Guide to Setting Host-Read Ad Rates in RAP

Learn how to manually set up CPMs and Spot Rates for your show

Setting the prices for your show can be a bit tricky. You don’t want to price your show too low since then you won’t make very much money. But you don’t want to price it too high as that might turn advertisers away. This is why we pre-fill suggested CPM rates we believe are reasonable for your podcast’s size. We also automatically calculate your Spot Rate as a function of your CPM rates.

However, if you’re an advanced podcaster who wants more control over your revenue, then look no further than this article. Read on to learn more about how to optimize your revenue.

Lingo You Should Know
Manually Adjust Those Rates

Lingo You Should Know

Brands can distribute Host-Read Ads in one of two ways; either across your show’s entire catalog (paying a “CPM Rate”) or they can buy specific spots on your future episodes (paying a per-episode “Spot Rate”).

Before you start changing all the prices on your show, it’s best to fully understand what ‘CPM’ and ‘Spot Rate’ means.

CPM Rates

‘CPM’ simply means "cost per thousand downloads." CPMs can range anywhere from a few dollars ($3 - $5) all the way up to $100 depending on several factors including your audience, ad position, and more. For perspective, the industry standard is a $25 mid-roll CPM for a large, successful show (~100k weekly downloads.)

As a general rule of thumb, if you don't have other advertisers on your show, we suggest lowering your CPM to start. But if you're already selling several ads, then you should probably increase your CPM (you can always edit these later). We recommend that you stay within a few dollars of the default value, but you're allowed to set a CPM as low as $2 and as high as $100. The choice is up to you!

The “Ad Position” also impacts pricing in the following ways:

• Pre-Roll: Ads assigned to your “Pre-Roll” spot play either before your episode begins, or in its first few minutes. This ad placement position is typically priced a bit cheaper than mid-roll.
• Mid-Roll: Ads assigned to your “Mid-Roll” spot play in the middle of your episode. This ad placement position is typically priced the highest, as listeners are less likely to skip the ad.
• Post-Roll: Ads assigned to your “Post-Roll” spot play either after your episode ends, or in its last few minutes. This ad placement position is typically the cheapest.

Spot Rates

A ‘Spot Rate’ is the price per episode that you want advertisers to pay when they purchase spots on future episodes. A Spot Rate is typically tied to your CPM and is a direct calculation of: CPM Rate * (Avg Episode Downloads ÷ 1000). 

We automatically calculate your Spot Rates for you as a function of your Host-Read CPM Rates.

Manually Adjust Those Rates

Now that you have a better understanding of CPM and Spot Rates, the time has come to take destiny into your own hands! To update your current rates, first navigate to the Ad Platform page and select RAP Settings from the top-right side of the page:

The first page you land on is the one you want: Host Read Ads > Rates. You can change both the CPM and Spot Rates however you wish. Simply enter the desired amounts in the provided text fields:

Don’t forget to click Save to ensure your changes are made!

That’s all there is to it. Check out our other articles on Host-Read Ads to learn how to set up your profile and how to make the best possible ad ever!