How to Become a Guest on a Podcast (2023)

Updated December 23, 2022

One great way to promote your brand is to appear on a podcast as a guest. You get to connect to a new audience at no cost. Further, the opportunities are endless; current estimates are 2,000,000 podcasts and almost all are looking for guests.

Studies have shown that only 50% of people know what a podcast is. If that is the case, then you are wasting money advertising on generic places like Google or Facebook. The best bang for the buck will be to get on podcasts in your target area — they already are listening!

If your phone is not ringing off the hook with invitations, then you will need to follow this six-step approach to get invited on a podcast. Here are six topics to be covered:

Develop a list of podcasts
Understand the tone of the interview
Find the Show Notes page
Get the email for the moderator
Connect with a great email
Leverage that opportunity

1. Make a list of twenty target podcasts

In 2019 Google started indexing and ranking podcasts. This means that it is easier than ever to find a podcast that includes your target audience. Go to Google and type in “podcasts on your area of interest. ” For example, let’s look at “podcasts on cybersecurity.”

Create a spreadsheet in Microsoft or Google Sheets with these columns: company, website, name of the podcast, moderator name, email, and quick details on the last show.

2. Understand the audience

Listen to three episodes to get a feel for the style, mirror that style in the email. If it is serious, give a grave and somber pitch; light-hearted, then have a fun pitch. Most podcasts have some kind of informal structure where a standard question is included. Kind of like, “This is the time of the show when we ask you what book you read last week.” Preparing your answer can prevent the proverbial deer in the headlight syndrome.

Sometimes, the podcast loses funding or the moderator moves on to other projects. Also, some run out of steam. Many podcasts stop at eight episodes. The term in the industry is “podfade.”

In fact, Rob Walch from Libsyn will argue that there are only 400,000 podcast with over ten episodes. This is normally contrasted with some estimates of two million podcasts. Looks like some podfade in there.

You may find a great fit, only to discover that the podcast is on hold. Double-check the dates of the last podcast. “Forticast” is good fit for cybersecurity, but it sure looks like the podcast is held in abeyance. Put this date into the spreadsheet.

3. Find the show notes page

You can get to the show notes page through a Goggle search or through Apple Podcasts. The show notes page will give you the website URL and the name of the moderator. 80% of company podcasts should be on Apple Podcasts.

You may have to listen closely to the moderator’s name and try some spellings. From there, you can try to find her on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. If you still have no luck, many podcast moderators do public speaking, and their names are on the prominent trade show promotion sites.

You can also flip this technique. For example, the RSA Conference attracts 2700 visitors. Chances are many of these subject matter experts have a cybersecurity podcast. The name of the podcast is just a Google search away.

Here is the show notes page for the Social Pros Podcast:

4. Get the email for the moderator

You can get the email for a person by using a service like Voila Norbert. Below is a sample from VoilaNorbert.

5. Create a personalized email

Write a personalized email that does not sound like a “canned” message. Use the specific name of the podcast in the subject line.

Subject line . . .

Write a personalized email that does not sound like a “canned” message. Use the specific name of the podcast in the subject line.

Body of email . .

No matter what you pitch, make it short, text-based, have one link, and have benefits for the listeners. NO CAPITAL LETTERS. Misspelling may gain open rates. Vary the send time. Try 7 PM weekday send time.

Don’t forget the link . . .

One way to prove your competence is to link to a previous podcast appearance. That way, a producer knows you can speak in front of a microphone – kind of a proof of concept.

6. Leverage that appearance with a vanity URL

Why bother with getting on a podcast if it has no value for your company? You must connect to the audience. Because that is done verbally, you need a simple, easy-to-remember method. Why not create a “vanity” URL, or website.

Easy to remember websites . . .

AMY PORTERFIELD

One of the best podcasts I have ever heard is Amy Porterfield’s Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Clear voice, direct examples, and she gives terrific advice.

She also has an easy-to-remember website — amyporterfield.com — no unusual spellings, no unusual phrases.

The way she allows guests a call to action has changed over the years.

IN THE BEGINNING . . .

Initially, she allowed the classic yourwebsite.com. Early in her podcast, Amy had Marie Forleo as a guest. Amy would allow Marie to direct listeners to Marie’s site. “For the freebie, go to marieforleo.com”.

MarieForleo.com

However, several years into her podcast, Amy had millions of listeners. She realized people were on her podcast directing listeners to another website. Not effective marketing if she was having her hard-won listeners directed to another website.

AMY PORTERFIELD MODIFICATION

Amy’s learned she was directing listeners to another company website.

Fellow San Diego resident Rick Mulready was on Amy Porterfield’s podcast and she said something like, “For Rick’s freebie, go to AmyPorterfiled.com/rick to get the guide to Facebook ads by Rick Mulready.”

AmyPorterfiled.com/rick

When the listener reaches Amy’s site, she can pixel the visitor for re targeting and collect the email for the lead magnet. Ask the moderator or producer what the unwritten rules are for a call to action during a show.

Company name hard to type into a search engine

Here’s the problem: let’s say you are a guest on a podcast and your company name is not “ear friendly.”

Qmulos is company who has appeared on many podcasts. We know that most people listen to podcasts on a phone. If someone hears the word “Qmulos” they may think it starts with a “C.”

If they search for “C” umlos, they will find another company. Here is a partial list of companies who I have interviewed with names that are hard to listen to and find: Vidoori, Immuta, Ardalyst, Sev1Tech, Kofax, Rubrik, and many more. If you are on a podcast and give out the URL, nobody will remember it. Instead, create a vanity URL that will be easy to remember.

You can be creative and register a website that is “ear friendly.”

For example, I created “HowToPromoteAPodcast.com” for situations in an interview where a moderator would ask me how people can reach me. You merely redirect the URL to your site.

HowToPromoteAPodcast.com

I registered “FederalTechPodcast” for social media and for interviews. When I do a video promoting the podcast, I say, “go to federal tech podcast dot com” for the show.

FederalTechPodcast.com

Let’s say a moderator ends the interview with the proverbial, “How can listeners get in touch?” You can pivot to the easy-to-remember URL.

Conclusion

Appearing as a guest on podcast is as easy as an email away. However, setting up this contact requires a methodical process. Develop a list of target podcasts. Acquire the name of the moderator. Listen to the tone and vocabulary of the interviews.

From there, take advantage of Apple Podcasts to reach the show notes page to get the name of the moderator. Email the moderator with an individualized message stressing how her listeners would benefit from your appearance.

Finally, know the rules of the game.

Develop a call to action like a checklist that a listener can get very easily. They reach your site, the listener gives their email, they get the lead magnet. From there it is your job to engage in the customer journey and develop a relationship with the listener.

If you liked this article, you may want to read “10 Simple Ways to Promote Your Podcast on LinkedIn”