Advertising is an all-time monetization classic.
Reaching an audience ready to pay for a product or a service is not an easy task; that’s why brands are on the hunt for ad space on platforms where their target audience has already gathered.
If you run a successful podcast and have a solid audience base that might interest certain companies, you should not miss the opportunity to monetize that.
This blog post will help you in one of the main aspects of podcast advertising - the rates.
Read on to find out how podcast advertising rates are calculated and which factors can help you increase your advertising revenue.
Is podcast advertising in demand?
Let’s talk numbers.
The Internet Advertising Bureau projects that US podcast ad revenues will reach $ 1 billion in 2021 and $ 2 billion by 2023. For the comparison, in 2020, this number was $ 842 million.
Which factors influence podcast ad rates?
The golden rule of advertising is the more sales you can generate; the higher is your advertising rate.
In the case of podcasts, the most straightforward way to decide whether a particular show is worth investing in is to track its listenership statistics.
In the podcasting industry, the cost of advertising is presented in CPM (Cost per Mille), which equals 1,000 unique downloads-impressions for the show.
So, let’s say, if a client orders advertising from you for $15 CPM, they will pay you $15 for every 1,000 downloads of your show.
However, it’s your show and the characteristics of the advertising materials that can influence the podcast ad rates. In short, the rate might fluctuate depending on the following main factors:
- Podcast popularity
- Ad’s length
- Advertising type (will the host read advertising?)
- Ad’s duration
Are there standard podcast advertising rates?
Yes. There is a standardized scale that works for the vast majority of podcasters and advertisers. According to AvdertiseCast, the podcasting ad’s price list looks as follows:
- $15 for a 10-second ad CPM
- $18 for a 30-second ad CPM
- $25 for a 60-second ad CPM
However, you should consider that the advertising price will vary depending on where you place it in your show.
The Rate for Pre-roll Ads
Pre-roll ads assume the advertising is presented at the very beginning of the show. An average 15-25 second pre-roll ad can cost $15 CPM.
The Rate for Mid-roll Ads
As you can guess, in the case of mid-roll ads, the advertising is presented in the middle of the show. There is a slight price difference between pre-roll and mid-roll ad rates. The latter costs around $30 CPM for 30-60 second ads.
The Rate for Post-roll Ads
Finally, if you put the advertising at the end of your show, the cost becomes lower. That’s because it’s more likely that listeners will turn off the show before reaching the end.
In post-roll ads, the podcast advertising rate equals $10 CPM for 15-25 seconds.
How to track the podcast advertising efficiency?
As presented above, podcast advertising rates are based on CPMs. Therefore, one of the key metrics is tracking the number of downloads.
Further, we assume that most listeners who downloaded the podcast episode with advertising will listen to it.
This assumption is backed up by Edison Research stats, which show that 73% of listeners listen to their downloaded shows within 48 hours after downloading. However, no one can say this for sure; that’s why you might want to implement additional techniques to track the efficiency of your advertising.
Encourage listeners’ interaction on social media
Introducing fun stuff like giveaways and small prizes for listeners who will mention you on social media is an excellent way to track your audience's engagement with your content.
Track the sales statistics
This metric will give you an incomplete picture of the advertising effectiveness. Still, it will help to generally understand whether there is an overall increase in interest towards the advertised material.
You can also run advertising at the time when a company does no other promotion activity so that you can better figure out whether the sales increase is connected to your ad.
Redirect listeners to website or landing page
By doing so, you will have two benefits.
Firstly, you can provide the listeners with navigation to the source to learn more about the product or the service that interests them. Secondly, this will allow you to have trackable advertising, as you can check whether there is an increase in website traffic connected to your ads.
Include measurable CTAs in your ad
The more measurable Call To Actions you include in your advertising, the easier it will be to track how your advertising works. For example, instead of just informing the listeners that Company X produces certain products, lead them on to concrete actions.
You can give them a promo code, which they can use when making a purchase, or call the mentioned number to order a product with a discount. The key idea is to invite listeners to perform actions that you can track later.
By having estimates of podcast ads conversion rates, you can determine which type of products and ad materials work well in your shows. Besides, you will have insightful statistics, which will help you better justify the ad rates in your podcast.
