For many podcast hosts, getting sponsors can be a goal they look forward to. Sponsors are a way to guarantee revenue from a podcast, helping to reduce the costs of running the podcast, or even making a profit from the activities. However, hosts tend to delay getting podcast sponsorship because they don’t know whether they’re at the right level to attract them.
In this article, we ask when you can start getting podcast sponsors, and whether there is a limit or not.
Podcast Sponsorship is not a Case of When
The first thing to note is that podcast sponsorship is not a case of when. You can attract podcast sponsorship early on in your podcast career, some hosts can even attract sponsorship from their first episode. Partly it is because it isn’t just your listeners that can count towards your value to sponsors.
Many factors might attract brands to advertise with you. For example, those with an established brand will likely have a loyal fan following. A large group of loyal customers/fans should translate into ready listeners who will tune in before you’ve proven yourself on the podcast circuit.
In addition, your topics or niche might be of interest to brands. They will want to associate themselves with certain ideas or practices and by adding to your podcast might satisfy this.
Another factor is that by including themselves in your podcast, they add social proof to their brand. It is hard to say they’re an in-demand brand if only featured on one or two podcasts.
However, if they say that they’re associated with 20-30 podcasts, then it becomes much more of a social signal to potential customers.
And this is important for them because it helps to build trust with audiences.
What are the Limitations of Podcast Sponsorship?
There are a few limitations when it comes to podcast sponsorship. One you might come across is the sponsorship fee. When young or with small audiences, you might not expect to get as much as a well-established podcast with a large, well-engaged audience.
You can negotiate with your sponsors to have a performance-based fee structure, where the number of listeners determines the fee for the sponsorship and as your audience increases, the fee improves for you. At Produce Your Podcast we build sponsorship packages based on your brand value with your podcast as the focus. You can charge more as you grow but there are various approaches to sponsorship growth.
FAQs: When Can You Start Getting Podcast Sponsors?
How many sponsors can I have per episode?
It depends on the length of your podcasts for how many sponsors you can have. Shorter episodes might only have one or two, but longer episodes might be able to attract more brands.
Can I get help attracting sponsorship?
Yes. A professional, high-value podcast production company can often help you find, attract, and manage sponsorship for a reasonable fee, which means you can generate more revenue than you would get going alone.
How can I attract sponsors?
You can advertise that you accept sponsorship on a website or during your podcast. This might attract lesser-known brands who are looking to get into podcast sponsorship.
Final Word: When Can You Start Getting Podcast Sponsors?
Many people delay getting sponsors because they feel they’re not big enough to attract or be valuable to brands. But that isn’t true. You can get sponsorship very early on. However, you might want to work with a professional podcast production company to help you attract, retain, and earn the best revenue from podcast sponsorship.
Produce Your Podcast is a full-service podcast production, editing, and marketing agency specializing in helping brands launch, grow, and monetize successful podcasts that impact their bottom line. With 30+ years of experience in broadcasting and business development brought to every project we work on, our team of experts is a reliable partner to help you achieve your goals with your show.
Click here to schedule a conversation with our team today and let’s bring your show to life!
