Amelia [00:00:04] [Twinkling, airy music begins to play, overlapping with the introduction] Welcome to The Softer Cast, a podcast for small business owners and creatives who want tender podcast advice without any tech bro bullshit.

Amelia [00:00:12] I'm Amelia Hruby and I'm the founder of Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio for women and non-binary entrepreneurs. On this show, I answer your questions about podcasting.

Amelia [00:00:23] Things like:

Amelia [00:00:23] Should I put my show on YouTube?

Amelia [00:00:25] Can I just record it on Zoom?

Amelia [00:00:27] How much do editors really cost?

Amelia [00:00:29] And how many downloads should my podcast be getting?

Amelia [00:00:32] Yeah, I'll even answer that question. Every episode of The Softer Cast is really practical, a little magical, and less than 10 minutes long. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to the show and share it with your podcast bestie. Then, head to the show notes to check out our free resources.

Amelia [00:00:51] [Intro music quiets but continues to play] No matter where you're at in your podcasting journey. We're here to support you. Join us on the softer side of podcasting.

Amelia [00:01:05] Hello and welcome to The Softer Cast [music fades out]. I'm your host, Amelia Hruby, and on this podcast, I share the tender and technical support that small business owners need to start their own shows. And I do it without any of the tech bro bullshit that you might encounter other places you try to learn how to podcast on the internet [laughs]. Sorry, just calling a spade a spade. I see a lot of it out there.

Amelia [00:01:28] You are currently tuned in to the final episode of Season One of The Softer Cast. Thank you so much for being here. In this episode, we're going to answer a question from long-time listener first-time caller [chuckles], or I should say new to The Softer Cast, but previous guest on my other podcast, Off the Grid, D'Ana Joi. I'm going to let you hear Joi's question in her own words because she sent a lovely voice note. Here's Joi.

D'Ana Joi [00:01:55] Hey, Amelia, it's Joi. I've been loving listening to The Softer Cast. It's so refreshing to hear podcast advice that is not a cis white guy. Thank you [laughs]. My question has to do with sort of a merging of Off the Grid and Softer Cast, and that is how do you go about pitching sponsors when you do not have a social media presence? I know that a lot of times people will say, you know, when you're pitching, don't just include your download numbers, also include your social media followers and this and that. But I'm not on social media. I don't plan on going back to social media. I'm on LinkedIn, but I have nothing to brag about there because I'm so new to the platform that I don't have a huge following. I do have an email list, but if you have any more tangible advice on what it looks like to pitch sponsors specifically without a social media presence when you are only going on your podcast and maybe a small but mighty email list.

Amelia [00:02:58] Okay, I love this question and I also just want to pause and say that I love that on The Softer Cast I hear from folks who are brand new and just thinking about starting a podcast like in our last episode with the question from Andy about the most useful way to create a podcast and folks like Joi who have been making their podcast and are trying to level up and bring sponsors on the show, like it's so fun to work with people at all stages of the podcast process and answer your questions here on The Softer Cast.

Amelia [00:03:24] So, I love this question, and here's what I have to say about sponsorships when you're not on social media, although I think my answer is maybe less about pitching sponsors when you're not on social and more about how do you pitch sponsors when you don't have a giant audience you can put them in front of— which is a great question because many of us, in fact [laughs softly], statistically most podcasts do not have a giant audience to put sponsors in front of.

Amelia [00:03:48] So, the traditional big brand sponsors of podcasts out there, like your Caspers, your Squarespaces— they're all about metrics. They are using agencies to book on shows with big audiences. Those agencies are generally looking for shows to have a minimum of 10,000 monthly downloads before they, like, take you on and try to put ads on your show.

Amelia [00:04:09] So, if that's you, if you have 10,000 monthly downloads, lovely listener, go the agency route, like flaunt your numbers, make money that way. Like, there is a path for you [chuckles lightly], but what do the rest of us do? Because I'll be clear, I don't get 10,000 monthly downloads. So, what do you do if you're a podcaster like me who isn't playing in that arena?

Amelia [00:04:28] In our case, sponsorships are not about metrics. They're about relationships. And I want to unpack a couple ways they're about relationships. They're about working your own relationships when you pitch sponsorships, they're about emphasizing the strength of your relationship with your audience and how seriously they take your recommendations.

