Tune in with Your Audience

Advertising on audio or video podcasts is a great way to deliver your message to an audience that's tuned in. An ad can appear preroll (before content) or postroll (after content). Or you can opt for a midroll (also called interstitial) ad, which is inserted within the content. Generally speaking, you need an MP3 file for audio and a QuickTime or Windows Media Player file for video.

Podcasting companies such as Kiptronic, Podtrac and RadioTail may give you demographic and geographic targeting options. And you might get to choose particular podcasts, too. Make sure to get post-campaign reports, which often include details like the number of podcast downloads, download origins and post-download activity, such as the number of clicks or purchases.

What's the cost? Expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $70 CPM (cost per thousand impressions, which in this case refers to the cost per thousand podcast downloads). The campaign minimum could start as low as $1,000. However, one podcast company executive we talked to said $10,000 is a recommended test campaign budget.

You might choose to publish your own audio or video podcasts instead of paying for advertising. But if you have the cash and want to leverage others' content quickly, podcast advertising could be a good way to go.

This article was originally published in the August 2007 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Cast Your Line .