Getting Sponsors For Your Show

We previously talked about the different ways to make money with your podcast. For me, let's get something clear. Most people do NOT make money from their podcast. Their podcast is a marketing arm of their business that builds a relationship with their audience. 

Rob Walch the VP of Podcaster Relations shares stats about their network in their podcast The Feed, and in their January 6th episode he mentions that only 7% of podcasters get enough downloads for a "Major" sponsor. 

Yet, so many podcasters dream of starting a podcast and getting a sponsor. If we do the math that means that 92% of them will not reach their goal. But this doesn't mean you can't get a sponsor. I just got a sponsor for my School of Podcasting show. Who is the sponsor? A Podcast event called Podcast Movement. Why did they sponsor my show? Because I have their target audience. The key here is I have a very specific audience: podcasters. The more niche you are the better pay you can get for a sponsor.

Glen Hebert of the Horse Radio Network talks about how a company that produces electronic pitch forks (Used for cleaning out horse stalls) couldn't sell his product. He had advertisements in magazines, but it wasn't helping to push his product. Here is how you find a sponsor. 

Deliver value to your podcast
Grow your audience (this takes time)
Call a publication that has the same audience and see how much it is to advertise in their publication
Call the people who are actually advertising in these publications and offer them a better deal.