If monetization is a priority for your podcast, we want to help you meet those goals. Enrolling in Acast Marketplace is a great way to get started. But once you're set up with Marketplace, you'll need to take a few extra steps to ensure that your dynamically inserted ads play perfectly. So, Let's go over how to set your Ad Markers.
What are ad markers?
An ad marker is a tool in the Acast dashboard that allows you to tell us where you want your ads to play in your episode. They are broken up into three types: pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll.
Ad Markers by Type
Pre-roll markers usually play at the start of your episode or can be moved up to 25% into the start of your episode.
Post-roll markers usually play at the end of your episode or can be moved up to 50% from the end of your episode.
Mid-roll markers can be placed in any episode that is at least 10 minutes in length or longer (this is to avoid ad fatigue on short episodes for your listeners). Please note: this is the most lucrative ad spot. Read more about setting your mid-roll ad marker correctly here.
Steps to Insert Ad Markers
1. To get started, you can either publish a new episode or edit an already created episode from your episode dashboard.
2. Once in the existing episode or new episode details you will see two separate sections for creating your episode. Episode details and Publishing settings. After you complete the Episode details, you can set your ad markers under publishing settings.
3. On the markers tab you'll see the waveform which represents your entire episode. The page contains many useful features including:
Ability to enable or disable monetization for your episode. Disabling monetization means NO ADS will run - do this only in rare circumstances as you will not receive revenue from ads or sponsorships when off.
Use the Play/Pause option to hear your episode to find the perfect spot for your ad markers as well as the zoom in/out function.
Snap to silent areas will assist you in placing markers where silence is detected. These are also included in the "Silent positions" column for each ad marker type.
Pre-roll and Post-roll markers will automatically place on all episodes at the beginning and end of your episode, respectively. You can drag your preroll up to 25% into your episode, and you can drag your post-roll up to 50% into your episode.
Mid-roll markers will become available on all episodes that are at least 10 minutes in length. Click "Activate" to begin editing.
Once you've placed all markers where you'd like, click "Save Markers" and you're all set!
And of course, if you have any questions please reach out to support via the chat box.