Getting Started

Media buyers are looking for much more granular audience insights than what a creator can piece together from Spotify, YouTube, or other social media dashboards. They want to know how your audience is distinguishable from other shows in your category, and what you can uniquely deliver them to support a brand's advertising goals.

And, surveys aren’t just for your sponsors they’re also for creators. They let you engage your audience directly about creative choices, show topics, guests, and other burning content questions.

Gumball’s new survey feature makes it simple to get personal and comes pre-populated with questions our partners are most interested in learning.

Create an Audience Survey

Once logged into Gumball, click into the "Surveys" tab on the top navigation, click "Create Survey," and select your podcast and "Audience Survey." Please note that there is an option to create a "Quick Poll" but it's vital to prioritize your audience survey first (you can also only have one survey running at a time).

Finalize Your Questions

Once you've created an Audience Survey for your show, you'll have the option to add a set of additional questions to the 21 questions we've set on your show. We recommend only adding up to 5 questions to ensure the survey isn't too long to discourage submission.

Schedule Your Survey

Once you've finalized your survey questions, you'll be given the option to add your survey to your current ad schedule in Gumball or schedule the ad yourself outside of Gumball. In either case, Gumball will recommend the impression goal you must hit in order for your survey to reach statistical significance. In the example below, this podcast needs to earn 75,200 impression across 5 ads. As the survey is running, you'll be able to track progress and choose to end your survey early should you reach statistical significance.

Publish and Promote Your Survey

The final step in running your audience survey is to preview the webpage for your survey, publish the survey, and then record/traffic a promotional ad for your survey into your show using the script provided by Gumball. You can update the URL slug and design theme of your survey in the show settings page.

It is important that you do not promote your survey on your social media pages, newsletter, or other online communities to ensure the respondents are coming directly from your podcast.

Analyze the Results

Review your results carefully, and incorporate any insights you feel would improve your show. Create a sharper picture of your audience for you and your team. As for Gumball, we will immediately apply these results to your show and leverage them on your behalf to partner with new and existing advertisers.

We recommend scheduling your Audience Survey through Gumball in order to see the full funnel of results, from total impressions to page loads to the overall conversion rate.

We're so excited to see creators on Gumball take advantage of this new feature. Make it a habit to run a survey once a year to keep insights fresh and actionable!

What's the purpose of the YT API integration?

The purpose of the YouTube API integration is to collect highly accurate and dynamic demographic information on the Viewers of a YouTube Channel. In particular, we collect aggregated information on the age, gender, and country of the Channel’s viewers. Armed with this data, Gumball’s sales team can better match advertisers who’d be a good fit for your Channel, leading to more revenue for creators who use this integration.

What does this integration do?

This integration will periodically access the demographic information of the viewers of your channel and import it to Gumball.

How does Gumball access my Channel’s audience data?

Gumball accesses your Channel’s audience data using the YouTube Data API . An API (“Application Programming Interface”) is software that allows two different applications to talk to each other. The YouTube Data API requires any YouTube Channel User to grant permission before any other application can “talk” to it. Once you authenticate access to Gumball, we can begin to collect select information about your audience.

What information doesn't Gumball have access to?

Third-party applications can request different permissions from a YouTube account. Gumball only requests read-only access to analytics data for your Channel’s content as well as basic information about the channel.

Other permissions that Gumball does NOT request include permission to: Manage your YouTube account, view a list of Active Channel Members associated with your Channel, and to see any assets associated with your Channel’s content. Gumball would have to request any additional permissions through an additional authentication process, which we do not do.

How often does this API integration update? Does the information automatically populate into my show’s Gumball listing?

Once you have authenticated the YouTube API, your audience’s aggregated data for age, gender, and country of origin is automatically populated into your Gumball listing. This data will be updated periodically.

How can I revoke Gumball’s access to my YouTube Channel(s)?

You can manage all third-party applications that have access to your YouTube account through the Google permissions page, where you can revoke access. Additionally, we recommend emailing help@gumball.fm to let our team know if you wish to revoke access.

Can I manually input audience data from other sources?

Yes, you can input manual age and gender data in your show’s Settings page. This section is for inputting data that Gumball can’t access (e.g., Spotify for Podcasters, Meta, or a listner survey). Any data entered manually will be combined with the data Gumshoe is automatically collecting via the YouTube API. Together, data from these combined sources provide a fuller picture of your audience.

Here at Gumball, it’s our mission to help creators get paid quickly and consistently. Our direct deposit system will help you do just that, and set-up takes less than two minutes—it’s easy!

To get paid, set up a direct deposit via our vendor form. At this time we can only accommodate one payee, so whichever Gumball user fills out the form will be the user that can access & edit these payment details. Choose a point person OR set up a legal entity for all members. Here is a guide that walks you through how to set up payment!

