Podcast ads give you the chance to be a little goofy, figure out what the host likes to read, what the audience likes to hear, and how to get podcast listeners to respond to your ad. And, I’ve learned to appreciate the ad breaks in my favorite podcasts more than I ever have before.

But, perking up my ears every time the “Show Sponsors” portion of the podcast starts has made me realize there are quite a few common mistakes new podcast ad writers are making.

This is understandable—podcast ads are relatively new. It’s hard to find hard and fast rules for podcast ads because there really are none. That’s the fun of them, and the downfall of them. Luckily, I’ve written you an overview of podcasts and why they’re so successful.

However, if you’re new to copywriting for podcast ads, it can be hard knowing where to start. So, I’ve pulled together this list of 7 podcast ad mistakes I’ve heard in the past month alone. 

Read, learn, and familiarize yourself with this list and you can ensure better success in your podcast ads than the companies below did…

Mistake #1: Not spelling out your company name.

My favorite podcast so often has the same sponsors from week-over-week that I could probably tell you which brands are keeping their (Zoom) lights on.

So, when I heard a new company podcast ad script read start, I turned my AirPod earbuds right up and started paying attention. It was a jewelry company I’d never heard of before, but the podcast hosts killed it. They did an authentic, high-energy ad read, added in their own positive personal experience with the brand, and then…the ad ended. 

There was no spelling out of the company name in the CTA. A fatal mistake. (Dramatic.)

Y’all this company name was hard to even conceptualize spelling. And I tried: I imagined myself going to Google and trying to find this company…and gave up. Because in the age of targeted Instagram ads, Etsy, and Amazon, who has the time?

Remember, people are LISTENING to your ad. Not reading it. Even if your podcast host is going to post your ad script/name in the description, it’s a mistake to assume the listener is going to— or is even able to—read the description. I listen to podcasts while I’m working out, doing household chores, grocery shopping, working—my hands are almost never free. So, when I heard this ad close out without spelling their company name out for potential customers, I wasn’t mad, just disappointed. 

If your company name is even vaguely hard to spell or complicated or has alternate spellings—SPELL IT OUT. (For example, if your company name is “Redd” assume people will hear “Red” or “Read”.) Unless you’re a household name like Target, Walmart, Amazon, don’t assume people will know your name. Actually, even if you are a household name, spell it out anyway—just to be safe.

Mistake #2: Telling people to go to more than one location.

Speaking of Target, Amazon, and Walmart…

Cut to: Same podcast, a short time later. 

ANOTHER new sponsor (good for them!). It was a pretty typical podcast ad up until the end when the ad said the customers could “find us on Target, Amazon, and Walmart”.

I gasped. (More drama!) B2C advertising on a podcast? What a bold move. The attribution tracking would be a nightmare! Especially as podcast attribution is notoriously difficult to track anyway. 

But three locations? Control + B-bold move.

I guess I get it. If you’re selling through 3rd party retailers, you want to provide customers with all the options available so they can use their preferred shopping channel to get your product. But don’t expect to see immediate results from a single ad read. It often takes several weeks for sales to reflect podcast numbers—and you might have a tougher go of it through 3rd party channels.

If you’re able, save yourself a headache and do your customer a favor and send them to one place—your website.

Mistake #3: Not including a URL.

Speaking of your website, another frequent mistake I hear is not including a URL for your website at the end of the ad.

This might seem obvious, especially after the lecture I gave you about spelling out your company name, especially as the two copy elements (company name and URL) are often intertwined. 

If you tell someone to “Visit our website”, spell out your website: “Visit us at C-O-M-P-A-N-Y DOT COM and…”

When it comes to podcast ad CTAs, be as specific and clear as possible. More importantly, be precise. It’s okay if this part of the ad is boring; you’ve already had your fun. You want this part to a clear directive the listener can follow (or remember later). 

Don’t forget, podcast listeners are rarely (if ever) just listening to the podcast. Most of us are multitasking to some degree. Give a clear, precise instruction for listeners to follow up on.

Mistake #4: Not using a promo code.

