FOR PODCASTERS
How to light a video podcast set
A practical UK guide to video podcast lighting: key, fill and practical lights, two-person desks, backgrounds, flicker under 50 Hz mains and a look that stays…
How to advertise a podcast in the UK: setting one clear goal, using your trailer and best clips as ads, and choosing between Meta, YouTube and Google.
To advertise a podcast well, start with one clear goal, such as trailer views, follows, website visits or live show tickets, then pick the platform that suits it. Meta ads on Facebook and Instagram reach people who enjoy similar shows, YouTube ads suit trailers and filmed clips, and Google search suits business owners whose show sells their expertise. Use creative that already works organically, start with a test budget and judge results on new listeners, not clicks.
Picture the end of the month. Instead of wondering whether the boosted post did anything, you open a one-page report: what went out, how many people watched the trailer to the end, how many tapped through to Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and which clip did the work. You know what each pound delivered, and what you’ll do with the next one. That sense of control is what good podcast advertising feels like.
Getting there is less about the size of the budget and more about the order you do things in. This guide covers when ads are worth it, which platforms suit which goals, how to turn episodes into ad creative and how to measure the result honestly.
Yes, at the right moment. Ads make a good show grow faster; they don’t fix a weak first impression. Before you spend, check that the basics a new listener sees are in place: cover art that reads at thumbnail size, a clear description, a trailer and a few strong episodes to binge.
The moments where paid promotion tends to make most sense are:
One per campaign. Ad platforms optimise for the goal you choose, so a vague brief produces vague results. Meta, for example, advises choosing the objective closest to your wider marketing goal, after which its ad auction looks for people more likely to take the action that matches your objective. Ask for video views and you’ll get video views; ask for website visits and you’ll get clicks.
| Goal | Good platform | What to measure |
|---|---|---|
| Get the show known before launch | YouTube, Instagram and Facebook | Trailer views watched to the end |
| New followers on podcast apps | Meta, linking to Spotify or Apple Podcasts | Link clicks, then follower trends in each app |
| Grow a YouTube podcast | YouTube | Views, watch time and subscribers |
| Sell live show tickets | Meta | Ticket sales tracked on the booking page |
| Win clients for the business behind the show | Google search | Enquiries |
Meta ads are good at putting a clip in front of people whose interests match your listeners: topics your show covers, similar shows and creators, places and age groups. They run across Facebook and Instagram, including Reels and Stories, so vertical clips cut from episodes are a natural fit.
Boosting a post from the app is the quickest option, and it can work for a simple reach goal. For anything you want to measure properly, such as follows or ticket sales, set campaigns up in Ads Manager with tracking in place, so you can see which audience and which clip did the work. Note that video views can sit under more than one objective, because Meta says video can play many different roles in a campaign. Decide what the view is for before you choose.
If your show is on YouTube, ads there can bring viewers straight into the full episode. Skippable in-stream ads play before, during or after other videos, and viewers can skip after five seconds. With cost-per-view bidding you pay when someone watches 30 seconds, or the whole ad if it is shorter, or interacts with it. Google suggests 15 to 20 seconds for awareness and action ads, and two to three minutes for consideration, which suits a podcast trailer.
For a simpler start, YouTube Studio has a Promote feature that runs a campaign through a linked Google Ads account. Videos must be public or unlisted and at least 10 seconds long, and YouTube notes that subscribers and watch time gained through Promote don’t count towards YouTube Partner Programme eligibility. Bear that in mind if monetisation is part of your plan.
When the podcast supports a business. People rarely search Google for a new podcast to try, but they do search for the expertise you talk about every week: a type of accountant, a coaching approach, a property question. For business owners and experts, search ads that lead to a page about your services, with the podcast as proof of what you know, are often a better use of budget than promoting the show itself.
Your strongest material is usually already recorded. Real moments from the conversation tend to feel more like the show, and less like an advert, than anything written for the purpose.
Audio-only shows can still advertise, using a well-designed audiogram or a short to-camera introduction filmed for the purpose.
There is no single right figure, and anyone who quotes one without knowing your show is guessing. The budget that makes sense depends on the goal, the length of the campaign, the size of the audience you want to reach and how competitive that audience is to advertisers.
A sensible approach is to run a short test first: two or three clips, one or two audiences, a fixed end date. Keep what works, cut what doesn’t, then put more behind the winner. Give a campaign long enough to learn before judging it, and treat a launch or live show as a defined push with its own budget rather than an open-ended spend.
Clicks and impressions are the start of the story, not the end. Podcast apps don’t report back to ad platforms the way a shop checkout does, so measurement takes a little thought:
Put it all on one page every month: spend, results, what changed. That report is what our advertising for podcasters service is built around.
We want you to feel calm about every pound you put behind your show. We started as the in-house team for co-founder Jack Cartwright, running the ads, videos and social media behind his books, and learnt to judge campaigns on what they actually deliver. Through advertising for podcasters we plan campaigns around your episodes, cut ads from your recordings and report in plain English, as part of our wider marketing for podcasters. A clear brief, scope and fee are agreed before any creative work begins.
It can be a reasonable first step for a simple goal like reaching more people with a clip. It is limited when you want to measure follows, ticket sales or enquiries, because you have less control over objectives, audiences and tracking. For anything beyond a quick test, a properly set-up campaign in Ads Manager gives you clearer answers.
Both are options worth considering, especially for reaching people already in the habit of listening. Ads read on other shows in your genre can work well because they come with that host’s trust. Whatever you choose, use a trackable link or code, agree how the ad will be labelled, and compare the result with what Meta or YouTube delivered.
Long enough for the platform to learn and for you to see a pattern, which usually means weeks rather than days. Launches and live shows suit a defined push with a clear end date. An always-on campaign makes sense once you know which clip and audience bring listeners, and you can keep refreshing the creative.
Yes. Audiograms with strong captions, a designed quote card or a short clip filmed to camera introducing the show can all work as ad creative. Video of the hosts usually holds attention better, so if you plan to advertise regularly, filming even a few minutes of each recording gives you much stronger material.
Realistic results depend on your goal, budget and creative, so be wary of anyone who promises numbers up front. What you should expect is clarity: a report showing what was spent, what it delivered and what will change. Over a few campaigns, that tells you whether ads are a good use of money for your particular show.
A practical UK guide to video podcast lighting: key, fill and practical lights, two-person desks, backgrounds, flicker under 50 Hz mains and a look that stays…
How to promote a podcast on Instagram in the UK: Reels from every episode, Stories on release day, guest collabs, trial reels and posting between seasons.
How to write podcast show notes that persuade people to press play and help episodes get found in search, with a simple template, timestamps and transcripts.
Four quick questions, and we’ll show you where we’d start. Your answers come straight to us with your message, so you won’t have to explain it twice.
A 30-minute introduction call on Microsoft Teams, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Your answers come with the booking, so we’ll be ready for you.
Prefer to talk it through? Make an appointment for a 30-minute call on Microsoft Teams, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
A closer look at the work behind each part of your plan.
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