Being a podcast guest pays some excellent dividends: introducing you to new audiences, practice delivering your point of view and honing your message for starters. But how do you get yourself booked?
The qualities that will make you a solid, bookable podcast guest.
The 5-step system to get consistent results to your podcast guesting requests.
The one thing you must have before pitching yourself to a single podcast.
Why smaller, niche podcasts may be ideal, especially when first starting to guest.
How to craft your pitch—and the 3 paragraph format to improve your chances of a YES.
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TRANSCRIPT
00:00 - 00:42
Rochelle Moulton: The best pitches are short, impactful, and do not make the host do any work to say yes, because the second you require them to do work, your chances of a yes drop dramatically. Hello, hello. Welcome to the Soloist Life podcast where we're all about turning your expertise into wealth and impact. I'm Rochelle Molten and today I want to talk about getting yourself booked on podcasts. Now, maybe it's because I've seen some of the most god-awful pitches in the 7 plus years I've been hosting podcasts. I so don't want you to write pitches like those. But it's
00:42 - 01:23
Rochelle Moulton: really because I believe in the merits of guesting on podcasts, even when, maybe especially when, you're not hosting a show of your own. Being a solid podcast guest pays all sorts of dividends in terms of introducing you to new audiences, filled with potential clients and buyers. You also get to practice delivering your point of view and honing your message, becoming a better communicator of your message in the process. Now, what do I mean by being a solid podcast guest? Well, you like to be interviewed and have a conversation. You have some compelling stories to share and
01:23 - 02:04
Rochelle Moulton: you have something valuable to teach. If all you're trying to do is sell your services or products and you genuinely don't like to be interviewed or share stories or teach something valuable, podcast guesting is not a good strategy for you. But if you wanna do more guesting, it helps to create a very simple system, 1 that you can partially outsource if you like to get consistent results. And think of it as 5 steps. So number 1, decide why you want to be on podcasts. Number 2, Research and plan for your guesting. Number 3, I'm sure it's
02:04 - 02:45
Rochelle Moulton: your favorite, pitch yourself. And number 4, prepare for the actual interview. And last but not least, number 5, leverage the asset you've created. So let's talk about each of those. First is your why, your purpose in guesting. And hey, there's nothing wrong with your purpose being very self-serving. You're spending significant time with this, so you'll want to pick a highly valuable outcome to make it worth your while. And for example, do you want to entice people to your own show, grow your network, sell high ticket consulting or coaching, sell books? You want to get exquisitely clear
02:45 - 03:21
Rochelle Moulton: on your why so that you can be highly focused in your pitches, your message, and how your performance as a guest boomerangs back to help you grow your business. And once you figured out your why, researching and prioritizing potential podcasts gets vastly simpler. Now, pitching is a bit of an art form, but when you know why you want to guest on their show and have done your homework, your custom pitch can cut through to increase your chances of getting a yes. Once you get that yes, it's all about preparing for the interview. What will you talk
03:21 - 04:01
Rochelle Moulton: about? What stories are most relevant to their topic and their audience? What's your call to action for the interview? And yes, you want to have a call to action because it will allow you to build toward 1 central theme and keep you and the listener on track. Plus, you can point them to something as a bonus afterwards, say a checklist or an assessment or an article. It keeps you on track. And after your episode goes live, you still have work to do. Now you wanna leverage this asset you've created together. And remember podcast episodes live forever.
04:03 - 04:38
Rochelle Moulton: If yours is evergreen, you can keep leveraging it for as long as it works for you. All righty, let's dig into this some more. So let's say you've decided you want a guest on podcast to find more high ticket clients. And let's also say that you work on PR for B2B SaaS founders, and you've got some really compelling stories. Now, sidebar, this process is so much easier when you have a clear cut ideal client or buyer. If you're not there yet, spend the time to get your audience and messaging down before you start researching potential shows.
