It should be no surprise to you that I love talking and podcasts give me an awesome opportunity to talk to people that I’m excited to have conversations with. Podcasting has opened up new experiences for me, audiences for my business, and helped me help others in a way that would be difficult to do if I were solely blogging. In fact, last week I went to my old high school and mentored two young men on all things podcasting as they prepare to launch their new show. I love that podcasting similar to creating a blog or vlog democratizes our ability to share our wisdom, entertain, and educate communities who are 100% interested in the topics that we cover. But, I’ve continued to see some confusion on how to best leverage podcasts from a brand growth perspective and thought I would share some tips on how YOU can grow your personal brand and email list one podcast episode at a time. This episode will share the benefits of being a podcast guest, the art of pitching effectively and how to become a guest that have hosts clamoring for your expertise.
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Listen to the Show
Show Notes
It seems like a lot of people are still a bit confused by how podcasting should factor into growing their online brand and how to go about it strategically.
- What podcasts offer to smart brand builders-Podcasts give the opportunity to online entrepreneurs/business owners etc. to share their brand story with targeted communities that resonate with their brand. There’s no guessing if they are a good fit or not for their message, especially if you’ve listened to the show as a fan.
- You’re able to grow your email list by sharing resources that will help that community. Those resources include: ebooks, worksheets, mini-courses like my “Do It Ugly” course.
- Podcasts allow influencers to grow their reach via sharing your expertise as a guest while serving other communities. If you notice a “hole” in a show’s content that you could cover, do it!
How to Pitch Podcasts Effectively
- Do your research!
- Is the show a good fit for your expertise?
- Have you listened to how the host interviews guests?
- Are you willing to say “no” to shows that aren’t a good fit…even if their audience could be an audience that you would like to serve.
- What to do when you send your pitches:
- Share the expertise that you would to cover on the show.
- Make it obvious that you’ve listened to the show and understand what the show host is looking for.
- Read through all of the information that the host sends to you. Ask any questions that you have well before the interview.
- Should you ask for money?
- In my view-you have the right to ask to be paid to be a guest. And, the host has the right to say a resounding “no.” Quite frankly, the fastest way to getting passed as a guest on most shows is by requesting payment. Here’s the thing, the podcast host is doing the following for YOU for free:
- Helping you advertise your brand
- Giving you a platform to share your resources
- Sharing you with their audience
- This is not including the time it takes to edit, market, and grow their shows.
- In my view-you have the right to ask to be paid to be a guest. And, the host has the right to say a resounding “no.” Quite frankly, the fastest way to getting passed as a guest on most shows is by requesting payment. Here’s the thing, the podcast host is doing the following for YOU for free:
- What YOU will need for the show-
- A good set of headphones and decent microphone.
- This is an investment of a max of $100. If you have a smaller budget, purchase the microphone first and use earbuds without a microphone.
- Most hosts will request that you have headphones for the interview.
- Typically, hosts will invite you to record your episode via link to a service such as Zoom/Skype/etc. They will let you know what to expect.
- A good idea of the type of questions that the host will ask you. If they don’t provide questions, ask them to do so.
- Create a framework of what you would like to cover on the show. Have links on a piece of paper or on a Google Doc that you can look at and make sure that you are clear about YOUR goals as a guest on ANY show.
- A good set of headphones and decent microphone.
- What if the host is having an off day?
- First, listen to the show before your interview to gage if they’re even good at interviewing. If they aren’t, they wander in their focus, their shows are all over the place, don’t pitch the show.
- If they are typically a great interviewer having an off day, you should be prepared to “take over” and guide the show. The more interviews you do the easier it is for you to do this.
How to Find the Right Podcasts to Pitch
- Do Google Searches to see who is creating podcast content specific to your expertise.
- Connect with your online community and reach out to those individuals running podcasts that you know will be a great fit for your expertise.
- Don’t pitch hosts with topics that they actually cover. Always compliment their areas of expertise.
- Example: if the host covers online marketing and only talks about getting page views via Pinterest. You as a guest should pitch a different way to grow pages.
- Request show referrals.
How to Pitch Your Products
There is an art to doing this thoughtfully and without upsetting the host. Most hosts expect their guests to pitch their products. But, in order to do this well, you need to do the following:
- Be of service first-You’re doing a soft pitch of your services via the show. Remember, you can share this show over and over again, especially if it’s evergreen.
- Help the listeners with a problem that they are struggling with via the actual show conversation
- Then, help the listeners with an additional problem via a helpful resource that they have to opt into to receive.
- Build up a long-term relationship via email marketing YOUR podcast/vlog/or blog.
- Then, share your products.
It’s very likely that most people will need more time to connect with you before making a purchase.
At the end of the day, being a guest on a show could become the way you grow your online business. So, I ask you, when are you going to pitch your first show?
Grab the Resource
How to Pitch and Rock as a Podcast Guest!
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