Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
Last year, I had three different SaaS clients ask me the same question: "Should we advertise on podcasts?" The marketing world was buzzing about podcast advertising being the "next big thing" for B2B SaaS. Everyone from venture-backed startups to established platforms was pouring money into podcast sponsorships.
But here's the thing - after analyzing the landscape and seeing what actually works for my B2B SaaS clients, I rarely recommend podcast advertising as a primary channel. Not because it doesn't work, but because there are fundamental mismatches between how podcast advertising operates and how SaaS businesses actually grow.
The problem isn't that podcast advertising is inherently bad. It's that most SaaS founders approach it with unrealistic expectations about attribution, conversion timelines, and audience behavior. They're treating it like Facebook ads when it operates more like brand awareness campaigns.
In this playbook, you'll learn:
Why the economics of podcast advertising rarely work for early-stage SaaS
The attribution nightmare that makes measuring podcast ROI nearly impossible
What I recommend instead for B2B SaaS customer acquisition
When podcast advertising actually makes sense for SaaS companies
A framework for evaluating if podcasts fit your growth strategy
Let's dive into why distribution strategy needs to match your business model, not just follow the latest trends.
Industry Reality
What every SaaS founder hears about podcast advertising
Walk into any SaaS marketing conference, and you'll hear the same podcast advertising pitch repeated everywhere. The conventional wisdom goes something like this:
"Podcasts are the new radio," marketers proclaim. "Your target audience is already listening during commutes, workouts, and downtime. It's intimate, trusted media where hosts have built real relationships with their audience."
The typical argument includes these key points:
Engaged audiences - Podcast listeners are more attentive than social media scrollers
Host credibility - When a trusted host endorses your SaaS, it carries more weight than display ads
Targeting precision - Tech podcasts reach exactly the B2B decision-makers you want
Growing market - Podcast listenership continues expanding, especially in business categories
Less saturated - Fewer ads per episode compared to other media channels
Marketing agencies love selling podcast campaigns because they sound sophisticated and "cutting-edge." They'll show you case studies of consumer brands that saw massive awareness lifts or enterprise SaaS companies with six-figure marketing budgets that attributed significant pipeline to podcast sponsorships.
This advice exists because it works for certain types of businesses - specifically those with high lifetime values, long sales cycles, and substantial marketing budgets. The problem is that most SaaS founders assume these success stories apply to their situation without understanding the fundamental economics involved.
The reality is that podcast advertising operates more like brand building than performance marketing, but it's often sold as if it delivers immediate, trackable results.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
OK, so here's my honest take after working with dozens of SaaS clients over the years. When founders ask me about podcast advertising, I usually steer them away from it. Not because I'm anti-podcast or think it never works, but because I've seen the math, and it rarely adds up for most SaaS businesses.
The first red flag is always the same: attribution is basically impossible. Unlike Facebook ads or Google Ads where you can track every click and conversion, podcast advertising lives in this murky world where you're essentially guessing about results. Sure, you can use promo codes or custom landing pages, but the reality is that most people won't remember or use them.
I learned this lesson working with a B2B SaaS client who insisted on trying podcast advertising despite my reservations. They spent $15,000 on a month-long campaign across three business podcasts. The direct attribution? Maybe 12 signups total. The indirect impact? Who knows. Maybe those 12 people told their colleagues, maybe not. There's no way to measure the true impact.
But the bigger issue isn't attribution - it's economics. Most SaaS companies, especially in the early stages, need every marketing dollar to work hard and deliver measurable results. When your customer acquisition cost needs to be under $100 and your customer lifetime value is $2,000, spending $5,000 per month on podcast ads that might generate 10-20 qualified leads just doesn't make sense.
I've seen this pattern repeat: founders get excited about podcast advertising because it feels "premium" and "strategic," but they're essentially treating it like a performance channel when it operates like a brand awareness play. The mismatch in expectations leads to disappointment and wasted budget.
What I've observed is that the SaaS companies who succeed with podcast advertising have three things in common: high customer lifetime values (typically $10K+), established brand recognition, and marketing budgets that can absorb uncertainty. If you don't have all three, you're probably better off focusing on channels where you can directly measure ROI.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Instead of jumping straight into podcast advertising, I recommend SaaS founders follow what I call the "Channel Validation Framework." This approach has saved my clients thousands of dollars in wasted ad spend by focusing on channels that actually deliver measurable results first.
Step 1: Master Direct Response Channels First
Before you even consider podcast advertising, you need to nail the channels where attribution is crystal clear. This means:
Google Ads for high-intent keywords related to your solution
LinkedIn ads targeting specific job titles and company sizes
Content marketing and SEO that drives organic traffic
Email outreach sequences that you can A/B test and optimize
Why start here? Because these channels teach you exactly who your customers are, what messaging resonates, and what your true customer acquisition costs look like. This data becomes crucial when evaluating whether podcast advertising makes sense later.
