June 29, 2026 • 13 mins
We answer a listener's question about the best ways to include ads in a podcast. We break down affiliate marketing, advertisers, and sponsors so you can choose a monetization path that matches your goals and how hands-on you want to be.
If you have questions about incorporating ads for your podcast, reach out to us on the Podcaster Success team by emailing support@buzzsprout.com
Have a topic or question we should address on a future episode? Text us or email the Buzzsprout Podcaster Success Team at support@buzzsprout.com.
Keep podcasting!
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Episode Transcript
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Cara Pacetti (00:00):
Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, brought to you
by the people at Buzzsprout.
I'm your host, Cara Pacetti,and I'm bringing you the best
tips and strategies to keep youpodcasting with confidence.
First, I want to know whatpodcast decisions are you trying
to make right now?
(00:20):
Just click the Send Us Fan maillink in the show notes and
share your questions with us.
We can help.
We love answering listenerquestions on Podcasting Q&A, and
today is no different.
So today's listener question iswhat are the different ways I
can include ads in my podcastepisodes?
So if you're interested inmonetizing your podcast, you
(00:42):
have probably heard terms likeaffiliate marketing,
sponsorships, and evenprogrammatic ads.
But what do these termsactually mean?
And how do you know which oneis right for your show?
Today I'm going to walk throughthree strategies for including
advertisements in your episodes.
I want to share how each oneworks and when it makes the most
(01:02):
sense to use it.
Our first option is affiliatemarketing.
So affiliate marketing, in myopinion, is one of the easiest
to implement.
And it's my most favoritebecause you're just sharing with
your listeners about productsthat you stand behind and that
you love.
So an affiliate marketingprogram is a partnership where
you promote a product.
(01:23):
And then when someone purchasesthat product through your
unique link, you get acommission.
It's easy to share, and there'sno extra cost to the listener
for using the link and making apurchase.
You just get a little kickbackwhen they do.
So if there's a product youwant to share about, it's pretty
easy to find an affiliate linkfor that product or service.
(01:44):
I recommend visiting thecompany's website.
Typically, if they have anestablished affiliate program,
they'll have a whole page that'sdedicated to ways of using the
affiliate link and where you canfind your unique link so that
you can share it with yourlisteners.
If you can't find anything thatsays affiliate, they might be
referring to it as somethingelse.
So it may be buried in theirwebsite footer under partners,
(02:08):
maybe refer a friend, creators,or it could even be called an
ambassador program.
So if you're seeing anythinglike that, I recommend diving a
little deeper and seeing if youcan find the information for
using that affiliate program onyour podcast.
If you still can't find theaffiliate information for your
favorite product, reach out tothe company directly.
(02:29):
You may just be the firstpodcaster or the first content
creator that wants to shareabout their product and they
haven't even considered anaffiliate program yet.
So be the front runner in this,reach out to them, let them
know how much you love theirproduct and what it would mean
to you to share it.
And I bet you can convince themto give you a unique link and
get the ball rolling on anaffiliate program.
(02:51):
So once you've joined thisaffiliate program, you have this
unique link.
How do you share it with yourlisteners?
Well, first and foremost, I dorecommend making sure that the
products that you are sharingfit into the niche of your
podcast.
So if you are doing a podcaston fitness, maybe your affiliate
link is about your favoritesupplement.
(03:11):
If you are doing a podcastabout podcasting, maybe you're
sharing our refer a friend linkhere from BuzzSprout for podcast
hosting.
So you want to make it in linewith the subject of your
content.
An easy way to make sure yourlisteners are aware of this
affiliate link that you now haveis to go ahead and create a
call to action during yourepisodes.
(03:31):
And you can reference the linkthat you're adding to the show
notes and encourage listeners totake an action step in
purchasing the product usingyour link.
If you're hosted here with uson BuzzSprout, this is a great
opportunity to use dynamiccontent.
