Podcast Junkies - Storytelling Interviews & Conversations with Podcasters Podcasting Passionately

377: Scaling Podcasts: Insights from Podglomerate's Jeff Umbro

Aug 8, 2025

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Ever wondered how to turn your podcast into a money-making machine? Jeff Umbro, CEO of The Podglomerate, shares insider secrets on podcast monetization, marketing, and production that could transform your show.

Jeff Umbro brings over a decade of podcasting experience to the table. As the founder of The Podglomerate, he's helped countless shows grow their audience and revenue through innovative marketing strategies and production techniques.

In this episode, Jeff breaks down the six-tier approach to podcast marketing, including publicity, owned marketing, cross-promotion, app pitching, paid acquisition, and data management. He also discusses the evolving landscape of podcast monetization, from direct sales to programmatic advertising.

Jeff shares insights on the importance of video in podcasting, the costs associated with professional podcast production, and how to set realistic expectations for sponsorship opportunities. He also touches on the challenges of running a podcast network and the personal sacrifices required to build a successful business in the industry.

If you're looking to take your podcast to the next level, this episode is packed with actionable advice from one of the industry's leading experts. Don't miss out on Jeff's invaluable insights – listen now!

Episode Sponsor

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5 Key Takeaways

1. When starting a podcast, clearly define your goals first. This will inform everything from show format to marketing strategy.

2. Consider a six-tier marketing approach: publicity, owned marketing, cross-promotion, pitching podcast apps, paid acquisition, and data management.

3. For video podcasts, focus on packaging - optimize your title, description, thumbnail, and first 60 seconds to boost discoverability and retention.

4. Track key metrics like total listeners, consumption data, and platform share to inform both editorial decisions and marketing efforts.

5. For podcast monetization, aim for at least 50,000 downloads per month before pursuing direct response advertising deals. Smaller shows can explore programmatic ads or alternative revenue streams.

Tweetable Quotes

"Podcasting makes people's dreams come true. And you see it so frequently. And it's so funny because frankly, it's almost never in the way that people imagine."

"I view AI as a tool the same way I would view Muckrack or Podchaser or Megaphone as a tool. It allows you to do things easier, hopefully better, and hopefully quicker. But it still requires a lot of strategic thinking where you need to actually come up with a plan and set goals."

"When we approach a podcast marketing campaign, we first go back to the goals question, because I'm going to tweak this campaign based on what you tell me, like if you're looking for scale or niche or anything in between."