Podscribe calculates spend differently based on if ads in a campaign are episodic or dynamic.
Episodic Campaigns:
We apply all spend on the day the episode launches. If multiple episodes are matched to a campaign because ads were found in each of them, we apply the spend to the earliest published episode matched to the campaign. If you’d prefer to apply spend prorated based on delivery, you can disable the Apply Episodic Spend on Publish Date option in the attribution settings on the Overview tab.
When this option is disabled, spend is applied across the first 30 days after the first episode matching to a campaign is published. The spend is allocated based on the share of impressions delivered each day. For example, if 50% of impressions come in on the first day the episode is published, then 50% of the spend will be applied on that day.
During those first 30 days, each day's share is measured against the campaign's expected impressions. Once the 30-day window closes, spend is recalculated against the impressions that actually delivered (capped at the expected number). This is why an episodic campaign's spend can shift while it is still maturing and then settle once the window has passed.
If the campaign delivers fewer impressions than expected, the full spend is still applied once the window closes, so the reporting reflects the campaign's true performance.
In the Overview tab, the spend for a particular date range would be the sum of the spend of the campaigns that have ads that came out within the date range.
If the first ad is found on YouTube, it is excluded by default from spend to prevent distortions to ROAS and CPA. But you can include it from the Overview tab by enabling Include Spend for Unmodeled YouTube:
Dynamic Campaigns:
For dynamic (DAI) campaigns, how spend is calculated depends on which pricing details have been entered for the campaign - total spend, total spend plus expected impressions, and CPM.
1. Total spend only
When only a total spend amount is entered, with no CPM and no expected impressions, spend is divided evenly across every day of the campaign.
Example: A campaign runs for 30 days with $30,000 in total spend. Each day is assigned $1,000 ($30,000 / 30 days), regardless of how impressions were delivered on any given day.
2. Total spend plus expected impressions
When total spend and expected impressions are both entered, spend is applied in proportion to the share of impressions delivered each day. A day that delivers a larger share of the expected impressions is assigned a larger share of the spend.
The daily spend is calculated as:
daily spend = (impressions delivered that day / expected impressions) × total spend
Example: A campaign has $25,000 in total spend and 5,000,000 expected impressions, which works out to a $5 CPM.
- Day 1 delivers 250,000 impressions, which is 5% of the expected total, so $1,250 in spend is applied (5% of $25,000).
- Day 2 delivers 500,000 impressions, which is 10% of the expected total, so $2,500 in spend is applied (10% of $25,000).
While the campaign is running, each day's share is measured against the expected impressions. If the campaign reaches its end date having delivered fewer impressions than expected, the full total spend is then applied across the impressions that actually delivered, so the reporting reflects the campaign's true performance. If delivery goes above 100% of expected impressions, the applied spend is capped at the campaign's total spend.
3. CPM entered
When a CPM is entered, it takes priority over both total spend and expected impressions. Spend is calculated directly from the CPM and the number of impressions delivered.
spend = impressions × CPM / 1000
Example: A campaign has a $5 CPM. On a day that delivers 200,000 impressions, the spend is $1,000 (200,000 × $5 / 1,000).
If a max spend is also set, the spend will not exceed that cap.
Related Reading: Podscribe Pricing
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