Amelia [00:04:48] And it's about focusing on the alignment of your audience with the potential sponsor's ideal client, the potential relationship between your sponsor and your audience.

Amelia [00:04:59] So, let's start with working your own relationships when you pitch sponsorships. If you have a small to mid-sized podcast audience, I'd say anything under a thousand downloads per episode, if that's where you're at, I would recommend warm pitching sponsors, not cold pitching sponsors.

Amelia [00:05:14] You want to be pitching people you know who already trust you and the strength of your brand.

Amelia [00:05:20] Work your network.

Amelia [00:05:21] When you're at that size, the people that are going to advertise on your show are people that are already fans of yours and want to be a part of what you're doing. And really, I just think your time is much better spent explaining to people who trust you why advertising on your show is going to benefit them than trying to get the right email for the right marketing contact at the right random, whatever it may be, day spa, shoe store, [chuckles] whatever else, and convincing those people first to trust you and then to advertise with you.

Amelia [00:05:53] Because I do think that, like, what opens up those interactions tends to be the metrics again. It's like if you don't already have a rapport with someone, then they want to see, like, what are the numbers? And they want those numbers to be more substantial. So, I think that that's when you get back into this metrics-first territory, when you're trying to build that trust or have sort of proof of value of ads.

Amelia [00:06:18] But I'll be honest that when I already know someone, when I have a rapport with them, I'm much more interested in hearing what they have to say and in believing the pitch that they make for why this sponsorship will really benefit me and my business.

Amelia [00:06:31] So, if your show doesn't have that many downloads or you don't have a social media presence or another sort of high metric visibility opportunity to offer, I would focus your sponsorship pitches on people that you already know.

Amelia [00:06:46] Moving on to the second type of relationship or the second way relationships are at play here— when you pitch those people you know, you want to be pitching personal endorsements of their products or services. That's what will make your ad more effective than a standard host-read script or even a standard, like, Instagram ad or something. It's the personal endorsement.

Amelia [00:07:07] So, pitch sponsorships to folks whose offerings you can vouch for and then vouch for them on your show. That's what's going to be most likely to get your listeners to go check out or buy from your sponsor. And that's what your sponsor wants, right? Like, that's what they're paying for, at least the potential of your audience going and doing that.

Amelia [00:07:25] So, you want to be pitching to people who know and trust you and pitching them your personal endorsement of their product or service.

Amelia [00:07:32] Now, I will add a caveat here that personal endorsements can be a slippery slope legally speaking, I only recommend endorsing things you have used or experienced personally, but I think there are a lot of ways to do this. You know, even if you haven't necessarily gone through so-and-so's eight-month brand program. You can personally speak to their character, how great they are, some marketing advice they gave you or whatever, whatever.

Amelia [00:07:56] But, you know, if you're worried about the legality of a personal endorsement on your podcast, maybe particularly if you're working in like a health area or something like that, I would recommend consulting your own legal advice. I am not a lawyer. This is certainly not legal advice.

Amelia [00:08:09] But I do think that when you're a smaller show, one of the best things that you can offer is that personal endorsement because it is so powerful, right? That's why influencers became a thing, because personally endorsing and selling things is, like, a really core part of our economy. I mean, it's word-of-mouth advertising, and that's precious.

Amelia [00:08:27] So, how can you make an ad on your show more of a word-of-mouth ad than simply a standard ad ad?

Amelia [00:08:36] Moving on to this third point I wanted to make about relationships. In addition to pitching people you know your personal endorsement, for a smaller audience what you're pitching your sponsor is less about the size of your audience and more about the alignment of your audience. You want to make the case that your listeners are that sponsor's ideal client. So, you want to tell them why they want to get their product or service in front of your audience. You want to emphasize right fit.

Amelia [00:09:03] Right fit is so much more valuable than big numbers for any small business. If you're pitching the right sponsors, so when you're thinking about who you'd like to sponsor your show, you want to really be coming up with people where you're like, "My audience loves this and they're going to want this thing and I'm going to pitch that person for that reason and I'm going to explain to them or to that business why this audience is already so aligned and definitely a right fit for their offering."