So dynamic content allows youto add a short audio clip as a
pre-mid or post role to yourepisodes.
(03:53):
We did a whole podcasting QAepisode on using dynamic
content.
So I'm gonna link that in theshow notes if that's something
that you're interested in andyou want to use that for adding
ads to your podcast.
Once you've decided how youwant to incorporate this call to
action or this information intoyour episodes, the next obvious
question is so how do I getpaid?
(04:13):
So this is something that willbe established with the company
that you're working with.
They all have various ways ofgiving you a credit or
commission on the purchases madethrough your affiliate link.
Sometimes it's just a flat ratethat's set by the company, or
sometimes it can be a percentageof the volume of sales through
each link.
The amount and the way that youare compensated for listeners
(04:35):
using your affiliate link willvary from company to company.
So when is it best to use anaffiliate link?
Affiliate links and affiliateprograms are great for new
podcasters.
They work best when you arealready using the product
yourself and you love it.
They are ideal for when youwant full control over what it
is that you are recommending.
The next option I want to sharefor including ads into your
(04:59):
podcasting episodes is to workwith an advertiser.
So an advertiser is any companyor organization that pays to
place an ad in your podcast.
But I want you to think aboutthis relationship as being
primarily transactional.
So what they're paying for isthat precious real estate on
your episode.
For example, if you are workingwith Casper Mattress and they
(05:19):
want you to read an ad on yourepisode, they are simply just
paying for that 60 seconds thatyou're reading the ad.
There's no establishedpartnership, it's a literal
transaction of time and they arepaying for that time.
So I want you to think about itthat way when you're thinking
about an advertiser.
While you could findadvertisers on your own and
(05:42):
pitch your podcast to them,another option for obtaining
advertisers for your podcast isactually to use an advertising
marketplace.
So a marketplace allows you tomatch your podcast with
available advertisers.
Instead of finding advertiserson your own, the platform helps
to connect you with brands whoare looking to place their ads
on podcasts like yours.
(06:03):
There are a few options foradvertising marketplaces out
there like Gumball or Podcorn.
And if you're hosted here onBuzzSprout, you will actually
have access to our ownadvertising feature called Buzz
Sprout Ads.
Buzzsprout Ads is the easiestway to monetize your podcast
when you're hosted here with uson BuzzSprout.
This is something that isavailable for all podcasters who
are on a paid plan, but thereare some minimum qualifications
(06:26):
you'll have to meet before youcan start accepting ads into
your podcast.
I'm gonna link a help articlein the show notes below that
outlines all of thosequalifications.
But once you've met those, wewill actually show you available
advertisements running thatmatch the categories for your
podcast.
So there are no contracts orformed relationships between you
(06:48):
and the advertiser when you useBuzz Prout ads.
It's just an ad that you see,you review if it's a good fit
for your podcast, you acceptthat ad and it will play across
your episodes until the ad runis complete.
At that time, we'll pull the adand it's removed.
While we match your podcastwith potential advertisers based
on the podcasting categoriesyou've selected inside of your
(07:11):
BuzzSprout account, eachmarketplace is going to handle
this process a littledifferently.
So the way that you get matchedwith potential advertisers will
vary from platform to platform.
Now, there still is always theoption of striking a deal on
your own, but if you use anadvertising marketplace, it does
help to minimize that work forgrabbing potential advertisers
(07:32):
for your podcast.
The next natural question, ofcourse, is how do I get paid?
How you get paid can varybetween advertising marketplaces
and platforms.
But if you're using BuzzSproutads, you will be paid as soon as
the ad run has completed andyou will see that added to the
Buzz Sprout wallet inside ofyour account.
So when is it best to includeadvertisers in your podcast?
(07:56):
This is great if you want asimpler, more automated path to
monetization.
It's helpful when you don'thave time to find advertisers on
your own.
Go ahead and join amarketplace.
