While Headliner and audiograms offer the best way to market your podcast on social media, advertising in podcast discovery newsletters is a relatively affordable way to get your show in front of engaged audiences and potential subscribers.
These newsletters, which are often accompanied by blogs and podcasts, are run by fellow podcasters or industry vets, so you can feel good about keeping your advertising dollars in the podcasting industry. Heck, you probably subscribe to a lot of these. Because these newsletters are entirely centered around podcast discovery, it takes the guesswork out of targeting.
There are also quite a few on this list that accept submission for podcast features and reviews or social media shout-outs. We think it’s a no-brainer to submit your podcast to these outlets—you’ve got nothing to lose and potentially a lot of exposure to gain.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, if you know of others or even curate your own—shoot me an email.
The Bello Collective
The Bello Collective’s bi-weekly newsletter is sent to thousands of podcast enthusiasts and includes “Playlists. Podcast must-listens. Interviews with audio makers and industry leaders. Audio archives. Deep dives into issues, episodes, and ideas.”
Bello Collective is the project of Ashley Lusk and Galen Beebe. Ashley is also the head of audience strategy for CNN, and Galen is a freelance producer and writer.
Advertising in the newsletter ranges from $55 (for text-based ads) to $105 (for a premium ad with an image), and ads can be submitted directly on their website. Each newsletter includes four text ads and one premium ad. Learn more about Bello’s other sponsorship opportunities by emailing: support@bellocollective.com.
Discover Pods
Discover Pods offers a range of options, including a classified listing ($100) in their newsletter and stand-alone email options. Their email distribution list is composed of 7,500 podcasters and podcast fans.
They also have options for content on their website, including Podcast of the Day (which is $0 if your submission is chosen) and a Podcast Spotlight that offers more in-depth coverage of your show for $100. Their media kit is a great place to start and outlines all the options available to you.
Earbuds Podcast Collective
Earbuds Podcast Collective was founded by Arielle Nissenblatt and “brings the diverse, eclectic, and ever-growing podcast universe directly to listeners. Our weekly lists are crowdsourced collections of content from a variety of programs, ranging from prominent sources to indie unknowns.”
The newsletter, which is sent every Sunday evening, has an incredibly high open rate of 43%. Between the newsletter and the corresponding podcast, Earbuds reaches 5,000+ podcast enthusiasts a week. Earbuds offers three different advertising options in their newsletter or newsletter/podcast combo and ranging from $35 – $150 a week.
Check out their rate sheet for more details.
Great British Podcasts
The aptly named Great British Podcasts is on a mission to help people discover great British podcasts. Their newsletter, website, and podcast share the latest and greatest podcast content Britain has to offer.
Their newsletter is delivered to 100,000 subscribers, and placements there are £450+VAT. They also have ad placement options on both their website and podcast and sponsorship opportunities around the British Podcast Awards, which they also produce. Learn more advertising with GBP.
Podcast Delivery
Podcast Delivery’s mission is to let listeners listen and forget about discovering. Their weekly newsletter (sent on Mondays) is full of the latest and most interesting podcast content, which could include your show.
There’s a quick submission form on their homepage that gives your show an opportunity to be included in their weekly round-ups or blog and three tiers of advertising options for their newsletter. Ranging from two to four weeks, from $500 to $2000, Podcast Delivery offers various options to fit most budgets.
They even offer a free social media shout-out, which I think is such a cool feature: “If you’re just getting started with your podcast or if you don’t have an ad budget, we’ll still shout your podcast out on our Twitter account.
Best of all, it’s free!” To submit your podcast for a shoutout, head to the bottom of their pricing page.
Podcast Review
The Podcast Review newsletter is sent weekly on Wednesdays and is curated by the Los Angeles Review of Books. They currently have one sponsored ad slot in each issue. To inquire about booking, email: newsletter@podcastreview.org to inquire about booking. They’re also actively seeking submissions for podcasts to review.
Their newsletter is sent to 5,000+ subscribers weekly, so we think it’s a no brainer to submit your show.
Podnews
Podnews is a top-rated and long-standing newsletter in the podcasting space (odds are you’re a subscriber). Sent to more than 18,000 people daily, this newsletter includes news about podcasts, industry and tech news, jobs listings, and more.
Podnews offers a couple of different advertising options in their newsletter, including self-service classified ads that start at just $29 a day. As an advertiser, you can create, schedule, and pay for your ad on their website, making it a super easy option.
They also offer title sponsorship of the newsletter and other custom options if that’s something you’re interested in. Shoot them an email at sales@podnews.net for more info and options.
This Week in Podcasts
This Week in Podcasts curated by Michael Yessis is a weekly newsletter sent on Fridays. The newsletter includes four sections: Notable New Podcasts (listing of new and notable shows), Guest Appearances By (listing notable guests across all genres of podcasts), Go Deep (pod recommendations for deep dives on a single topic), and Pod Take of the Week (a provocative and/or amusing quote from popular podcasts).
Michael encourages podcasters to send him info about their show for potential features. He can be reached by email at my@michaelyessis.net.
Podcast discovery newsletters provide an affordable and highly targeted option for promoting your podcast. And, keeping your dollars in the industry and supporting other podcasters will make you feel good about adding a few of these options to your marketing mix. Shoot me an email with other podcast discovery newsletters I should add to the list!
While you’re waiting for your submissions to be reviewed by these newsletters, you should probably make another video. 🙂