Setting yourself up as an individual

• Go to your show’s page and click on Settings

• Select Payments on the left hand side of the page, then select Connect to Bank

• You will be routed to our vendor set-up powered by Stripe. Enter your Email and Mobile number , then click Continue. Important Note: Make sure the email address and mobile number you are using are not associated with any existing Stripe account, otherwise they will not work. Even if you already have a Stripe account for your business, please note that this is not creating a new account and is just for direct deposit set-up.

• Select your Country and Type of business (if you are not signing up as a business, choose Individual)

• Verify your Personal Details and Professional Details , then click Continue

• Complete the fields under Select an account for payouts , then click Save

• Review details and click Submit

Connecting an account through a business

• Fill in the details under the Tell us about your business section, then click Continue

• Fill in the details under the Tell us more about your business section, then click Continue

• Verify your personal details , then click Continue

• Select an account for payouts , then click Continue

• Review your details, then click Submit

Creator sponsorship payment terms often involve long windows where creators can go months without being paid for their work. LightningPay allows creators to get paid as soon as their ads are delivered in full, rather than waiting until advertiser payments are collected and processed. We built LightningPay to reward creators of all sizes for their hard work, promptly and consistently. With LightningPay, Gumball builds on its mission of supporting creators and leveling the playing field for creators big and small.

How do I become eligible for LightningPay?

YouTube creators are automatically eligible for LightningPay as plays are tracked via YouTube.

To be eligible for LightningPay on your podcast or simulcast podcast, you will need to meet the following criteria:

1. Your podcast is hosted on a platform that supports Gumshoe
2. Implement either the Gumshoe Prefix or Gumshoe Pixel based on Ad Delivery
1. Embedded Ads will require the Gumshoe prefix to be added to your RSS Feed
2. Dynamic Ads will require the Gumshoe pixel to be installed per dynamic ad campaign/order
3. Select “LightningPay” as your preferred method of payment on your Show Settings page under “Payment Schedule Options”
4. Upload the aircheck within 24 hours of your ad’s drop date

When do I get paid?

Payments will be delivered after Gumshoe verifies an ad was delivered in full and all other criteria above have been met. For a dynamic ad, payouts may be issued as soon as seven days. For an embedded ad, payouts may take between seven and 30 days. We aim to pay out all verified ads every Friday.

Is there a cost associated with using LightningPay?

There is a 2.5% service fee taken from the Creator’s Net Revenue to use LightningPay.

Gumshoe is Gumball’s unified analytics system for tracking ad delivery . Audio impressions on podcasts are tracked via a Prefix and Pixel URL, whereas Verified Views on YouTube are tracked directly through the video’s webpage. Together, Gumshoe enables advertisers to better understand your show’s audience, monitor and track the progress of their campaigns, and expedites payments for Creators via LightningPay .

What is the difference between a prefix and a pixel?

Gumshoe generates two types of URLs to implement tracking: a prefix (generated for all audio podcasts) and a pixel (generated for dynamic audio ad format). YouTube inventory is tracked through authenticating your YouTube channel through Gumball and does not require a prefix or pixel to be implemented.

• What is a prefix? A prefix is a short trackable URL that can be attached to your podcast's RSS feed to provide independent insights into your show's download analytics and audience demographics.
• What is a pixel? A pixel is a unique URL that allows advertisers to track ad delivery on an audio campaign that’s dynamically inserted into your podcast.

What is Gumshoe’s prefix URL?

Gumshoe will generate a unique prefix URL for each show on Gumball. You can locate your prefix under each show’s specific Settings and scroll down to the “Gumshoe Tracking” section. Please read here for more implementation instructions .

What is Gumshoe’s pixel URL?

Gumshoe will generate a unique pixel URL for each dynamic ad spot. This pixel is located at the bottom of each Script page in Gumball. Please read here for more implementation instructions .

Do I need to implement both the Gumshoe Prefix and Pixels on my audio podcast?

Yes. If you sell dynamic ads, we ask that you implement both a prefix and pixel on your podcast. If you only sell embedded audio ads, we ask that you only install our prefix on your podcast.

What data does Gumshoe track via YouTube?

Gumball separately measures Verified Views for all YouTube channels through a YouTube API Integration. Through this integration, Gumball will only pull non-monetary YouTube analytics such as Age, Gender, and Geography. Gumball does not have the ability to “write” content to your Channel, nor does Gumball have access to your personal information such as revenue earned through Google AdSense.

How does Gumshoe protect listener privacy?

We care about protecting listener privacy, and Gumshoe treats creator impression data with immense care. Gumshoe doesn’t use cookies to follow listeners and doesn’t collect any information about individual listeners beyond their IP address. Additionally, these IP addresses are hashed (coded into an unrecognizable jumble of numbers and letters) and deleted after a year. Listeners who don’t want their data to be part of Gumshoe will be able to request that it be deleted.

What is the benefit of implementing Gumshoe?

