Having implemented several podcast sponsorship campaigns for various clients in the b2b space, I know a thing or two when it comes to ensuring you are getting the most out of your podcast advertising campaign.

And guest what?

You can download it INSTANTLY for free here. You don’t even need to submit your email address.

If this is your first rodeo, then there are a few things you should know.

First, the smart approach to advertising on podcasts is taking a shotgun approach. Meaning, buy sponsorship ad spots on 5 to 10 podcasts as opposed to just one. This way, you don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Through all the group sponsorships I’ve helped execute (ad spots on 5 to 10 podcasts), success is attributed to 40 – 50% of the podcasts in the campaign. (high quality leads generated). So, if you are a smart growth marketer, and I think you are, you understand why a shotgun approach is better than advertising on just one podcast.

Second, use a tool like Listennotes.com to learn what the global rating for each podcast is. You generally want to only sponsor shows that have a ranking of 10% or better. This indicates they are consistent, have been around a while (at least 6 months), and they drive enough downloads to make a sponsorship worthwhile.

Third, after you’ve identified which podcasts you’d like to sponsor, ask if there are any additional benefits such as website mentions, inclusion in email newsletters, and social media promotion like an organic LinkedIn post.

There are some other steps in the checklist you should follow, but these are the main ones.

Once you got the research phase out of the way, you want to make the choices that will generate the best ROI for you. For example:

- Ad placement: Pre-roll, Mid-roll, or Post-roll (choose Mid-roll as it is the ad with the lowest skipped over rate)

- Host-read or Pre-recorded ad: Host-read always (highest converting)

- Ensure the host includes a CTA at the top of the show description and hyperlinked with a UTM link for tacking.

- Add a “where did you hear about us?” field box in your signup form or use a tool like Leadfeeder that helps you identify which companies are visiting your site and from which podcasts.

There are some other steps in the checklist you should follow, but these are the main ones.

Yes! A win-win partnership is one where you continue to support your creator partnerships. How? Subscribe to their show or like their LinkedIn post that is promoting the show.

You should also analyze the quality of the traffic the show is generating and determine if you want to continue working with them.

For podcasters that are driving quality traffic, you will want to expand your collaboration by offering to sponsor their newsletter, webinars, live events, and organic LinkedIn posts.

For the podcasters that didn’t seem to drive much engagement for your brand, you will want to remove them from your podcast campaigns moving forward.

Hope you find this podcast sponsorship checklist useful. If you’re in the B2B space and want to work with me, feel free to send me a DM on LinkedIn or on our contact page.

Other posts around podcast marketing you might enjoy:

👉 Spotify Megaphone alternative

👉 10 B2B Podcast Ad examples (with links to audio)

👉 How to measure the Impact of a podcast