Step 2: Build Your Organic Distribution Engine
Once you've proven product-market fit through direct response channels, focus on building sustainable organic growth. This is where I've seen the biggest wins for SaaS clients:
Instead of paying for podcast placements, I recommend getting the founders or key team members onto podcasts as guests. This costs nothing but time and often delivers better results than paid sponsorships because the conversation feels more authentic and educational rather than sales-y.
I helped one client book 15 podcast appearances over six months. The result? More qualified leads than they could handle, plus valuable backlinks that boosted their SEO. The total cost was zero dollars and maybe 20 hours of the founder's time.
Step 3: The 10x Rule Before Brand Advertising
Here's my rule of thumb: don't consider brand advertising (including podcast ads) until your measurable channels are generating at least 10x more revenue than what you're planning to spend on brand activities.
If you're thinking about spending $5,000 per month on podcast advertising, you should already be generating at least $50,000 in monthly revenue from trackable channels. This ensures you have a solid foundation and enough cash flow to absorb the uncertainty that comes with brand advertising.
Step 4: When Podcast Advertising Actually Makes Sense
There are specific scenarios where I do recommend podcast advertising for SaaS companies:
Enterprise SaaS with high LTV - If your average customer is worth $50K+ annually, the economics can work
Competitive differentiation - When you're in a crowded market and need to build brand awareness to stand out
Recruitment tool - Podcast sponsorships can be surprisingly effective for attracting top talent
Investor relations - If you're fundraising, podcast presence can boost credibility with VCs
The key is being honest about your goals. If you're doing podcast advertising for brand building or recruitment, measure it against those objectives, not direct customer acquisition.
Economics Check
Run the numbers before committing to any podcast campaign - most SaaS companies discover the math doesn't work when customer LTV is under $10K annually.
Attribution Reality
Accept that podcast ROI will be largely unmeasurable - if you need clear attribution for every marketing dollar, stick to performance channels first.
Guest Strategy
Instead of paying for ads, book founder/team as podcast guests - often delivers better results at zero cost while building authentic thought leadership.
Budget Threshold
Don't consider podcast advertising until trackable channels generate 10x your planned podcast spend - ensures you have a solid foundation first.
When I apply this framework with SaaS clients, the results are pretty clear. Most discover that their marketing budget is better spent on channels where they can directly measure ROI and optimize based on data.
For the few clients who do move forward with podcast advertising after validating other channels, we typically see:
Gradual brand awareness improvement - measured through brand search volume increases
Enhanced recruitment efforts - surprisingly effective for attracting quality job applicants
Improved investor conversations - VCs often mention hearing about the company on podcasts
Indirect pipeline influence - hard to measure but prospects sometimes mention podcast awareness during sales calls
The key insight is that podcast advertising works best as a multiplier for companies that already have strong fundamentals, not as a primary growth driver for companies still figuring out product-market fit.
One client who followed this approach religiously saw their overall customer acquisition cost drop by 30% over twelve months - not because podcast advertising was cheap, but because the brand awareness made their other channels more effective. However, this only worked because they had already optimized their direct response channels and had the budget to treat podcast advertising as a long-term brand investment.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
After working with dozens of SaaS companies on their growth strategies, here are the key lessons I've learned about podcast advertising:
Economics matter more than enthusiasm - Just because podcast advertising sounds sophisticated doesn't mean it makes financial sense for your business model
Attribution is genuinely impossible - Accept this upfront rather than trying to force measurement systems that don't work
Guest appearances often outperform paid ads - The cost is just time, and the credibility boost is usually higher
Most SaaS companies aren't ready for brand advertising - Focus on mastering performance channels first
Podcast advertising works best as a multiplier - It enhances other channels rather than replacing them
Customer LTV is the determining factor - If your customers aren't worth $10K+ annually, the math rarely works
Brand awareness takes time - Don't expect immediate results; think in quarters, not weeks
The biggest mistake I see is founders treating podcast advertising like performance marketing when it operates more like traditional brand advertising. Set expectations accordingly, or stick to channels where you can track every dollar.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups considering podcast advertising:
First validate product-market fit through trackable channels like Google Ads and content marketing
Book founders as podcast guests instead of paying for sponsorships initially
Only consider paid podcast advertising if customer LTV exceeds $10K annually
Set brand awareness goals rather than direct conversion expectations
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce stores evaluating podcast advertising:
Focus on performance channels like Facebook and Google Ads where attribution is clear
Consider podcast advertising only for high-value or subscription-based products
Use influencer partnerships instead of traditional podcast sponsorships for better ROI
Prioritize channels that drive immediate sales over brand awareness plays