How to advertise on How Did This Get Made?: what it costs, who buys, and how to book

How Did This Get Made? sells its host-read inventory on a quoted, per-campaign basis, not off a public rate card. Spotsnow data shows the overwhelming majority of tracked ads on the show are direct response, coded and attributable reads rather than pure brand plays. Squarespace, the top spender, has run roughly 19 to 22 host-read ads on the feed. For a buyer weighing this show, that mix says one thing: it's a place where DTC brands come to move product and keep coming back. Spotsnow estimates all of this from tracked advertiser activity, not audience surveys.

The full profile lives on How Did This Get Made? on Spotsnow.

Why How Did This Get Made? is built for host-read direct response

Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas are working comedians and actors who have run the show since 2010. It sits in the comedy category on Spotsnow, a feed built on improvised riffing about famously bad movies. Spotsnow data shows the direct-response share sits in the mid-90s percent range, which is unusual depth of coded, attributable buying for a comedy show. That format matters: when a host reads a promo code or a URL, the sale is trackable, and the brand can see what the spot returned.

Reach is estimated at roughly 480,000 listeners. The audience skews male but sits close to balanced, concentrated in the US with a smaller Canadian and UK following, and lands mostly among mid-to-upper-income adults. Where a CPM argument would normally go, the better case is attention. Three hosts talking over each other about a terrible film keep listeners locked in through the break, and a host read borrows exactly that attention. When Scheer or Raphael endorses something in their own voice, it doesn't feel like a hard cut to an ad.

On engagement, the show carries an Apple Podcasts rating of about 4.8 across roughly 22,000 to 24,000 ratings, with about 28,000 YouTube subscribers. Its influence is concentrated in the feed and in that Apple engagement rather than spread thin across social platforms, which is where a host read lands anyway.

Who is advertising on How Did This Get Made?

The roster leans DTC and mainstream national, a mix of retail, tech, and services brands that live on coded host reads. The most recognizable names include Squarespace, Quince, Babbel, Mint Mobile, and BetterHelp.

The anchor advertisers, broken down

Squarespace

Squarespace sells website building and hosting for creators and small businesses. Spotsnow data shows roughly 19 to 22 host-read ads on the show, with an estimated total of over $400K. It's a direct-response host-read buyer. The pitch fits a creative, film-literate audience that's often building portfolios, side projects, or a place to point people after the punchline.

Quince

Quince is a direct-to-consumer brand selling affordable-luxury apparel and home essentials. Spotsnow attributes roughly 17 to 20 host-read ads to the show and an estimated over $300K in total spend, all direct response. The value framing (premium quality at lower prices) plays well to a mid-to-upper-income crowd that likes a smart-shopper story.

Babbel

Babbel runs language-learning subscriptions for adult learners. Spotsnow estimates roughly 15 to 18 host-read ads on the show and over $300K in total, nearly all host-read direct response. A curious, culturally engaged listener base is a natural fit for a product that sells self-improvement without a hard sell.

BetterHelp, the outlier

BetterHelp keeps a smaller, mostly host-read footprint here. It's a mental-health direct-response buyer, proof that a more personal objective works alongside the retail and tech reads. Different pitch, same coded mechanic.

All spend figures are Spotsnow estimates.

Why comedy brands cluster here

Comedy podcasts sell trust dressed up as entertainment, and this one runs on three hosts whose whole job is holding a room. That's why the coded reads work. A listener who has spent forty minutes laughing with Scheer, Raphael, and Mantzoukas takes their endorsement at close to face value, which is exactly the transfer a DTC brand is paying for. Squarespace, Quince, and Babbel aren't here for a vanity impression. They're here because the audience acts, and the codes prove it. When the same brands re-up flight after flight on a show sold by quote, the repeat buying is the endorsement no rate card can fake.

How your ad could sound

The Quince read shows what a good host-read looks like here. The seasonal hook does real work: "August is the perfect time to hit reset before the autumn rush begins." It's timely and conversational, not a cold product intro. The endorsement is first-person and specific, "I love them so much" and "I have a handful they're versatile they're timeless," which is the personal framing that separates a host read from a produced spot. The offer is clean too, "priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands."

Two things to tighten. The value claim runs long before any where-to-buy cue, so the call to action arrives soft. And there's no deadline or urgency attached to the offer, nothing to push a listener to act now rather than later. A spoken code and a reason to move this week would carry more of the sale.

View what a great sample ad looks like here.

What makes a show like this convert

1. The format does the selling. A host read in the middle of a bit gets the same attention the bit does, which is why coded reads dominate here.
2. Host credibility transfers. Three comedians who have run the show since 2010 have banked trust that a first-person endorsement borrows against.
3. The audience acts. An estimated 480,000 mostly US, mid-to-upper-income listeners are the kind who follow through on a code.
4. Repeat buying proves the math. Squarespace alone runs roughly 19 to 22 host reads on the show; brands don't renew at that rate on ads that don't pay back.

How Did This Get Made? in a nutshell

An estimated 480,000 listeners, skewing male but close to balanced, mostly US, and mid-to-upper income. Squarespace, Quince, and Babbel already buy here, all on coded host reads, and they keep coming back. The show is sold on a quoted, per-campaign basis rather than a public rate card. If you want attributable, code-driven response from a comedy audience that trusts its hosts, this is a direct-response feed, not an awareness play.