And it's ideal for podcasterswho are focused on creating new
content, but also they're readyto start dipping their toe into
monetization without committingextra time and effort.
(08:18):
The last way of incorporatingads into your podcast is to work
with a podcast sponsor.
A podcast sponsor refers to acompany that pays to promote
their product, service, or brandon your podcast.
While this may sound a lot likean advertiser, a sponsor and
advertiser are different.
And I want to walk through someof those differences.
(08:40):
A sponsor is usually a deeper,more prominent partner to your
podcast.
Typically, when a company issponsoring your podcast, you're
partnering with that company andthey want to play a part in
backing your content.
Maybe it's just for an episode,maybe it's for an entire
season, an event, or even apodcast series.
When you introduce yourepisodes, you are going to
(09:03):
highlight the company that issponsoring that content and
making it happen.
A sponsorship can go beyondjust a 60-second mention in a
couple of your episodes.
This could include branding.
Maybe you add the company logoas a part of your artwork.
Maybe they're sponsoring swagthat you can give away for your
podcast.
(09:23):
So a sponsorship is lesstransactional and it's more
about forming a relationshipwith this company.
So while there are many ways ofobtaining a sponsor for your
podcast, one of those ways isactually to go out and pitch
your podcast to the companydirectly.
So when you're pitching tocompanies and you want them as a
sponsor, you want to make sureto include who your audience is,
(09:46):
how many downloads you receive,why their product would be a
good fit to mention on yourpodcast, and ask what
sponsorship opportunitiesthey're offering.
So are they even considering itand maybe what kind of levels
they'd be willing to offer?
Once you've established arelationship with a podcast
sponsor, the common way that Ihear podcasters mention their
(10:06):
sponsors is by reading off ahost read ad, either in the
beginning of the episode as apre-roll, maybe a mid-roll, or
even as a post-roll.
So this is another greatopportunity to use dynamic
content since it will allow youto easily add and take away that
information dependent on thesponsorship relationship that
you have agreed to.
As an example, if thisPodcasting Q&A episode was being
(10:29):
sponsored by MailChimp, I mightstart out the episode with a
pre-roll that says, thank you somuch to our sponsor, MailChimp.
MailChimp deliversgame-changing results for
thousands of customers, and weare honored that they have
decided to sponsor this week'sepisode.
And then I would go into myregular episode.
So that is just one way ofincluding a sponsorship in your
(10:50):
episodes.
So of course, the natural nextquestion that we always ask is,
how do I get paid?
So, like the affiliate linkoption, this is something you
would negotiate with a sponsoron your own.
This could be for a flat fee,maybe a monthly sponsorship, or
even a campaign agreement, whichwill determine how long the ad
will run or how many downloadsyou've agreed to.
(11:11):
So, when is it best to use asponsorship as a podcaster?
This is actually a littledifferent than affiliate
marketing or using anadvertiser, since the other two
options kind of allow you to bethe recipient of advertisers who
are looking to promote theirproduct and you are just kind of
facilitating that because youhave episode real estate.
(11:32):
A sponsorship is really puttingyourself out there.
So you are pitching yourpodcast and letting that sponsor
know why they would be a goodfit and why this would be a good
relationship.
So I would say that when youare confident in the content
you're providing, that you'd beconfident enough to build a
relationship with a brand, thatis when a sponsorship would be a
(11:56):
good option for including adsin your podcast.
So let's do a quick recap.
Our listener asked for ways toinclude ads in their podcast
episodes.
So first we have affiliatemarketing, which lets you
recommend products and earncommission from purchases.
Next, we have advertisers,which is a transactional
relationship with an advertiserwho's trying to place their ad
(12:18):
on your episodes.
And last is a sponsor.
So a partner who is ready tosupport the podcast financially
while you give them an agreedupon acknowledgement and
spotlight for supporting theshow.
The best option really dependson your audience size, your
podcasting goals, and howhands-on you want to be with
monetization.