The relationship between brands and creators is built on trust. Gumshoe is a critical layer that establishes this trust by providing ad delivery transparency and insights into audience demographics. Gumshoe also increases Creator’s ability to work with more brands that require a verification mechanism to confirm ad delivery. The data collected by Gumshoe is made available to creators, advertisers, and the Gumball team in real time.

How do I set up Gumshoe on my podcast?

For guidance on how to implement the Gumshoe prefix and/or pixel on your podcast, find your show’s hosting platform in the list below. If you need further help, please reach out to help@gumball.fm with your questions.

Does my hosting platform support Gumshoe?

While most hosting platforms should accept both third-party prefixes and pixels . Please confirm below whether or not your hosting provider supports Gumshoe before implementing either our prefix or pixel. If you are on a hosting provider that does not support Gumshoe, it is likely we will not be able to work with your show. If your provider is not on the list below, please contact their support desk and ask if they support Gumball’s prefix and pixel.

We currently only support podcasts hosted on the following hosting platforms:

• Art19
• Megaphone
• Omny Studio
• Simplecast (Enterprise Plan)
• SoundStack
• Spreaker (Prime Network Not Allowed)
• Transistor (Embedded-Only)

Some frequently used terms

Ad copy/script/talking points - text provided by the advertiser as a guide for their ad.

Aircheck - a clip of your ad read used to verify that the spot has been recorded and gone live in your episode as scheduled. Once uploaded, these clips are available for the advertiser to listen to and provide feedback on when necessary.

Blackout - episode dates that podcasters can exclude from their ad schedule for various reasons (e.g. not recording an episode that week due to vacation).

CPM - aka cost-per-mille; The price an advertiser pays per every 1,000 impressions their ad receives.

Call To Action (CTA) - the part of your ad read directing listeners to act on an offer.

Dynamic Ad - refers to the way an ad appears in a podcast episode. Rather than being Integrated into your content, dynamic ads, or dynamically inserted ads, are inserted into episodes via your hosting site, allowing them to run in specific episodes or throughout the catalog according to your ad server's camapign settings.

Embedded Ad - a type of ad recorded separately but manually edited into your episode file using your editing software.

Gumball - a premium marketplace where advertisers can connect with and buy host-read ads from podcasters. Used by advertisers like Athletic Greens, Helix, and Audible and creators like Nicole Byer, Amanda Knox, and Carl Tart.

Host-Endorsed - an ad in which the host speaks about their personal experience with a product or service.

Hosting Platform - a site that stores a podcast’s media files online and provides an RSS feed that allows the podcast to be distributed. Examples include Anchor, Art19, Megaphone, and Omny.

Host-Read - an ad that’s read directly by the host of the podcast rather than a producer or voice actor. Gumball’s favorite kind of ad.

IAB - aka Interactive Advertising Bureau; an organization that develops technical standards, solutions, and research in the realm of digital marketing. If a podcast hosting platform is IAB-certified, it means the platform uses audience measurement methodologies approved by the IAB.

Impressions - the number of times an ad is played, regardless of any interaction with the ad. One listener can account for multiple impressions of the same ad.

Integrated Ad - an ad that is included in the episode file when uploaded to your hosting platform. Everyone who listens to an episode hears the exact same ad as there is no ad decisioning involved. This ad is Sometimes referred to as "Baked-In."

Live Read - a type of ad recorded live during the recording of your episode.

Midroll - an ad that falls in the middle of an episode. We recommend the first Midroll Break to be between minutes 15-20 and the second Midroll Break (if any) to be between minutes 30-35. No Midrolls should be delivered after the 65% mark of an episode.

Personal Experience - a first-person endorsement of a product or service.

Pixel - a snippet of code that gathers information about a user on their device, including the type of device used and IP addresses. In podcasting, pixels are used to track ad impressions on dynamic ads across different episodes.

Prefix - a short URL added in front of the podcast media file link in order to measure episodic downloads and track ad impressions. While many hosting platforms provide analytics, prefixes offer independent, third-party reporting.

Preroll - an ad that falls within the first 5 minutes of your episode.

Producer-Read - an ad that’s read by a producer of the podcast.

Programmatic - a cost-effective process that uses algorithmic software to buy and sell ads across multiple ad exchanges and networks and place them in front of targeted audiences at the right time. In a nutshell: a publisher puts an ad impression up for “auction” on a Supply-Side Platform. An advertiser offers a bid for these impressions on a Demand-Side Platform (DSP). On the DSP, the advertiser can also set audience targeting preferences. The highest, most cost-effective (as determined by algorithms) bidder wins the ad impression and the ad is served to the user.

Promo Code/Vanity URL - the custom link or code in your CTA that givens your listeners a special offer and helps advertisers track how many listeners take advantage.

Postroll - an ad that falls within the last minutes 25% of your episode, or the very end of your episode.

Reach - the number of people who have listened to an ad. Even if one person listens to an ad 100 times (which means 100 impressions), the reach would still be one.

Simulcast - aka simultaneous broadcast; when a podcast is distributed in both audio and video form.