10 Tips for Getting Booked on More Podcasts

September 1, 2023
Spotlight Branding

This article was provided by Anastasia Lipske, founder of Access Speakers, a speaker and podcast booking agency. Anastasia has a proven track record of booking over 1,600 engagements for her clients. She also has a unique talent for consulting business owners on personal branding strategies that can help them improve their chances of getting booked for speaking engagements or podcast interviews.

Are you ready to embrace podcast guesting as a marketing strategy to build your business? If so, read on as I share a few thoughts from the viewpoint of a speaker and podcast booking agent with more than 1,600 booked engagements for my clients under my belt.

First, if you aren’t certain podcast guesting has a place in your overall marketing plan, please consider reading my previous blog: 8 BIG Reasons Podcast Guesting Can Help Build Your Business.

Now, if you want success from guesting, then you need to have a STRATEGY! Here are a few suggestions:

  1. Get on the RIGHT shows! You must be getting yourself in front of listeners who are in your target market, not just any podcast. 
  2. Define your avatar! Who is your ideal client? Who are you called to serve? Get clarity around this demographic and ask yourself ”Would my ideal client listen to this show?”
  3. Create a hit list! Ask your clients what shows they listen to! Also, find a contemporary and or competitor that does podcast guesting and offer yourself to shows they have been on.
  4. Vet the shows! Look at each show and sum up the pros and cons before proceeding. 
    • LISTEN! Listening allows you to get a sense of whether you’re in alignment with that show and host. My litmus test is to ask myself “Would I like to sit in a café and have a cup of coffee with this host?” If yes, then proceed. If not, then move on. You want the listeners to enjoy a flowing conversation vs. a strained interview when they can tell the host and guest are just not jiving.
    • Use a research site! This allows easy access to key content to help you know more about the show. My favorite is ListenNotes.com. (You can use it a certain number of times per day for free.) The link to Apple Podcasts shows (1) The show is current (2) They have guests (3) Guests and topics on previous episodes (4) Ratings and reviews. On the latter… I’ve worked with big shows with few reviews because they don’t pay attention to it AND small shows with many reviews because they force every potential guest to submit one before they’ll even consider them. So, skim them but don’t put a lot of weight into what you see.
  5. Suggest/propose yourself! I prefer this over the word “pitch,” which feels self-serving to me. Note: A host wants to bring more people into their community. They want to grow their show with more listens and subscribers. Can you be of value to them and their audience? Only proceed if that’s an emphatic “Yes”! 
  6. Personalize every proposal! Be specific as to how you can bless their audience and keep it brief!
  7. Include a one-sheet! This can be a PDF or a webpage. (I have examples linked below.) In short, this puts all a host would need to vet you in one place. It should include (1) The essence of what you do and who you are (2) Professional image/s (3) A brief bio (4) Key topic/s and or conversation starters (5) Testimonials from podcast hosts (6) A list of previous podcast interviews (7) Your contact information. 
  8. Tell the host where/how you’ll promote their show! Share your reach i.e., number of connections, followers, subscribers, etc. 
  9. Never assume you are a perfect fit! Be gracious when asking them to consider you but make it clear you have no attachment to their answer. 
  10. Give them grace! Hosts are inundated with “pitches” so wait seven to 10 days before following up. You might also want to connect with the host in other ways as well, i.e., on LinkedIn, etc.

Examples referenced above: 
Anastasia Lipske Media One-Sheet (Webpage)
Anastasia Lipske Media One-Sheet (PDF)

These tips should give you a great starting point for using podcast guesting as a valuable marketing strategy! I hope to see you out there because your message matters!

If you’d like help getting on more podcasts, my team would love to help! Visit AccessSpeakers.biz to learn more.

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Spotlight Branding

Spotlight Branding is a content marketing and branding firm for lawyers and other professionals. Our goal is to help you create an online presence that positions you as a credible expert in your field, keeps you connected with your network in order to stay top of mind and increase referrals, and to become more visible online so prospects can find you!