(12:39):
If you have questions aboutincluding ads on your podcast
episodes, reach out to us on thepodcaster success team by
emailing support atbuzzsprout.com.
Be sure to join us every Mondayto kickstart your week.
Thank you so much forlistening.
And as always, keep podcasting.
Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, brought to you
by the people at Buzzsprout.
I'm your host, Cara Pacetti,and I'm bringing you the best
tips and strategies to keep youpodcasting with confidence.
First, I want to know whatpodcast decisions are you trying
to make right now?
(00:20):
Just click the Send Us Fan maillink in the show notes and
share your questions with us.
We can help.
We love answering listenerquestions on Podcasting Q&A, and
today is no different.
So today's listener question iswhat are the different ways I
can include ads in my podcastepisodes?
So if you're interested inmonetizing your podcast, you
(00:42):
have probably heard terms likeaffiliate marketing,
sponsorships, and evenprogrammatic ads.
But what do these termsactually mean?
And how do you know which oneis right for your show?
Today I'm going to walk throughthree strategies for including
advertisements in your episodes.
I want to share how each oneworks and when it makes the most
(01:02):
sense to use it.
Our first option is affiliatemarketing.
So affiliate marketing, in myopinion, is one of the easiest
to implement.
And it's my most favoritebecause you're just sharing with
your listeners about productsthat you stand behind and that
you love.
So an affiliate marketingprogram is a partnership where
you promote a product.
(01:23):
And then when someone purchasesthat product through your
unique link, you get acommission.
It's easy to share, and there'sno extra cost to the listener
for using the link and making apurchase.
You just get a little kickbackwhen they do.
So if there's a product youwant to share about, it's pretty
easy to find an affiliate linkfor that product or service.
(01:44):
I recommend visiting thecompany's website.
Typically, if they have anestablished affiliate program,
they'll have a whole page that'sdedicated to ways of using the
affiliate link and where you canfind your unique link so that
you can share it with yourlisteners.
If you can't find anything thatsays affiliate, they might be
referring to it as somethingelse.
So it may be buried in theirwebsite footer under partners,
(02:08):
maybe refer a friend, creators,or it could even be called an
ambassador program.
So if you're seeing anythinglike that, I recommend diving a
little deeper and seeing if youcan find the information for
using that affiliate program onyour podcast.
If you still can't find theaffiliate information for your
favorite product, reach out tothe company directly.
(02:29):
You may just be the firstpodcaster or the first content
creator that wants to shareabout their product and they
haven't even considered anaffiliate program yet.
So be the front runner in this,reach out to them, let them
know how much you love theirproduct and what it would mean
to you to share it.
And I bet you can convince themto give you a unique link and
get the ball rolling on anaffiliate program.
(02:51):
So once you've joined thisaffiliate program, you have this
unique link.
How do you share it with yourlisteners?
Well, first and foremost, I dorecommend making sure that the
products that you are sharingfit into the niche of your
podcast.
So if you are doing a podcaston fitness, maybe your affiliate
link is about your favoritesupplement.
(03:11):
If you are doing a podcastabout podcasting, maybe you're
sharing our refer a friend linkhere from BuzzSprout for podcast
hosting.
So you want to make it in linewith the subject of your
content.
An easy way to make sure yourlisteners are aware of this
affiliate link that you now haveis to go ahead and create a
call to action during yourepisodes.
(03:31):
And you can reference the linkthat you're adding to the show
notes and encourage listeners totake an action step in
purchasing the product usingyour link.
If you're hosted here with uson BuzzSprout, this is a great
opportunity to use dynamiccontent.
So dynamic content allows youto add a short audio clip as a
pre-mid or post role to yourepisodes.
(03:53):
We did a whole podcasting QAepisode on using dynamic
content.
So I'm gonna link that in theshow notes if that's something
that you're interested in andyou want to use that for adding
ads to your podcast.
