How is a podcast ad tracked?

Vanity URLs with UTM parameters, unique promo codes, and post-purchase survey questions where the client can run one. Every placement gets its own identifier so you can see which show produced the conversion.

What does a placement actually include?

A 30–60 second host-read mid-roll baked into the feed, a link in the show notes, and — this is the part most networks don't do — a video ad tagged onto the social clips from that episode. One buy, three surfaces.

How much budget do I need to start?

Our minimum is $7,500 a month in media. Below that there isn't enough signal to optimize against — and we'd rather tell you that now than learn it with your budget.

Can you show me what past sponsors got on a given show?

Only if that show was running tracked placements, and most aren't — the standard in podcast sponsorship is still an impression count and a handshake. We instrument attribution before we place, on every show we buy on. If a show can't support tracking, we'll tell you that before you spend.

How long before a campaign performs?

Expect a testing phase in month one to two and direct placement scaling from month three. Host-read podcast advertising compounds; the campaigns that work best run for quarters, not weeks.

I have a podcast — can you sell ads on it instead?

That's the other side of this business and it has its own page. See Podcast Sponsorship: we build the rate card from your real audience data, run the outbound, and take a share of what we bring in.

Podcast Advertising

Podcast ads work. Most of them just aren't tracked.

Managed campaigns for brands — strategy, host-read creative, placement and optimization, with attribution built before a dollar goes out.

Book a call From $2,500 per month

17 monthsof continuous performance on a single campaign

The highest-intent channel with the worst reporting

A host-read ad is an endorsement from someone the listener already trusts, delivered with none of the friction of a display unit. That's why it converts. The reason brands under-invest isn't performance — it's that most buys come back with an impression count and a shrug. We run campaigns you can attribute: tracked URLs, codes, UTMs, and a monthly report that ties spend to results.

What’s included

Every engagement ships with this.

Campaign strategy, audience matching and show selection
Ad copy written for the host's voice, not read off a brief
Creative assets and ad production
Audience testing before scaling into direct placement
Placement across audio and video: Spotify, Apple, iHeart, Pandora, YouTube, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn
Budget and talent management
Tracked vanity URLs, promo codes and UTMs on every placement
Dedicated account manager and monthly strategy and reporting sessions

How it works

The actual process, not a diagram.

01
Strategy and setup
Competitor ad analysis, audience keyword research, and a shortlist of shows whose listeners match your buyer. Campaign and tracking built before a dollar goes out.
02
Test
Three to five ad variations per audience go into rotation. We find the creative and the shows that work before committing budget.
03
Direct placement
Scale into the winners with direct host-read placements, negotiated rates and locked mid-roll positions.
04
Optimize
Monthly optimization against tracked conversions — not impressions. Underperforming shows are cut, winners get more weight.

Proof

What this has produced.

Hell Has an Exit · Health & recovery media

74% download growth in 4 months

Full growth engagement for the show itself — video episodes, clips, high-profile guest booking, and paid promotion on YouTube and Facebook to put the best moments in front of new listeners.

more downloads in four months: 74%; more downloads in four months
listeners grown to: 4,000; listeners grown to
increase in reviews, at a 4.9★ rating: 250%; increase in reviews, at a 4.9★ rating
Lamar Odom and Jordan Belfort booked onto the show — both episodes still live: Odom; Lamar Odom and Jordan Belfort booked onto the show — both episodes still live

United Recovery Project · Healthcare / addiction treatment

Podcast ads as a treatment-lead channel

A separate engagement from the show: paid audio advertising on top streaming platforms, built to reach a new audience and generate admissions leads for the treatment center.

campaign on top streaming platforms: Audio-first; campaign on top streaming platforms
audience reached beyond existing channels: New ICP; audience reached beyond existing channels
measured against the center's intake, not impressions: Leads; measured against the center's intake, not impressions

Worthy · Moms Moving On · Consumer marketplace

17 months of consistent performance

Sourced the partnership, wrote the host-read scripts, and ran the campaign across audio, Instagram and Facebook with tracked vanity URLs.

of continuous campaign performance: 17 mo; of continuous campaign performance
growth in show listenership year over year: 15%; growth in show listenership year over year
growth in the host's Instagram following: 2×; growth in the host's Instagram following

CVS Health Careers · Healthcare / talent acquisition

A Fortune-5 employer brand, on audio

Recruitment advertising for CVS Health Careers — audio placements across Spotify, Pandora and iHeartRadio, built to put the employer brand in front of candidates in key hiring markets.

employer trusted us with its candidate brand: Fortune 5; employer trusted us with its candidate brand
audio platforms: Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio: 3; audio platforms: Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio
awareness aimed at strategic hiring locations: Geo-focused; awareness aimed at strategic hiring locations

Pricing

Real numbers, not “contact us”.

Starting points based on what this work actually costs to do well. Scope moves the number; we’ll tell you which way on the call.

Most common

Managed campaigns

$2,500

per month or 15% of spend (whichever is greater) + ad budget

Strategy, setup and tracking
Ad copy, creative and production
Placement and optimization
Monthly reporting

Strategy and launch

$2,250

one-time

Competitor and audience research
Podcast market analysis
Campaign strategy and platform setup
Rolls into the monthly retainer

Scaled spend

$4,500

per month over $50K media spend

Everything in Managed campaigns
$5,500/month over $100K monthly spend
Multi-audience campaigns run in parallel
12–20 ad variations in rotation

Retainer scales with spend. Ad budget, voice talent and celebrity reads are billed separately. Six-month terms are standard. Selling ads on your own show is a different service — see Podcast Sponsorship.

Questions

The things people ask before signing.

How is a podcast ad tracked?: Vanity URLs with UTM parameters, unique promo codes, and post-purchase survey questions where the client can run one. Every placement gets its own identifier so you can see which show produced the conversion.
What does a placement actually include?: A 30–60 second host-read mid-roll baked into the feed, a link in the show notes, and — this is the part most networks don't do — a video ad tagged onto the social clips from that episode. One buy, three surfaces.
How much budget do I need to start?: Our minimum is $7,500 a month in media. Below that there isn't enough signal to optimize against — and we'd rather tell you that now than learn it with your budget.
Can you show me what past sponsors got on a given show?: Only if that show was running tracked placements, and most aren't — the standard in podcast sponsorship is still an impression count and a handshake. We instrument attribution before we place, on every show we buy on. If a show can't support tracking, we'll tell you that before you spend.
How long before a campaign performs?: Expect a testing phase in month one to two and direct placement scaling from month three. Host-read podcast advertising compounds; the campaigns that work best run for quarters, not weeks.
I have a podcast — can you sell ads on it instead?: That's the other side of this business and it has its own page. See Podcast Sponsorship: we build the rate card from your real audience data, run the outbound, and take a share of what we bring in.

Works well with

Ready to talk about podcast advertising?

A 20-minute call. We'll tell you what we'd do, what it costs, and whether it's the right first move for where your show actually is.

Book a call

Podcast ads work. Most of them just aren't tracked.

The highest-intent channel with the worst reporting

Every engagement ships with this.

The actual process, not a diagram.

Strategy and setup

Test

Direct placement

Optimize

What this has produced.

Real numbers, not “contact us”.

Managed campaigns

Strategy and launch

Scaled spend

The things people ask before signing.

Most shows need two of these, not one.

Podcast Sponsorship

Podcast Growth

Podcast Clips

Ready to talk about podcast advertising?