepare for Host-Read Ads
There are several things a podcaster can do to prepare for the most lucrative time of the year! And they’re not as hard as you might think!
Consistent Schedule
An important, and sometimes overlooked, element of securing ad campaigns is the consistency of your episodes. Most advertisers prefer podcasts that post at least once a week. Consistently posting one episode a week can help to keep the brand top of mind for your listeners without causing ad fatigue.
But you may end up posting more consistently depending on your content. For the more chatty podcasters, brands are able to cap the frequency of their advertisement on your show so as not to tire out your listeners. A true win-win for everyone involved!
Add Insertion Points
You can’t reap revenue from ads without first putting them in your podcast! While RedCircle automatically adds new Insertion Points to your podcast in all 3 positions, you’ll also want to be sure that your back catalog has the recommended number of Insertion Points in order to maximize your revenue (spoiler: it’s a minimum of three! One Insertion Point per position.)
You would be surprised by how many folks go through a show’s back catalog! New listeners, and even seasoned ones, often find themselves listening to older episodes. For new listeners, it can be to catch up on the show, while for long-time listeners they may be listening to old favorites. Whatever the reason, be sure to add an ad break here or there to capture those impressions!
Number of Ads
Speaking of ad breaks, you want to be sure you have your Audio Blocks configured in a way that makes sense for you and your audience. As mentioned before, you want to be careful not to tire out your listeners with dozens of ads per break. There’s a sweet spot of about 2-3 ads per break, as found in an earlier blog post of ours.
Be Quick to Respond
A piece of advice our Advertising team frequently gives to our podcasters; don’t wait to respond to brand inquiries and campaign invites. Being one of the first to respond can help you to secure a spot in a campaign as many advertisers often send out more invites than they have room, just in case they receive declines.
Responding to brand inquiries in a quick manner helps to keep your show stuck in their minds. Be sure to couple this with stellar responses, though!
Prepping your podcast in this way can help you start the end of the year off right. It can also help you to better plan your schedule and understand your bandwidth and opportunities. And the earlier you prepare, the better of you’ll be!
Interested in earning more revenue in 2024? Why not sign up for RedCircle and unlock your podcast’s potential? Even if you’re happy with your hosting platform, you can take advantage of our Ads Program with OpenRAP today!