Once you've decided how youwant to incorporate this call to
action or this information intoyour episodes, the next obvious
question is so how do I getpaid?
(04:13):
So this is something that willbe established with the company
that you're working with.
They all have various ways ofgiving you a credit or
commission on the purchases madethrough your affiliate link.
Sometimes it's just a flat ratethat's set by the company, or
sometimes it can be a percentageof the volume of sales through
each link.
The amount and the way that youare compensated for listeners
(04:35):
using your affiliate link willvary from company to company.
So when is it best to use anaffiliate link?
Affiliate links and affiliateprograms are great for new
podcasters.
They work best when you arealready using the product
yourself and you love it.
They are ideal for when youwant full control over what it
is that you are recommending.
The next option I want to sharefor including ads into your
(04:59):
podcasting episodes is to workwith an advertiser.
So an advertiser is any companyor organization that pays to
place an ad in your podcast.
But I want you to think aboutthis relationship as being
primarily transactional.
So what they're paying for isthat precious real estate on
your episode.
For example, if you are workingwith Casper Mattress and they
(05:19):
want you to read an ad on yourepisode, they are simply just
paying for that 60 seconds thatyou're reading the ad.
There's no establishedpartnership, it's a literal
transaction of time and they arepaying for that time.
So I want you to think about itthat way when you're thinking
about an advertiser.
While you could findadvertisers on your own and
(05:42):
pitch your podcast to them,another option for obtaining
advertisers for your podcast isactually to use an advertising
marketplace.
So a marketplace allows you tomatch your podcast with
available advertisers.
Instead of finding advertiserson your own, the platform helps
to connect you with brands whoare looking to place their ads
on podcasts like yours.
(06:03):
There are a few options foradvertising marketplaces out
there like Gumball or Podcorn.
And if you're hosted here onBuzzSprout, you will actually
have access to our ownadvertising feature called Buzz
Sprout Ads.
Buzzsprout Ads is the easiestway to monetize your podcast
when you're hosted here with uson BuzzSprout.
This is something that isavailable for all podcasters who
are on a paid plan, but thereare some minimum qualifications
(06:26):
you'll have to meet before youcan start accepting ads into
your podcast.
I'm gonna link a help articlein the show notes below that
outlines all of thosequalifications.
But once you've met those, wewill actually show you available
advertisements running thatmatch the categories for your
podcast.
So there are no contracts orformed relationships between you
(06:48):
and the advertiser when you useBuzz Prout ads.
It's just an ad that you see,you review if it's a good fit
for your podcast, you acceptthat ad and it will play across
your episodes until the ad runis complete.
At that time, we'll pull the adand it's removed.
While we match your podcastwith potential advertisers based
on the podcasting categoriesyou've selected inside of your
(07:11):
BuzzSprout account, eachmarketplace is going to handle
this process a littledifferently.
So the way that you get matchedwith potential advertisers will
vary from platform to platform.
Now, there still is always theoption of striking a deal on
your own, but if you use anadvertising marketplace, it does
help to minimize that work forgrabbing potential advertisers
(07:32):
for your podcast.
The next natural question, ofcourse, is how do I get paid?
How you get paid can varybetween advertising marketplaces
and platforms.
But if you're using BuzzSproutads, you will be paid as soon as
the ad run has completed andyou will see that added to the
Buzz Sprout wallet inside ofyour account.
So when is it best to includeadvertisers in your podcast?
(07:56):
This is great if you want asimpler, more automated path to
monetization.
It's helpful when you don'thave time to find advertisers on
your own.
Go ahead and join amarketplace.
And it's ideal for podcasterswho are focused on creating new
content, but also they're readyto start dipping their toe into
monetization without committingextra time and effort.
(08:18):
The last way of incorporatingads into your podcast is to work
with a podcast sponsor.
A podcast sponsor refers to acompany that pays to promote
their product, service, or brandon your podcast.
