A brand emailed you back. They liked the show. Then they asked for your media kit. You sent a Google Doc, maybe a PDF with your download numbers and a short bio. And then never heard back again.
Here’s what most podcasters don’t realize. Sponsors make their decision before they ever listen to your show. Your podcast kit is the audition. If it’s unclear, incomplete, or missing the right data, you’re out before the conversation starts.
This guide walks you through building a podcast kit from scratch, step by step. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll know exactly what to include, how to write it, what to design, how to price it, and how to use it to close real deals. No guesswork. No generic templates.
What Is a Podcast Media Kit and What Do Sponsors Actually Decide From It?
A podcast kit goes by a few names. Media kit. One-sheet. Sponsor deck. Press kit. The format varies. The purpose never does.
It is the document that answers every question a sponsor has before they listen to one second of your show. Who is your audience? What numbers support that? What does working with you look like? What does it cost?
Sponsors receive dozens of pitches a week. According to the Podcast Insights 2025 Sponsor Priorities Report, 73% of sponsors make their initial yes-or-no decision based on audience targeting clarity, not download volume. They are not waiting to fall in love with your content. They are scanning for fit in under two minutes.
Your kit is that scan. If it is clear, organized, and confident, you pass. If it is vague, cluttered, or missing expected pieces, there is no second chance.
What This Guide Covers:
1. The one positioning sentence your entire kit is built around
2. How to build the listener profile that replaces your download count
3. What goes on your cover page and why the order of information matters
4. How to present your numbers so they build trust instead of killing it
5. How to show engagement proof before you have ever had a sponsor
6. The sponsorship packages that make sponsors pick a tier and move on
7. How to set and display your rates with math sponsors cannot argue with
8. Your tracking plan and why it belongs in the kit before any deal is signed
9. How to handle brand safety before a sponsor has to raise it
10. How to design, host, and share your kit so it actually gets opened
11. How to keep your kit updated so it keeps working long after you send it
Step 1: Write That One Sentence Your Entire Kit Depends On
Before you open a design tool or write a single page, you need one sentence. Everything else in your kit either supports this sentence or it does not belong in the kit at all. This is your positioning statement.
Write this sentence before anything else. It becomes your tagline, the first line of your audience section, and the opening of every pitch email you send. Sponsors who read it and recognise their buyer will keep reading. Sponsors who do not will move on anyway. You want to know that early.
Here is the structure: [Show Name] is a [frequency] podcast for [specific listener identity] who [face a specific problem or pursue a specific goal] Each episode [delivers a concrete outcome]
For example: “A podcast about freelancing” tells a sponsor nothing. “A weekly show for independent UX designers billing $5K or more per month who want to raise rates without losing clients” tells them immediately whether that listener is their customer.
Pro Tip: Read it out loud to someone who knows nothing about your show. If they can tell you in one sentence who your audience is after hearing it, it works. If they have questions, rewrite it until they do not.
Step 2: Build the Listener Profile That Makes Sponsors See Their Buyer
Your positioning statement names your audience. Your listener profile proves they exist. Sponsors do not buy reach. They buy access to a specific person at a specific moment of relevance. This section is the evidence layer that makes that person visible and believable. That is what a sponsor needs to read before they decide whether to scroll further.
➤ You build it from three sources:
- Your hosting platform analytics give you age range, geographic concentration, gender split, and sometimes device and income data. Pull whatever is available. Even partial demographics are more useful than none.
- A single listener survey question gives you the context analytics cannot. Ask: “What is the biggest challenge you are facing right now related to [your show’s topic]?” Post it in your show notes this week. The answers give you the language your listeners use to describe their own situation which is the most useful thing of all when you are trying to make a sponsor picture their customer in your audience.
- Direct audience messages like DMs, emails, and reviews give you proof of attention. Screenshot them. These become your engagement proof in the next step.
