#WomenPodcasters: Advertising Opportunities

By Erica Tong, Vice President, Sales & Planning at Audioboom

As Women’s History Month winds down it feels like a great time, amidst all the spotlights of our favorite shows, to look at advertising opportunities for women podcasters. Hint: There’s a lot out there!

“I originally launched in February 2015, telling myself I was making a one year commitment to doing this ‘podcast thing’,” says Chel Hamilton, host of Meditation Minis. Past episodes of Hamilton’s podcast include live reads for Blue Apron and Casper, and what started as an experiment quickly developed into more.

“Podcasting has become a huge part of building my larger brand and vision. In fact it’s becoming more of my total business focus than I ever expected it to be!” And that makes sense when you look at the 2017 Infinite Dial Studyby Edison Research and Triton Digital. The study shows a steady increase of women listening to podcasts year over year resulting in a total increase of 12% since 2013.

This overall growth in female podcast listeners coincides with the steady increase in the number of podcasts hosted and produced by women. And the growth in both of these areas has captured the attention of advertisers. When pitching podcasts to advertisers, Audioboom Sales Director, Paul DeLaurentis takes these points into consideration. He looks at the target demo and the needs of each brand. “Women are often the decision makers in their households. Advertisers understand the value of engaging them. And if female podcast hosts are endorsing a brand, it’s likely held in higher regard.”

“My show is listened to by about seventy percent women and that warms my heart because I know that many of my listeners are, well, me,” says Actual Innocence host Brooke Gittings. “I think many of my listeners love the convenience and quality of a Framebridge frame or a BloomThat bouquet.”

According to a 2015 study from Comscore, that connection makes all the difference. Listeners said they prefer ads in podcasts over ads on any other audio streaming platform. Hosts like Gittings and Hamilton promote the brands they’ve tried out themselves and they share their endorsements with an audience who trust them. “I really hope,” says Gittings, “to get a natural female hygiene product sponsor in the future just to let the women listening know that it’s not just about making money it’s about using sponsors that make life better for the listeners.”

Learn more about podcast advertising by going to audioboom.com.