How to get podcast sponsors without millions of listeners

When it makes sense to look for sponsors

The question that comes up most in podcaster forums is how many downloads you need. There's no magic number, and anyone who gives you one is selling you something. A software brand for lawyers will happily pay to reach two thousand lawyers, and a soft drink brand couldn't care less about those same two thousand.

What you do get are signs that you can start. You've been publishing regularly for months, so a brand knows the show will still be there. You have a clear subject and can say in one sentence who you're talking to. Your audience stays: retention helps you more than downloads do. And you also have a presence on video or on social, which gives the brand more places to appear.

If you're not there yet, don't waste time writing to brands. Spend it on the show. In how to grow a podcast on YouTube we explain what we look at, and in which podcast metrics to watch you'll see which ones will matter to a sponsor.

How a podcast gets funded: sponsorship and everything else

Google also asks how a podcast gets funded and how to make one profitable, and it helps to put sponsorship in its place, because it isn't the only route and often isn't the best one.

Direct sponsorship is a deal with a brand, with no middlemen. It usually gives you more freedom and a better relationship, and you have to go out and find it. Advertising through platforms or ad networks saves you the search, in exchange for less control over what plays on your show. Then there's YouTube revenue, paid subscriptions and communities, and your own sales: courses, consulting, tickets or products.

For many companies and professionals, the podcast pays for itself in a different way: it brings in clients, and that's how the numbers get done. We see it very often in shows born inside a company, where a single client can pay for the whole season. We discuss it in whether a video podcast is worth it for a company. And if you want to look calmly at what each route can give you, it's all in whether making a podcast is profitable.

Our view, after years of working with shows of many sizes: anyone living only off sponsorship depends on a brand renewing every quarter, so it's worth combining at least two routes.

What goes in the media kit for brands

Before you write to anyone, prepare a short, good-looking document of three or four pages. Here's what it should cover.

What the show is about and who it talks to, in two sentences. Real, dated audience data: average plays per episode at thirty days, the percentage of people who stay until the end, subscribers per platform. Who listens: age, country, interests and profession if you know it. A few episodes or guests that show the level of the show. And what you're offering the brand, with examples.

Two tips that make a difference. First: don't inflate anything. Brands ask for screenshots of the Spotify, Apple and YouTube dashboards, and a dressed-up number gets found out quickly and closes the door. Second: take care of the look. Your media kit, your thumbnails and your first few seconds are the first impression a marketing manager gets, and they often decide within a minute.

This is one of the places where production work shows. A brand that opens a show with a carefully made intro, good sound and a tidy channel understands at a glance that its name will be in good company. With Aladetres, for example, the intros are pieces of 30 to 45 seconds with motion graphics and original music: they give the show a presence you recognize the moment it starts.

How to find brands and what to write to them

Start with the easiest list: the brands your audience already uses and the ones you already mention without being paid. Next, those sponsoring shows like yours, because they already know how this works and have a budget for it. After that, companies in your sector that run events, trade fairs or content, because they already invest in reaching your audience.

Find the specific person, usually on LinkedIn: the head of marketing, brand or sponsorships. And write a short email. Three paragraphs are enough: why your audience is their customer, with a number; what you're proposing, in concrete terms; and an easy question to answer, such as whether a fifteen-minute chat suits them or whether they're the right person for this.

How do you ask for sponsors without it sounding like asking for a favor? By offering a clear exchange. Don't ask for support: tell them what they get. And send the media kit only when they reply, or as a link, because a heavy attachment in the first email lowers your reply rate.

If they say no, ask what would need to happen for them to say yes. That answer is worth a lot. And write again three or four months later with a new number, because a brand's sponsorship also depends on its calendars and budgets.

Which formats to offer a sponsor

The more natural the mention, the better it works for the brand and the less it bothers the listener. These are the most common formats.

The host read, spoken by the host and ideally after trying the product. At the start more people hear it; mid-episode it tends to land better with people already into the conversation. Sponsorship of the show or a whole season, which gives much more presence. The sponsored segment: a regular part of the show with the brand beside it, such as audience questions or a weekly tip. The brand episode, where an expert from the company genuinely takes part in the conversation and it's clearly stated there's a collaboration.

On video there are more options: presence on set, a product on the table or an on-screen caption. And above all, clips: a brand values appearing in the pieces that go to Reels, TikTok or Shorts, because they get seen far beyond your usual audience. BioHack-It reels reach millions of views, which is a good example of how far those clips can go.

Two simple rules. Always say it's sponsored content: the law asks for it and your audience appreciates it. And say no to brands you wouldn't recommend to a friend, because trust is what you're selling.

How we help you have a show brands want to be on

We aren't an advertising broker and we don't sell sponsorships. What we do is what makes a brand want to be there: a show that's well thought out, looks good and grows.

Albert Murillo, our creative director, defines the format, the look and what comes out of each episode. And the Bostak team handles the recording in our studio in Viladecans if you need it, plus the editing, intros, thumbnails and clips. With Albert and his team, Aladetres grew from around 100,000 to more than 800,000 subscribers on YouTube. We also work in English on shows such as The Sage Steele Show, together with our partner Dull Light.

And if you already have an interested brand, we can help with the piece too: a properly recorded read, a brand episode with a good finish or the clips it appears in. A collaboration that looks good makes it easier for the brand to come back and for the next one to say yes.

If you're thinking about looking for sponsors and want to know whether your show is ready, we'll tell you straight. See how we work in video podcast production and book a free diagnosis: we look at your channel over a video call and tell you what a brand would see today and what we'd change first.

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