Format your listener profile like this in the kit: Our core listener is a [age range] [job role or life stage] based in [location]. [X]% earn [income bracket]. They come to this show for [specific reason]. The primary problem they are trying to solve is [specific problem]
Step 3: Collect Your Engagement Proof Before You Have Had a Single Sponsor
This is where most newer podcasters get stuck. What do you show a sponsor when you have never had one? Audience proof. Not sponsor proof. Those are completely different things and experienced sponsors understand the difference.
➤ What counts:
- Listener reviews. Pull your two or three strongest from Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Choose ones that mention a specific episode, a specific takeaway, or a result the listener acted on. “Great podcast” is noise. “Episode 14 changed how I handle client contracts completely” tells a sponsor that your audience pays attention and follows through.
- Direct messages and emails. Screenshot them. Obscure the sender’s name if needed. Focus on the ones where a listener mentions taking action like buying something you recommended, applying advice from an episode, or asking where to find a product you mentioned. These are your most powerful proof points.
- Affiliate or show notes link clicks. Even without a formal sponsor, many podcasters share links. If you have any click-through data at all, include it. A 4 to 7 percent click-through rate on show notes links is healthy and worth showing. It tells a sponsor your audience follows links, which is the only behaviour they are paying for.
- Community interaction volume. If listeners ask questions in a Discord, a Facebook group, or a comment section, document it. “We receive 15 to 20 direct questions per episode through our listener community” is measurable engagement a sponsor can picture.
No data at all yet? Run one listener survey question in this week’s episode. Ask what products they already pay for related to your topic. The answers build your listener profile and simultaneously prove your audience is actionable.
Step 4: Know Your Numbers and Present Them the Right Way
Do not lead with lifetime total downloads. “120,000 downloads” sounds impressive until an experienced media buyer divides it by your episode count and your years of publishing. If that math implies 400 downloads per episode over four years, the large headline number just destroyed your credibility faster than the honest figure would have.
Your 30-day per-episode average is one number sponsors use to compare your show to every other show they are evaluating. Not lifetime total downloads. Not subscriber counts. Not your best-ever episode. Just the average number of downloads each episode collects in its first 30 days.
➤ How to calculate it:
Pull the 30-day download count from your last ten episodes. Add them together. Divide by ten. That is your number. Present it clearly. “Our 30-day per-episode average across the last ten episodes is 840 downloads” is honest, standard, and immediately comparable to every other show they are looking at.
➤ What to add alongside it:
- Your growth direction. “Up 22% over the past three months” tells a sponsor your show has momentum. A show growing at 700 downloads per episode is a better bet than one sitting flat at 1,200. Sponsors bet on trajectory, not just current size.
- Your completion rate. If 70% or more of your listeners finish your episodes, say so. Mid-roll ads deliver 30 to 35% higher conversion rates than pre-roll because the audience is fully invested by the time the ad airs. If your completion rate is strong, it is one of the most valuable numbers in your kit.
- Your publishing frequency. “Two episodes per week” means more touchpoints per campaign at the same rate. That matters to sponsors planning a multi-week push.
Step 5: Build Sponsorship Packages That Remove the Need to Negotiate
A sponsor who has to invent what a deal looks like will often decide not to. Your job is to show up with the structure already defined so all they have to do is pick a tier and confirm.
➤ The three-tier structure:
| Package | What Is Included | Who It Is For |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | One episode mid-roll + show notes link + basic report | Brands testing podcast for the first time |
| Core | Two episodes + newsletter mention + show notes + social post | Your main offer (most sponsors land here) |
| Full Partner | Four episodes + newsletter + social + resource page + category exclusivity | Long-term partners who want full presence |
Price the Core as your target. The Starter exists to give hesitant brands a low-risk entry. The Full Partner exists to make the Core feel like the smart, reasonable middle choice. Most sponsors will pick the middle by default. That is not an accident.
