Rubenstein - Podcast Advertising Works

PODCAST ADVERTISING WORKS

HOW TO TURN ENGAGED AUDIENCES INTO LOYAL CUSTOMERS

by

GLENN RUBENSTEIN

2016 ADOPTER Media - All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2016 ADOPTER MEDIA LLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

As a thank you for checking out my book, Id like to give you the Executive Summary and a PDF version for FREE.

Please visit http://adopter.media/bookbonus to take advantage of this offer.

To Lisa, for saying hell yeah. Thank you for everything.

I also want to thank the following people, who this book would not have been possible without: Leo, Debi, Carly, and Frederique. Tiffany, Debby, and Danielle. Ray and Aaron. Tim and Don. Samantha, David, Lauren, and Julie. Mark and Mike. Jeffrey and Josh. Liz and Ryan. Marine and Rhett. Adam, Giovanni, Lex, Eli, Jeff, Scott, John, Jo Ann, Robert, Ken, Mark, and Chantel.

And thank you for reading this book and your interest in podcast advertising.

The first podcast advertisement I heard was on The Adam Carolla Show . This was back in 2010.

The phrasing and introduction now seem so common, but I can remember when I first heard Adam say he wanted to take a moment and thank his sponsor.

It got my attention. Who sponsors a podcast? People advertise on podcasts now? I thought.

Up until that point, Adam Carollas daily podcast seemed like it was just Adam having loose conversations and conducting interviews. It felt like hanging out with friendsso much so that his podcast was a part of my routine.

That first podcast ad I heard was for the ManGrate grill accessory. Adam told a story about a guy removing a grill from an old steakhouse and noticing the cast iron grill grates. He was curious what they were, so he did some research and realized that cooking on those grill grates is a big part of that steakhouse taste. He looked into manufacturing a version that would work for any home grill or BBQ, and the ManGrate was born.

Adam continued the spot, talking about how he had personally been using the ManGrate. He talked about how he tasted the difference, and everyone he knew who tried it had agreed it was the superior way to grill. And of course, because the guys at ManGrate were big fans of The Adam Carolla Show , they had a special deal for his audience.

After I heard this, I brought up the ManGrate to my friends and family. In casual conversation, I offered up that piece of trivia about the cast iron grates that steakhouses use. To anyone who showed even half interest, I mentioned the website and the offer for Adam Carolla fans. I hadnt just discovered something new, I felt like I had learned something.

Podcast advertising had an incredible effect on me from the first day I experienced it (and I didnt even work in podcasting at the time).

As far as the ManGrate grill-enhancement system was concerned, however, there was only one thing keeping me from ordering one for myself: Im vegan.

But the vast majority of Adam Carolla fans are meat eaters, and ManGrate has since had a long history of sponsoring The Adam Carolla Show . Nothing speaks to success in advertising like repeat business, which tells me that ManGrates ongoing sponsorship efforts with Adams podcast have worked just as wellprobably betterwith the rest of his audience.

I started working in podcast advertising in 2012. Years later, I still think of this first podcast ad whenever I work with a new advertiser.

You should write a book.

You hear that enough, and you start to believe you should.

This book represents the answers to questions Ive gathered from hundreds of in-person meetings, thousands of phone calls, and tens of thousands of emails.

I started selling podcast advertising in 2012. I was working at TWiT as the Director of Marketing, and an opportunity arose to be a part of the CEOs recently formed in-house sales effort.

Within days, I had my first sales call. At the time, everything I knew about podcast advertising was from the ads that I had heard.

The first potential advertiser I spoke to had questions: How are podcast advertising rates determined? What podcasts should I consider? How will I know if my ads are effective?

I sought out the answers.

The next potential advertiser had similar questions, plus a few more about the ad formats and audience.

By my third call with a potential advertiser, I had a stockpile of information, and I was able to educate them to the point of feeling confident moving forward with sponsoring a podcast. (To this day, theyre still podcast advertisers.)

Part of the reason I wrote this book is my approach to ad sales. I dont like the term salesman or the perception that to sell is simply to persuade.

I prefer to educate people and build information-based relationships. Im offering potential clients value, whether they choose to buy or not. When working with a client, Im not out to simply make a sale; Im looking to find and create opportunities where we can build success.

And thats what I do. Its not about facilitating the purchase of ads on a podcast. Thats only one element of building success in this medium. I serve my clients every step of the way to help ensure the best results possible.

Dozens of advertisers, hundreds of campaigns, and millions of dollars in ad sales later, Id say that my approach has worked.

In 2014, I started visiting advertisers and agencies for lunch-and-learn sessions. Since then, thats expanded to consulting with advertisers and traditional media agencies to educate them and help guide their podcast advertising plans, as well as starting ADOPTER Media, a full service podcast advertising agency.

Ive heard countless times that there should be a book on podcast advertising and a few dozen people whose opinions I trust suggested that I write it.

Since no one is clamoring for The Ultimate Vegan Guide to Steakhouse Grilling, I decided it was time to document the years of knowledge Ive gained in podcast advertising.

This book will give you a complete overview of the terminology, styles, and best practices for podcast advertising. More importantly, it will outline how podcast advertising can convert engaged audiences into your loyal customers.

I spend hours each day educating people about podcast advertising.

I frequently speak with advertisers who dont know much about podcasts. On the flip side, I also speak with CEOs and marketers who are familiar with podcasts, but dont know much about traditional advertising.

If you work in marketing or advertising, the following chapters will quickly give you a comprehensive background on podcasting and podcast advertising.

If youre familiar with podcasts, youll learn about how podcast advertising fits into the bigger picture of advertising across different forms of media.

Digital audio existed for decades before the MP3, but for our purposes, lets start in the mid-1990s. Thats when MP3s became popular, largely due to music piracy.

In addition to music, talk radio fans shared unauthorized recordings of popular radio shows, including The Howard Stern Show , Art Bells Coast to Coast , and Loveline with Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew.

At the same time, there was a streaming audio player named RealAudio that allowed anyone to stream live or on-demand audio through a dial-up internet connection. Many people were empowered to start internet radio stations, but there was a significant cost to purchase RealAudios encoding software and set up a website to do the streaming.