4 Podcasts That Offer Great Advertising ROI for Entrepreneur…

It’s a noisy world out there.

We’re bombarded with marketing messages every day, so if you’re an entrepreneur with a lot of money to spend and you want to advertise your business’s product, service or message for maximum ROI, where do you go?

One route that is dramatically picking up steam is buying advertising time on popular podcasts.

This medium has exploded in recent years thanks to its easy-to-consume, on-demand audio content that has become a fan favorite with millennials and others who don’t have time to watch television or read blog posts anymore.

Related: The 24 Best Podcasts for Entrepreneurs in 2017

Last year, podcast advertising pulled in approximately $200 million, so companies are showing more faith in podcasting as a new way to reach engaged audiences they wouldn’t have before.

The founder of one of the world’s top podcast networks, PodcastOne’s, Norm Pattiz, is seeing this growth first hand. PodcastOne has over 200 podcasts and boasts some of the most highly listened to shows in the industry. The network has more than 1.5 billion downloads annually, across 350 episodes produced weekly. As a result, advertisers are taking notice.

“We sell spots from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars depending again on the size of the audience and the effectiveness for our advertisers,” Pattiz says. “Interview-driven podcasts are often selected not only because of the size and make-up of the audience or even the subject matter, but the nature of the guests who will be featured on the podcast can certainly be targeted towards the particular advertisers that are in the podcast.”

Related: How to Make Money With a Podcast

Podcasts to consider for your ads

Some of these choices may be unexpected, but they could be a game-changer for your business.

1. The Tim Ferris Show — He’s been called “The Oprah of Audio.” Ferriss’s No. 1 ranked business podcast has been downloaded over 150 million times. He’s interviewed many world-class performers to extract their success tactics, tools and routines to benefit listeners. Due to his incredible audience reach, there’s no doubt your website will receive a few visits after being mentioned on his podcast.

2. The Adam Corolla Show — Why am I putting a comedy podcast on this list? Well, it’s to show you that podcasts with large audience numbers can still be effective for various types of advertisers.

“Since the nature of podcasting itself is in large part technology-driven, many, many podcasts in different categories are used by advertisers with great results even though they may not specifically be in that category,” Pattiz explains. “I’m thinking of podcasts like Adam Corolla who in terms of audience, revenue and results is really the platinum standard. He produces 15 hours of original programming every week, often delivering over a million impressions an episode.”

Related: 7 Reasons to Add a Podcast to Your Content Marketing Strategy

3. The Bill Simmons Podcast — It’s considered the most downloaded sports podcast of all time. Simmons, who originally launched the show 10 years ago while working at ESPN, breathed it back to life when he signed on with HBO in 2015. He’s had an eclectic mix of sponsors, so there’s no reason why you can’t be the next one.

4. Entrepreneur On Fire — This seven-day-a-week podcast that features inspiring interviews with entrepreneurs has attracted over 1.5 million monthly listens. Host John Lee Dumas has created a juggernaut that is an ideal destination for almost any business owner to advertise her product, service or message.

Of course, there are many more shows to consider.

“I’ll just tell you the podcasts that I wish I had on our network that we don’t have that meet all the basic requirements of providing great programming for consumers and results for advertisers. So, if any of these people are reading this article — give me a call,” Pattiz jokingly recommends. “I would think any podcast from Ira Glass or Marc Maron’s podcast. Joe Rogan has a very successful podcast. Of course, Serial did an awful lot to change the nature of podcasting in the last couple of years. I’m thinking of other shows like Radio Lab, like Tim Ferriss, Dave Ramsey and Bill Simmons for starters. They’re all podcasts that have proven themselves over time with hosts that understand the medium and audiences that you just can’t ignore.”

Related: Should You Use Paid Ads to Support Your Small Business?

What you receive by advertising on a popular podcast

Pattiz says with PodcastOne, it can be anything from:

• Sponsored live or recorded reads by the podcast host
• Sponsorship of a podcast as well as being packaged with other shows
• Promotion on the website and/or app of the host
• Television advertising that can include mentions of the advertisers
• Promotion across PodcastOne’s and the host’s social media platforms

Of course, the goodies offered differ per podcast network.

Related: 4 Video Advertising Hacks Powerful Enough to Change Your Company

How to get the podcast advertising process rolling

PodcastOne isn’t the only tiger in the jungle.

Competition has grown fierce with numerous networks hoping to attract advertisers, including Midroll Media, Gimlet Media, Panoply, Wondery and Archer Avenue to name a few.

If you’re serious about having your company, products, services or message mentioned on a big podcast just click any of the podcasts and/or podcast networks written above to begin your research.

Once you do, you’ll be that much closer to reaching new audiences that will hopefully convert into the customers you’ve always wanted.