Mid-tier creators are turning to podcasts to get on advertisers' radar as more brands test digital audio. They lack the reach of podcasting's biggest stars, like Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" show. What they have instead is a passionate audience, and that is what connects them to sponsors.

• US podcast creator revenue is expected to reach $1.21 billion this year, up 24.7% YoY, according to EMARKETER’s forecast.
• Podcast creator revenue in the US is growing faster than every social media creator revenue stream, including merchandise (up 20.3% YoY), tipping and gifting (19.6%), sponsored content (16.5%), and even subscriptions (23.4%), per EMARKETER.

“At the end of the day, advertisers are looking for one thing, it’s engagement numbers,” said Brian Conlan, president of DAX US. “Whether it’s social media, or video views, or downloads for a podcast, they want to know how each [channel performs].”

Building on creator success

Creators who have grown a following on social media, or through other channels, are seeing success in launching podcasts, according to Conlan. He added that “video-first” production isn’t necessarily better than audio.

“Creators getting into the video space, that’s the buzzword,” Conlan said. “Some of the data we’ve seen already is that video hasn’t truly grown their audience the way audio can. So it’s kind of following the bouncing ball.”

Video is still in the “early days” of providing adequate revenue streams for mid-tier creators, which Conlan defines as between 10,000 and 50,000 downloads per month.

Globally, there are between 30,000 and 40,000 active podcasts in the mid-tier, according to Rob Walch, vice president of podcast relations at DAX US and Captivate.

“Everyone now from a creator standpoint is trying to figure out what is their strategy around podcasts,” said Conlan. “A lot of influencers are becoming podcasters. It’s about creators finding the right mix for the right result.”

Niche creator audiences riding audio wave

Creator-content advertisers have continued to invest more spend in lower-tiered creators over the past five years.

• Micro-influencers with 5,000 to 19,999 followers will expand their share of US influencer budgets from 16.4% in 2021, to a projected 25.7% in 2027, according to EMARKETER's February 2026 forecast.
• Nano-influencers with 1,000 to 4,999 followers, are forecasted to grow from 3.1% in 2021 to 21.5% of influencer marketing budgets in 2027.

“In aggregate, mid-tier creators together provide tremendous value for brands, because if I have a thousand people who listen to my podcast and they tune in every week, and if I have a brand on there, they’re going to convert to purchases,” said Conlan. “That’s the environment brands want to be a part of.”

Sports and entertainment podcasts lead the mid-tier podcast segment, according to Conlan. Many professional and college sports teams have regional followings with passionate fans who will respond to advertising. In the entertainment category, popular streaming series and classic TV shows have podcast followings.

“There’s a fanbase for everything, and I think that’s the beauty of podcasts, you can really get niche in terms of the targeting of content you want to listen to,” Conlan said.

Testing programmatic placements

Launching a podcast connects mid-tier creators with advertisers who tend to be new to digital audio and plan to increase their budget.

• Nearly 40.0% of digital audio advertisers began advertising in the channel within the past two years, according to a November 2025 EMARKETER/Amazon Advertising survey.
• And 65.0% of digital audio advertisers are planning to up their spend in the next 12 months, per the survey.

Programmatic advertising lets advertisers test new podcast audiences at scale in this emerging channel.

“I think it’s a good exploratory marketplace for brands, seeing what works and doesn’t work for the end consumer, in terms of what kind of content they’re listening to, and then from there you can always work directly with creators to build out more of those holistic sponsorships,” said Conlan. “Programmatic has been a great door opener for creators to get a lot of monetization they haven’t been able to get in the past.”