● What every package description must answer before the sponsor has to ask:
How many episodes? What ad format and duration? Where in the episode (pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll)? What supporting assets come with it? How will results be tracked? What is the rate? What is the delivery timeline?
● A package that answers all of these looks like this:
Core Package: $697 per month. Two episodes with a 60-second host-read mid-roll in each. Show notes link with UTM tracking in both episodes. One dedicated LinkedIn post tied to the sponsored episode. Category exclusivity for the campaign window. One performance report delivered within five days of the final episode. First episode recorded within ten days of confirmation.
That is a package. “We would love to explore a partnership” is not. Add a scannable deliverables box at the bottom of each tier. Sponsors frequently forward your kit internally for budget sign-off. A clean list of line-item deliverables survives that forwarding. A paragraph of explanation does not.
Step 6: Set Your Rates With Math Sponsors Cannot Argue With
Most podcasters set their rate by guessing what feels safe. That anchors the price to personal discomfort rather than to the sponsor’s actual outcome. It almost always results in undercharging.
Start here instead. What does a sponsor get if this campaign works?
If a brand sells a $150 product and your audience converts at 1.5% across 800 listeners, that is 12 sales and $1,800 in revenue for them. Charging $400 for that outcome gives them a 4.5x return. That math is defensible. A number you invented from anxiety is not.
➤ Three factors that let you price above the average for your size:
- Niche specificity. The tighter your audience, the less competing inventory exists for that exact buyer. A show for healthcare compliance officers has almost no comparable placement for a brand selling compliance software. Scarcity of the right audience justifies a premium independent of raw download count.
- Completion rate. If 70% or more of your listeners finish your episodes, your mid-roll reaches the majority of your audience. That is genuinely uncommon. Quantify it and price it explicitly. Add 20 to 30% above your base rate if your completion numbers are strong.
- Multi-asset bundling. Each additional touchpoint in your Core and Full Partner packages increases the deal value without adding episodes. A $300 episode mention becomes a $600 package when you add a newsletter feature and a social post. The episode rate did not change. The context around it made the total worth more.
➤ A starting rate framework by show size:
| 30-Day Episode Downloads | Positioning Strength | Starting Monthly Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Under 500 | Hyper-niche, high completion | $200–$400 flat |
| 500–1,500 | Clear audience, two assets bundled | $400–$800 |
| 1,500–5,000 | Defined niche, Core package | $800–$1,800 |
| 5,000+ | Premium positioning, Full Partner available | $1,800–$4,000+ |
State your rates in the kit. Sponsors who have to ask for pricing information often do not ask. They move to the kit that already answered the question.
Step 7: Build Your Tracking Plan Into the Kit Before Anyone Signs Anything
A sponsor who asks how you will measure results and gets a vague answer is a sponsor who walks away. Your tracking plan belongs in the kit, not in a follow-up email after they have already committed.
Having it in your kit tells the sponsor you run your show like a media business, not a hobby that occasionally takes money. Add a brief section in your kit titled “How We Track Results.” List the following tools in one clean paragraph. Sponsors reading through multiple kits in a sitting will notice and remember the one that already had the answer waiting.
➤ The three-tool tracking stack that covers everything:
- UTM-tagged links. Use Google’s free Campaign URL Builder to create a unique tracked link for every sponsored episode’s show notes page. This shows you exactly how many people clicked through to the sponsor’s site from your episode. Run this for a few episodes before you have any sponsor so you already know your baseline click-through rate. A 4 to 7% baseline is healthy and worth including in your kit as proof the system works.
- Custom promo codes. Simple, memorable, easy to say on air. SHOWNAME15 or HOST20 format works consistently. The sponsor tracks redemptions on their end. Your job is to say it clearly, repeat it once, and confirm it appears in every relevant episode’s show notes.
- Dedicated landing pages. Ask sponsors to build a page specifically for your audience. This separates your traffic cleanly from every other channel they run simultaneously. Attribution becomes unambiguous and your results cannot be confused with their Instagram campaign or email push.
