Ready To Deliver A Great Podcast Interview
I hope these podcast guest tips have given you a few ideas on how to make your next interview a whole lot better.
Don’t feel like you have to do it all at once. Try a few parts of level 1 to start with, and then add things in as you get the practice in. Even just a little bit of prep, like I said, puts you miles ahead of the majority.
If you’re raring to go, but don’t have any podcast guest appearances lined up just yet, then be sure to check out how to get booked as a guest on a podcast.
And if you like guesting on podcasts, why not think about running your own? We have a free step-by-step how to start’ guide that’ll walk you through every single step.
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Prepare For Your Interview
Make sure you use an external microphone during your interview. Do not use the built-in microphone in your laptop, or worse, your mobile phone. Use a pair of headphones to listen to the host as they interview you so the host wont hear their own voice echoed back to them as it gets picked up by your microphone.
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Do your best to eliminate any background noise, and turn off any notifications that could interrupt the interview. Try to show up a few minutes early so the host can do a quick sound check before starting the interview, and be ready to give them your undivided attention during your time together.
Evaluate Your Podcast Targets
Appearing on a podcast with no listeners is useless, and pitching a podcast that isnt looking for guests is an equal waste of your time. Before you start pitching, you have to qualify your targets.
To qualify a podcast, run it through the following checklist:
It is notoriously difficult to collect stats about a podcasts viewership. Podcasts are often hosted on multiple platforms simultaneously, and only some platforms give you hard metrics to gauge audience size.
To complicate matters even further, a podcast might have a huge audience on one platform, but not on another.
For example, Innovation Crush is an incredible podcast that investigates creativity in business and life. If you look at their SoundCloud, you can tell they are famous by their 677,000 followers.
If you look at their iTunes, however, they seem smaller with only 14 reviews.
The only way to effectively gauge a podcasts audience is to check each platform their podcast is listed on.
Once youve whittled your list down to roughly 50 relevant podcasts, its time to start crafting your pitch. The first part of this is collecting relevant data.
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Include A Calendly Link
At the bottom of your pitch you should include a link to an online booking management system like Calendly or SimplyBook.me. If the host liked your pitch, this will allow them to book a time slot with you straight away.
This cuts out any tedious back and forth emails trying to get a suitable time nailed down. Youre making life as easy as possible for the host by doing the groundwork for them. If they want to, they can book you as a guest without even replying to your pitch!
Ways To Invite Guests For A Podcast Interview
Making the first move can be intimidating, and you may not know what to say to a potential guest to get them to appear on your podcast. Since a lot of networking happens online, you’ll probably reach out to potential guests via email or send a DM on social media. Look for ways to contact the expert youâd like to interview. Then use our templates below.Keep in mind: Before you reach out, do your research and be as specific as possible. Showing interest and knowledge of their work will increase the chances of them accepting your request. For example, if youâre contacting a financial advisor, donât just mention a specific topic in the finance field. Refer to specific research theyâve conducted or ideas unique to them.
For Contacting Podcast Guests via Email:
Hi , My name is , and I host a podcast called . Our show focuses on . Iâm contacting you because I found you on and would love to have you join my show.
Iâve been researching your work on My target audience would enjoy hearing your point of view. In addition to having you on my podcast, I would also be willing to promote your work .
Please let me know if you would be interested in joining as a guest on my show. My interviews are typically long, conveniently conducted via .
Thank you for your time,
For Contacting Podcast Guests via Social Media Direct Message:
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Create Digital And Shareable Assets
When booking the interview, ask if they need images or audio clips to promote the episode.
You can then upload the audio/video, audiograms, social media captioned videos, or the episode cover photo and YouTube thumbnail to them using Dropbox or Google Drive so the guests can market the episode how they want.
Podcasts Let You Build Stronger Relationships With Listeners
I remember the first time I met one of my favorite podcasters. I sheepishly approached him and introduced myself.
He responded Whatsup, nice to meet you!
I was shocked. Hes just a normal human! I thought.
Something about the podcast medium though made him both feel authoritative, probably because you used to have to be an authority to start a podcast and our perceptions havent caught up.
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Why You Should Get Interviewed On Podcasts:
Okay, before I walk you through how to get booked for interviews on podcast, let me give you a few more benefits of doing so:
Exposure to a highly targeted and engaged audience
When you get interviewed on a podcast, you can trust that you will be heard by a highly targeted and engaged audience. If someone is willing to listen to a 30-60 minute interview with you, you can bet that they are interested in your topic.
When you are speaking as a guest on a podcast you are speaking to a highly targeted and engaged audience that is there to learn. Jessica Rhodes, podcast host and founder of Interview Connections
Build relationships with influencers in your industry
The one thing all podcast hosts have in common is influence. They have audiences of people who choose to listen to them. For that reason alone, building a relationship with these people is generally a good idea. Being interviewed on someones podcast is a great way to kick start a relationship with them, which can lead to a number of opportunities including referrals to other podcasts, in-person speaking engagements, guest blogging, and even partnerships or joint ventures.
They dont take a lot of time to do
High know/like/trust factor
More visitors to your website
Whats The Biggest Area You Are Curious About And Why Or What Are Some Of The Things Youre Researching The Most Right Now
This question ties a bit into how they keep learning in order to stay on top of their role, but it dives more into the technical aspect of their extracurricular pursuits.
Experts will have a burning question pertaining to their industry, regardless of whether theyre fresh out of college or have been involved in their line of work for decades.
