Sponsoring podcasts can be a win-win-win for your brand and the podcasts.
Podcasting feels so much more personal than television, radio or even YouTube. It's an intimate medium where potential sponsors can reach their ideal audience through the voice of someone that the audience trusts and admires.
However, if you're new to influencer partnerships, you might wonder how you come up with a sponsorship proposal to send to podcast hosts and if there's a podcast sponsorship proposal template that shows you what to write. You're in luck!
Jump straight to the template here.
Table of Contents
What is a podcast sponsorship proposal?
There are three definitions of podcast sponsorship proposals.
- The documented agreement that the two parties sign to formalize the sponsorship deal.
- A podcast host or producer reaches out to potential sponsors. When a podcaster initiates a podcast sponsorship proposal to your brand, they will pitch you. They aim to convince you that their podcast would fit your brand perfectly.
- The opposite scenario: in this case, you, the potential sponsor, propose to podcast hosts in your niche to point out why your brand would be a great sponsor for their show.
It's that third scenario that we're investigating today.
What should be included?
Your email is likely to be your introduction or first approach to the podcast host, so your proposal includes things like:
- Who you are
- Your brand and why it's an excellent fit for their podcast
- What you like (specifically) about the podcast
- You might also refer to their listener base and how they fit with your products and brand.
If you represent a big brand, your proposal may discuss a pricing model, time period, or the number of episodes. However, it's more usual to leave those details until after the podcast host indicates their interest.
Sponsorship deals are more than placing an ad in a single episode. They typically last for several - perhaps many - episodes and often become long-term relationships. That's because of their incredible value for the influencer and sponsor.
How do podcast sponsorships work?
The most common sponsorship package includes pre-roll and/or midroll host-read ads over a specified number of episodes. Pre-roll ads run before the podcast episode begins, while midroll ads feature inside the episode. It's unusual to run sponsorship promos as post-roll ads because listeners can easily turn them off.
Typically, these ads are paid in one of three ways:
- CPM or Cost Per Mille (mille is the Latin word for thousand.) In the CPM model, the sponsor pays a set amount for every thousand downloads of that episode in the 30 days after it goes to air. For example, if the podcast CPM rate is $25 and an episode had 10,000 downloads, the sponsor pays 10 x $25 = $250.
- The CPA model, aka Cost Per Acquisition, is based on the number of product or service sales the sponsor company gets due to their sponsorship. Sponsors can provide a unique link to a discount deal for the podcast listeners and track the numbers who sign up through that. They can also include a "where did you find us?" question during the sale process, with the podcast listed as an option.
- Custom proposal. There's nothing to stop you from agreeing on a custom deal with the podcast's host or manager.
A custom podcast sponsorship agreement can be centered around the cost per advertisement, but it can go in other directions.
Some podcasters become brand ambassadors. Others feature a product or service as part of their episodes in the podcast version of product placement. A travel podcast sponsorship deal could include free travel. Or, the host might record a podcast episode (or ads) at the sponsor's workplace. E.g., a farming podcast with a cheese company sponsorship deal might record an episode on a dairy farm. You could also offer to give the host your product, so they can genuinely tell how valuable it is. E.g., a tech podcast sponsorship can include free use of their latest tool or a deal to work on the podcast website.
Sponsorship deals are really only limited by your imagination and budget. These variations are typically discussed after the host answers your initial proposal. However, if you're offering something unique as a podcast sponsor, it could be a great hook if you mention it in your pitch.
Ensure brand values align
Podcast influencer sponsorship only works when the brand and podcast values work in sync.
That's because of that trust factor we mentioned earlier. Traditional media audiences are used to seeing many brands advertising on TV, radio and social media. However, podcast hosts build a personal connection with their audience. When the host talks about the sponsor, it should be because they use or admire the product or service and it's relevant to their audience.
So, a pet podcast could have a sponsorship agreement with a premium pet food manufacturer and talk about the benefits of pets eating a healthy diet with premium ingredients. They could partner with a company that makes cat beds, luxury birdcages or overcoats for dogs, and their audience would lap it up.
However, it would make less sense for a jewelry company or a car brand to sponsor a pet podcast because pet-loving listeners tune in to hear about animals, not diamonds or the latest in electric cars.
Podcast influencers are especially wary of upsetting their audience by sponsoring the wrong brands. So, if you want to leverage influencers, check your customer records and reach out to podcasters who already use and love your brand. Or approach them and ask them to try it out - no strings attached.
Pre-pitch checklist
As the above example shows, creating your podcast sponsorship proposal for podcasts that align with your brand audience and values is essential. That means knowing your goals for the sponsorship and identifying suitable podcasts before you create your pitch.
Here's a checklist to walk you through the process.
1. Identify your target audience
Who are YOUR people? Who has that pain point that your product or services can help? What industry are they in? What demographics are you aiming for?
Marketing 101 is:
- know your ideal customer avatar/audience
- use their language to describe their problem and offer your solution.
Ideally, you know these already. But if not, getting clear on your target audience is the first step because that dictates the podcast categories and niches you'll research in step four. After all, there's no point in pitching a hip new podcast aimed at 20-year-old American surfers when your audience is middle-aged Australian parents.
2. Know what type of sponsorship deal you're going to propose
Get clear on the purpose of your podcast sponsorship. Are you looking to increase your brand recognition in your ideal audience? Or do you want to sell your product or service directly due to your podcast sponsorship?
Knowing your target audience and purpose will help you identify the type of podcast you need to approach.
