This is part 1 of the epic saga that was my conversation with Francois Retief, COO of iono.fm, South Africa's largest digital audio hosting service, which includes 2500+ South African Podcasts.

Francois has unparalleled access to specific, South-African-relevant data and analytics and he was kind enough to unpack all those numbers with us.



This two-part series is about making podcasting profitable through selling advertising, and part 1 is largely focused on some foundational knowledge everyone needs to understand. What's does the South African podcasting landscape look like, how do you even sell ads, and who figures out how much money you're going to get out of those ads?



Here's exactly what we cover in part 1:

3:25 My epic beard.

5:26 . How do brands buy ads on podcasts?

6:05 What brands are advertising on podcasts?

8:03 Can we separate SA shows from international shows?

9:54 Where IS South African podcasting right now?

12:45 Are recorded radio shows a podcast?

18:30 What's the addressable market in South Africa for podcasts?

19:27 Are there any South African podcasts making it internationally?

21:07 Where are all the podcasts for kids?

22:23 Roadblocks to podcast growth

25:18 SAPG's Plans for a top charts

27:21 Do you see any gaps in the market for specific genres

29:15 Who loves podcasts in SA?

30:50 What is the average income of podcasters who have monetised?

36:33 How Advertising Works

36:38 What is CPM?

41:44 How valuable is a pre, mid, and post-roll?

44:10 Dynamic Ad Insertion

47:21 Different ads for different audiences

47:59 Average CPM for podcasts

48:26 What is an average radio CPM

50:22 .386 How to increase your earning with value, audience, and frequency

51:53 .271 What's the average audience size for a South African podcast?

57:42 .590 What's a good audience size for my podcast?

1:03:00 .517 Okay how many listens do I need to make R10 000?

1:08:00 .323 How many listeners do I need to monetise my show?



Look out for part 2, coming soon.

And, of course, a huge thanks to our guest, Francois, as well as:



Rebekah van Zyl - Audio Recording

Jason Hans - videographer Iono.fm · The South African Podcasters Guild