04:39 - 05:11
Rochelle Moulton: Okay. So you're a PR expert with a specific point of view and you do some research on SaaS podcasts. Now start with those you already listened to because you know how the show works and you can a lot of times you can reverse engineer how they choose their guests. Make a list, a spreadsheet works great for this. I do love a good spreadsheet with the show, the host, their audience, what you think you'd want to talk about, how many reviews they have in Spotify or Apple, and any notes you want to capture from your research. Just
05:11 - 05:41
Rochelle Moulton: leave room to add a priority ranking and an estimate of their reach later. Oh, and make sure that they have guests regularly. Not everyone does. So take a quick look at their episodes to make sure that they might be interested in interviewing you. Notice that it's not so easy to know if a podcast is right for you. If you've never heard of the host or listened to an episode. The antidote to that is giving a few episodes a listen. I mean, you can play it on 2 times speed once you get the hang of the host
05:41 - 06:18
Rochelle Moulton: style, but don't shortcut this step. And if you're outsourcing this to an agency, get some assurances that they have actually vetted the podcast they're pitching you for. Now get at least 5 or 6 on your list. Even 10 to 20 is fine, and not just those with huge audiences. If you're new to this, you'll have better luck with smaller niche podcasts, and the practice will be good for you. Once you've got a good assortment, it's time to prioritize. So our PR consultant to SaaS founders has a list of 20 SaaS podcasts. They're going to prioritize those
06:18 - 06:57
Rochelle Moulton: that are targeted to founders first. Then I'd suggest getting an idea of how large their audience is to help you prioritize. And you can do that by looking at how many reviews they have as a proxy for downloads and or you can use a site like listen notes.com that ranks podcasts with a listener score. Neither is perfect, but it will give you an order of magnitude that will help you decide which to pitch first. And this may feel counterintuitive, but you probably wanna start with a smaller audience podcasts first. Because they will 1, tend to be
06:57 - 07:30
Rochelle Moulton: excited about getting a well-crafted pitch from an ideal guest, and 2, be more receptive to a pitch from someone they don't know because filling guest slots is hard. Now the bigger shows can be pickier and if you haven't made a name for yourself yet or don't have an intriguing book to send them, it's harder to get a yes. Just start with the lowest hanging fruit so you can get in the game and start honing your skills. Now, let's assume you've picked a couple to pitch, okay? Now you wanna parse these out a bit because your pitches
07:30 - 08:09
Rochelle Moulton: will get better as you get some practice. And the pitch is everything, because it's typically your 1 chance to connect and intrigue. Right? The best pitches are short, impactful, and do not make the host do any work to say yes. Because the second you require them to do work, your chances of a yes drop dramatically. Now I get a surprising number of pitches, often from agencies, where they go on and on about the guest bio, but they never give even a hint the person has ever been on a podcast, which means if I'm going to consider
08:09 - 08:43
Rochelle Moulton: them, I have to track down their site and they rarely have a podcast. So I'm supposed to go looking for their interviews and then listen to some to see if they'll be a fit. Not gonna happen. Right. Or they use a can pitch for every podcast they pitch. I get about 1 a week from someone pitching a talk on leadership in corporate America. I couldn't care less about that topic. And just reading the title of this podcast, nevermind the 2 sentence description, should tell the most casual reader it's not a fit. So I don't even respond
08:43 - 09:21
Rochelle Moulton: to those. My point here is your pitch must be crafted for that specific host based on what's important to them. Just follow the with them rule, right? What's in it for me with your host in mind. So our PR pro might pitch a podcast with SaaS founders by teasing a story where a SaaS founder saved their bacon by getting out in front of a breaking story, you know, of course, with PR help, or suggesting an episode on the top 5 signs a SaaS needs to hire an outside communications expert, and you'll be telling stories to illustrate
09:21 - 10:00
Rochelle Moulton: that. Or how to avoid hiring the wrong PR advisor. Again, more stories. Now the actual pitch will vary based on the specific point of view of the PR consultant, how that fits or challenges the host's point of view, and the suspected audience for the show. And you can do devil's advocate style pitches too. It's got a lot of options. Whatever you decide, keep the pitch super simple and in your own voice. Now, most successful pitches are just 3 paragraphs. You've got an opening where you make a meaningful connection to the show's message, and that can include
10:00 - 10:34
Rochelle Moulton: a reference to an ongoing bit on the show or a specific guest or episode, but make it specific, not generic. And the second paragraph where you suggest the topic of your proposed episode, adding just enough color so the host can envision it. And you can add a link or 2, say, to the page on your site with your interviews or to a media page so that they can get you with a quick click. And the third paragraph is a great place to say something humble and connective. You might say, I've given a Spotify review of your
10:34 - 11:08
Rochelle Moulton: podcast because it provides so much value to the SaaS founders I serve. Or something like, totally understand if this isn't a fit right now, but I'd love to connect since we both serve a similar audience. And if you aren't already, connect with them on LinkedIn after sending your pitch, so they'll connect the pitch to your face. It helps make you more human. Oh, and pro tip, send your pitch in an email, not on say LinkedIn. It's too easy for those with lots of connections to lose your message on social. Keep it in their email inbox where
