Morgan Franklin: When you book a podcast sponsor, one of two
things is gonna happen, either they're gonna send you a brief
and say this is exactly what we want you to say, when to say it,
and here's the music to put under it, and thank you for your
business, or, and more likely, in my experience, they're going
to say, this is what we want you to talk about as it relates to
you and your podcast and your audience. Here's a few things we
want you to include. You must include. Thank you for your
business. If you're anything like me, the first time you get
that brief that says, talk about this however it relates to you,
you're gonna think, what do I need to say? What should I
actually say? How do I make this an amazing ad so that people not
only listen to it, but more people want to partner with me,
or at least, I hope that's what you're thinking. In this
episode, we're going to take a real event that I'm making an ad
for on one of my podcasts, talk about how to break it down into
a readable, memorable, actionable ad, and most
importantly, how you can create ads your listeners don't want to
skip the moment that they hear that different music playing.
Hello and welcome to podcast for profit. My name is Morgan
Franklin. I'm a Podcast Producer, strategist and
educator. This podcast will help you create and grow a podcast
that cuts through the noise of social media and speaks directly
to your target audience. If you're ready to create a podcast
that will align you with the experts in your industry,
position yourself as a trusted leader and create another source
of revenue for your business, you're in the right place. Why
is podcast advertising so powerful? Because it isn't some
random person that you've never met telling you about a product
or a service or an event. It's the podcast host. It's the host
that we as an audience have come to know and love and trust. It's
the host that we've spent hundreds or 1000s of hours
listening to, and their recommendation means something,
or at least it should mean something. I remember. It was
about a year ago I got a message from a sponsor of one of my
shows with three very clearly chatgpt generated ads. There's
no problem with this, and a little bit later in the episode,
we're gonna talk about how you can properly use AI to help you
start writing an ad. But the problem for this ad was that it
had no zazz. It was not a personal recommendation. It has
no meaning for me as the listener hearing the host read
off just a bunch of facts that are totally disconnected from
the show. So I'm gonna read you actually the chat GPT ad that
the sponsor sent us. I've changed some of the details just
to protect the privacy of the ad sponsor, but I wanted you to
hear this because I know that you guys know when something was
written by chatgpt, but I just want you to hear it and hear
just how clearly this was written by a robot and not a
person, and then I'm gonna tell you what ad we actually ended up
making for this person. So this is the ad. This episode is
brought to you by Glendale resort and Marina in historic
Portland, Tennessee. Glendale is a boutique destination resort
and Marina on Scenic Grundy Hill Lake. The resort offers guests a
rare collection of lodging styles with vintage Airstreams
and waterfront cabins to floating harbor cottages and a
new two story Inn. It's the perfect destination this fall to
explore hiking trails and waterfalls be energized with an
on site massage treatment walk on Tennessee's longest Lake
border walk. Glendale also offers three event spaces with
commanding views that host corporate events, group
retreats, family gatherings, holiday parties and weddings.
Events at Glendale are personalized with catering, AV
equipment, room darkening, capabilities, excursions and
much more, tucked away off the beaten trail, nestled in nature
an hour away from Knoxville and only 11 miles off i 60. Glendale
is a hidden gem. For more information, visit glendale.com
now that wasn't terrible. It wasn't awful, but it's very
forgettable, right? Like it tells me nothing about why I
should really go there. It's an ad for a list of features. So
let's listen to the ad I restructured and sent back to
them. What makes a once in a lifetime vacation for our
family? That's something I ask myself every time my wife and I
sit down to plan our next family trip individually, it isn't the
food, activities, accommodations or even destination. It's the
stories, the laughter, the memories and quality time spent
together that simply couldn't be recreated anywhere else. This
summer, we spent our vacation with Glendale resort marina in
historic Portland, as someone who's always loved the lake but
never had sea legs for a boat. I love that we. Choose from the
lodging at Waterfront cabins, floating harbor cottages,
vintage Airstreams, or even their new two story Inn. We
enjoyed daily walks on Tennessee's longest Lake border
walk on site, massages, hiking waterfalls, and finished every
day with an incredible meal from Lakeside restaurant. If you're
looking for a venue to accommodate an upcoming wedding
or family gathering or corporate retreat, Glendale resort has
three event spaces with spectacular lake views
personalized with catering AV equipment, room darkening
capabilities, excursions and much more, only an hour from
Knoxville, 11 miles from I 60. Glendale resort is the getaway
you've been searching for. For more information, go to
glendale.com. All right, so let's look at these two and how
they're different from each other. The biggest thing, at
least to me, and again, what I find to be the most important
thing to keep in mind, if you're writing ads, is, how are you
speaking about the subject? Are you recommending it, or are you
just talking about it? How are you combining the audience's
lived experiences and interests with what you're trying to sell
them? How are you connecting the listener to what the sponsor is
providing? What about this part? The part where we say
individually, it isn't the food, activities, accommodations or
even destination, it's the stories, the memories and
quality time spent together that simply couldn't be recreated
anywhere else. Dang. That says more to me about this place than
anything else could because as listeners, we know an amazing
vacation really isn't where you're staying or where you're
going, it's the time you're spending with friends and family
and the people that you love. It's how it makes us feel. So
think about that. When you're writing an ad for your podcast
or trying to figure out what to say for your ad. How can I stop
shoving features down the listener's throat and instead
show them the outcome of what they'll have, or, better yet,
the feeling they will have? And again, it's worth noting here
all the times that the host is telling you what they personally
love about this place. Isn't that so much more impactful to
you as a listener than some random ad copy about this
resort? Here are a few tips for when you have a company that is
giving you a brief and they say, Hey, you take this in whatever
direction you want to. We just want it to sound good and sell
to people no matter what, you always need to get approval from
the person you're doing the ad with, even if it's not disclosed
in your contract, even if they never brought it up. Take the
time to write out exactly what you're gonna say and send it to
the people you have been communicating with at this
company. This is what they're paying you for, and at the end
of the day, you want them to be happy with their experience.
