Over the past couple of years, I’ve had a fair amount of experience with trying to get Porter Novelli’s clients to advertise with, sponsor, partner with, or do media relations with a number of podcasts. And I’ve learned a lot from this process. I come from the traditional world of television syndication and advertising, and that has provided an interesting perspective through all this. Here’s a list of some of the things I’ve discovered along the way:

• Look professional. When I use Podcast Alley or contacts I’ve made at P&NME/PodCamp to check out a show’s site, I often make a snap decision as to the level of professionalism of the show, based on the quality of the Web site. Here and here are two great examples of very professional-looking sites.
• Respond quickly. After researching a show and (hopefully) finding an e-mail contact on the site, I’ll put the word out to the producer to contact me. Be sure to respond to those inquiries quickly. Business happens fast, and sometimes a decision whether to go with one show over another can come down to who got back to me quickly.
• Media kit. One of the must-have tools you should have on your site, if you intend to monetize, is a media kit. This is in most cases a link to a nice one- or two-page PDF detailing your show, its content, its audience, contact information, and advertising details. I like to have this to e-mail to my colleagues or clients as a quick “slick sheet” on a show.
• Rate Card. Another item you should have on-hand and up-to-date is a rate card. That’s the “suggested retail price” for advertising on or sponsoring your podcast. Again, this should be in PDF form to easily share with others. Don’t put it right on your site, unless you’re comfortable with that. It should also include a few different package deals (10 shows, 6 months, etc.).
• Know your numbers. When contacted, be sure to know your audience numbers. The ADM will be formulating guidelines for metrics in the coming months, but some good top-line numbers would be: downloads per episode, subscribers per episode, episodes produced per month. From those basics, I can extrapolate more detail. Another good metric is growth over time. If your show gets small numbers, it will grow. Keep with it. I can estimate a show’s future growth for a campaign starting 6 months from now based on historical data.
• Act like it’s the 6th advertising call you’ve gotten that day. This is a tricky one. While you don’t want to seem cocky when dealing with potential sponsors, you do want to seem buttoned-up. I once had a podcaster say to me, “I’m not sure … what do you think I should charge for this sponsorship?” Someone will rake you over the coals in that case (I didn’t.). Your content has value, so act like it does.
• Audience Research. Here’s the golden egg, and it’s something the ADM will be concentrating on. Ultimately, I’d love to know the demographic, geographic, and psychographic make-up of your audience. Without regimented research data, that will be a tall order. But it is something ad agencies get from their other media outlets. Even if you have any anecdotal information about your audience (based on e-mails, listener feedback, etc.), that would help.
• And finally, this is a tough pill to swallow, but one I must relay. Advertisers don’t value you or your show. They value your audience. They want ears, eyeballs, and clicking fingers. That’s the simple truth. That said, when speaking with potential sponsors, talk up the value of your audience over your show. It’s your audience that they care to reach.

Thanks for reading this far. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to post, and I’ll do my very best to respond.