Updated June 10, 2022
Podcasting is a powerful long-term marketing strategy that will involve many guests. Eventually, you will run out of people to invite. Because of that fact, you should always be working your guest list and have a dozen guests lined up.
If someone cancels, you can replace them and not impact your consistency.
I have recorded over nine hundred interviews and have used every conceivable way to get guests; my efforts have resulted in two million downloads.
Here are five ways to get guests:
- Make a connection
- Cold call seeking a guest
- Pay media relations companies to get guests
- Accept guests from media relations agencies
- Guests pay for their appearance
1. Make a Connection
The highest percentage of getting guests, not necessarily great guests, is through personal networking.
Disadvantage: All great guests may not be in your extended community
Start with a list of fifty people you would like to have as a guest. Prioritize them, one criterion is the number of social media followers they have. This is important for you to leverage their appearance through tags on social media.
Then, go to your network and see if anybody knows any of your targets. LinkedIn is a fantastic place to start for a business-to-business podcast guest. Ask your connection to make a referral.
There are hundreds of anecdotes about this connection phenomenon. Last month I was participating in a group of podcasters, and one wanted to get the president of Disney on his podcast. It just so happens that one of the people in the group knew a person high in the management chain at Disney.
Some networking experts recommend a more oblique approach. They suggest you find out where on social media your target is active. The idea is to develop a relationship by commenting on the same things your target comments on. When you do your personalized outreach, they will recognize you from social media.
One issue with the “comment” technique is that it does not scale. Rather than working fifty potential guests, you put your eggs in one basket. To me, it seems tedious and time-consuming to get one podcast guest. However, if you are convinced a specific person will rocket your podcast to viral levels, it may be worth the time investment.
Ask for a referral
Let’s say you are wrapping up an interview. The last question to ask is, “Can you recommend someone to be a guest?” You would be surprised how often that simple question can yield a quality interview.
Today, people jump jobs. It is my experience that a guest from a company “A” on my show and two years later they are with company “B.” This opens your network at each stage of the way: pre-interview, immediately after the interview, and a few weeks after the interview.
Let’s say you have Mary Smith on as a guest. After the interview, you ask if she knows your target “Rohan Gupta,” and she does not know him. Well, it is very possible that in two years, Mary gets a job offer from company “B.” Voila, now she works on the same team as Rohan Gupta. Keep in touch with Mary and get the introduction to Rohan.
The swap interview method
The “swap” is simple: you find a podcast with a similar audience and ask the moderator to exchange interviews.
For example, John Jantsch has a popular podcast called Duct Tape Marketing. In many interviews, he mentions that he had just appeared on his guest’s podcast.
For example, let’s say you have a product that helps software developers evaluate code. You can appear on all the developer’s podcasts you wish and not reach a crossover audience.
You may want to go on a fiscal management podcast to appeal to Chief Financial Officers to let them know ways to save money on complex software projects.
This new audience of finance professionals hits the goal of increasing reach.
2. Cold Call Seeking a Guest
Take your list of desirable guest candidates and develop an email/social media campaign to connect to prospective guests.
Disadvantage: Low percentage response, a higher chance of the guest bailing at the last minute
They have a following, which should bolster downloads. Other potential guests will be impressed and be more willing to appear on your podcast.
Approach #1
Create a custom invitation that will emphasize the benefits of being on the podcast.
For example, in the world of technology, one of the founders of the Internet is well-respected Vint Cerf. Currently, he holds the title of “Chief Internet Evangelist” for Google. The satellite and space sectors are exploding, with an estimated 100,000 satellites projected to be launched by 2030.
I contacted Vint to ask about his current project of developing Deep Space Internet. He loved the topic and appeared on one of the podcasts I moderate, Constellations.
Approach #2 Social Media
Most businesses are on LinkedIn. You may want to test reaching out to prospective guests using LinkedIn messages. Unfortunately, they are expensive but might be worth testing.
The unspoken weakness to seeking a guest is that they are much more likely to cancel. For some reason, there is an unwritten social rule: if a person asks to be on your show, there is a 100% chance they will show up.
If you ask them, you position yourself as the supplicant, they think they can delay or cancel at the last moment.
That is why you should constantly improve your interview skills and podcast promotion strategy. If you are the one standing at the door with hat in hand asking for an interview, the guest will treat you with a lower priority. Make sure the guests are the ones standing at the door with hat in hand.
If you ask them, you position yourself as the supplicant, they think they can delay or cancel at the last moment.
That is why you should constantly improve your interview skills and podcast promotion strategy. If you are the one standing at the door with hat in hand asking for an interview, the guest will treat you with a lower priority. Make sure the guests are the ones standing at the door with hat in hand.
3. Pay a Media Relations Company to get guests
Retaining an agency for this type of work will take the burden off you.
Disadvantage: It’s expensive
Here’s a sample of a great pitch letter:
4. Accept Guests from a Media Relations Company
This can be an enviable position. Let’s say you improve your interview skills to the point where people line up to be on your podcast. Also, media companies like the ones we mentioned above will be contacting you.
Disadvantage: They would not contact you unless they had an agenda
This is typical for a large company moving into a new market. Let’s say a company acquires a company and wants to introduce the benefits of that merger to a new audience. For example, Akamai just acquired Guardicore.
This gives the company new capabilities, and they want to communicate that ability to an audience that may have them pigeon-holed into one category. Media relations companies can contact moderators in popular tech podcasts to get the word out.
Here is a list of companies who can help you get guests:
Company | URL | Cost |
|---|---|---|
Podcast Brokers | $550/mo. two bookings | |
Podmatch | Free and $39/mo. | |
Podcast Guests | Free & listing charge $9/mo | |
PodChaser Connect | https://podchaser.com/ | message 12/9 pricing |
Interview Connections | https://interviewconnections.com/ | $4K for a set of guests |
Interview Valet | https://interviewvalet.com/ | $1,000/mo |
5. Guests Pay for their Appearance
Disadvantage: Could slip into an infomercial and you will lose listeners
What a dream come true! But, it may be a nightmare.
This is such a small category, it does not apply to 99.999% of podcasters, but it is placed in this list to make it inclusive. In fact, it may be aspirational for you.
Your customer will have an agenda and may be a terrible guest. If you take anyone who will pay, it will look like you have lost any editorial credibility.
Eric Sui from “Leveling Up” blatantly asks for people to to be a guest on his podcast. This flips the scenario – you “apply” and try to convince him you would be a great guest for his audience. If you are selected, you get to pay a fee. This takes the burden of getting a guest completely on the candidate. This is the ultimate in onus transfer.
John Lee Dumas moderates the podcast Entrepreneurs on Fire. He makes no bones about it, he charges $2,500 to be on his podcast.
Conclusion
In a perfect world, your podcast will be so popular that people will be lining up outside your door begging to be a guest. Be careful what you wish for. This could be the death knell for your show.
The most popular podcasters are always aggressively looking for fantastic guests.
Producers for leading podcasts are under a hard burden of trying to filter the losers from the boozers. If they pick wrong, they could select terrible guests and tank the show.
Be consistent with asking for referrals and keep in touch with industry trends and leaders.
If you liked this article, you may want to read “Can You Increase Downloads by Putting Your Podcast on YouTube?”
John Gilroy
Has been in front of a microphone since 1991. He can help you structure, launch, and promote your company podcast. johngilroy@theoakmontgroupllc.com
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