How to be A Formidable and Sought-After Podcast Guest By Jackie Lapin

Find yourself envying all your colleagues who just seem to be on everyone’s podcasts? They benefit from reaching new prospects on these digital media outlets, and maybe even getting sales—not to mention all the show’s social media promotions that reinforce your friend’s brand.

Well, that could be you!

Podcast hosts are always looking for new experts to present to their listeners, but they want people who know how to be great guests. If they’ve heard you elsewhere and you didn’t live up to their expectations, or, if they’ve heard from another host that they wouldn’t invite you back, then the door is shut.

So it’s in your interest to become a formidable and sought-after guest, one whose reputation spreads like wildfire. The more podcasts and radio shows you are on, the more hosts will see that you are someone they can count on to bring value to their audiences.

Learn to be a good promotional partner and be easy to work with. Here are the keys to building your great reputation as a podcast guest!

Have a great pitch!

You have to wow them to get on the show. So write a pitch email (be sure to proofread it for accurate spelling and punctuation before submitting) that’s so compelling as to make you irresistible. Tell them what you are bringing to their audience that is new, fresh, exciting, empowering, healing, or heart-touching; how you are going to improve the lives or businesses of the listeners. Make sure you include your credentials as an expert—

being the author of a book will do that automatically—and some of the details of the audience will learn. Put yourself in their shoes—what would move you if you were a host?

Send it to the right places.

Nothing annoys a host more than getting a pitch that is clearly not in his or her wheelhouse. I’ve heard many complain, “They’ve clearly not listened to my show!” Do your homework!

And don’t just rely on the tile of the show if it’s at all ambiguous. Check it out. Build a list of shows whose audience is a reflection of your target audience, and covers subject matters that encompass your topic.

Personalize the pitch.

Don’t just send it addressed to “Dear Host.” Make sure you use the host’s or producer’s first name in the salutation—and, if possible, the subject line! They’ll know you took the time to single them out. And while you can send to multiple hosts the same copied and pasted pitch, make sure you change the salutation and don’t accidentally send using the wrong host’s name! (Yes, it happens!)

Do follow up, but don’t hound.

If there isn’t an immediate invitation forthcoming from the host, you’ll need to do either an email or phone follow-up (podcasters are notoriously cagey about providing a phone number online, so you may be stuck with an email). But don’t hound them if they don’t respond or say yes…that’s the fastest way to become a persona non grata.

Make it easy to book you.

Don’t make the host chase you down on Facebook Messenger or What’s App to book you. Give them both an email and phone number. (Always give them a phone number as a backup in case of tech issues!) And don’t dither about dates. A host really hates it if you keep them waiting, when there are other guests jockeying for dates. And if you must cancel or reschedule, give them plenty of warning unless it's an absolute emergency. Never, ever stand up a host. If there is a problem, let them know. Make sure you have their backup numbers. Make sure to put the date in your calendar or alert system, so there is no chance of you forgetting or being late.

Have a comprehensive media kit available.

This is critical! First, if you have all the right info, the host won’t be chasing you down with three or four emails (”Will you please send ___?” which is a big waste of your time, and annoying to them! Your kit should have:

An opening release on the subject of the interview.

• Your full bio.
• A four to five paragraph on-air-introduction of you they can read to the audience.
• 20 questions you wish to be asked (most podcasts are an hour so you need enough questions). Don’t include the answers—just the questions.
• Your social media links, website, and any other pertinent information.

By giving them a comprehensive media kit, you will put the host’s mind at ease and will enable his or her to help market and endorse you to their audience.

Have real physical books available, as well as PDFs—send them on time and give the host time to read it.

Yes, this is the digital era, but hosts seldom want to read your book online. They want to touch and feel the real thing. Sending them an ebook will seldom get them to say yes…they want to give their audience something more substantial.

This isn’t to say that a PDF isn’t of value—it is! Certain hosts prefer one, but more importantly, if an interview opens up suddenly, and there’s no time for the U.S. Postal Service to deliver, a PDF is the way to go. But when you are sending a physical book, remember the host needs time to read it, so don’t schedule the interview with such a short timetable that he/she won’t have received it or had enough time to read it.

Don’t wait till the last minute to send your materials.

The smartest course of action is to send your media kit and your photo on the day you send your confirmation. That prevents you from forgetting and having the host frantically trying to get ahold of you to send them.

Be prepared.

Know where you want to take the conversation. What’s the outcome you want? Ask and then reverse-engineer the interview. The order of the questions you’ve created for the media kit should provide a roadmap of where you are taking the host and the audience.

Identify the top three to five points you want to cover about your content so you make sure to cover those in every interview. Develop key messages or talking points. Some hosts will ask for those talking points separate from the questions you’ve already submitted.

