written by
David Hooper

Here's the Problem With Podcast Advertising...

Podcast Advertising 3 min read

Thought you could get away with a lame ad read for something you’ve never used?

Emily Fleming’s not buying it...

And nobody who hears you read generic, company-provided talking points in your podcast advertising is buying what you're selling either...

Podcast Advertisers Aren't Helping

Podcast advertisers bring this upon themselves. Every podcast advertisers I’ve ever worked with has sent over a bunch of generic taking points.

podcast advertising talking points

These "talking points" make us lazy. The same thing happens when a guest sends you "recommended questions" before an interview.

Advertisers, like guests, are trying to help. They're also trying to control the message they send out.

They mean well. But does anybody think about "natural geometry" or "the right amounts of both sink and bounce" when buying a mattress?

No.

People buying mattresses want a good night's sleep. They want to wake up feeling refreshed. They want to be able to stay awake throughout the day.

How do you know Casper can help you do these things? The best way to find out is to actually sleep on a Casper mattress and have these experiences yourself. The best way for you to get somebody to do the work to make this happen is to tell a personal story about how you've done just that.

An Advertising Lesson From a Million-Dollar Marketer

Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income has built great trust with the people reading his blog and listening to his podcast. It's not uncommon for him to make $100,000 (or more) per month via affiliate recommendations and podcast sponsorships.

With such a great reputation for being able to sell products, he gets a lot of offers from companies who want to be associated with him.

Pat's "rule" for affiliate marketing is good to consider when doing anything related to podcast sponsorship:

My most important rule for affiliate marketing is: I only recommend products as an affiliate that I’m extremely familiar with – preferably products that I’ve used and have helped me achieve something. If I'm not confident in the product and I don't feel it will positively help people, I will not promote it.

Although affiliate products are created by others, the moment you promote something you become a representative of that product and it reflects on you and your brand.

My second most important rule for affiliate marketing is: I never directly tell anyone to buy a product. I always recommend products based on my experience and in the context of what I’ve done or what I'm doing.

There's a huge difference (on several levels) between:

"Buy [product] now because you need it to grow your online business…"

and

"This is how I used [Product] to help me achieve…"

Final Thoughts

The foundation of podcast advertising is money. Without money, an "advertisement" is just a recommendation.

Podcasting is personal. You have a relationship with the people listening to you that is much more intimate than the relationships they have with other media.

Your listeners can tell when you're faking it. Because of this, you need to actually believe in what you're selling to get results for your sponsor. Beyond that, you need to communicate your belief through stories and personal experiences, not company-provided talking points.

And if helps if you're enthusiastic...

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