How Many Ads Is Too Many for Your Podcast?

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How many ads is too many ads in your podcast?

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It's a question worth asking, especially if you're trying to make money from your show.

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Because yes, adding another ad might mean a lot more revenue,

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but at what point does that start affecting the listener experience?

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There's no magic number. A 30-minute podcast is different from a two-hour show,

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and a host read sponsorship can feel very different from a block of dynamically inserted ads.

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So instead of asking how many ads can I fit into this episode,

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ask yourself, how many ads can I include before the experience starts to feel different?

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And pay attention to what happens when you increase your ad load.

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Are people listening to less of each episode? Are you seeing fewer downloads

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on future episodes? Are listeners commenting on the number of ads?

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Because an extra ad might make you a little more money today,

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but if the experience changes enough that people stop listening,

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that revenue starts to disappear.

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And remember, that listener isn't just one lost download. That's someone who

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might have heard your next sponsorship and the one after that.

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So absolutely monetize your podcast. You don't need to feel guilty about making

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money from something you've spent time building.

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Just don't optimize your podcast for the most ads you can sell.

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Optimize it for the best balance between making money and giving people a show

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they actually want to keep listening to.

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Because the best ad strategy isn't necessarily the one that makes you the most

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money from this episode.

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It's one that lets you keep making money from the next one, too. Until the next time, happy podcasting.