That is the most important thing. So take that extra second
to write down what you're gonna say. If it's a 62nd ad, it's
gonna be two paragraphs. Take a minute to write it down, send it
to them and say, hey, does this look good? I know that you gave
me creative freedom, but I just wanted to make sure, does this
cover everything that you wanted to talk about in this ad, if you
have time to visit the store or go to the place that you're
talking about or get the product, do it, people know when
you're not being genuine. Your listener knows when you're
giving a recommendation for something and you have never
used it before. Your audience is so smart, so don't lose your
listeners by misleading them to get a sponsor. You are still
you, even when it's on an ad, when you're starting an ad, get
straight into it. Stay away from phrases like this episode is
sponsored by or our partner for this episode is people should
not be tipped off to the fact that this is an ad. It should be
you starting it with a question or a statement, or even starting
a story that's gonna hook us in. Don't give them the opportunity
to pick up the phone and hit skip, because the moment that
you say, this is an ad, people are immediately tuning out. If
you really don't know where to start with a podcast ad, ask
chatgpt to help you out. There is nothing wrong with using it
as a guide or even as an outline, but what it's going to
give you is most likely not going to be up to the standards
of your actual human listener. If you read it out loud and
think, Wow, that sounds like a robot. It's not ready to be
recorded, but I use chatgpt all of the time to help me outline
ads, and I'll just give it the information and say, Hey, will
you write me a 62nd ad? And I'll read what it comes up with,
because I think that's a really good place to start. Like I
said. Said so many times, it's just so formal and it does not
sound like the way that we actually speak. So don't just
put it in there and then regurgitate what it gives you.
Actually take a minute and think, would I say that? Does
that sound natural? Does that sound like a story someone would
want to hear? Does this sound like something someone would
want to hear and go from there. You know, there's no better way
to learn than doing so let's write a podcast ad together. I
have a podcast ad I'm working on, and they just sent me the
brief for the event. It's advertising again. I'm going to
change a few of the details, because it's actually an
advertiser, and this is going to be an actual ad. So here's the
information for the event, we can have creative freedom as
long as we get across the name of the event, where it is, and
what it's about. We are pleased to announce that we are hosting
the area's first literary Gala, an event designed to create and
support the growth of literacy and love of books in our
hometown. The 2024 gala is a masquerade ball with a theme
steeped in literature. We're calling it three musketeers
Masquerade. This will be a fun and purposeful evening, starting
with a silent auction at six, followed by a delicious dinner
at seven, dancing and lots of entertaining and fun, all in the
presence of friends who love books and the power of reading
in our community. The dress for this event is formal, and you're
encouraged to dress in theme or wear a mask for intrigue. 100%
of proceeds from the literary gala will be used to fund the
growth of literacy and evolution of book culture in our
community. This includes projects like providing new
books to local schools, hosting free author writer and creative
arts events every week, curating book donations to regional
nonprofits offering special community wide author events
that build book culture. Tickets are $150 and table sponsorships
are available as well. Please visit website. Okay, so straight
off the top, I know, obviously they want to focus on books and
reading and literacy. Obviously, what do we think of when we
think of books? Personally, I think of adventure like the
theme is The Three Musketeers. So I want this ad to be fun and
exciting and kind of childlike. Obviously, the host can't talk
about how much fun it is because it's a first time event. Because
I normally start the ad with some kind of like, testimonial
or recommendation, but since it's never happened before, I
think we should start with something else, like maybe join
us for a night where literature comes alive. It's kind of
cheesy, but again, we're going for fun, adventure, Kid kind of
angle. This event is about kids and reading, so I don't really
think it should be that serious. So yeah, I kind of like that.
