❓What Are You Podcast People Talking About
Too embarrassed to ask what that piece of jargon means? We got you
“So what does a producer do in podcasting?”
Oh no! Oh no it’s The Question! The Question that divides the entire podcasting industry, every time. Luckily, we have the tremendous Podcast Taxonomy (one of my many podcast-related bookmarks on my bookmarks bar) to guide us and unify us. But what about podcast marketing terms?
We’ve got you, reader. What follows is our Best Hits of a big marketing glossary we’ve been thinking on together.
If you only have time for one thing:
Come back to this edition and do a CTRL+F to find your term – and let us know if you want more!
🔠A podcast marketing glossary
Ad marketplace: A built-in collection of ready-made ads in a podcast hosting service for low-lift monetization (note: ad marketplaces will almost always give podcasters the right of refusal on any specific ads)
Baked-in: An ad/promo/etc. that is a part of the original .mp3 podcast file -- as opposed to dynamically inserted (DAI)
Comps: Comparison titles for your podcast for marketing purposes, e.g. the documentary "Helvetica" as a comp for the podcast 99% Invisible. Comps can be other podcasts, TV, films, books, etc.
Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI): Dynamic Ad Insertion: the ability on a podcast hosting platform to insert pieces of audio to your episode without having to edit the source .mp3, such as adding a promo to the beginning
Editorial pitching: Pitching your podcast for coverage or review by journalists, newsletter writers, bloggers, etc.
Feed drop/swap: A co-marketing trade format in which Podcast A shares an entire episode of Podcast B on their feed, and Podcast B posts an entire episode of Podcast A on their feed in return
Guest swap: A co-marketing trade format in which the host of Podcast A appears as a guest on Podcast B, and the host of Podcast B appears as a guest on Podcast A in return
Impressions: The amount of times a piece of content is encountered by an audience. In audio, this is typically made up of a combination of listens / streams / downloads / plays
Market research: Work done to research the current podcast landscape for your upcoming podcast (e.g. making sure your title hasn't been taken, making sure you're not making a show too similar to anyone else's, finding comps)
Pitch list: A list of potential co-marketing partners you plan to pitch for collaboration with your podcast, including promo swaps, guest swaps, feed drops, and editorial pitches
Podcast friends: Your podcast's co-marketing partners -- but also, potential life-long real friendships between you and your colleagues in the podcasting industry
Promo: A promotional piece of audio used to advertise a podcast, typically 30, 45, or 60 seconds in length
Promo swap: A trade between two podcasts in which each plays the other's promo audio in their own podcast as a collaborative marketing tactic, e.g. Podcast 1 plays Podcast 2's promo audio at the beginning of one episode, and Podcast 2 does the same for Podcast 1. Can be host-read or pre-recorded
SEO: Search Engine Optimization; a set of tools and best practices for your podcast to quickly appear in searches on search engines
Trailer: A promotional piece of audio used to advertise a podcast, typically longer than a podcast promo, but typically under 5 minutes in length (unlike the much shorter “promo”)
✨ More Magic
It’s our SIXTH BIRTHDAY TOMORROW!!! Happy birthday, Tink! It’s been such an incredible ride going from a tiny little baby startup to an award-winning toddler 👶🏻
A new audio drama concept album by Jeff Van Dreason? With characters like Franz Kafka and Virginia Woolf? And a cast list with some of the best of the best in audio drama from literally every aspect of production? Oh, a literal dream come true, you mean? We’re absolutely obsessed with The Perfect Sentence.
I personally am SO BUMMED I can’t attend this Central Park podcast launch picnic party for Sequoia Simone and Mike Schubert’s new show, Professional Talkers! I know it’s going to be a blast – and there’s going to be some giveaways!
Our new curated Castbox list is up, and this one is essential: it’s our Ultimate Queue! This is our must-listen can’t-miss list of podcasts we absolutely adore, and we think you will too. (This Is Propaganda forever! I’m biased – can you tell this was my pick?)
The 4th Annual Black Podcasters Association 2025 Summer Social is coming up in NYC – and Tink is so honored to be a sponsor! If you attend, you can enter a raffle for a FREE Podcast Therapy session! And and and: we’ve got a DISCOUNT LINK for your ticket! Use our link below for 25% just for our readers!
🎧 From the Desk of Tink
New Friends with Jordana Bryant is the epitome of “it’s like listening to my friends talk, but if my friends were really cool and successful and entertaining and I can live vicariously through them.” Join Jordana Bryant and her music biz friends be real and honest about their lives. From messy friendships to anxiety to the chaos of existing in this world as a young adult (did we mention Jordana is 19 and doing exactly what I wanted to be doing at 19?), New Friends is a fascinating peek into these specific moments in these specific lives.
Later percolater! Next week, Shreya returns with some more podcast marketing magic. ✨
— Wil 🦇