Step 8: Address Brand Safety in the Kit Before a Sponsor Has to Raise It
Sponsors think about brand safety more carefully than most podcasters realize. They are not just asking whether your show is good. They are asking whether their legal and marketing teams will let them sign the agreement.
Brand safety concerns go beyond explicit content. They include inconsistent topic coverage that muddies the audience signal, episodes that reference a sponsor’s competitors unfavourably, political commentary that could alienate segments of their customer base, and public social media content that conflicts with their corporate positioning.
➤ What to include in your kit to address this before they ask:
- A short content policy statement. Two to three sentences. “We only recommend products we would genuinely use ourselves. We disclose all sponsorships clearly at the start of each ad segment. We do not cover [specific excluded categories].” Brief, professional, and reassuring without being defensive.
- A link to your episode archive. Giving a sponsor easy access to your back catalogue signals confidence. It tells them you are not hiding anything and that you are comfortable with the full picture.
- Your social media handles. Sponsors search them regardless. Having them listed in your kit tells the sponsor you know this is part of their review process and that you welcome it.
Before your next outreach round, Google your show name. Look at the first ten results honestly. Ask: does what appears there make a brand feel more confident or less confident about partnering with you? Fix whatever creates doubt before the kit goes out.
Step 9: Build Your Cover Page Last
Most people start here. That is the wrong order. Your cover page only works when you know what the rest of the kit says. Every element on it should signal what a sponsor is about to read and it should do that in under ten seconds of looking.
➤ What goes on your cover page:
- Show name and logo. Clean, readable, sized for both screen and print. If your logo looks blurry at small sizes, fix it before this kit goes anywhere.
- Your positioning statement. The sentence from Step 1. Directly under the show name. This is the first thing a sponsor reads and it should immediately signal whether they belong in this conversation.
- One high-quality image. Your cover art, a professional host photo, or a clean branded graphic. It signals production value before a word is read.
- Your single most impressive number. One. Not a paragraph of stats. Your 30-day per-episode average, your completion rate, or your growth percentage, whichever one is strongest. One number grounds the document in measurable reality immediately.
- Your contact information. Name, professional email, website link. This sounds obvious. You would be surprised how often it is missing from the cover, buried on the last page, or listed only as a Gmail address, which quietly signals that there is no real infrastructure behind the show.
The cover page should not scroll. Everything on it should be visible at once on a single screen. Sponsors reviewing multiple kits in one sitting notice immediately when a document respects their time.
Step 10: Design, Host, and Share Your Kit So It Actually Gets Read
Content without presentation is an uphill battle in a category where sponsors are also reviewing polished decks from larger shows. A well-designed kit signals that you run a professional operation. A cluttered or inconsistent one raises questions before the content is read.
➤ You do not need a designer. You need these four things:
- One consistent font pairing. A clean sans-serif for headings and a readable body font. Nothing decorative. Nothing that requires effort to process on a small screen.
- Two to three colours that match your show art. Consistency between your cover art and your kit signals intentionality. Sponsors notice when a kit looks like it was assembled in one evening from three different templates.
- White space. This is what most people cut when trying to fit more content in. Do not cut it. White space makes a document easier to scan, not emptier. Sponsors reviewing multiple kits appreciate the one that does not exhaust their eyes.
- One topic per page. Cover. Audience. Numbers. Packages and rates. Tracking and brand safety. Contact. Six clean pages beats three dense ones every time.
- Tools that work well: Canva has podcast media kit templates that are professional and fully editable at no cost. Adobe Express is equally good. Both let you generate a shareable browser link that opens on any device without requiring a download.
➤ How to share it:
Do not send your kit as an email attachment. Attachments get flagged by spam filters, do not preview on mobile, and cannot be updated without resending to every person who has the old version. Share it as a direct browser-preview link instead. The sponsor clicks, it opens immediately, and they read it in the same motion.
