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The decision of whether or not to run ads on
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your podcast isn't an easy one.
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Nor should it be.
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Smart podcasters understand the risks and rewards.
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And they give their most loyal listeners an escape route.
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Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra.
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How many ads or sponsor messages are too many ads or sponsor
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messages in a podcast episode?
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"Any" might be your answer.
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I know a lot of podcast listeners bristle at being forced to listen to any podcast
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ads, as is their right as a consumer.
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Or maybe you don't find a problem with the add to content ratio in
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the podcast that you listen to.
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We know that, compared to other forms of media, podcasting has one of the
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best ratios, meaning more content delivered with less annoying ads.
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Now, as you've heard, I made the decision to make this season of Podcast
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Pontifications sponsor-supported.
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You just sat through, or perhaps you skipped through, a sponsor
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message for this month's sponsor.
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And in a few more minutes you'll hear, or again skip through, another sponsor break.
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Now, if you read the article on my website or on Medium, you see that
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sponsor message front and center.
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If you subscribe to the newsletter, it's free to subscribe to the
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newsletter, by the way, you also see that sponsor message.
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It's included in every edition of Podcast Pontifications In
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Your Inbox that I send out.
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And you've heard this, or read this, in a few variations for the last, let me
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check my notes here, wow, 85 episodes.
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In fact, there've only been three ways to escape these sponsor messages and I
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haven't really talked about them too much.
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And on hindsight, sure, I guess that probably was a mistake because look,
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I know the sponsor messages are a lot.
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I get it.
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But those escape routes.
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If you're a supporting member of mine on BuyMeACoffe.com/evoterra, that
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means, by the way, you've set up for a monthly recurring contribution, you'll
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get both the article and the audio sponsor-free and several hours early.
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Or perhaps you're paying for a subscription through Apple Podcasts.
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Did you know that I'm now making a premium subscription on Apple Podcasts?
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I am.
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And you can get the sponsor-free, premium audio a few hours early over there.
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Also, you can pay for a subscription to the show on Spotify, which
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exactly zero people have done so far.
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And that'll also give you a sponsor-free premium version, but at the
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scheduled time it regularly goes out.
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Confused by all that?
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Yeah, well, me too, which is why I really haven't talked
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too much about these options.
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What's important to me is that serious podcasters like you listen to, or
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read or watch, I don't really care, the thoughts that I have about the
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present and future of podcasting.
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If I can do that with relevant sponsor messages from companies that matter
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to you in the audio, then so be it.
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But I also know that many, too many, sponsor messages or an
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imbalance of sponsor messages to content can turn off listeners.
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And does.
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I know it's already happened at least twice.
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So what am I going to do about it?
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Well, I'll tell you right after this.
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Come on, you had to know that was coming, right?
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I know of two times the sponsor load has been too much for
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someone because they told me.
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The first time was via Twitter.
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Hi Patrick.
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And we had a nice and respectful discussion.
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The second was via a two-star review on Apple Podcasts.
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Hi, April.
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No real chance for me to engage a dialogue there, but hey, you get
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your feelings heard wherever you can.
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I totally get that.
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No, no, no, no disrespect intended.
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But I also know that those two public complaints were probably
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just the tip of the iceberg.
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While only two took the time to say, "What gives, man?"
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I'm sure there are probably ten times or more listeners who are
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also feeling exactly the same way.
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Maybe you're one of them.
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Or maybe I've already lost them and they're never going to return.
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See, I understand and I acknowledge that.
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Just like I understand and I acknowledged both Patrick's and April's feedback.
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I appreciate their honesty.
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That's great.
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And you know what?
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They're right.
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Look, putting in three minutes of sponsorship or calls to action in
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the audio of a show that's only between six to eight minutes of
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content is a very heavy ad load.
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And it was much worse for the month when I was sticking in the
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Boostagram Corner, which that was adding another couple of minutes.
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So yes, yes.
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That's a lot.
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Too much, in fact.
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Or is it?
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I mean, think about this, 20 to 30% of audio dedicated to a sponsor or
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CTA messaging sounds like a lot, but that's on par with TV and radio.
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Now, I recognize the fact that many of us have stopped watching commercial TV
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because of that and stopped listening to a commercial radio because of that.
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But also, unlike TV and radio, the regular broadcast TV and radio,
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podcasting has a very handy, fast forward button built right into it.
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And also unlike broadcast TV and broadcast ad-supported radio, there
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are premium options to let you skip all sponsor messages and any CTAs that
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are unrelated to the episode itself.
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The reality is something that long-term listeners of this show are well aware,
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I experiment with this show a lot.
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That's part of me practicing what I preach and trying out things so that you, the
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serious podcaster, can hear, read, or see those things in real time so you can
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make the right decisions for your show.
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So you should expect to continue to hear sponsor messages, perhaps not as many
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minutes of sponsor messages, I get that, at least for the remainder of this season.
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And remember, you can always pull the rip cord and pick one of those
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sponsor-free options, either on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or via Buy Me a Coffee.
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And of course you will find links to all of those in the episode details, or just
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search for the show in your podcast app.
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You'll find it.
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Now, this decision of mine is far from final.
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Like everything that I do on Podcast Pontifications, it's a work in progress.
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Who knows where things are going to go?
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But thank you for continuing on this journey with me.
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With that, I shall be back tomorrow with yet another Podcast Pontifications.
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Cheers!
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Podcast Pontifications is written and narrated by Evo Terra.
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He's on a mission to make podcasting better.
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Links to everything mentioned in today's episode are in the notes
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section of your podcast listening app.
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A written-to-be-read article based on today's episode is available at
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podcastpontifications.com where you'll also find a video version and a corrected
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transcript, both created by Allie Press.
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Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media.
