Posted by Monica Cardenas on 25 June 2022, in Byte Experts, News
By Victoria Bennion
Podcast interviews offer an effective way to establish your authority, build your brand and share your stories and message with new audiences. If you’re an author they also offer a great way to get the word out about your book.
Pitching podcasts can be time consuming so you want to maximise your chances of success. Here are five tips for getting booked on a podcast:
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1. Audit your Online Presence
Before you think about approaching podcast hosts, take a few minutes to audit your online presence. It’s important to do this because the first thing a host is going to do when they receive your pitch is Google you. You want hosts to like what they see and to be able to find information about you easily. So make sure that your website and social media platforms look professional, fit your brand and are up to date.
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2. Put Together a One Sheet
Before you begin pitching podcasts put together an interactive PDF known as a One Sheet. You’re going to send this out with your pitches. It’s purpose is to give hosts an idea of what a conversation with you could look like and what value you could bring to the show.
On your One Sheet include the following:
- A 200 word biography
- 3-5 suggested topics you can talk about
- 3-5 example interview questions
- Your contact information
- Links to your social media platforms
- Your headshot
- Your book cover (if you’re an author)
3. Make a List of Potential Podcasts
Now you’re ready to research podcasts to approach. There are lots of different places you can mine for potential podcasts:
- Who do you know who might be able to introduce you to a podcast host with a show that’s a good fit?
- There are groups on Facebook you can join and connect with hosts looking for guests.
- Which podcasts do you already subscribe to that have the right target audience?
- Search for relevant roundup lists. For example, type into Google, Best Mental Health podcasts and see what comes up.
- iTunes is probably the most obvious place to look. You can browse podcasts by category or search by keyword. Also check out the new and noteworthy category for potential podcasts.
- Podcast search engine Listen Notes is a great resource for finding podcasts.
- If you’re an author, think about where your book sits on the shelf. List some books in the same genre as yours, then Google the names of the authors of these books with the word ‘podcast.’ You can do the same with coaches or business owners in your niche.
4. Evaluate the Podcasts
Make a list of the podcasts you’ve found and begin exploring them.
- Research each podcast’s description and target audience. Is the show’s audience the people you want to be connecting with?
- Do they have guests?
- What is the date of the last episode they released? Ensure it’s still a current podcast.
- Assess the podcast and host’s online presence. Do they have a professional-looking website and social media presence? And are they sharing their show there?
- Listen to an episode. Is the sound quality decent?
You may also have your own criteria to check when you’re evaluating the shows. Make sure each fits your own ethos and style.
5. How to Pitch a Podcast
From our experience, the more you can tailor your outreach to podcast hosts the better the responses you’ll get.
Often hosts will say on their website or podcast how they want to be pitched to. So reach out in the way they request.
Check out which topics they’ve already addressed on the podcast and think about what you may be able to contribute to the conversation.
Your Pitch
When you contact the host, tell them what you like about their show and what you particularly connected with. (Do not take something from the show notes. They’ll know!) It’s also a nice touch to leave the show five stars on iTunes and let the host know you’ve done this.
Let the host know you understand who their audience is and include what you could talk about.
Before you sign off, tell the host that you’ll share your episode with your audience and if it’s a sizable audience say so.
If you don’t hear back after a week don’t be afraid to follow up, respectfully. Don’t assume it’s a ‘no.’ Hosts are often just very busy.
We have a podcast pitch template and free professionally-designed Canva template which you can access at https://bit.ly/3C7J5m9
If you’d like to discuss getting booked as a guest on podcasts book in a free podcast guesting strategy session. Using the information you provide when you book we’ll get to know you and your business better so you get the most value from your 30 minute strategy call where we’ll share our top tips for being a podcast guest and up to five suggestions of podcasts to approach. Book at https://calendly.com/victoriabennion/strategy-session
