How to Get on High-Quality Podcasts as a Guest and Awe Listeners

With all the traction podcasting has been getting recently, there is a massive upside to appearing as a guest on podcasts.

Yet, too many people pass on this opportunity simply because (1) they are unsure about the value they can derive from making guest appearances or (2) they are clueless on how to get interview bookings on podcasts consistently.

To tackle the first challenge, you have to determine your exact motivation for getting on podcasts as a guest. What do you hope to accomplish?

Guest podcasting offers numerous benefits. You can:

1. Highlight your expertise and build credibility within your industry.
2. Broaden the exposure of your brand to a new audience.
3. Build relationships with key figures in your industry.
4. Gain killer content for all your marketing channels.
5. Drive authoritative backlinks to your website.
6. Spread your message or tell your story.
7. Make real personal connections and work networks.
8. Promote your products and services and generate new leads.

Which goal(s) do you care about the most? You have to be clear about your primary motivation from the onset. The last thing you want is to end up wasting time chasing guest slots that do little to help achieve your goals.

Once you have all that figured out, it’s time to move on to the step-by-step process for landing guest spots on podcasts.

In this post, I’ll cover everything you need to know about getting on podcasts as a guest. You’ll learn how to find top-notch and relevant shows, perfect your pitch, awe listeners during interviews and evaluate your efforts.

This is an excellent guide for people just getting started on guest podcasting as well as frequent guests who want to improve their appearances.

Leverage The Power of Technology with PodMatch

One thing you’ll quickly realize as you read this guide, landing spots on the best podcasts can be a time-consuming process.

What if you are tight on time but still want to derive all the benefits of guest podcasting? What do you do?

Creating a profile on PodMatch is the easiest and quickest way to start booking podcast guest slots. PodMatch is an automated matching service that matches podcasters with ideal guests.

If you’re looking for high-quality podcasts to appear as a guest on, all it takes is a few clicks, and the matching core algorithm takes care of the rest. No other podcast matching service can better deliver high-engagement podcast interactions!

Don’t take my word. See for yourself!

Hands-on Approach to Finding Guest Podcast Slots

This step is all about finding the podcasts your target audience listens to.

Search podcast directories  

Podcast directories are the most common way listeners find new content, making them ideal places for discovering potential podcasts to collaborate with.

Currently,  there are at least 30 podcast directories, but limit your search to the major ones like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher. Most podcasters who use the smaller directories still publish their content on mainstream platforms.

Here are two ways you can go about finding relevant podcasts online.

1. Go to the search bar on the directory and enter the keywords that best represent your target niche. It will present you with podcasts most relevant to the keyword you entered. Do this across the different platforms and take note of the podcasts that keep on being repeated in the search results. If you struggle to come up with new keyword variations off the bat, check out AnswerThePublic. This is a great free resource to help you generate new keyword phrases for your search.
2. Google is the perfect place to find people considered experts in your niche. For example, let’s say my focus is on startups; a potential keyword would be “startup experts.” I carried out a quick Google search with this keyword. The fourth search result was a link to a directory that featured nearly 29 different startup experts. I clicked on that link and found a list of 29 individuals. Perfect!

Now I can select one name and enter it into the Apple Podcast search bar. This will show me if there are any podcasts they host or have been featured in. The final step would be to repeat the process with other names and list any podcast I encounter.

Attend Podcasting Events

You can also find potential podcasts by attending networking events and podcasting conferences. In the recent past, most podcasting events have been switched to virtual or been canceled altogether. But in 2022, we might see a resurgence of in-person meetings, which always offer an excellent opportunity to network and build meaningful relationships in the podcasting industry.

Filter down to the most relevant ones

By now, you’ll probably have a long list of potential podcasts. It’s time to clean up the list a bit, as not all of them will be worth your time. For example, as a podcaster who focuses on helping early-stage entrepreneurs take the next big step in their business, I’d probably derive very little value appearing on a show about medieval history.

Listen to an episode. How will you tell if a podcast is a good fit unless you listen to it? As you listen, look out for nuances on the podcast philosophy, audience type and anything else that stands out.

Here are a couple more things you’ll have to figure out.

Do they feature guests? Some podcasts are hosted by a solo presenter or only focus on audio documentaries or storytelling. So scroll through their episodes and double-check if the hosts have had guests on in the past. To save time, you can combine this step with the online podcast search method mentioned above.

Scan through their website & social media. If you read our post: How to Grow Your Podcast in 2022, you know why having a website is not a must for success in podcasting.

That being said, you should still visit the podcast’s websites and social media accounts. This can help you get a better sense of their brand. Does their content resonate with you? If you’re goal secure backlinks, it’s also worth reviewing their Domain rating SEO tool like Ahrefs and Moz allow users to assess a site’s authority.

Find their contact details. If you have already gone through the podcaster’s social channels and website, you’ve probably already come across their contact details. Some provide a simple email address, while others need you to fill in a contact form. In the event you can find their contact details, you can always send them a message on social to get the conversation started.

Elevate Your Chances of Landing a Spot on the Podcast

Now that you have compiled your list of potential podcasts, it’s time to move on to the next step — reaching out to the hosts!

