This week, I’m talking about cozying up to various places and players to make your next podcast better this week. I’ve already covered why it’s smart to get closer to the big dogs in podcast distribution and how big data will drive podcast creation in the future (like it is already).

Today, want to talk about a different group of people who are responsible for the biggest money flow for podcasters.

Podcast advertising revenue is somewhere north of half a billion dollars annually. And most of that is funneled through advertising agencies and sales representation firms. These companies work with lots of advertisers who want to spend lots of money on podcast advertising. These advertisers typically don’t have a single show in mind, but instead are looking for a very specific audience to advertise to.

But here's the thing:  These advertising sales agencies often don’t have enough inventory to meet the demand. Lest there be any confusion: 

Podcast ad revenue in 2019 isn’t limited by advertisers willing to spend money. It’s limited because there aren’t enough podcast episodes to run ads on.

And that's why you should be cozying up to these agencies and sales reps as you’re thinking about starting your next show. It’s in their best interest to tell you exactly what audience you should target so they can bring you revenue. (Because they make money when they do that.) 

Clearly, this new show you’re making that targets the audience podcast sales reps love probably isn’t going to make money out of the gate. It takes time to build a show’s audience, and in an ad sales relationship, you’re compensated based on the number of downloads episodes of your shows can provide to those advertisers. And that takes time to build.

Cozying up to a podcast advertising agency or sales rep firm can remove a lot of uncertainty when planning a new show. They’ll give you real numbers that you can then apply to your efforts to maximize your chance for success. Yes, you’ll still have to execute. There is no guarantee that those same advertisers will be around when your show finally reaches the numbers it needs to play. But at least you know what current companies are looking for today.

I'm curious what you think about this idea. You can hit reply to this email, or you can download the Flick app, a private and free group just for listeners of Podcast Pontifications: Go here on your mobile device: Flick.group/podcastpontifications 

Speaking of advertising, I don't run ads and have no intention of running ads on this show. You can support me by going to BuyMeACoffee.com/EvoTerra. 

And if you need some help with your podcast, my agency, Simpler Media Productions, provides strategic podcasting services for business clients all over the globe. Give me an email: [email protected] and check out PodcastLaunch.pro to see some of what we do. 

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Podcast Pontifications is published by Evo Terra four times a week and is aimed at the working podcaster. The purpose of this show is to make podcasting better, not just easier.

Follow Evo on Twitter for more podcasting insights as they come.

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit PodcastLaunch.pro to see how Simpler Media Productions can help your firm. Podcasting is our only business.

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.