So, your company wants a branded podcast. 

Or maybe, you already have one but are looking for support and ways to level up. 

Well, you’ve come to the right place. I probably don’t need to convince you, but humor me, podcasting has become a powerful brand channel for: 

• Awareness and reach 
• Thought leadership 
• Community and trust 
• Audience engagement
• Lead generation 
• Partnership building 

In a study by Signal Hill Insights, 61% of respondents reported feeling somewhat or much more favorable toward a brand after listening to their podcast. And of the brands that are podcasting, 90% feel somewhat or very satisfied with the results generated by the show. 

But figuring out how to sustainably and consistently produce a podcast (think budgeting, staffing, resourcing) can often get overwhelming. 

For many brands, you may start a podcast with one production approach and switch to another once you’re more understanding of how the process looks. For example, at Quill, we work with many corporate brands that started their show in-house but realized they wanted full-service production support. 

But alas, there’s no one-size-fits-all model, but I’ll walk through the most popular options, along with their tradeoffs, so you can find which approach fits best for your team and brand. 

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Option 1: Producing a branded podcast in-house

Producing a branded podcast in-house involves you and your team covering the production, distribution, growth, and measurement of the show internally. 

You’ll need a team of producers, editors, and podcast marketers to ensure the podcast quality is high, consistent, and set up for discovery and growth. 

Average cost: 

• $500–$5,000/month
• The cost depends on whether you already have team members, need to hire a producer, and your production gear/podcast software stack

Pros of producing in-house:

• Full control over brand voice and creative
• More seamless internal team alignment
• Can repurpose in-house talent (comms, execs, designers)

Cons of producing in-house:

• Time-intensive (think prep, recording, editing, distribution, podcast marketing)
• Steep learning curve without podcast expertise
• Often lacks consistency or polish without an experienced, dedicated audio team

Great for brands who:

• Have an internal content team or media studio
• Want full creative control and can dedicate resources
• Are comfortable starting scrappy to validate the concept

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Branded podcast example: Andreessen Horowitz

Well-known venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is known for its extensive roster of branded podcasts. One of their more popular shows, AI + a16z, is produced in-house by the Andreessen Horowitz team. 

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Option 2: Hiring podcast freelancers or contractors

The second option is bringing on podcast freelancers or contractors to cover certain aspects of your podcast, such as recording, editing, distribution, or audience growth. 

Average cost:

• $2,000–$7,000/month
• Cost will vary widely depending on how many roles are outsourced and the level of experience you want the freelancer or contractor to have 
• For example, you might only outsource editing the podcast and cover the rest in-house. This would lean closer to $2K per month or even less, depending on the number of episodes you release

Pros of hiring freelancers and contractors:

• More flexible but still cost-effective
• You can build a custom team (editor, writer, designer)
• More specialized talent than in-house alone, without being as expensive as most podcast agencies

Cons of hiring freelancers and contractors:

• Requires strong project management
• Inconsistent availability or quality across contractors
• May lack strategic podcast guidance or brand alignment
• An understanding of who needs to be hired throughout the production process
• Possibly will need to try a few different freelancers or contractors till the right one is found

Great for brands who:

• Want to stay lean but raise quality
• Are small to medium-sized businesses
• Have someone internally to act as the producer or PM
• Don’t have the budget for an agency, but still requires support 
• Have experience working with vetted freelancers for specific tasks

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Brand example: Car Dealership Guy

Car Dealership Guy, an online news outlet covering everything in the car industry, leverages an outsourced podcast producer on a contractual basis, Johnny Podcasts. 

Johnny Podcasts covers the pre- and post-production steps of a branded podcast journey for clients. 

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Option 3: Working with a full-service podcast agency

And finally, we have working with a full-service podcast agency (like Quill). Going this route involves leveraging a podcast agency to handle the production of the podcast end-to-end, involving the pre-production, production, post-production, as well as growth and measurement phases. 

Average cost: 

• $6,000–$25,000+/month
• Cost is dependent on scope, such as creative development, production, marketing, growth, etc. Every agency will be priced differently, so we recommend exploring a few to identify which one fits your needs best.

Pros of working with a podcast agency:

• End-to-end expertise (storytelling, sound, strategy, growth)
• Dedicated team and repeatable podcast production processes
• Professional polish with minimal internal lift
• Insights into what’s working for other brands and industries

Cons of working with a podcast agency:

• Higher upfront cost
• Requires collaborative buy-in and trust
• Some internal teams may want more creative control

Great for brands who:

• Larger, enterprise-level brands with higher budgets
• Need help telling the right stories and proving ROI
• Don’t have the time or resources to DIY
• Want to launch a strategic, high-quality podcast with business impact

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Brand example: Expedia Group

Expedia Group is now in its fifth season of its branded podcast, Powering Travel. Since its inception, the Expedia Group team has leveraged Quill Podcast Agency to produce, grow, and measure the performance of its podcast. 

This involves episode concepts, scripting, recording, editing, distribution, podcast marketing, and reporting. Through Expedia’s time with Quill, the podcast has seen a 60% increase in listenership season over season, and has made it on the Top 50 Travel Podcasts list in over 20 countries. 

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How to choose the right podcast production option for your brand

Let’s bring your branded podcast to life

Of course, there are plenty of options or hybrids of the options we shared above that might work best for bringing your branded podcast to life. 

This article is just a guide for you to get a better idea of what options are available to you and your team, depending on needs, budget, and resourcing. 

If you’re exploring full-service agencies, Quill’s worked with leading brands like Expedia Group, PwC, HP, L’Oreal, and NASA to bring their branded podcasts to life. If you’d like to learn more about how we can work together, chat with our team. 

And if you want to stay updated on all things branded podcasts, subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter, The Branded Podcaster.