Landing aligned partnerships for your podcast is a fantastic way to start monetizing. This can be seamless with the creation of a podcast media kit. A podcast media kit is an easy way journalists can write about you and is your elevator pitch for sponsors.
When Should You Start Considering Podcast Sponsorship?
Let’s discuss the ingredients needed before starting to look for sponsors.
The main ingredient? Know your audience. Who do you create content for? What are their demographics? What type of content do they find most valuable? The more you know, the better. Knowing your audience on a deep level will help to find the most aligned sponsorship deals and will spare both you and the potential sponsor from wasting precious time.
Secondly, you should have a tight grasp on your unique proposition. For instance, are you a marketing podcast for everyone, or are you an Instagram marketing podcast for mom entrepreneurs? By getting granular and highlighting your USP (unique selling point), you’ll be able to find specific sponsorships that are extremely helpful for your audience and the sponsor.
Once you know your audience and the particular element you bring to the table in the podcasting world, you’re ready to consider sponsorship.
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In that case, let’s move on to why it’s important to have a podcast media kit.
Why is it important to have a media kit?
Like we mentioned earlier, your podcast media kit is like your elevator pitch. It is a quick description of what your podcast is about. It’s a succinct way to display who you are, what you do, and why you’d be a great match for ideal sponsors. It could also be used for journalists or media coverage to quickly gain access to assets they might need for you including logos, your bio, and professional photos of you.
Now, if you’re just starting out, or still haven’t really nailed down your brand messaging, this could also be a great opportunity to think about your story. Curating the story you’d like to present to the world will help clarify decisions moving forward with your podcasting business. This in return will attract more listeners who could relate and benefit from your episodes.
And, on another note, not all podcasters have media kits. So it’s a great way to stand out from the crowd when pitching to sponsors, while also quickly providing a snapshot of your brand.
The way we see it: win-win!
How to create a podcast media kit
What information should I include in my podcast media kit?
There are many elements you’ll want to consider for your media kit, but let’s just start with the basics. You’ll need to include:
- Podcast cover art;
- Professional picture(s) of you. Think about the ones you have on your website. This is for sponsors to match a face to your story;
- Show description and short podcast pitch;
- Contact details and website;
- Links to iTunes, Spotify, and Google Play (or any other relevant apps your listeners listen from).
Some other nice to have items include:
- Frequency of show releases and dates of release
- How long your show has been running and the total amount of episodes you have
- Other team members that help run your show
- Milestone timeline
Once you have those compiled items, it’s time to dig into your listener analytics. Before you do that though, you need to know which metrics to look for.
So, let’s talk about analytics.
Podcasting analytics can oftentimes be confusing because there’s so much data and many ways users can listen to your episodes. In our opinion, using our intuitive IAB Tech Lab certification allows you to see your data in real-time all in one place. Moreover, you’ll be able to quickly see your downloads and listener data. These are the most important metrics sponsors want to know.
Now, we’re going to dig a bit deeper into podcast downloads so feel confident explaining your metrics. The Podcast Host states that if your new episode gets, within 7 days of its release, more than:
- 26 downloads, you’re in the top 50% of podcasts.
- 72 downloads, you’re in the top 25% of podcasts.
- 231 downloads, you’re in the top 10% of podcasts.
- 539 downloads, you’re in the top 5% of podcasts.
- 3062 downloads, you’re in the top 1% of podcasts.
The more engaged your audience is, the more attractive your show will be for sponsors because that means they love your content. With that said, downloads are a crucial component to mention in your media kit.
Onto the next metric: listeners.
Downloads tell you how many times your podcast is listened to. Listener data is valuable because you can determine their geolocation and how they’re consuming your content. For instance, if a sponsor has an audience mostly in the United States, but your listeners are mainly from South Africa, then that wouldn’t be a great match.
Ultimately sponsors want to know if your listeners match their target audience, and how engaged they are with your show. Be sure to include these components in a clear, and concise way. More on how to design your media kit in the next section.
Podcast media kit design
Once you have all the relevant data and basic information to piece together, think about using a free graphic design service like Canva to create a beautiful podcast media kit. Don’t skimp on the design step either because like the presentation of your birthday gifts, visuals have a massive influence.
To make a podcast media kit using Canva simply create a free account, and toggle over to the templates tab. From there you have a couple of options. If you’d like to create a more interactive kit, you can create a presentation or create a video. Because you’ll need to include metrics, the infographic template or media kit options under the marketing tab would be a great way to visually highlight those analytics.
The design of your media kit should align with the branding for your business or podcast to showcase cohesiveness. If your colors are pink and teal, make sure to select the same colors for your brand kit so sponsors can easily correlate your website or podcast branding with your media kit. Your media kit is similar to your resume in that it should be easily skimmable and at most five pages.
A professional photo of you and your podcast name should be the largest part of your media kit, followed by your stats and a description of your show. Substitute a design element for words wherever you can to keep it simple and easy to digest.
If you don’t have time to create one or would rather purchase one instead, let’s talk about some options.
Where can I buy a podcast media kit?
You can purchase a media kit from websites like Stephanie Cantelmo’s or Etsy. With these templates, you can seamlessly customize your information. So if designing isn’t your strong suit this option might be best for you.
If you’d like to completely outsource this task you can easily find a professional on freelancing sites like Upwork or Fiverr. Make sure you use the information provided above as a guideline when creating a project posting on one of these sites so you can ensure exactly what you need for your media kit.
Now, to get some ideas, let’s go over some examples.
Podcast Media Kit Examples
- Mixed Company Podcast’s media kit works. Why? Well, although it is a bit long, it’s very simple and has minimal words and graphics on each page making it easy to consume. We especially like the black and white contrast and large statistics that really make the graphic pop.
- The Mobile First Podcast media kit includes images of notable guests so potential sponsors can quickly get acquainted without listening to every episode.
- The Sex Magic Podcast media kit created with fliphtml5 is an interactive magazine style theme which is a fun way to present information.
- The One Idea Away Podcast media kit is incorporated into their website which makes it easy to read and quickly see what their podcast is all about.
- Christoph Trappe’s media kit is super simple with just one page of bold icons and quick facts about his milestone’s.
Hopefully these samples gave you some ideas for your podcast media kit. To get even more, a great place to turn is always Pinterest. Pin layout designs and samples so that when you go to sit down and actually create yours or outsource it, you’ll have better design direction.
To reiterate, having a podcast media kit is always a good idea no matter where you are in your journey as a podcaster. It’ll help you solidify your podcast messaging, easily communicate your unique proposition to potential sponsors, and help you stand out from the sea of other podcasters who haven’t gone the extra mile.
To recap on the most crucial elements for your media kit, be sure to include:
- Podcast cover art
- Professional picture(s) of you (think about the ones you have on your website) so sponsors can match a face to your story
- Show description and short podcast pitch
- Contact details and website
- Links to ITunes, Spotify, and Google Play
And, last but not least, showcase your downloads and listener metrics in a bold way to give sponsors a quick snapshot of your podcast success. With a concise and beautiful podcast media kit, you’ll be well on your way to landing partnership deals!
Ready to easily gather your podcast analytics? Try out a Spreaker.
