Top 5 Tips on Landing Your First Podcast Sponsorship

Sponsorship: something that all podcasters want, but it can feel like chasing the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

But here’s the thing – you don’t need thousands of downloads, a team of people and tonnes of production experience to successfully monetize your podcast.

In fact, all you need is an engaged audience (no matter how small!) and a niche.

I’ve spoken to the QUEEN of podcast sponsorship and our Brand Ambassador Jessica Kupferman to find out everything you need to know about podcast sponsorship!

Here are our top 5 tips on landing your first sponsorship deal…

1. Don’t worry about downloads

Podcasters often get caught up in the mindset that they cannot monetize their podcast without having thousands of downloads – and it simply isn’t true!

Our very own CEO Mark Asquith, Community Manager Ramona Rica, Podcast Websites member Jeff Bradbury and Jess spoke on this very topic in a panel at Podcast Movement 2018.

Some of the most profitable podcasts they know do not have huge downloads – it’s all about finding your niche!

A perfect example is Diane Daniels, a member of She Podcasts who runs two podcasts – Medicare Nation and Weightloss Nation.

Medicare Nation is a podcast for the children of senior citizens who are struggling to navigate their parents’ Medicare – so very, very niche!

“She gets a couple of hundred downloads an episode yet she’s had sponsors that pay $1-2k a month because they want IN on her audience – for power chair manufacturers or walker manufacturers, it’s the perfect advertising platform for them,” says Jess.

This would be very different if you ran a fitness podcast and you were seeking sponsorship from Optimum Nutrition – why should they sponsor you as opposed to the thousands of other fitness podcasts out there?

You would either have to scale your show massively to the level of say, our Co-founder John Lee Dumas’s podcast EOFire, or you would need to niche your podcast right down and make it relevant to a more specific audience.

If you changed the focus from general fitness to say, mums getting back into shape after pregnancy, suddenly your world opens up to new, niche sponsors who would love to capitalize on your audience.

2. Go after what you want

Waiting for sponsors to contact you first is a bit like dating: if you wait for them to make the first move, you’ll be waiting a long time! You have to go after what you want!

Jess says: “The bigger sponsors very rarely approach anyone first – as an indie podcaster, you need to focus on approaching sponsors who likely haven’t even thought about podcast sponsorship yet nor know any of the benefits.”

The best way to approach potential sponsors is by email. We’ve created a great downloadable resource template to help you do this – “Craft an Email pitch that sponsors can’t say no to”

Podcast Websites members also get access to a free sponsor pack, where they can quickly and easily adjust the template to create a killer sponsor pack to send to potential sponsors.

Whenever you communicate with sponsors, it’s important to be open, honest and kind – and remember, the worst that can happen is that they say no!

3. Have an amazing podcast title, branding & website to set yourself apart

There are millions of podcasters around the globe which is incredible, however that means that competition for sponsorships is tougher than ever before.

The way you can set yourself apart is by having an amazing podcast title, professional branding and a great website.

“If you can point sponsors in the direction of a beautiful website with amazing branding, then it looks like you take your podcast seriously, even if it’s just a hobby,” says Jess.

“From the get-go, if you want to make money from your podcast you need to treat it like a business and make it look like you take it seriously.

“Don’t have a website that looks like your nephew in high school made it or someone on Fivver… it has to look professional.”

Podcast Websites exists because we know the power of having a branded audio platform – it gets you more listeners, sponsorships AND opportunities compared to just hosting your podcast on an external platform (find out what’s included with Podcast Websites and what our members think of us HERE)

4. Be open to negotiation

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that podcast sponsorships strictly mean being given cash for your ad space.

You can get some amazing sponsorship deals that have nothing to do with money. Depending on your niche, the world is your oyster with this.

Maybe there’s an event abroad that you’ve always wanted to go to, or a movie premiere – podcast sponsorships can make it happen!

“Podcast Movement was a sponsor of She Podcasts and instead of money, we got a booth and sessions at the conference,” says Jess.

“Also don’t forget about affiliate sponsorships. You can monetize your podcast through affiliate relationships, where you get a percentage of the sales you get through recommending something to your audience.

“Some people think that when it comes to podcast sponsorships, there’s a lot of pressure to deliver, so if you want a more gentle introduction to the world of sponsorships then joining affiliate programmes is a great place to start.”

Similarly, be open to negotiation when it comes to getting paid. There is no X+Y=Z when it comes to podcast sponsorship because so much depends on your podcast, how you price your influence and the brand itself.

Jess adds: “You need to figure out what your time and audience is worth and depending on the sponsor, will they make their money back and then some?

“If the number you come up with doesn’t sit right with you, then amend it until it does. You have to sit and rationalize it.

“It is a lot about your instinct and what feels right – don’t make these decisions out of greed or fear, make them based on justice, fairness and equality. Are you giving them a price that is truly fair?”

5. Be able to deliver 

So you’ve got a potential sponsor lined up – awesome job! But now what?

It’s not enough to just read an ad roll, you need to be able to deliver.

Don’t partner with a sponsor unless it’s a product you actually love and MOST importantly, one that you think your audience will benefit from.

If you’re not really that into it, it shows! Not only will your be sponsor be disappointed in the results, but you will lose credibility with your audience for promoting something that won’t add value to their lives. Remember, your listeners are THE most important part of this process.

Jess says: “The whole beauty of podcast sponsorship is the influence the host has over their audience – if they’re able to say ‘I wear these socks and they are the best damn socks I’ve ever had’ THAT has value – but an unconvincing ad may as well be a radio commercial – which for sponsors would be a lot cheaper!”

Remember that podcast sponsorship is a commercial transaction – the sponsor wants to earn back the money they spent on the ad, and then some.

Now, this is just scratching the surface of everything you need to land your first sponsor – there’s loads more.

In The Podcast Success Academy, you can access the FULL interview with Jess where she goes into:

• What do sponsors look for when it comes to working with podcasters?
• How to treat your podcast like a business
• How to monetize your low downloads
• Short sponsor credits, 30 second adverts or talking about the brand for a couple of minutes – which is best?
• How to make your podcast stand out against the competition
• How to decide what to charge for sponsorship
• How to create an awesome ad the sponsor will be happy with

All the knowledge you need to monetize your podcast and reap the rewards is waiting for you.

Just sign up for the free tier of The Podcast Success Academy here (it takes 2 minutes)!

If you have any questions about podcast sponsorship or would like to find out more about Podcast Websites, book a free one-to-one call with James, our Head of Podcaster Relations & Operations here and start your journey to becoming an audio influencer today.