Podcast sponsorship cold outreach: the pitch that gets replies from top shows

# Podcast Sponsorship Outreach — Stacks → "The Agency Hour" Podcast **Brand:** Stacks (project management for creative agencies) **Show:** The Agency Hour with hosts Maya Kapoor + James Ochieng **Listenership:** 42,000 downloads/episode, 73% US/UK, 68% agency owners or directors --- ## Subject Line Variants 1. "quick one for episode 147 (the pricing rant)" — references specific episode, feels personal 2. "a fit for the agency hour? (not a generic sponsor pitch)" — self-aware, curiosity-led 3. "Maya — loved the asana takedown. Quick idea for you." — first-name, specific reference Recommendation: test #1 vs #3. #2 is the fallback if you haven't personalized enough. --- ## Primary Email Subject: quick one for episode 147 (the pricing rant) Hey Maya, Episode 147 — the bit at minute 34 where you called out agencies for "letting their ops scale slower than their headcount" — sent it to our whole team. We quote that internally now. I run marketing at Stacks (stacks.io). We're a project management tool built specifically for creative agencies — think Asana but actually designed for billable hours, client handoffs, and retainer management. About 1,100 paying agency customers right now, with folks like Method and The&Partnership using us. Why I'm writing: I think our audience and yours are the same person. Your listeners are exactly our ICP — agency owners and ops leads at 5-50 person shops. We're looking to sponsor 4 episodes in Q2 and you're our #1 target show. Specifically I'd love to propose: - **Format:** 60-second mid-roll read (host-read, not produced), with a unique vanity URL - **Flight:** 4 episodes across April and May, ideally alternating weeks - **Budget:** \$2,800 per episode (\$11,200 total) - That's a \$67 CPM on your 42k listeners, which is in line with what we've paid on similar B2B shows (Exit Five, MKT1) - **Bonus:** Happy to offer your listeners 3 months free (industry standard is 1 month — we'll double it because your audience is that high-fit) If it helps, here's what a host-read script would roughly look like: [link to Google Doc with draft copy + FAQ]. Totally fine if Q2 is booked up or it's not a fit — just point me at the right person or month and I'll get out of your inbox. And if you want to chat live for 15 minutes to see if the numbers make sense, here's my calendar: [link]. Either way, the podcast is genuinely excellent. Keep cooking. — Fatima Rashid Head of Partnerships, Stacks fatima@stacks.io | stacks.io --- ## Follow-up Email (send 7 days later if no reply) Subject: re: quick one for episode 147 (the pricing rant) Maya, Bumping this back up — totally understand if Q2 is full. If so, can you point me at whoever handles sponsorship inquiries? Happy to send them the proposal directly. If it's simpler: reply "not right now" and I'll stop bothering you. Zero offense taken. —F --- ## Why This Works 1. **Proof of listening (minute 34 callout):** 95% of pitches fail the "have you even heard the show" test 2. **ICP match proof:** specific overlap data, not vague "your audience is our audience" 3. **Real numbers:** CPM calculation shows you understand podcast economics 4. **Generous bonus offer:** 3 months vs typical 1 month signals you respect the audience 5. **Easy no:** explicit permission to decline keeps future conversations open 6. **Script draft link:** removes friction — they don't have to figure out what a read would sound like