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How to Run a Thriving, Profitable Podcast

Avoid this mistake if you want to get a podcast sponsor ⚠️ (Podcraft Pointers)

Published 26 days ago • 2 min read

Hello, Podcrafters!

A pal of mine spent years working in radio advertising. He once told me that his entire job boiled down to one number: How many people will hear it?

As podcasters, we should be cautious about borrowing that model when it comes to finding sponsors.

I'm not going to get into the nuances of radio audiences vs podcast audiences, which is a whole other topic. But even if we compare two different podcast audiences purely by download numbers, we can miss the point entirely.

To support this newsletter, please check out Alitu.com - the best, quickest, and easiest podcast editing software on the planet.

In her debut piece for the blog, Losh Moodaley argues that CPM thinking leads podcasters to underprice their shows. She encourages us to stop "renting our audiences" and instead, treat sponsorship as brokering access to a defined community.

I found this advice incredibly useful in my ongoing quest to find a perfect-fit sponsor for my own hobby show, and I'd encourage you to have a read, too!

Mic Drop Fact: Rocket launches can create artificial thunder.
The intense acoustic energy from rockets can physically shake the atmosphere, producing shock waves and thunder-like effects.

🚐 Podcast Trailers, Cover Art, & Missed Growth Opportunities, with Arielle Nissenblatt 🎨

Whether we like it or not, potential listeners are judging our podcasts on our artwork before they've even hit play. Some even decide not to hit play, based on the artwork alone.

So what can we do about it?

We could start by asking Podcast Hall of Famer and EarBuds Podcast Collective founder Arielle Nissenblatt for some pointers. She's presented to rooms full of podcasters on the dos and don'ts of cover art, and she recently wrote about it, too, in her Podcast Plunge newsletter.

And while she's here, how about a look at our trailers? That's another area that Arielle is passionate about (she literally runs a Podcast Trailer Podcast) and notices a lot of missed collaboration opportunities on this front. Let's see what we can do about it!

👉 Listen to the latest episode of Podcraft​

📊 The Latest Podcast Industry Stats & Data 📈

  • There are 4,701,128 total podcasts
  • 86% of people in the US are familiar with the concept of podcasting (up 11% from 2020)
  • 58% of Americans are monthly podcast consumers – an all-time high!

Our pillar Podcast Statistics & Industry Trends guide has been updated for 2026, and it builds a fascinating snapshot of the industry. It isn't all straightforward linear growth, either!

🧙‍♂️ The Podcasting Sage Says:

“Good questions make great guests better.”

Prepare to guide your guest to their best stories.

⛔ Tech Getting in Your Way? 😣

Most podcasters don't start because they want to become audio engineers or spend hours editing.

We built Alitu so you could focus on your voice, your message, and your audience. Try it free for seven days, and see for yourself how quick and easy it makes everything.

Some notable features include text-based editing, automatic filler-word removal, and you'll be amazed at how it cleans up your audio and fixes the volume levels.

You can also record and publish your podcast in the Alitu interface, meaning you don't need multiple subscriptions to other platforms.

It's the ultimate all-in-one podcast platform, built for podcasters, by podcasters. And you can earn $25 for each new customer you refer to Alitu, too!

Cheers!
Matthew & Jacob

The Podcast Host, Stephen’s Street, Inverness, Scottish Highlands IV2 3JP
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How to Run a Thriving, Profitable Podcast

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Join 29,000+ podcasters & creators to get launch, growth and success tips for your show. Quick, actionable points, every week, from tool reviews to growth tactics, and much more, all aimed at helping you create the show of your dreams. If you're building a personal or a content brand, then get started and grow with us!

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