For example, an engineer could be researching AI consciousness, whether its possible, how to implement it practically, and what the implications may be. Whereas a neuroscientist could be researching where consciousness may present itself in the brain.
Your interviewees response will be interesting and itll reveal a bigger-picture aspect to their work. Knowing what theyre most curious about or what theyre currently researching will shed some light on their core values, as well.
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Lead Generation Materials To Attract Students
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Infographic
Share the infographic on ‘How to Get Your First Booking as a Podcast Guest’on social media or elsewhere to show your audience how important the topic is.
Or use it as an additional lead magnet or content upgrade on your blog to attract more students for your course.
How To Get Interviewed On Podcasts
June 19, 2014 by Cathy Stucker
Podcasts are very popular. Getting on other peoples podcasts is a great way to gain exposure, build your expert reputation and drive traffic to your webiste. But how do you get the attention of podcasters and get interviewed? Here are some tips to getting interviewed and even being asked back again:
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Have A Spectacular Ending: Podcast Guest Tip #10
The finale is almost as important as the first impression. More so, perhaps.
This is your chance to take the most important step of the entire conversation and underline it.
So many podcast interviews offer great content, but leave the listener hanging on where to get started. So, think about this well ahead of time. What do you want this audience to do, right away, after they finish listening?
Make sure it serves them, first and foremost. This is your chance to create a legion of new fans. If you’ve followed all the steps above, then you’re already unique, you’re memorable. Now, you make yourself a legend by giving the listener some instant success.
So, what part of the conversation can they put into action right away, and win a bit of success?
For me, it’s often the gear. This is what new podcasters tend to struggle with the most. The amount of anxiety that arises when looking through lists and lists of microphones is amazing. So, at the end of any how to start a podcast’ interview, I’ll give them these steps:
- Theory: You have permission to keep it super simple. It’s the best choice at this stage to help you launch a great show and make it easy to run!
- Action: So, get out there buy a Samson Q2U, right now. Plug it right into your computer and hit record.
End with a bang, and leave the listener in no doubt as to what they should do next.
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Ways To Be Exceptionally Prepared For A Podcast Interview
According to recent research from The Infinite Dial report, conducted by Edison Research, 67 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly and 42 million listen weekly .
I dont think anyone truly predicted the insane rise in popularity of podcasts, but I love podcasts, so Im certainly not complaining!
The beauty of podcasts is that you can listen to them while youre doing other things, like running, cleaning the house, doing laundry, and driving to work. Theyre a passive form of media, and they allow you to get lost in a story.
I host my own podcast, and my team produces many, many popular podcasts, so weve seen our fair share of successes and failures in podcast preparation, both from the hosts and the guests. I wanted to share a few best practices to make your podcasting life easier, whether youre an ongoing host or a frequent guest.
Keep The Conversation Moving Forward
30 minutes might sound like a lot of time. But if youre got a lot of ground to cover, it really isnt. So dont waste lots of time going over your guests background and covering basic information about the episode topic. That sort of thing is what your episode intro is for.
Don’t be afraid to reel your guest back in if they go too far off topic.
As soon as you can, move on to the meat of the conversation. Keep your questions clear, concise, and direct. The less words the better. Your listeners want to hear from your guest, not you. So dont ramble on at length about your own thoughts and opinions .
If your guest goes off on tangents thats fine. But only go with them if you feel it’s in the interest of listeners. If you feel things are getting too far off topic, dont be afraid to reel your guest back in with a prepared question. As the interviewer, you are the one who should be steering the direction of the conversation.
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Podcasts Are More Time Efficient
Its also a much more leveraged use of scarce marketing time for a small business or startup. If youre focused on growing your business, writing articles for other sites can be time consuming.
A good article usually takes at least five hours to write and edit, and a great longform article like the kind featured on Sumo takes at least ten and sometimes twenty hours.
An hour long podcast on the other hand only takes an hour. If you add on two more hours , its still only three hours vs ten.
Add in the conversion rate multiple , and youre looking at a 667% difference.
Author, speaker and consultant Dorie Clark did over 150 podcast appearances in 2015, the year her most recent book Stand Out was released, and also said it was her number 1 channel for driving book sales.
So theres a distribution channel which is rapidly growing, highly converting and requires less time and resources than others that are already proven to be profitable. Gold mine!
Feed The Interviewer Some Good Questions: Podcast Guest Tip #11
Here’s the secret sauce. This is the thing that 99% of interviewees DON’T do, but which creates some of the best interviews around.
Tell the interviewer what to ask you.
It’s so simple it’s almost laughable, but it works like a charm. Don’t expect the interviewer to dig out the golden nuggets all by themselves. Instead, feed them some prompts so that you get to give them your best stuff, and make the biggest impact.
How does this work? Well, think about the audience you’re speaking to. Make a judgement on what’s likely to make the biggest impact with them. Then, plan out a 5 to 10-minute segment on that. You know the content, so all you need are the questions. And this goes to the interviewer. Here’s how I usually couch it:
Hello Mrs Interviewer, I wanted to let you know, I think my approach to Content Stacking will have a huge impact on your audience, because of reasons X, Y and Z. How about we spend 10 or 15 minutes going through how I create blog posts, videos and podcasts in just one process in way less time? If you’re up for that, here’s a set of questions that I’ve seen work well. It means we can have a good chat about it without having me drone on for too long on my own!
1. I see you do a lot of blog posts that have videos and podcasts attached what’s your thinking behind that?
2. Great, so what’re the first steps in planning out one of these stacked’ posts?
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