How to advertise on True Crime All The Time: what it costs, who buys, and how to book

True Crime All The Time sells its host-read inventory direct, quoted per campaign rather than off a public rate card, and the buy is built almost entirely for direct response. Spotsnow data shows the direct-response share sits at essentially the whole roster, meaning nearly every ad on the feed runs a code, a URL, or a promo offer meant to convert. Its top spender, Quince, has run roughly 37 to 43 host reads here. For a buyer, that mix is the tell: this is a feed where an offer gets tested, not a place brands park a logo. Spotsnow estimates all of this from tracked advertiser activity, not audience surveys. To see the full profile, view True Crime All The Time on Spotsnow.

Why True Crime All The Time is built for host-read direct response

Hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson ("Gibby") produce the show out of the Dayton and Cincinnati area and run a small suite of true crime titles under their own company, Emash Digital. They're regular fixtures at CrimeCon, which keeps them close to the true crime community they read to.

The show sits in the retail advertiser orbit, with its biggest spend coming from a DTC brand. Spotsnow data shows the direct-response share is close to total, which is exactly why the format works: a code or a vanity URL read in the hosts' own voice ties a sale straight back to the episode. Spotsnow estimates reach at roughly 260,000 listeners per episode, and that figure is an estimate, not an audited count.

The format argument here is about attention. These are long, chronological case breakdowns delivered in a conversational back-and-forth, so listeners stay locked in through the mid-episode break instead of skipping it. A host-read borrows that sustained attention. The read lands while you're still leaning in.

The influence backs it up. Spotsnow social data shows an Apple Podcasts average rating of 4.7 across roughly 11,500 to 13,400 ratings, and an Instagram following of roughly 38,500 to 45,000. The pull is concentrated in the feed and on Apple, where the audience skews young and female, mostly US based, and middle to upper-middle income. That's a listener who acts on a host they trust.

Who is advertising on True Crime All The Time

The roster leans DTC, fintech, and e-commerce, with a few large CPG and auto names buying reach. Recognizable buyers include Quince, Chime, Shopify, Mint Mobile, and Progressive.

The anchor advertisers, broken down

Quince

Quince sells affordable-luxury essentials in apparel and home goods, direct to consumer. Spotsnow attributes roughly 37 to 43 host reads and an estimated total spend of over $100K, classified as direct response. A mostly female, style-conscious, value-minded audience is close to Quince's target, which is why it keeps coming back with a coded offer.

Chime

Chime is a fee-free neobank. Spotsnow attributes roughly 34 to 40 host reads and an estimated over $100K in total spend, all direct response. Younger listeners building their financial footing convert on a trusted host walking through a signup, which is the whole point of the read.

Shopify

Shopify is the e-commerce platform behind a huge share of online stores. Spotsnow attributes roughly 21 to 24 host reads and an estimated over $90K total, direct response. The show's entrepreneurial, side-hustle-leaning listeners are the exact people who open a store, so the pitch fits the ear.

The outlier: Progressive

Progressive runs on the feed too, but mostly as produced spots rather than host endorsements. It's the proof that a big brand can use the show for reach and association, not just coded attribution. A different objective still finds a home here.

All spend figures are Spotsnow estimates.

Why retail brands cluster here

The mix isn't random. A DTC apparel brand, a neobank, and an e-commerce platform all want the same thing: a listener who trusts a recommendation and acts on a code. Ferguson and Gibson have spent years building that trust one case at a time, and the audience that follows them, young, female, US based, value-minded, is a buyer who researches before spending and rewards a brand that shows up in a feed she chose. That's why the coded offer converts here in a way a display banner never will. The authority is the host's; the intent is the audience's; the attribution is the code. A retail buyer looking at this roster is really looking at a pattern of brands that keep renewing because the math holds.

How your ad could sound

The Quince read is a clean model of what works on this feed. It opens on a personal hook ("This time of year always makes me rethink what's in my closet. I'm trying to keep fewer things, but better ones"), which frames the product as something the host actually uses. Then it lands a plain value claim ("prices are 50 to 60% less than similar brands") and hands off to a dedicated code ("Go to quince.com/tcatt for free shipping and 365-day returns"). Personal framing, a concrete offer, a coded URL tied to the show.

Two things to tighten. The code gets spelled out twice back to back at the very end, which can blur the one thing you most want a listener to remember. And there's no deadline or urgency on the offer, so a listener has no reason to act now instead of later. A limited-window promo or a first-order incentive would give the same read a sharper close.

View what a great sample ad looks like here.

What makes a show like this convert

1. The format holds attention through the break. Long narrative case breakdowns keep listeners in the episode, so the mid-roll read lands instead of getting skipped.
2. The hosts carry credibility. Ferguson and Gibson read in their own voice to a community they meet at CrimeCon, and a 4.7 Apple rating shows the trust is real.
3. The audience is a buyer. A young, female, US based, middle to upper-middle income listener is the profile DTC and fintech brands chase.
4. Buyers repeat because the math works. Quince alone has run roughly 37 to 43 reads here; brands don't re-book at that volume unless the codes are paying out.

True Crime All The Time in a nutshell

This is a large, engaged true crime feed reaching an estimated 260,000 listeners who skew young, female, and US based, with middle to upper-middle incomes. DTC and fintech brands like Quince, Chime, and Shopify already buy here, almost always as coded host reads. The show is sold direct through the hosts' own company rather than a big network, quoted per campaign. If your goal is measurable conversion on an offer, this feed is a direct-response fit; if you want pure reach, the produced-spot lane exists but isn't where the show's weight sits.