Restructuring Your Podcast To Be Advertising-Friendly [S3E3]

My thinking on advertising in the podcasting space is shifting. In the last few days, I’ve landed two ad deals for two clients, and one other client somehow found six different advertisers. Which means we need a strategy do deal with this windfall. So do you, probably.

Your relationship with your advertisers or sponsors is fleeting. Your relationship with your audience is not. And remember: it’s your audience the advertisers want to reach. Jeopardize the relationship with your audience at your own peril. 

One natural place to run ads is during the natural breaks within your episode. Most shows are constructed in segments, and each segment, even on short programs like this one, could accommodate an ad.

But only if it were planned. Without planning, ad drops can sound clunky and weird. And we don’t want our episodes to sound clunky or weird, do we? To avoid that, we probably need to change how we structure the various segments of our show so that our listeners aren’t wondering what the hell just happened. 

To make the least clunky and weird episode as possible, you need to plan it out before you plop down behind the mic or crack open your DAW. Get a whiteboard, a collaborative online document, or a piece of paper out and figure out where ads not only make sense, but where they can fit nicely. No, you don’t have to script out your entire show if you don’t want to. But you should script out the entire structure of an episode if you want to be strategic.

Also: make sure your episode doesn’t sound clunky and weird when no ad or sponsor message runs. Don’t bake in “We’ll be right back after a word from our sponsors.” into your episode content to mark where you plan ads to run. Likewise, don’t bake in “And we’re back!” when you resume regular episode content. That’s an old broadcast ripoff that we really don't need in podcasting. 

If you're having difficulty conceptualizing how you would do this for the episodes of your podcast, I understand. So move it from concept to practice, and start “running ads” for some cause or organization that you feel is worthy of mentioning on your program. I'm recording this in late 2020, and there are a great number of worthy causes struggling to get their message out. Pick one with the values, ideals, and ambitions you can get behind… and get behind it! Not only is it a Good Thing, it’s good practice for you for when advertisers come knocking at your door.

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