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Podcast advertising has become a serious part of the media mix. 58% of Americans consume podcasts monthly, and listeners are highly engaged with what they hear. In fact, podcast episodes achieve an average 80% completion rate. 

That creates an important opportunity for marketers. But first you have to answer a practical question: How do you actually buy podcast ads and make sure they reach the right listeners?

Here’s where to start.

How Do You Buy Podcast Ads?

Podcast ad inventory can be purchased through publishers and podcast advertising networks that represent shows and audiences. For advertisers looking for significant reach, working with a large network can make it easier to access inventory across multiple shows without negotiating each placement individually.

iHeart offers both scale and variety. The iHeart Audience Network is the largest podcast sales network in the U.S., reaching about 50% of podcast listeners each month. iHeartPodcasts is also the #1 podcast publisher, with 177 million U.S. monthly downloads and top-ranked podcasts across 19 measured podcast genres.

This breadth matters because audiences rarely fit neatly into a single show or topic. A marketer may need to reach sports fans, business decision-makers, parents, culture enthusiasts or a combination of audiences.

A broad network creates more opportunities to find those listeners while maintaining meaningful scale.

How Do You Reach the Right Podcast Listeners?

Start with the person you want to reach, not the podcast you happen to know.

A strong podcast media plan considers several factors:

• Audience alignment. Look at demographics, interests, behaviors and audience fit.
• Context. Consider what listeners are thinking about when they hear your message. A relevant content environment can make advertising feel more natural.
• Host and brand fit. Evaluate the host’s voice, values, subject-matter credibility and relationship with the audience.
• Format. Decide whether a host-read message, produced spot or combination makes the most sense for your objective.
• Scale. Avoid defining the audience so narrowly that you sacrifice the reach needed to drive growth.

iHeart’s approach to creator selection considers audience alignment, brand fit, platform and format, subject-matter expertise, content performance and budget efficiency. 

The human relationship matters here. 75% of podcast listeners say host influence matters most to them, reinforcing the role trusted voices can play when connecting brands with an audience.

Should You Buy Host-Read or Produced Podcast Ads?

There’s a role for both.

Host-read advertising lets a creator deliver the brand message in a voice the audience already knows. It can be especially useful when trust, consideration and storytelling are priorities.

Produced ads provide consistency and can help marketers extend a message across a broader set of podcast audiences.

Often, the strongest plan uses both approaches. Host-read creative can build connection, while produced creative can extend reach and reinforce a consistent message. 

That combination reflects something fundamental about audio: technology can help a brand find an audience, but people create the connection. It’s the idea behind iHeart’s Guaranteed Human approach, using human-created content and trusted voices to bring brands closer to the people they want to reach.

What Are the Best Practices for Podcast Audience Targeting?

A good targeting strategy should answer four questions:

1. Who needs to hear the message? Define your highest-value audiences.
2. What should they hear? Keep the message simple, memorable and relevant.
3. Where will it feel natural? Match creative to content, context and listener passions.
4. How will you know it worked? Establish campaign objectives and measurement before launch.

Measurement can extend well beyond impressions. Podcast campaigns can be evaluated against outcomes including awareness, consideration, website visits, attribution, conversions and sales lift. 

And those outcomes can be extremely meaningful when 67% of consumers report exploring brands they hear about on podcasts.

FAQs 

Who sells ad space for major podcast shows?
Podcast publishers and podcast advertising networks sell or represent inventory across shows. iHeart Audience Network offers advertisers access to broad podcast inventory and reaches about 50% of monthly podcast listeners in the U.S. 

Which podcast networks have the biggest reach for advertisers?
iHeart Audience Network is the largest podcast sales network in the U.S., reaching about 50% of podcast listeners monthly, according to iHeart’s April 2026 approved research materials. 

Can podcast advertising work for both local and national advertisers?
Yes. The key is designing the buy around the audience, campaign objective, appropriate content environments and required scale. Podcast advertising can support objectives ranging from awareness and consideration to measurable actions and conversions.

Find the Listeners Who Matter to Your Brand

People choose podcasts because they care about the stories, ideas and personalities they find there. For advertisers, that creates a chance to reach people through content they actively choose and voices they trust.

With the right combination of audience strategy, scale, context, creative and measurement, podcast advertising can turn listening into genuine brand connection.

Ready to advertise on podcasts and reach the listeners who matter most to your business? Connect with the Â鶹ÊÓƵ team to build a podcast strategy grounded in trusted, Guaranteed Human content at scale.