While this may sound a lot likean advertiser, a sponsor and
advertiser are different.
And I want to walk through someof those differences.
(08:40):
A sponsor is usually a deeper,more prominent partner to your
podcast.
Typically, when a company issponsoring your podcast, you're
partnering with that company andthey want to play a part in
backing your content.
Maybe it's just for an episode,maybe it's for an entire
season, an event, or even apodcast series.
When you introduce yourepisodes, you are going to
(09:03):
highlight the company that issponsoring that content and
making it happen.
A sponsorship can go beyondjust a 60-second mention in a
couple of your episodes.
This could include branding.
Maybe you add the company logoas a part of your artwork.
Maybe they're sponsoring swagthat you can give away for your
podcast.
(09:23):
So a sponsorship is lesstransactional and it's more
about forming a relationshipwith this company.
So while there are many ways ofobtaining a sponsor for your
podcast, one of those ways isactually to go out and pitch
your podcast to the companydirectly.
So when you're pitching tocompanies and you want them as a
sponsor, you want to make sureto include who your audience is,
(09:46):
how many downloads you receive,why their product would be a
good fit to mention on yourpodcast, and ask what
sponsorship opportunitiesthey're offering.
So are they even considering itand maybe what kind of levels
they'd be willing to offer?
Once you've established arelationship with a podcast
sponsor, the common way that Ihear podcasters mention their
(10:06):
sponsors is by reading off ahost read ad, either in the
beginning of the episode as apre-roll, maybe a mid-roll, or
even as a post-roll.
So this is another greatopportunity to use dynamic
content since it will allow youto easily add and take away that
information dependent on thesponsorship relationship that
you have agreed to.
As an example, if thisPodcasting Q&A episode was being
(10:29):
sponsored by MailChimp, I mightstart out the episode with a
pre-roll that says, thank you somuch to our sponsor, MailChimp.
MailChimp deliversgame-changing results for
thousands of customers, and weare honored that they have
decided to sponsor this week'sepisode.
And then I would go into myregular episode.
So that is just one way ofincluding a sponsorship in your
(10:50):
episodes.
So of course, the natural nextquestion that we always ask is,
how do I get paid?
So, like the affiliate linkoption, this is something you
would negotiate with a sponsoron your own.
This could be for a flat fee,maybe a monthly sponsorship, or
even a campaign agreement, whichwill determine how long the ad
will run or how many downloadsyou've agreed to.
(11:11):
So, when is it best to use asponsorship as a podcaster?
This is actually a littledifferent than affiliate
marketing or using anadvertiser, since the other two
options kind of allow you to bethe recipient of advertisers who
are looking to promote theirproduct and you are just kind of
facilitating that because youhave episode real estate.
(11:32):
A sponsorship is really puttingyourself out there.
So you are pitching yourpodcast and letting that sponsor
know why they would be a goodfit and why this would be a good
relationship.
So I would say that when youare confident in the content
you're providing, that you'd beconfident enough to build a
relationship with a brand, thatis when a sponsorship would be a
(11:56):
good option for including adsin your podcast.
So let's do a quick recap.
Our listener asked for ways toinclude ads in their podcast
episodes.
So first we have affiliatemarketing, which lets you
recommend products and earncommission from purchases.
Next, we have advertisers,which is a transactional
relationship with an advertiserwho's trying to place their ad
(12:18):
on your episodes.
And last is a sponsor.
So a partner who is ready tosupport the podcast financially
while you give them an agreedupon acknowledgement and
spotlight for supporting theshow.
The best option really dependson your audience size, your
podcasting goals, and howhands-on you want to be with
monetization.
(12:39):
If you have questions aboutincluding ads on your podcast
episodes, reach out to us on thepodcaster success team by
emailing support atbuzzsprout.com.
Be sure to join us every Mondayto kickstart your week.
Thank you so much forlistening.
And as always, keep podcasting.
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