Harness the power of podcast interviews using these road-tested pitching tips

G’day … Trevor here …

Welcome to Reputation OnRamp - thanks for being a valued subscriber!

It’s little wonder entrepreneurs professional experts are confused about (a) what PR is, and (b) how it can help them grow their brand and their business, when crap, as outlined below, pops up in people’s social feeds.

I recently came across a LinkedIn post written by a so-called PR ‘guru’ (he seemed to talk a big game, that’s for sure - but scratch beneath the surface ... ahem).

Indeed, he made a few big sweeping statements, which I take umbrage with.

WHAT HE SAID: "Building your set and forget PR machine"

WHAT I SAY: PR is not an 'evergreen sales funnel' that you can switch on and off 🤦‍♂️ PR, done well, will strengthen your brand and your business over the long-term, building your reputation and engendering trust within the marketplace.

WHAT HE SAID: "PR’s a roll of the dice that my entrepreneurial inner gambler loves."

WHAT I SAY: PR has got nothing to do with gambling; indeed, that implies it's risky, which of course is absurd. Not having a savvy PR program in place is what I'd call risky for your business 🙄 

WHAT HE SAID: "When PR hits, it usually does in a big way."

WHAT I SAY: I don't even know what this means? I guess he’s talking about media coverage (which isn't 'PR' per se)? 🤔  Anyway, even if he’s confusing PR for publicity, most media activity will take a while - maybe even years! - to make an impact. Unless you have a meaty news hook that ticks all the right boxes and genuinely has mass appeal (it can happen, but it’s rare), then expect the road to sustained publicity to be a slow and steady one (read about my ‘rolling thunder strategy’ here)

Tread warily folks!

As I write this, I am listening to Candy Dulfer Live in Amsterdam.

Dulfer is a Dutch jazz and pop saxophonist - reportedly Prince’s former top choice sax player. Dulfer gets quite funky on this album. Standout track is the Dave (The Eurythmics) Stewart cover - Lily Was Here.

What have you been listening to this week? Hit REPLY and let me know!

If you want to build visibility and word-of-mouth for your ideas, your insights and your expertise, try this …

One massive opportunity I see for subject matter leaders and owners of expertise-based businesses who want to build their profile and reputation in a way that’s strategic and sustainable is 🥁 … being a guest on other people’s podcasts.

It’s not about making an instant impact though.

Unless you land a marquee podcast with a gargantuan-sized audience (soz, chances are you won’t - at least, not in the early stages of your journey), you won’t be reaching huge numbers of listeners, but that could well be something that’s in your favour.

It will give you the time and space needed to earn your podcasting ‘chops’, to hone your story and your message, and to gain confidence as compelling expert guest and podcast performer.

Indeed, I know a number of successful podcasters who started their podcasting journey, not as a host, but an expert guest.

They did the ‘hard yards’ and appeared on small show after small show, time and time again, slowly building an audience for their ideas and their expertise, which they later parlayed into a following for their own podcast show.

With this in mind, what’s the best way to go about becoming a compelling and credible podcast interview guest?

Podcast guesting tips, recommendations, and pitching do’s and don’t’s

Now, a few things to think about before you start pitching yourself as a potential interview guest to the host and/or producer of a podcast show.

The key is to do your homework, well in advance of starting to pitch yourself as a potential guest. And then, when you do land a guest interview spot, more homework will be required.

Let’s dig in!

PRO TIP #1 - Listen to podcasts!

This might sound basic, but seriously, do not skip this part.

If you don’t already do so, start listening to podcasts. A lot of them.

Get used to the medium; focus on interview shows, and work out in your own mind what you like (and dislike) about the discussions taking place.

Take particular interest in the guests. Take note of how they come across - are they interesting, or fun to listen to, or a bit boring and buttoned up? Do they pepper their answers with stories and anecdotes?

Are they relaxed and easy to listen to? Do you find yourself wanting to listen to more of the interview, or are you glad when it’s over (indeed, did you ‘pull the pin’ early in the chat?).

PRO TIP #2 - Start building out your list of potential podcasts

When you’re ready to start reaching out to podcast hosts to see if they’d like to interview you, don’t rush in, but rather, do your research!

Firstly, make a list of the small niche podcasts that cover your industry - the ‘low hanging fruit’ as it were.

Depending on your areas of expertise, you may be a suitable guest for podcasts that service different industries and categories.

For example, an accountant might be suitable to speak on a podcast produced by an accounting software company that targets other accountants (talking to ‘the industry’), but she might also be able to talk about accounting for emerging female business owners, or solopreneurs working from remote locations.

Think expansively - look at the obvious podcasts first, and then start branching out into ‘adjacent’ topics and categories.

Do you know who makes up your desired target audience? Do you know what podcasts they listen to?

If so, terrific!

If not, ask ‘em! If you have an email newsletter, why not pop in a survey question or two asking people what their favourite podcasts are. Angle the question so you get relevant answers i.e. you’re after the smaller niche podcasts, not the major productions.

Go nuts! Make a big list, and then start chopping it back.

[ IDEA: Use a podcast search tool such as Podseeker to identify and short-list suitable podcasts to pitch ]

PRO TIP #3 - Refine your list

Some podcasts might be too big and not take a chance on a guest without any experience. Keep these on your list though - they might be aspirational, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be right to pitch them at some point after you have some runs on the board.