Also build a sponsorship page on your website. This page should include your positioning statement, your listener profile summary, your package options and rates, and a contact form. When a sponsor searches your show name, this page should appear and be immediately navigable. It also means your kit is always one click from any pitch email.
Step 11: Update Your Kit Quarterly So It Keeps Doing Its Job
A kit with numbers from eight months ago raises questions before a sponsor reads past the cover. They notice dates. They notice when your most recent episode link is from last year. They notice when download numbers look frozen.
➤ Set a quarterly refresh schedule:
Every three months, recalculate your 30-day per-episode average using your ten most recent episodes. Replace your episode links with current ones. Add any new engagement proof (a strong review, a listener DM, a promo code redemption number) Adjust your rates if your numbers have grown.
Each time you complete a sponsored campaign, add one line to your engagement proof section. “Four-episode campaign for a project management tool delivered 18 promo code uses and 94 link clicks” is the kind of specific result that makes the next sponsor trust you before a call is booked.
Your kit is a living document. Not a brochure printed once and stored in a drawer. The difference is visible and sponsors feel it the moment they compare yours to one that has not been touched in a year.
What a Complete Podcast Kit Looks Like at a Glance
Page 1 – Cover: Show name, logo, positioning statement, one core stat, contact info. The first impression that either earns the next ten seconds or loses them.
Page 2 – The Audience: Listener profile in three layers: demographics, psychographics, and proof of action. This is what sponsors actually read first when they flip past the cover.
Page 3 – Your Numbers: 30-day per-episode average, completion rate, growth direction, publishing frequency. Honest, standard, and directly comparable to other shows.
Page 4 – Engagement Proof: Reviews, DMs, link clicks, or affiliate data. The evidence that your audience acts on recommendations — which is the only thing a sponsor is actually paying for.
Page 5 – Packages and Rates: The three-tier table with deliverables, tracking method, timeline, and stated price for each. The section where the decision happens.
Page 6 – Tracking and Brand Safety: Your three-tool tracking plan. Your content policy statement. Your social handles and episode archive link. Everything that removes the last friction point before they say yes.
Page 7 – Contact: Your name. Your professional email. Your website. A one-line invitation to book a call or request a pilot agreement.
Seven pages. One clear purpose per page. No sponsor has to hunt for anything.
The Real Reason Most Podcast Kits Get Ignored
Most podcast kits are written for the podcaster, not the sponsor. They list achievements the podcaster is proud of. They describe the show the host spent years building. They explain why the host loves making episodes. None of that is what a sponsor opens a kit to find.
A sponsor needs one thing: confidence. Confidence that your audience is their customer, that working with you will be organized and measurable, and that the money they spend will be worth more than what they paid.
Every page of your kit should answer that question. When you write with the sponsor’s decision in mind instead of your own history, the kit changes completely. It becomes a business document. And business documents get signed.
References
Podcast Insights — Podcast Sponsor Priorities Report, 2025
IAB / PwC — Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2024, April 17, 2025. https://www.iab.com/research/iab-pwc-internet-advertising-revenue-report-full-year-2024/
Edison Research — The Podcast Consumer 2025, July 2025. https://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/The-Podcast-Consumer-2025-revised-FINAL.pdf
Ad Results Media — 2026 Podcast Advertising Guide: Effectiveness, Statistics and More, January 2026. https://www.adresultsmedia.com/news-insights/is-podcast-advertising-effective/
Sounds Profitable — The Advertising Landscape 2025: Driving to Action, July 30, 2025. https://soundsprofitable.com/research/the-advertising-landscape-2025-driving-to-action/
InfluenceFlow — Podcast Sponsorship Rate Card Templates 2026, January 5, 2026. https://influenceflow.io/resources/podcast-sponsorship-rate-card-templates-the-complete-2026-creators-guide/