Podcasting is the ever-popular way of giving your brand a voice. While we’re gracing the airwaves with our own, unique messages, we spend a massive chunk of our valuable time dedicated to creating a great show. So, wouldn’t it be nice if we got a little something in our back pocket for our troubles?
Aaron Fifield is a developing trader and host of the ‘Chat With Traders’ podcast, a show that explores the lives of successful traders and financial thought-leaders. His wealth of knowledge around how to gain sponsorships is extensive and at the We Are Podcast 2016 conference, Aaron gave some serious insight into exactly how and when you should opt-in for a sponsorship partnership.
What is a Sponsor?
If you’re an avid podcast listener, chances are you’ve heard an advert or two in the beginning, middle or end of a show. This my friends is a sponsorship.
A sponsor is a company that leverages your personal brand as a podcaster and uses your voice to promote their product or service to your listenership.
Why You Should Consider a Sponsor
You Get Paid. Every other hard-working citizen gets paid, so why shouldn’t you? As a podcaster, you are essentially creating free content ripe for the taking, so by having a sponsor funding certain episodes, it will allow you to keep creating content while keeping it sustainable.
It Boosts Your Credibility. Listeners love quality, so when they see that a well-established brand is paying you to promote their business on something you’ve lovingly created, you become way more reputable in your audience’s eyes.
It Helps Your Listeners. Sometimes, your listeners need a helping hand. When you incorporate sponsors, the company you choose can meet the needs of your listener base by either solving a problem or saving them money.
When You Should Get a Sponsor
Are you just starting out? Maybe seeking a sponsor shouldn’t be on your list of high-priorities. Your focus should sit more towards producing an amazing show while improving on your craft and building up your audience.
If you’re more established, you want to be asking yourself, how many listeners do I have? Why? Well, the way you are paid via sponsorships is per-thousand of your listener basis. “So, if you only have let’s say a thousand listeners per episode, the earning potential you have is fairly small,” Aaron explains. So, you really need to consider if it’s worthwhile investing time and energy in acquiring a sponsor at this stage.
Approach Potential Sponsors With an Information Page
In order to get the right sponsor for your podcast and audience, you’ll need to pitch your show to potential benefactors. Aaron explains the first thing you want to be creating is an information page.
The initial email with the information page should be simple and brief, so start by introducing yourself, your podcast, and exactly why you think they’d fit in nicely as part of your podcast and listeners.
“On this page, you might want to include a bit about your podcast, so pretend they’ve never heard of you before. You want to have just a short snappy elevator pitch, quickly bringing them up to speed on what’s so cool about your podcast.”
For the information page itself, the content should include all those little things that make you look great, so highlight any popular guests, listener testimonials and reviews.
“Listener reviews is really good because it shows that people are actually listening to your podcast, engaged and enjoy your content,” Aaron says, you can also screenshot and embed any iTunes reviews to add to your credibility.
You’ll want to list the minimum amount of listeners that you can guarantee will be tuning in to the episodes. “The way I measure the minimum amount of listeners that I guarantee is, I measure from the release date, up until six weeks.” This will be the clincher of the deal, so they know that your outreach matches their expectations.
Then finally, mention the minimum number of episodes they can sponsor. For Aaron, the minimum number of episodes he suggests is four, but that bar can certainly be set at whatever level suits your podcast best.
Getting the right sponsor is purely a personal endeavour. It’s your podcast, you call the shots. Make it work for you.
To hear Aaron’s full presentation from We Are Podcast 2016 click here.
Author: Ronsley Vaz
Ronsley is the founder & chief day dreamer at AMPLIFY. He is an author, speaker & serial entrepreneur.
He has a Masters’ degree in Software Engineering and an MBA in Psychology and Leadership. He is known as the creator of We Are Podcast – the first Podcasting Conference in the Southern Hemisphere, and the host of The Bond Appetit Podcast and Should I Start a Podcast. He has an audience of over 3 million in 133 countries.