The best research is manual.

Go and listen to the podcasts you’ve listed, and start pruning (and prioritising) accordingly. You want to create a short-list of podcasts you can approach.

This might seem like a silly thing to say, but make sure the podcasts you’re shortlisting actually interview people. There’s no point pitching someone who does a solo podcast, right? I’ve seen this mistake made numerous times.

This refined list will contain those podcasts you want to reach out to.

Again, personally, I’d aim for smaller shows, ones that serve a niche that’s relevant to you and your business.

Don’t worry about size of audience (albeit, this can be tricky to find out). Your goal is to pitch relevant shows, get on the podcast and do a good job, and start building your bona fides as a credible interview guest.

PRO TIP #4 - Dive deeper

Once you’ve settled on a short-list of podcasts you’d like to appear on, the next step is to dive deeper into each individual podcast.

• Who are they trying to reach?

• What sort of stories, issues, topics, angles do they cover?

• What sort of experts do they interview?

This time you’re trying to pick up on certain nuances, such as the way the host interviews, their tone of voice, whether or not they keep to a format, or ask certain questions each episode.

Is the interview less Q&A and more of a conversation? Does the interviewer prod hard and go deep into topics, or are they happy to go with a more ‘surface’ chat?

Listening to enough episodes of a podcast will reveal certain patterns.

Podcasters, especially those doing it as a part-time thing - whether as a hobby, or as part of the content marketing they do for their business - will often reveal who their audience is, and the types of guests they have on will be reflective of who they’re trying to reach, and resonate, with.

Take note of this, because it will come in handy when you come to pitch yourself as a potential guest.

Perhaps most importantly, make sure there’s an alignment with the host and the show.

Ask yourself: Do I actually like (and align with) the interviewer? Can I see myself developing some sort of a rapport with this person?

PRO TIP #5 - Develop your pitch

Okay, so you’ve done your homework.

You understand the world of podcast interviews - you’ve refined your list of targets and created a short-list of shows you’d like to be on, along with the contact details (LinkedIn? Twitter? Email?) of the host and/or producer.

Now it’s time to develop your pitch!

Your pitch needs to be compelling … it needs to be interesting, and it needs to be relevant.

REMEMBER: It’s not about you - it’s about the podcaster and their audience.

Take what you know about the podcast in question and tailor your pitch to suit.

What’s going to be of interest and value and relevance to the people who listen to the show? Boil that down within the confines of your (email) pitch:

What’s your story, your message, the hook, the angle that you want to go with?

Your topic or hook needs to be included in the email subject header line.

If you can relate your pitch to a previous episode you’ve listened to, this can be a powerful tactic, but make sure it’s genuine. Podcasters will know pretty quickly whether you’ve listened to the show or not, so be authentic about what you like about the show, and if you can tie in to a previous episode, so much the better.

For example, recently I pitched a pretty big podcaster because they had someone on their show talking about generating media publicity, and I suggested I could “come on to the show to unpack in more detail how credible business owners can leverage the power of PR for profit, impact and legacy.”

The response was positive, so fingers crossed!

PRO TIP #6 - Create a media kit

Your email pitch is one thing - it needs to be sharply written, and not too long. You’ll want to include a line or two about yourself and your suitability as a guest, but don’t overdo it. Instead, direct them to the “attached media kit” (see below for an example of what this looks like).

All the professional pitching agencies send a one-pager along with the email note.

The one-pager should highlight your credibility and provide a short bio plus a one sentence positioning statement.

Providing suggested topics and talking points is a great idea, as well as some of your favourite quotes and sayings (yours, not other people’s). This will give them a better flavour of who you are and what you stand for, and will separate you from anyone else pitching.

The goal is to make your pitch succinct, relevant and compelling, and that way, you put yourself in a really good position for that podcaster to say:

“Yes, I want you on the show!”

CLICK HERE to download my one-page podcast pitching kit - use it as the basis to develop your own background sheet!

AND FINALLY …

There are a number of tools and services available to help you secure guest interviews on podcasts, including:

• Podcast Hawk (this tool allows you to identify suitable podcasts using custom AI search filters plus develop customised email pitches)

• MatchMaker.fm (this platform does a lot of the heavy lifting by connecting podcasters and expert guests)

If you wanted to take things up a notch and get an expert to do the booking for you, there are podcast booking agencies popping up all the time - just make sure you do your due diligence!

As a podcaster myself, I've received some shocking pitches from agencies!

To give you a benchmark, here are three of the better outfits to check out:

• Interview Valet  

• Lemonpie 

• Interview Connections

Oh, and if you’re going to hand over your podcast pitching to a virtual assistant, then ensure all the steps I’ve outlined above are adhered to.

The worst pitches I’ve received are from VAs who haven’t done their homework (it’s easy to tell!) - not only do they not succeed in getting their client on my show as a guest, but the expert’s reputation also takes a hit as well.

Good luck!

I’ll leave you with this quote from … errr, someone ('file under: ‘Unknown’) …

In case we haven’t met yet …

Hi, I’m Trevor. I help purpose-led business owners become clear and confident in how they leverage PR, content and digital communications for profit, impact and legacy.

Let’s connect on LinkedIn!

Discover more at trevor.world