Anyone have advice on setting up and managing dynamic ads?
Hey..
I have questions about hosting and publishing to maximise the quality and income from dynamic ads insertion.
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What platform(s) do you use for hosting your podcast?
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Do dynamic ads work with Spotify, or only if you use Anchor to host the podcast?
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If #2 is true, is it normal or necessary to host a podcast in multiple places to ensure dynamic ads run in all podcast listening apps?
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Which dynamic ad products have you used or do you use now?
Hey Paul, I just signed up for updates on your podcast. It looks amazing! Congrats on securing such a quality lineup of guests ahead of your launch.
Regarding your question, as far as I'm aware this will depend on the platform you use. Some basically take in your RSS feed, insert the ads, and then redistribute it for you, so you'd need to update your RSS URL on the various listening platforms.
Generally though, I'm not a fan of the idea of dynamic ads. The great thing about podcasts is how personal they feel, and a host-read ad plays more into that. Also it seems that the overall trend is moving away from advertising altogether as listeners get more and more resistant to it. This is also demonstrated by Apple's and Spotify's launch of membership programmes for podcasts. Is this something you've considered? Would love to hear your thoughts on the pros and cons.
Cheers!
Hey :) Thanks for signing up and the kind words. Yeah, it's been tought to get guests to come on the show when the show doesn't exist yet! I've hit many walls already, but just keep trying to figure a way around them. I've actually been very luck with who I have been able to get I think.
I've been down a rabit hole of podcasting platforms. Wow.. so many, and so much advice out there. Have you seen the Podscape map? It's the entire landscape of podcast advertising.
I'm still trying to get my head round it all - and I used to work in ad-tech! I did speak with the guy who helped create the Podscape map. His advice was very direct:
"At any time you can re-edit a file, cut the ad out, and make it DAI. But unless you’ve got advertisers lining up, don’t drown in those details until they’re costing you money. When you’re ready to re-edit the files, migrate hosts, add DAI markers, and fill 100% of that inventory you’ve turned to DAI. You’ll know when you’re leaving money on the table. Thinking too far ahead is dangerous."
I get your objection to dymanic ads and share the feeling. I expected there to be an easy way to blend DAI with your preference - to insert ads read by the host. That way, you get the best of both. I'm pretty sure Anchor (bought by Spotify) has this feature and so do a few hosting platforms.
I still haven't chosen a hosting platform, but I am getting close to having the first trailer cut.
What hosting platform do you use?
Regarding Apple and Spotify's recent launches, I'm waiting to see what unfolds. My guess is that the aim (as it is with most platforms) is to as much of the pipeline as you can. In this case - recording, editing/mixing, mastering, hosting, publishing, monetising. Each of the big players own market share in one or more area. Spotify buying Anchor (and now Megaphone) gets them into multiple verticals quickly. Apple have deeper pockets (and are profitable) so they can play the long game.
This could all play out like the App Store court cases and hearings about monoplisation and market manipulation relating to Apple, FB, Google, and Epic.
I will have lots of content that won't make the cut into a show - I will look at making these available later as full length interviews (with minor editing).
How do you feel now you're 22 episodes in?
That's very insightful, thank you!
I'd seen an earlier version of the Podscape map. Boy, it certainly didn't get any smaller.
That warning of thinking too far ahead is probably the most valuable piece of advice for those new to podcasting. Too often I see folks asking for advice on how to get an idea for a podcast and asking about monetisation in the same breath, rather than focusing on creating value for their audience first. Andreessen Horowitz had a podcast report saying only about 2% of shows manage to monetise their podcast. So for most people, it won't be a money-maker right away. The gold-rush days are over :)
Choosing the right hosting platform matters a lot, as it's a pain to change down the line (and they know it too :) ) and it really depends on what's important to you.
For me, it was about SEO. I already had a small (few k per month) readership on my blog and wanted my podcast to live natively within that. I also wanted to "own" my data and didn't mind a bit of manual work/code hacks myself, so I started with the podcasting functionality in Squarespace and went from there. And honestly, this was a total hobby so I also didn't want to pay another provider either.
Doing it again... not sure if I'd do it differently. Anecdotally, I hear more good things about Simplecast, Transistor, and Anchor, depending on the type, and sometimes I miss that ease of use of just having everything done for me.
As far as my show goes, I've put it on ice for now. It was a bit of a new year's resolution and I wanted to see if I could stick with it for a year. What it's triggered is that I'm now building a startup for podcasters myself (hopefully soon to be added to that Podscape map :) ) and that takes up all the time I used to put into podcasting. I may start a new one soon interviewing our users which I probably won't set up on Squarespace :) I'd love to hear where you land in the end.
Going forward I also think you could be right. Apple is always going to have the benefit of deciding what the pre-installed podcasting apps on iPhones are and now that platform-specific content is part of the mix ... I don't see Spotify win this in the long run. The Apple ecosystem just always wins. You can already see this by Spotify competing on price (Apple is charging 30% of revenue from membership programmes, twice as much as Spotify) but that only helps to illustrate how desperate the competition is. But I'll happily eat my words later.
Another interesting aspect is the drive to "own your audience". You've seen this with lots of writers moving off Medium to their own blogs, to tools like Substack that give them full control over email lists and distribution. As an advocate for independent creators, I'd love to see something like this play out for podcasters too, so they don't have to submit to the rule and exorbitant monopoly-enforced charges and conditions of a single big player. We'll see...