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How To Craft a Stellar Guest Video Pitch That Gets You Booked on Podcasts
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How are you doing in podcasting as a guest, host, or both?
Podcast guest video pitching is a surefire way to get booked on podcasts as a guest. But sending a video pitch to a podcast host is a delicate practice. Join as Josh Cary shares his life-long discovery of the 11 aspects of successful entrepreneurship through all industries and how he has packaged them up for you to use to pitch any podcast show host brilliantly. The 11P’s of the Perfect Podcast Video Pitch gives you practical, tangible steps you can take to wow an audience of any size – even an audience of one. The results will be astounding for you!
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Read The Blog Post: How To Craft a Stellar Guest Video Pitch That Gets You Booked on Podcasts
In 2017, my six-figure business had become so toxic that I had no choice but to close up shop and never look back. If I’m being honest with myself, I was the problem, not my business or clients.
That realization alone got me from where I was to where I am today. If I want anything to change here out in my life, it has to start here from within.
It took a few months to figure out what to do next, and when I did, I jumped right into the podcast industry. My brand, The Hidden Entrepreneur show, grew quickly and is still running strong over 225 episodes later. I even have a keynote talk titled: How Podcasting Saved my Life and grew my business.
Today, I want to share some of those lessons with you in the form of the 11 Ps of the perfect podcast guest video pitch.
This post is a transcription of one of the talks from our PodPros Quarterly Virtual event.
Why a Video Pitch?
What is a video pitch, and how did I become so passionate about this?
A video pitch is a one to two-minute video clip strategically planned out and recorded and delivered to a podcast host that you want to pitch.
When I first started recording my episodes, I realized that I wasn’t getting the full picture when guests pitched me. All I had to go on was a sheet of paper and a photo. I found myself asking: if the end result here is an audio discussion and, more often than not, with a video component, why aren’t I getting any insight in that medium of how the person’s going to appear?
I don’t know how they sound or how they look. Basically, I don’t know anything about them except the written word and a picture. So I started making video pitches to other hosts whenever I wanted to guest on their shows.
Let’s get right into the 11 Ps of the perfect podcast video pitch.
Personality
How do you get your personality across on camera through the screen to another person? First, it begins by knowing what your best personality traits are. For better or worse, as humans, we make swift judgments and assessments subconsciously.
As soon as we see or hear somebody, we instantly think, do I like this person? Do I want to get them? Do I want to get to know them further? Should I care about what they’re saying? Am I interested in them?
The host you’re pitching is no different. So do yourself a favor and make sure your first impression aligns with your best personality traits.
What are the top two or three personality traits that embody who you are? Are you charming, witty, intelligent, compassionate, empathetic, knowledgeable, quirky, humorous or stern?
Consciously and deliberately start incorporating these traits into your pitch.
Positioning
Whether you are conscious of it or not, you’re already positioned in a certain way among your peers, colleagues and out in the marketplace.
If you’re not deliberately positioning yourself, the industry will position you.
So how do you want to be positioned to the host?
Are you a long-time expert and thought leader with years of experience and certifications and ready to impart all of your wisdom? Or maybe you are more of a lifelong student who’s learning in real time? Either is acceptable; just figure out where you want to be positioned.
Pitch
When I work with my clients, we really focus on refining their core message.
You need to be clear on what you stand for. What are the stories? What are the sound bites? Which bullet points can the host latch onto and understand you’re going to offer their audience? This is your pitch—the core message of what you’re bringing to the table? Make it strong, deliberate, and concise.
Purpose
What is the reason you are pitching this show specifically? While you don’t necessarily have to elaborate on this in words, at the very least, have a through-line of why you’re pitching this host.
Do you want to get in front of their audience, and why? What is their demographic? Are you trying to build a relationship with this host for some reason, and what is that reason? Are you looking to break into this industry?
Maybe you are looking to stroke your ego a little bit. There’s no wrong answer here. Just be very clear on what the purpose is for this specific podcast guest video pitch.
Pertinent
Is your pitch relevant to the host? Is it an easy yes? You have to nudge the pitch and frame it, so it is obviously pertinent to the host.