Amelia [00:09:29] The other thing I'd recommend when pitching folks in this instance is to work with what you've got and work everything you've got. So, don't just be pitching a podcast mention, pitch them a personal endorsement on your podcast, a feature in your newsletter, trackable links everywhere you mention them, and a stats report seven days and 30 days after their ad runs.

Amelia [00:09:49] Like, really build out the experience, make it multi-channel, and give them data so they can learn if this was a valuable investment or not. Because something I've found when folks are advertising on smaller shows, like, they're often in an experimental mindset. And so, they're like, "I want to see if this works," and whether or not their ad works, like, the information about it working or not [laughs softly] is really valuable to them.

Amelia [00:10:14] So, they're paying for that sort of experiment, at least as a business owner that's how I'd be thinking about it. I'm less so paying for a guarantee that I'm going to get X number of leads or customers from this podcast ad, I'm paying to understand how many times people even clicked through to see what I had going on and then notice if I made any sales.

Amelia [00:10:34] So, I guess what I'm saying is I think that even though you may run a small to mid-size podcast and you might be a team of one or a small team, you could kind of run a sponsorship operation that feels a little more comprehensive, a little more VIP, and really helps the people that are advertising on your show see the benefit of doing that, like, before, during, and after the process.

Amelia [00:10:57] And the final thing I'll say here is never sell yourself short. And I say this as an affirmation to myself [laughs softly] as much as anyone else.

Amelia [00:11:06] But I think especially if you run a show that has a clear mission or that serves a clear audience, there is value for an advertiser with affinity with your brand as well.

Amelia [00:11:20] So, like, that's also part of what they're getting from this package. So, you can also offer ways like, "If you become a sponsor, then you could tell so and so and so and so that you're, you know, supporting a women-owned business or you're supporting a queer creator or you're supporting XYZ," or you could do sponsorships, you know, during a specific month of the year, whether that's Black History Month or Women's History Month or for Pride.

Amelia [00:11:44] Like, there are lots of ways to also make sponsoring you and your podcast a valuable opportunity for sponsors that aren't simply like, "Here's everything I'm going to give you." It's like, "Here's where you're going to get. This is valuable. Just the affinity with me and everything that I'm doing in the world as myself is valuable. And I'm going to show you some ways that you can also advertise that affinity. You know, like, 'Here's a banner for the bottom of your newsletter. Here's some text you can use to share with other people, like, how we're involved."

Amelia [00:12:14] And, you know, that can also play into more of a content partnership, right? Have that person's founder on your show, you know, you could do guests. There are lots of different ways to pull in again that sort of multi-channel more comprehensive package that really lets everything amazing about you shine.

Amelia [00:12:30] So, I think that's where I wrap this up today. Like, be comprehensive. Be creative. Don't sell yourself short. Make sure that you're really emphasizing relationships because word-of-mouth is everything.

Amelia [00:12:42] So, don't sell them your metrics, sell them your word-of-mouth [laughs heartily]. I think that's how I'd sum up this advice in, like, six words.

Amelia [00:12:51] Okay, my friends, this episode is the final episode of Season One of The Softer Cast. So, I will be a stepping away from this show for a bit. Taking a break, reassessing what's next.

Amelia [00:13:03] You can keep sending in questions at the link in the show notes if you'd like and then hopefully, we'll get to them in Season Two. And you can always find free resources at the Softer Sounds website at softersounds.studio/free-resources. That's also linked in the show notes.

Amelia [00:13:20] I am so grateful that you tuned in. And until I return to this feed [outro music begins to play], I will see you lovely listeners on the softer side of podcasting.

Amelia [00:13:39] Thanks so much for listening to The Softer Cast. If you enjoyed this episode, please send it to your podcast bestie. And after you do that, go ahead and drop us five stars in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Amelia [00:13:51] If you'd like to submit a question, head to speakpipe.com/softercast to record a message or email us at hi@softersounds.studio.

Amelia [00:13:58] And last but not least, we made some awesome free things for you. Head to the show notes to download our free Podcast Launch Toolkit or our 3-step Podcast Audit.

Amelia [00:14:10] No matter where you're at in your podcasting journey, we're here to support you. Thanks again for tuning in and joining us on the softer side of podcasting [twinkly, airy music closes out the show].