As alluded to earlier, podcast ads are effective but they have been historically difficult to track and measure performance. One way to tighten up attribution tracking is to use a unique promotional code to directly attribute sales to podcast ads .

Promo codes are not only useful for tracking, but are persuasive tactic in podcast ad copywriting. Why?

1. Podcasting is weirdly intimate
2. It makes the offer seem exclusive (i.e., “A special deal just for our listeners…”)
3. Consumers like getting a deal 

People chatting in your ear 2-7 times a week creates an intimate experience for the listener, so podcast listeners tend to be extremely loyal to the podcasts they love (vs brand loyalty, where customers can be swayed by competitors).

Typically, these code names relate to the podcast in some way, because it helps the listener remember the code later. Additionally, promos should always include a number that reflects the discount or deal given (i.e., “PODCASTNAME20 for 20% off your first purchase…”)

Listeners are more likely to remember a discount associated with the podcast show they love, and it helps the listener feel like they’re getting an exclusive deal just for tuning in.

Plus, if you’re running ads across multiple podcasts, this can help you track which podcasts are working and which aren’t. 

Mistake #5: Use the same podcast ad script on multiple podcasts with similar listener demographics.

And speaking of running ads across multiple podcasts, NEVER use the same podcast ad script for different podcasts.

LOOK, I love a good A/B test as much as the next person but, y’all. When I heard a company use the same ad on two different podcasts my soul left my body and is now haunting my Apple Podcast app.

To try and pinpoint why this doesn’t work:

• If podcast listening creates an intimate experience between the host and listeners, and
• you are listening to more than one podcasts and hear the same ad, 
• it feels like a betrayal.

I KNOW hosts are not always into a product they’re ad-reading for, I KNOW they make money if I use their code, I KNOW they are trying to curate an experience where I trust their opinion—but, as a listener, all this is passive knowledge until I hear two sets of podcast hosts read me the same ad. 

Immediately, it breaks the spell and I remember, “Oh yeah, they want to make money from me.” (The drama never ends!)

Being a fan of a particular kind of podcast theme, I listen to multiple podcasts under the same theme, and you should assume your listeners are doing the same.

This is great for selling: you can increase your brand awareness and test different ad campaigns easily and across a wider demographic of listeners. But don’t risk “breaking the spell” by using the same ad copy across different podcasts**.

Write different scripts, and let the podcast hosts do their thing.

Mistake #6: Offering different discounts across different podcasts.

**BUT USE THE SAME DISCOUNT. 

Don’t run multiple ads that offer different discounts like 10% off, 20% off, and 50% off. Cross-listeners who purchase your product for 10% off one podcast will be enraged if they hear they could have gotten it for 50% off another podcast.

Change up the code name (i.e., “PODCASTA20”, “PODCASTB20”, “PODCASTC20”) but keep the promotional discount the same and save your Customer Support team the headache.

Mistake #7: Not reading your ad out loud.

Finally, all these above mistakes can likely be avoided if you read your ad out loud.

Reading your writing out loud is a prehistoric editing tool that every writer raves about but never actually takes the time to do. It’s so obviously good for us—and writers are often classic procrastinators—so that we, of course, don’t do it!.

But, reading your ad out loud is especially important when writing podcast ads because—and I cannot stress this enough—your ad will be heard, not seen. 

Reading your ad aloud before it ever sees the recording studio helps you avoid the “Ew, gross I wrote that?” mistake of thinking everything’s fine until you hear the actual ad read.

If you can, get a co-worker to read your ad cold or hear it cold. They’ll stumble over words you’ve been obsessively muttering under your breath as you tinkered with the wording. Or hear if something sounds unnatural. 

There you have it. I actually didn’t intend to write quite so much about podcast ad mistakes—to be totally honest, I only started with 5 podcast ad copywriting mistakes and then worked myself into a lather of 7 the more I typed. 

Anyway, I’m off to go listen to the voices in my head (read: listen to a podcast with my earbuds in) and overanalyze today’s show sponsors! Goodbye!