Listen to their show, or at least get a sense of what the host(s) like to offer and the format so there are no surprises. I’ve seen folks innocently submit to a show that is on the surface about global consciousness, only to be attacked by a caustic host. Know what you are in for!

Do the promotion when they send you a link.

A major faux pas is to ignore the host’s request to co-promote the interview. If you want to be valued and invited back, play the good partner and, at the very least, post it on social media.

Send a reminder confirmation.

Most hosts are busy serving their communities and marketing their own services. Now and again, they forget about the interview they have scheduled with you. So just as a precaution, send a reminder email and include the calling details! I’ve seen plenty of interviews go awry because there was one number incorrect, or you’re using an old zoom that got changed between invite and interview. Reconfirm in the email. No one likes to have prepped all that time with no one on the other end of the line.

Make sure you have working links on everything.

So you’ve got this great opportunity to market to the host’s vast audience and when the listeners get to your site, the link is broken, or something doesn’t work. This is a lost opportunity for you, and it makes the host look bad. So check it all: websites, funnels/opt-ins gifts, sales landing pages, etc…

Make sure your tech is working and have a mic or headphones ready if necessary.

Let’s say you’re on a zoom videocast (where the host is creating both video and audio versions of the show) and there’s no time to chat before he/she goes on the air. You are LIVE! Only...you discover, your camera isn’t working! Or your microphone’s gone bad. Ouch! So make sure it’s all working in advance, and, and if using that format, have the person’s Skype address dialed in. And just for good measure have headphones or earbuds and a mic available in case there is too much ambient noise or feedback.

Be ahead of time.

On the day of the interview, be early. That way if there are tech snafus you might have a few minutes to solve them. Or, you’re available if the host wants to chat with you or clarify something. Never be late, because it’s an embarrassment to the host to have to deal with empty air space, and you will miss out on valuable talk time.

Deliver with impact, interest, and fun.

Be lively! Don’t get labeled as a deadbeat guest. Punch up your delivery so it’s interesting, dramatic, empowering, and tantalizing. Modulate your voice so it’s more than a monotone. Be ready with good sound bites, great metaphors, catchy titles, and phrases that are memorable. Use stories and case histories that help to personify why the listeners should want more with and from you. But don’t get caught up in explaining the details of what you do. People don’t care about the process…they care about the outcome!

Provide great value. Value is paramount!

The very worst thing you can do is to turn the interview into a blatant one-hour sales pitch. That’s a guaranteed no-return ticket. But give a ton of value, and you’ll be invited back time and time again. What’s value? Education, solutions, tips/techniques/tricks, insights, new perceptions—whatever they can use for transformation and preparation. You don’t have to give away the store, as you want to hold back plenty to present in your offers, but you need to have the listener and host feel as if you’ve got the answers they have been seeking. And the best way to do that is to give them a taste. Give them some action steps they can take.

Invite, don’t oversell.

Your actual invitation to the audience to take advantage of your free or paid offer should really only take a few minutes of the interview. And that’s what it should be: an invitation, not an aggressive sales pitch. Tell them what it is and the benefits of why they should want it—once again—the outcome, the answer to their pain point. Be inviting, not salesy. If you cross the line, you could end up with a very pissed-off host.

Give a great call to action with a simple URL.

That ultimate call to action—and yes, there is no point to the interview if there is no clear call to action!—needs to be easy-to-grasp and easy to access. Stay away from long URLs. If you have your offer landing page buried somewhere on the back page of your website, buy a domain name/URL that is simple and easy for you to say, and easy for the listeners to remember—which you can then point directly to that page.

Thank the host on air.

Don’t forget to thank your host before signing off. You must be the gracious guest and acknowledge their willingness to invest their precious airtime on you. The absence of gratitude will be noticed.

Share the recording and add it to your website.

Be that good partner again in sharing the interview. No host wants to feel like you took their airtime, and once the show’s recorded, it’s hasta la vista!

Send a thank you note and/or return the favor.

If you want to really ensure some good will, send or email a thank you note to the host or make an offer of a return the favor—put him or her on your show, offer to send an email to your community on their next promotional program, invite them to join a Facebook group you control. Go that extra mile and ensure you get invited back again!

Click here for more valuable information on 20 Factors That Tip the Scales in Your Favor to Get Booked on a Podcast.

Jackie Lapin is a leader in helping leaders, entrepreneurs, authors, practitioners,

speakers, and messengers connect with their next followers around the globe. For the past 10 years, her internationally acclaimed Conscious Media Relations has been providing, radio/podcast tours and speaking engagements to support the growth and revenue of change-makers. Learn more at www.ConsciousMediaRelations.co... and www.SpeakerTunityCities.com.