Podcast advertising: formats, choosing a show and booking an integration

Podcast advertising starts with choosing a show whose listeners have a reason to be interested in your product, not with buying a famous person's voice. Before placing an order, separate three decisions: who delivers the ad, where it appears in the episode and how long it will run. Only a description at this level lets you compare offers and check whether you are getting the agreed ad placement or simply a finished audio file.

You can organise a collaboration with a creator through Blogger Bank: create a brand account and describe your brief for an integration in a show. Ask applicants to include a link to the podcast and confirm that they can publish there. Voice recording experience alone is not enough; you need to check whether a suitable host is available, and the platform does not replace an ad delivery network.

If the host also offers a package with their own mailing list, assess newsletter advertising separately: the email audience, ad placement and click report are not the same as the podcast’s listeners and reporting.

If you sell recording services rather than advertising space in a show, you need a different demonstration. See how to promote a podcast studio by separating rental from a finished episode: the creator walks through preparation, the session and file delivery so clients understand the production scope.

Host-read ads and recorded spots serve different needs

If your product needs explaining, consider a host-read ad. The creator can put the message into the language of the show: describe a listener's problem, explain the use case and give them a next step. Do not, however, commission a personal recommendation from someone who has not used the product. Reading information supplied by a brand and sharing personal experience make different promises to the audience.

A prerecorded spot gives you more control over how the message sounds. Choose this option when you have an approved recording and want it aired, rather than interpreted by a particular host. Agree who prepares the file, who inserts it into the show and who handles revisions. Commissioning the production of a spot does not, in itself, include ad space.

A sponsored conversation or an episode produced with a brand offers more room, but requires separate editorial agreements: the topic, guest participation, the scope of approval and disclosure of the collaboration. A brand's own series is another project altogether, one that also involves building an audience. Do not compare it with an integration in an existing podcast as though both offers buy the same access to listeners. For a broader distinction between content and advertising, see our guide to native advertising with creators.

Position in an episode does not determine ad delivery

Pre-roll means an ad at the beginning, mid-roll within the episode and post-roll at the end. This tells you about position, not how many people will hear the message. Ask for an example of the actual ad placement: what is said immediately before it, whether it interrupts the conversation and what other ads accompany it. Do not assume that the word “mid-roll” alone guarantees a particular result.

Separately, you choose between an ad embedded in the episode file, known as baked-in, and a dynamically inserted ad. The former remains part of that version of the recording. The latter is selected by an ad delivery system and may depend on timing or other available criteria. A host-read ad can use either model: the host's voice does not automatically mean the ad is permanently embedded.

These independent distinctions are described in the IAB Podcast Playbook from August 2017, in its sections on ad formats and delivery. In a practical brief, therefore, specify the execution, position and delivery method separately. Confirm the specific targeting and reporting options with the publisher; they do not follow from the format's name alone.

Choose the listeners, then the show

Start by describing the buying situation in which the product is useful. A work planning tool may fit a show for independent professionals, but not every business podcast. Listen to full episodes, not just the trailer. Check whether the level of discussion, language and way sponsors are presented suit what the brand wants to say.

Ask the publisher for current data about the show, including the source and measurement period. The host's follower count on another service is not the podcast's listener count. Nor does a record-breaking episode with a well-known guest automatically represent a typical release. Compare episodes at similar stages after release and distinguish full recordings from short clips.

• Audience: language, countries and available interest data, with an indication of where it comes from.
• Scale: results for several recent, comparable episodes, not the total for the entire archive.
• Context: other ads, episode topics and how the show transitions into the brand's message.
• Distribution: the specific apps, audio channels and video version covered by the offer.
• Report: which metrics the publisher will actually provide, when and for which parts of the distribution.

A missing metric does not necessarily rule out a small show. It should, however, change the conclusion you draw: you are then assessing topic fit and production quality, rather than claiming proven reach. Do not infer demographics from the host's appearance or a handful of comments.

Compare what is included, not just package names

Ask each show you are considering to quote for the same set of deliverables: a specified episode or delivery scope, the presentation format, position in the recording, a description with a link and a report. Add whether you need audio, video or both. A “podcast package” may also include social posts you are not commissioning, or leave out the recording of the ad itself.

For a baked-in integration, agree a minimum period during which the episode will remain available and what happens when the brand's offer expires. For dynamic insertion, specify the start and end of delivery, the inventory of shows and the billing unit. A publisher's forecast is not a guarantee: if the parties agree on a specific level of ad delivery, they should also agree what happens if it is not met.

If an offer uses CPM, ask exactly what is being counted: an episode download, ad delivery or another metric. Without a shared definition, a lower figure on a rate card does not prove better value. Do not add video viewers and audio listeners together as unique people unless the publisher deduplicates audiences across channels.

A brief the host can actually deliver

An illustrative example, not a client campaign: a planner brand for people who work independently commissions an integration in a show about organising work. It does not want a list of every feature. It needs a scenario in which the host presents a specific problem — losing track of small tasks between assignments — and explains how to use the planner to record them. Personal experience will feature only if the creator has actually tested the product.

Set out the deliverable in the brief: a host-read segment in the specified episode, an agreed position, an advertising disclosure, an easy-to-say address and a link in the description. Provide the product or trial access, verified information about how it works, a pronunciation guide for the name and a list of claims that must not be made. Ask the creator to propose a transition from the show's topic to the ad, rather than imposing someone else's speaking style.

On Blogger Bank, you can create a brand account and collect applications for a brief prepared this way. Compare portfolios, examples of previous integrations and confirmation that the applicant can publish the material in the show concerned. Choosing a creator does not automatically give you access to Spotify Ads or any podcast you want. The agreed publisher provides publication and delivery data, not the brief form itself.

Before recording, confirm the talking points and offer terms. Before delivery, check the finished segment in the context of the episode: the name should be clear, the call to action memorable and the advertising message clearly recognisable. We cover disclosure rules separately in our article on labelling creator advertising. Do not replace a disclosure with a vague thank-you to the brand.

Verify publication, not just a file for review

Approving the recording and confirming delivery are different stages. After publication, open the agreed channels, listen to the segment and check the episode description. Save the link, date and position of the segment. With dynamic delivery, a single listen does not prove fulfilment of the whole campaign: you need a publisher's report covering the agreed period and scope.

In the report, distinguish ad delivery from audience response. A file download does not confirm that someone listened to the entire integration. A website visit or code redemption is a different event, while an order without a code does not rule out earlier exposure to the podcast. Agree on a clear next step and how to measure it; instructions for links and codes are in our guide to measuring the results of a creator collaboration.

Also record the scope of revisions, rights to reuse the recording and rules for removing or replacing the message. Do not assume that buying a placement gives you the right to extract the host's voice for your own ads. Our guide to influencer contracts discusses the general elements of an agreement; here, add terms specific to the show and delivery model.

Start by describing a single order: who the message is for, who will deliver it, where it will be available and how you will confirm completion. With that scope, you can look for a host instead of buying incomparable promises of reach.