What are Buzzsprout Ads & How to Use Them

“They’re ALWAYS trying new things that benefit independent content creators!”

This is what I tell anyone who’s considering using Buzzsprout as their podcast host. Because it’s true.

From the beginning of my podcast, I’ve looked for company’s that are honest, willing to listen to feedback, and aren’t just another money-hungry corporation that looks at everyone like a walking dollar bill.

(Unfortunately, I have worked with these types of companies that I’ve had to run away from to get out of their greedy grasp they try to entangle content creators in. It wasn’t pretty.)

Buzzsprout has blown me away with their brand new feature:

Buzzsprout Ads

It’s the best thing to happen to podcasting since auto-leveling and Magic Mastering became a thing. (Look up Magic Mastering if you haven’t checked it out. Also, Dynamic Content is an absolute game-changer too!)

We’re here today to walk through some of the basic things every Buzzsprout podcaster needs to know about Buzzsprout Ads. (If you’re not currently a Buzzsprout user, don’t worry. You can try them out for free here.)

The first two questions to cover are:

What are Buzzsprout Ads & How to Use Them

What are Buzzsprout Ads?

There are two ways we need to look at Buzzsprout Ads:

• From the perspective of being a podcast host that wants to promote their podcast
• And from the view of a podcast host that wants to monetize their podcast

But first, let’s answer the question, What are Buzzsprout Ads?

Buzzsprout Ads allows you to run advertisements for other podcasts within your episodes!

– Buzzsprout Ads Help Article

Looking at Buzzsprout Ads should be one of those things that makes you say, “It’s about damn time!” (Thanks for the inspiration, Lizzo.)

It’s not that Buzzsprout has been lagging to deliver something — they’ve ALWAYS delivered above and beyond on their product. But it’s revolutionary for podcasters to actually start making money on their podcast while also promoting other shows. (In fact, it’s freaking genius) 

So, from the perspective of a podcast host that wants to promote their show, what do you need to know? I referenced a lot of the Buzzsprout articles in today’s episode, but the main things to cover here are the requirements for running an ad on the Buzzsprout Ads platform. Here they are…

Buzzsprout Ads Promotional Requirements:

1. Create a 40 second promotional ad

2. Create Ad Text – what will show in other Buzzsprout podcasts that choose to monetize with your ad

• Headline & Link for Text
• Add some details about your podcast
• Subscribe links to directories

3. Upload 12-40 Second Audio Clip

4. Choose Target Audience

• Age, Sex, Profanity, & Categories
• AUDIENCE: All ages, All Sexes, Occasional
• CATEGORIES
  • Education::How To
  • Business::Entrepreneurship
  • Business::Marketing

5. Choose Promotional Plan

• How many downloads do you want?
• $0.02 per download
• 5,000 downloads for $100 (right now only $70) >>> 50,000 for $1,000 ($700 right now)

How to Use Buzzsprout Ads

Now, we need to take a look at the platform from the the view of a podcast host that wants to monetize their podcast. I go into a lot of detail on how I’ve been doing this for The Proffitt Podcast, but I’m also looking at ways I can support more of you that will have questions I’ve already asked myself.

What podcast should I promote on my show?

Does the show have to be something I want to listen to? Or should I just focus on what my audience wants?

But for the purposes of today’s episode, I wanted to share with you what you need to about being eligible to start running ads on your podcast so you can monetize your show. Here they are…

Eligibility Requirements for Running Buzzsprout Ads on Your Podcast:

1. 5 Published Episodes
2. 1,000 Downloads in the last 30 days
3. Episode Length: at least 23 minutes long
4. Verified Email
5. Categories: 3 podcast categories
6. Paid Plan on Buzzsprout

If you want to know more of the details about running ads on your show and what to consider, make sure you listen to today’s podcast episode. 

Here’s a screenshot of what the interface looks like on the backend of ads I’m currently running on The Proffitt Podcast.

Buzzsprout Ads, Additional Resources

I’m working on additional resources to help podcasters be successful using Buzzsprout ads, as a promoter and someone monetizing their show. While those are being created, make sure you check out the help articles Buzzsprout has to help you get the most out of their newest (dare I say BEST) podcast feature.

Buzzsprout Ads (Beta)

Buzzsprout Ads – Ad Delivery

Buzzsprout Ads (for Advertisers)