Podcast advertising specifications

Podcast audiences are unusually tolerant of advertising, provided the advertising respects why they are listening: a voice they like. Everything below is in service of that.

Formats

Format	What it is	When to use it
Host-read	The host talks about you in their own words, from talking points you supply	Default. Carries the host’s trust.
Produced spot	A finished audio file you supply, inserted into the episode	Brand campaigns, strict messaging, multiple shows at once
Host-read + tag	Host read, ending with a short produced sting	Rarely needed

Lengths and word counts

Length	Host-read talking points	Produced script
15 seconds	Not recommended	35–40 words
30 seconds	70–85 words	75–80 words
60 seconds	140–170 words	150–160 words

Speech runs at roughly 150 words per minute. Hosts talk faster or slower than that, which is why talking points beat scripts — the host fits the message to their pace.

Position

Position	Notes
Pre-roll	First 60 seconds. Highest completion, lowest attention.
Mid-roll	Inside the episode. Best for host reads — the listener is engaged and the host can segue naturally.
Post-roll	After the content. Cheapest; many listeners have stopped.

Writing a 30-second host-read

Send bullet points, not a script. The structure that works:

1. The problem the listener recognises One sentence. “If you have ever tried to sell a house and found out the buyer’s lawyer wanted three documents you had never heard of…”
2. Who you are, in plain words “…Dana Okafor is a real estate lawyer in Hamilton who has spent twelve years fixing exactly that.”
3. The specific, useful thing Not “great service” — a fact, a number, a free thing. “She has written a six-minute guide to the three clauses worth reading before you sign.”
4. Permission to be human Tell the host what they can say from experience, or invite them to add their own take. This is where the best reads come from.
5. The call to action, said once, clearly A short URL or code that is easy to say and easy to remember. “Go to okafor law dot c a slash guide.”

• Selling a house? Most disputes start with a clause nobody read.
• Dana Okafor — real estate lawyer, Hamilton, 12 years.
• Free six-minute guide: the three clauses to read before you sign.
• (Host: feel free to mention your own closing-day story.)
• okaforlaw.ca/guide — or say “the podcast” when you call.

What to avoid: exclamation marks, superlatives, more than one offer, more than one URL, and anything the host would feel silly saying out loud.

Produced spot audio specifications

Item	Specification
File format	WAV, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit — or MP3 at 192 kbps or higher
Channels	Mono or stereo (mono is fine for voice)
Duration	Exactly 15, 30 or 60 seconds, including silence
Loudness	−16 LUFS integrated, −1 dBTP true peak
Head / tail	0.25 s of silence at each end
File size	Under 20 MB
Music	Licensed for podcast use. Keep it under the voice.

Match the loudness spec. A spot that is louder than the show is the fastest way to be skipped; one that is quieter is not heard.

Promo codes and vanity URLs

Listeners act later, from memory. Give them something they can hold in their head:

• Vanity URL: one short path, lower-case, no hyphens. okaforlaw.ca/guide, not okaforlaw.ca/podcast-listener-offer-2026.
• Promo code: one word, ideally the show’s name. PORCH, not SAVE15NOW.
• Make the vanity URL redirect to a tracked landing page so the campaign report can attribute visits.

Pronunciation and facts

Send a pronunciation guide for any name, place or product that could be said two ways. Send the two or three facts that must be right (prices, dates, licence details). Everything else is the host’s to phrase.

Timing

Hosts record in batches. Talking points are normally due 7–10 days before the episode publishes, produced spots 5 business days before. A missed deadline usually means the next available episode, which may be weeks away.

Creative checklist