5 Step Process To Crafting The Perfect Pitch 

Do your homework. Too many people love taking shortcuts and pitching podcasts they know little or nothing about. Don’t be one of them! Instead, do adequate research beforehand and listen to a podcast or two. Then highlight something unique that you have learned about the podcast or the host in your pitch.

Make a meaningful request. Every active podcast host that does interviews receives new pitches every week. Why should they give you an opportunity? What value will you bring to this specific audience? Point this out clearly in your pitch.

Offer to market the episode. Making an appearance as a guest on a podcast automatically means you’ll gain some access host’s audience. Letting the host know that you are willing to promote the episode to your audience increases the success rate of your pitch.

Make it easy to say no. Most hosts don’t respond to many pitches because they are afraid they will upset or offend the person by saying no. Anticipate this reaction and make it easy for them to say no. This will encourage them to respond, and even if they decline, you still stand a better chance in the future than someone who got no response.

Keep it short and sweet. Saved the best for last! No one has the time to read long pitches.

This section is a summarised version of my article, How to Pitch a Podcast. There you’ll find two examples of email pitches that implement these five steps.

How to Make Your Pitch Stand Out Even More

Any podcaster with a successful podcast will inevitably have their inbox flooded with guest pitches. You might have to go the extra mile to capture their attention.

Opting for an audio or video pitch over the generic ones is a more personalized approach and stands a better chance of landing you a positive response.

I have implemented a similar strategy with my Amazon Book video reviews with excellent results.

Remember the first step on the 5 step process we’ve just talked about? It also shows you’ve invested time in researching their podcast.

This added sense of authenticity will help you stand out.

Have a Podcast Outreach Tracking System

While it makes sense to keep all the details of prospective podcasts in one place, how you go about it really depends on you. There’s no right or wrong way, as everyone has their own way of keeping track of data from an outreach campaign.

Here are a couple of common ways most people go about it.

1. Create their own tracking spreadsheet that includes details like:

• Podcaster name
• Podcast Niche
• Contact information
• The date they pitched the idea
• Responses & follow up notes

1. Download one of the free outreach templates available online and then modify it to fit their needs.
2. Some folks find that using a legal pad suits them just fine.

Remember each pitch you submit to podcasters might go through various stages before it finally gets approved or declined.

If a podcast host doesn’t respond to your initial attempt, don’t be afraid to reach out to them again. Try to keep your follow-ups on a reasonable schedule– a max of 3 follow-up messages spread over 2-3 weeks.

This is why you need to monitor where each pitch is in the outreach cycle.

Otherwise, you’ll quickly lose track of which pitches have been accepted or rejected, which ones need to be revised and resubmitted, and which podcasters you need to follow up with.

It sounds like a lot! We all know the immense value of landing interviews on first-rate podcasts, but as you can see, it can get complex quite quickly.  That’s why we love PodMatch! This automatic interview matching platform is the perfect all-in-one solution.

PodMatch handles most of the heavy lifting and frees up time for you to do what matters the most: prepare yourself to awe your hosts’ audience! Get started with PodMatch for free.

Acing The Interview

Getting booked as a guest is only half the work. Now, you need to wow listeners, and that takes preparation.

At the end of the day, a podcast is really just a conversation between two people. Concentrate on connecting with the podcast host, and you won’t go wrong.

Be ready. Ensure you are in a quiet environment and free of distractions to focus on the conversation wholly. Also, evaluate your sound quality. If you run your own podcast, you need to invest in a dedicated microphone. Luckily, there are many quality podcasting mics on the market that won’t break the bank.

Be yourself. What got you on the podcast in the first place is you and your unique perspective. Relax and be authentic.

Remind yourself that nobody is perfect. Even if you feel like you’re rambling, stay calm and keep rolling. If you lose your line of thought, or there is an interruption, you can always stop and ask the host to start that section over.

Keep the host’s listeners in mind. Speak directly to the people who are listening to the show. If you did your research, they should be your ideal avatar, allowing you to address them in a way that adds value.

Masterfully deliver your call to action.  Towards the show’s end, most hosts will allow you to share how the audience can get in touch with you. Write your call to action on a piece of paper so that you don’t flub at the end.

For even more actionable tips, check out 10 Surefire Ways to Stand Out as a Podcast Guest.

You might also enjoy: 30 Podcast Hosts Share How to be a Good Podcast Guest.

It’s Time to Review

It’s tempting to focus on the big podcasts because we assume they have the most significant impact on your goals, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes smaller podcasts have a more engaged audience, and you can get a more substantial outcome from them.

Recheck your stats to see what impact being on that podcast had. Is there a growth in subscribers or episode downloads?

Tracking such stats will help you identify what podcasts do well for you and what topics or approaches work to build your engagement with new audiences.

Just keep in mind that podcasting is a marathon, not a sprint. The results are often gradual and incremental.

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Supercharge Your Guest Podcasting Strategy

Want to learn even more advanced techniques for guest podcasting?

Then mark your calendar for January 20th, 2022, and join us for our first PodPros virtual event for 2022! Featuring 13 of the best speakers in the podcasting industry, you can be sure it will be jam-packed with value and sure-fire podcast growth strategies.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn exactly how some of the world’s leading podcasters have honed their craft and amassed millions of listeners. Hint: appearing as guests on other podcasts is a part of it.

Get your discounted ticket here.