Join us for a night where literature comes alive after
that, like I said, we need to get straight into it. Don't
waste any time if you want to know my short advice for
podcasters writing ads, it's to get right into it. People don't
want backstory. They want to be entertained. So at this part of
the ad, after I've had my little intro, I want to say what the
event is, what the listener can expect, where it is, and why
they might be interested in going. I'm thinking something
like our community bookstore invites you to its first ever
literary Gala, the three musketeers masquerade, where
every page turned is a life changed. Okay, that's kind of
cheesy, but Okay, on September 20 at Town Hall center, join us
for an enchanting evening of mystery and elegance. Don your
finest formal wear and a mask for a night of entertainment and
intrigue as we celebrate the power of books in our community.
All right, so let's stop right there. You want to have enough
details that people know what's going on, but not so many that
they're skipping through the ad. So keep that in mind when you're
writing an ad is you have to get everything in there, and it has
to sound interesting, but with the brief that they sent us, we
gotta kinda skip through that. Your ticket unlocks a night of
wonder, starting with a silent auction at six, followed by
dinner at seven. It'll be a night of dancing, entertainment,
fun, and of course, the magic of learning. We've talked a lot
about the details, and that's fine with ads like this, you
have to get a lot in so it's can be kind of cramped and not leave
a lot of room for creativity, but we still have to get into
why someone would actually want to come to this event and what
it will be giving back to the community. Best of all, 100% of
donations raised will stay in our community by providing new
books to schools, hosting free workshops and creating a
community wide culture of reading together, we're writing
a brighter future. So okay, great. Remember that long list
of things that they said, that they did? We can kind of
condense it down to this one sentence, and really, that's all
we have. So make sure when you're trying to list. Out
features and benefits that you take just the top highlights and
shorten those down even more, because that's exactly what we
did. If you remember, they had the long list of everything that
it contributed to. This is our one sentence that we took out of
that. Then we need to end with a call to action. So get your
tickets for the three musketeers masquerade before they're gone.
Find more about the event and buy tickets from the link in the
episode description. Okay, so that's a great 62nd ad for an
event. It's well rounded. It covers everything the advertiser
asked us to and it really makes you feel as a listener, more in
touch with what the event will be like, what the essence of
this event is really trying to give us ads like these are
absolutely perfect for sound effects and music and using
audio to help you tell the story. I have about five
different notes that I had written down on sound effects to
use, so I'm gonna just read those for you really quick. The
first is for it to open with a very whimsical, almost Shire
esque music and glasses clinking. Then have a sword kind
of swing down and Clank, have that sound pages turning kids
laughing and talking and then ending the entire ad with a very
dramatic like orchestral movement. Music and sound
effects make such a huge difference in ADS. My tip for
you on sound design and adding effects is to make sure
everything is match for loudness and export it and listen to the
entire ad before you add it to your episode. There is just
nothing worse than having a sound effect that is way too
loud for the ad, or layered sounds that don't make sense
together. And I know that you guys have heard ads like this
and podcasts like this, so if you're going to use effects,
take that extra little step and export what you're working on
and listen to it with your own headphones, or however you would
normally listen to a podcast and make sure that it actually
works. Any ad that you are producing for your podcast
should be nearly perfect. If someone is paying you to
represent their brand on your podcast, you need to be
flawless. I hope this is obvious from this entire episode, but
don't just wing it. Don't just randomly work it into the
beginning or middle or end of your show. I hear podcasters
trying to do this all the time, and from a brand perspective,
why would another company ever want to work with you if they
know that you're that lazy, if they can see that you aren't
taking the time to even write out copy for their ad, much less
actually produce it. This is your whole job. Just remember,
there's never a traffic jam on the extra mile. And I know that
I always have to get some kind of cheesy little saying in here,
but it's so true, and especially if you're a smaller creator, you
need to pay attention to how you're showing up. How are you
utilizing the opportunities that you're given? And if a larger
company were looking at you to do a partnership, what do you
think that they would honestly be expecting from you? Because
every time you put something out, that's another opportunity
for them to see how you would be working with them. If you have
any questions on writing podcast ads or how to get sponsors in
the first place, send me a message, reach out on my
website, and we'll get to work. And as always, I can't wait to
listen to your podcast. Hey, thank you so much for joining me
on this episode. If you enjoyed the podcast and you'd like to
hear more episodes like this one. Go ahead and subscribe to
the show. New episodes air every Monday morning. And if you found
this episode valuable and you want to help other business
owners and podcasters, will you leave me a five star review. It
helps the show rank higher in the charts, and brings more
entrepreneurs the information they need to start making money
on their podcast you.