Whether you’d like to try growing your podcast through cross-promotional partnerships or simply start monetizing your show by selling ads, it can be important to consider how it will impact the listener experience. Both ads and cross-promos can have major benefits to your show, which typically outweigh the costs. However it’s important to consider your listeners if this is a shift in how they will experience the show. Will it cause them to stop listening to the podcast? The answer is probably not, but here are a few things to keep in mind when introducing ads and cross-promos to your show:
Choosing the Right Partners
One key way to maintain listener retention when incorporating ad breaks into your show is by filling the spots with content that your listeners don’t mind (maybe even like) hearing. Maybe it’s a 30-second clip recommending a podcast that they end up loving, or an ad for a product that solves a problem in their life. Either way, it’s important to fill ad space with information about podcasts, products, or services that you think will benefit your listeners. That means doing the research. Know your audience demographics and try to stick to partnerships for things you genuinely recommend.
Placing Ad Markers Strategically
We’ve probably all experienced an improperly placed ad marker. One second you’re listening to a fascinating conversation with a host and a guest and the next you’re jarred by an ad. Ads should never feel like unexpected interruptions in an episode. To avoid this, make sure you’re placing ad markers in natural pauses between conversation topics to make it as seamless as possible.
Adding Transitions & Cues
As podcast advertising has risen in popularity, there are a few things listeners have come to expect including sonic cues like music, sound effects, or even a host note saying “we’ll be right back”. These are all great ways to convey to most listeners that they’re about to hear an ad or announcement that isn’t part of the regular episode content. Additionally, having a few bars of music to introduce or play throughout the advertisement increases the production quality and helps the listener orient themselves.
Analyzing the Data
While all of these tips can help you improve listener retention when incorporating ads, nothing beats having data to back up your strategies. Using tools like Chartable, Spotify for Podcasters, or Apple Podcasts Connect allows you to look at consumption data for your show to determine where listener drop off occurs. Does it correspond to your ad markers? A small amount of drop off during ads is normal and not something to be concerned about. However, if you’re seeing steep drop-offs, it’s likely a sign you misplaced an ad marker, chose an advertising partner that didn’t suit your audience, or placed too many ads in an episode to the point of frustration. For peace of mind, you can even spend a few weeks analyzing your baseline churn rate before even incorporating ads – that way you aren’t inaccurately attributing every loss in listenership to advertisements.
While it can be intimidating to add advertisements into what was previously ad free content, it’s important to remember that most podcasts do have ads. It’s typically not something that will take any listeners by surprise, as long as you’ve taken care to carry out all the steps above.