11:08 - 11:42
Rochelle Moulton: they can find it or delegate it. Okay, so you hear back and you book your first interview. Yay, right? But you're not done yet. You've got to prepare for the interview so your episode does exactly what you want it to do. Just go back to your why, your purpose, and remind yourself why you want to do this, and then dig in. Look again at your pitch and their response. This will tell you the angle you want to take here because only then can you lay out the 3 key pieces of your interview. What you'll be talking
11:42 - 12:16
Rochelle Moulton: about, which stories will be most compelling for that topic and their audience, and your call to action. So this might sound like a 15 minute note taking session and you're done, which if you've been doing this awhile and you have clear talking points, it is. But if this is relatively new territory for you, you'll want to dig in and really think about how to match up your point of view, your expertise and your stories with this particular podcast and host. And you might want to let the prep stretch over a few days so you have a
12:16 - 12:50
Rochelle Moulton: chance to mull over different stories and how to best present them. Some of the best interviews, the ones that feel fresh and engaging and natural, are the result of hours of preparation. Now the good news, if you keep good notes, you won't have to rethink every interview, but build on what you've already done, what you've already prepared. When my first book came out, I booked an interview with Chris Doe on the future, which felt like a really big get at the time. I had to get through an hour screening call with his managing director before even
12:50 - 13:20
Rochelle Moulton: being added to a possible guest list. So you can bet that when I got booked, I prepped like crazy for that. I spent the equivalent of almost 2 days just to make sure I nailed it. Because for me, it was a test of how my book could be received in the creative community. And I knew he was a good interviewer with plenty of influence, which meant I needed to be at the top of my game. It's 1 of the best interviews I've ever done, and I would do the same prep work all over again for the
13:20 - 13:57
Rochelle Moulton: next book. All this is a long-winded way of saying that preparation is important. Invest the amount of time it takes for you to feel prepped and confident on the podcasters platform, No more and no less. So let's assume you've done the interview and it was great. You're happy with the outcome. And if you're not for some reason, get a second opinion versus thinking it sucks because you're unhappy with the sound of your voice. Okay, now it's time to leverage this evergreen asset that you've created together. A lot depends on the agreement, if any, that you made
13:57 - 14:32
Rochelle Moulton: with the host. Sometimes you agree to drop it in your newsletter or specific social channels. Other times the host doesn't care so much because they've already got an engaged audience and they view you as a bonus. In either event, do a simple thing as soon as you've wrapped the episode, preferably right after you hang up. Go give their podcast a review in Spotify or Apple podcasts. It's thoughtful and quick and easy. And then put your marketing hat on. Your host will have a process around sharing assets from your episode. You have visuals, audio clips, marketing copy,
14:32 - 15:03
Rochelle Moulton: and they'll usually deliver it pretty close to when your episode will drop. Now, if you can't get an exact drop date, see if you can get a general timeframe so you can fit it into your email and social posting schedule. Think about how and where you wanna share this, And if you haven't already, make a home for your interviews on your website. Yeah, it looks kind of lame when you have just 1 interview, but use that as fuel to keep getting more. Or save them up in a document so when you're ready to add a media
15:03 - 15:36
Rochelle Moulton: page, you've got all the info and links at your fingertips. And those also make excellent links for pitching new podcasts so that they can see that you're not a first-timer. Then when your interview comes out, share the heck out of it. Maybe you include it in your emails to your list with some compelling copy about why it's a good listen when it first comes out. But maybe it's a terrific adjunct to something you write 3 months or 3 years later. I mean, you can link to the original podcast for people who want a deeper dive or
15:36 - 16:11
Rochelle Moulton: who may have missed it because they didn't know you then, or the topic just wasn't on their radar then. The reverse happens too, which is fabulous. New listeners to the original podcast dip into the back catalog of episodes. I've had clients come to me from something they listened to 5 years ago. It happens more often than you think. It's why podcasting is so powerful for people like us, experts who are selling their expertise. Very little of what we have to say will be dated or irrelevant quickly. We have a much longer shelf life than the latest
16:11 - 16:48
Rochelle Moulton: pop star or breaking news. Okay, I've covered a lot of ground here, So let me recap and try and tie this up with a bow. If you want to get yourself booked on podcasts, it's going to take some attention or some cash if you'd rather outsource this work. But the process is the same. Decide why you want to be on podcasts, research and plan for your guesting, pitch yourself, prepare for the actual interview and leverage the asset you've created so you can reap the benefit for years to come. Now I know you can do this. You
16:48 - 17:07
Rochelle Moulton: just have to start and stick with it. All right. Now as we wrap up this episode, if you haven't joined my email list yet, now is the time. Your soloist business and your future self will thank you. The link is in the show notes. That's it for this episode. Please join us next time for the Soloist Live. Bye bye.