3. Understand the type of podcast and influencer you need
Do you need a micro-influencer who may have a small audience size but is laser-focused on your exact niche? Or do you want a podcast with a larger audience - a macro influencer with a listener base in the tens of thousands or more?
You'll probably want to approach a nano or micro-influencer podcast if you have a specific avatar. These influencers have small but mighty audiences and are proactive about going above and beyond to serve their community. They want to be on the same page as their sponsors.
So, if the influencer is convinced your brand and product will benefit their audience, they'll be more than open to reading your pitch.
If not, it won't matter how much money you're offering; those podcasters know that having the wrong sponsorship deals will harm their podcast because they'll lose their listeners' trust.
However, popular podcasts with listeners in the hundreds of thousands have a broader fan base. They're less likely to care if they personally use your services and more likely to be interested in the dollar amount of your sponsorship proposal.
These podcasts likely have set sponsorship pricing and plenty of potential sponsors knocking on the door, so they probably want complete control over how their sponsorship deals work.
4. Research podcasts with Rephonic
Now you need to find podcasts that would be great for your brand and interested in accepting podcast sponsors. Rephonic tools are ideal for podcast research. Using Rephonic, you can discover podcasts in your niche and find all the data you'll need to make podcast sponsorship proposals.
Categories:
Rephonic's search tool helps you find the podcasts in your industry by selecting categories and subcategories. Suppose you sell soft furnishings - or you've written a book on 'Renovation in the 21st Century'- and want to reach podcast listeners interested in redecorating.
The search tool helps refine your search by audience size, gender, download numbers, language, country and many more.
Engaged audience:
It's important to know how many listeners a podcast has, but you should also consider how engaged and interested they are with the podcast. Rephonic's Engagement Score is calculated on the growth in new listener reviews and ratings over the past 180 days.
Social media channels:
Another measure for potential sponsors is the podcast activity on social media. How many followers do they have? How active is the audience? Rephonic shows the podcast's social media activity. The numbers show how many followers they have, and clicking a link takes you to the account on that platform.
Current sponsors:
Sponsors aren't listed directly in Rephonic's data, but that doesn't mean you can't quickly discover if the show already has podcast sponsors.
Selecting the Listen button takes you straight to a list of recent episodes, complete with episode descriptions, which may list the sponsors. Another link takes you to the podcast website - another great place to check for a podcast sponsor.
You'll also hear ads and how many sponsors the show has (if any) when you listen to it.
5. Listen to a few episodes
Always listen to some recent episodes before you write your podcast sponsorship proposal. Even if all the numbers add up, you'll want to understand the content, the style and the vibe to know if it fits well with your brand.
6. Note down what you like about the show
Pinpoint things you like about the podcast and specific episodes.
Including those points in your podcast sponsorship proposal lets the host know you've taken the time to listen to the show. Many podcast hosts say that their inboxes are flooded with unsolicited, generic proposals, and those emails go straight into the trash without a second glance.
So, if you want your proposed podcast sponsorship deal to be taken seriously, it needs to show that you've done your homework and are genuinely interested in and excited about working with them.
7. Create your podcast sponsorship proposal
Yes, finally, you can sit down to write your podcast sponsorship proposal. Ensure that you:
- Keep it brief — no one has time to read five pages in an email.
- Make it personal — use the host's name.
- Introduce yourself and explain why you and the podcast would be perfect partners.
- Mention how your brand can benefit their listeners.
- Prove that you listen to their show — mention those points you noted earlier.
- Make it easy for them to research you by providing appropriate links (website, social media etc).
- Close with an invitation to respond, such as "hope to hear from you soon" or "please let me know if you're interested".
- Send a follow-up email if you don't get a response within a week or so.
Podcast sponsorship proposal template
Once again, Rephonic makes writing pitch emails incredibly easy. Our site has many pitch templates, including several podcast sponsorship templates that you can edit directly in the app to then send from your own email address. Get started with a free trial.
First of all, I just wanted to say thanks for the content you put out. Without your episode on TOPIC, I would never have EXPLAIN ADVICE YOU HAVE APPLIED TO YOUR LIFE.
My name is FIRST NAME, and I'm POSITION at COMPANY. If you're looking for partners for PODCAST NAME, I would love for our brand to be considered. DESCRIBE WHAT THE BUSINESS DOES.
Our target customer is fed up with PAIN POINTS and looking for ways to CUSTOMER NEEDS.
Given that listeners are used to hearing about TOPICS THAT RELATE TO YOUR CUSTOMER NEEDS on your podcast, a partnership could be very successful.
You can read more about us here: LINK
Please let me know if you're interested in chatting.
Thanks for your time!
YOUR FIRST NAME
YOUR CREDENTIALS
Find more sponsorship templates on Rephonic
Access the podcast's contact details on Rephonic and find a variety of winning pitches by selecting the Send a Pitch button.
Select the purpose for your pitch. In this case, you'd select advertising or sponsorship. Next preview the templates to choose the best one for your purpose.
When you feel confident writing pitches, you can create a new template that will be visible only to you and your team. Rephonic provides a handy space to keep all your pitch templates in one place and give all your team access to them.
Conclusion
Potential sponsors have a greater chance of successfully pitching podcast influencers if they do their research first.
Instead of wading through dozens of podcast apps, Rephonic helps you sift through the data to find suitable podcasts for your brand. Then we save you even more time and effort by walking you through the pitch process.
So, what are you waiting for? Get your podcast sponsorship proposal started today with Rephonic.
