The Future of Podcast Ads 🔮

Do podcast ads & commercials really work?

Sep 25, 2024

A fun photo of our baby cow Uncle Fester 🐮

When you listen to podcasts, do you listen to the commercials or advertisements?

I don’t.

I fast-forward past them…especially if the audio is different—this makes life so easy to scroll past annoying ads. This why I think the future of podcast commercials or ads are going the way of Instagram influencer posts.

Remember when even small-time influencers were making thousands from one post on IG? Not anymore. The big advertisers finally realized that not that many people are clicking and it’s a waste of their money.

I’m shocked that the big guns like All-State, Third Love, Healthy Root, Quince, and all those big advertisers you constantly hear on the bigger podcasts aren’t catching on. I listen to podcasts all the time, in various genres. I have NEVER been driven to buy from these big companies because of a podcast. Ever.

When writing this post, I had to listen to the beginning of a podcast to remember their names, so brand recognition isn’t even a factor. I know what you’re thinking—of course—if you’re Alex Cooper, Joe Rogan, or Oprah, you can make a ton of money off these advertisements, even if a small percentage of your billions of listeners click and buy. It’s the same with reality-star podcasters; they will always make money from these big advertisers.

What about us? The little guys trying to make it? 🐭

As a listener, I like hearing podcast commercials about the podcaster’s direct offerings. I have ABSOLUTELY bought services and products from smaller time podcasters. Usually, their ads have a personal touch and they have a service or product I want or need.

This is why I find it a waste of time to go after the big guns. Yes, if you have a local radio show like I do, I will eventually approach local advertisers, because that makes sense. But my new strategy for ads and commercials on my podcasts is:

Affiliate links to products I love showcased by a personal ad
Offerings of my services & products showcased by a personal ad
No audio changes from podcast content to ad (to prevent listeners from skipping)
Changing my commercials every month or six weeks, so the listener doesn’t get used to the ad
Embedding commercials within the episode—not before or after ‼️
Only including one to two commercials per episode & making them informative/entertaining content too

This strategy has been a game-changer in selling products, getting more ratings and reviews (I have a commercial for ratings/reviews), and selling my services! If you have any questions about this strategy, feel free to email or DM me.

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