The podcast advertising business is once again taking it on the chin, blasted from inside the industry and out. What can podcasters and podcast listeners do about it?

From ad buyers paying for podcast plays that ran inside mobile video games. 20-minute episodes with 20% filled with ads. People are getting fed up with advertising.

If a popular podcast runs ads, it's guaranteed that more than one negative review will simply read: too many ads. A valid complaint leveraged against much of the content we watch on our TVs and mobile devices. Ads we can't avoid.

But podcast creators can (and often do) offer ad-free options. And today, it's super easy. Subscription services built directly into Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Ad-free feeds via Patreon, Supercast, or Buy Me A Coffee. Or network-specific apps like those from Wondery+ and Realm.

The real problems are related to friction and awareness. And there isn't much we as podcasters can do about the friction issue. That's a tech problem only really solved by Apple Podcasts. And not everyone listens on Apple Podcasts.

But we podcasters can do something about awareness. We can make people aware that yeah, they are listening to an ad-supported feed, so expect ads. But also make them aware that there is an option (or options, I guess) to get an ad-free listening experience.

And there's one other thing we podcasters can do: We can stop complaining about ads in podcasting. Production costs—like all costs—continue to rise. The quality bar continues to be raised higher and higher, causing podcast creators who rise to that new level to again incur more costs.

Podcasting may still be a fun hobby to most, and I truly hope it stays that way. But the industry is driven forward by those who treat podcasting like a business. And for many, ads (and an ad-free option) is a very big part of the business.

Let's at least accept that fact, shall we?

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Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media. New episodes are released weekly, providing ideas and questions every serious podcaster should be thinking about.

It's created and hosted by Evo Terra. Follow him on Twitter for more podcasting insights as they come. Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show.

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