What makes it pertinent? What are they talking about or not that you can bring to the table? And do so in a way they understand and says yes, this makes sense, I’d love you on this show.
Picture
How you appear here is everything. One of the first impressions you’re going to make is when they push play, and they see, feel or hear. So make sure your framing is good.
Also, make sure your camera, lighting, sound, background and everything else that appears show what an end result will look like. Everything I’m putting out here is to say; this is how I will come to the table. This is what you can expect.
Naturally, I’m going to look like this, sound like this; I’m going to use this Mic et cetera. Paint a picture that you know how to play the game. Be deliberate about the picture that you provide.
Performance
This is one of my favorites, as I happened to spend 15 years as an actor-filmmaker. Podcasting is every bit of a performance! There are lights, a camera, and there’s action. You have the microphone and an audience.
Then there’s communication, storytelling, drama, comedy and everything to do with performance.
The sooner you realize that you’re a performer, the better. If you don’t feel too strongly about this, figure out why that is and how you can lean into it more.
Take time to brush up on your communication, storytelling skills and everything about being a performer. How do you play to the camera or the microphone? It’s all performance.
Personalized
You’re not going to create one generic video pitch and send it out. You want it to be personal. “Hey Sarah, thanks so much for pushing play. By the way, I love on your LinkedIn, how you talked about your daughter and what she does and…”
It’s so easy to find one personal thing that you connect to and relate to. This will make your pitch more human and feel more authentic.
This takes me back to the previous P; your performance could every bit still be authentic. It does have to take away from the authentic element. The goal is to find something that bonds and connects the two of you right out of the gate.
Passion
How do you bring your passion to the video? What kind of energy do you bring? What is your tone like? Your volume, your cadence, your vibe.
How do you talk about what you love? You need to tap into that passion and put it through everything you’re doing. This way, the passion will leap off the screen to show the host what you’re capable of doing and achieving.
Persistence
This goes with everything else in life and business, not just podcast guest video pitching. You have to be persistent, not only in the number of video pitches you make but also in reaching out to the hosts if you don’t hear back from them in 3, 5 or 7 days.
Yes, it’s acceptable and expected.
When I don’t hear back from somebody, I’ll send them a one-sentence email that says, “Hey Sarah, I know you’re swamped. I just didn’t want this to get lost in the shuffle. Thanks.”That’s it! Then I resend the video pitch. You’ll be surprised at that reply rate.
Polished
Is the video pitch polished? How do you get the outcome to be as polished as you want? Through practice, rehearsing, scripting, outlining and doing it. The learning and figuring out what worked and what didn’t.
Always ask, what can I do better? Self-awareness has been one of the biggest wins for me. Knowing who I am, how I feel, why I’m that way in any given moment and being honest with myself has been a game-changer.
To Wrap Up
There are the 11 Ps for the perfect podcast video pitch. I genuinely believe that the more you do it, the more you put yourself out there and perfect all of these Ps, the better response you’ll get.
You want specific examples of my version of all 11 Ps. Watch the video presentation when you can. I was deliberately upfront and sprinkled in every one of these Ps from the very beginning when I introduced myself!
I can’t wait to see you succeed with your perfect podcast guest video pitch.
If you loved learning about Josh’s 11 Ps There’s more amazing podcasting content and strategies on our upcoming PodPros Virtual Event.
About Josh Cary:
Josh Cary spent 40 years in hiding! That’s right. He was hiding every aspect of himself and showing up with a ‘mask’ on in all areas of life trying to gain the approval of everyone else. At 19, he changed his name and entered into, what would become, a 15-year career as a professional actor and filmmaker. The applause and external accolades didn’t completely heal his feelings of anxiety and insecurities and he found himself more isolated than ever. Today, Josh works with executives and CEOs, helping them show up powerfully behind the mic to gain the exposure they need. Josh is also an accomplished podcast host of two shows with over 400 combined episodes and he’s a business coach to entrepreneurs who are ready, willing, and able to say “F That NOISE!”
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