There are about 485 million podcast listeners worldwide, which makes it safe to say that podcasting is the next big marketing channel. Podcasts introduce you to new things and businesses which are valuable. It was a podcast that introduced me to Spectrum offers a year ago.
If you are willing to tap into the power of podcasting, the best part is you don’t even need your own show! You can simply pitch a show with a huge audience, appear as a guest and connect with an audience. Once you get featured on a big podcast in your industry, getting discovered becomes easier.
The question is, how do you get featured on these shows? In this guide, I will walk you through all the right steps to appear on a podcast with a significant audience. Let’s start.
Table of Contents
1: Set Clear Goals
This is the most important step. You must be clear on your pitching goals to create an effective strategy. Start by thinking about why you are reaching out to the podcasts, to begin with.
What is your goal? Grow your brand? Invite new clients? Drive web traffic? Become a leader or spread your message. Let’s say you are a content marketing expert who speaks at digital conferences. Speaking on a purposeful entrepreneurship topic would be a great idea.
Now determine how appearing as a guest on a podcast can help drive attention to your business.
2: What’s Your Area of Expertise
The podcast you are pitching must have a connection to your niche. The right approach is to list down the topics you feel confident about.
Being a marketing expert, you can talk about creative entrepreneurship or digital marketing. Make sure you have a digital presence before pitching. Most podcast hosts do their research on the guest and determine how they prove to be a valuable guest.
3: Look for Influencers in your Industry
Having a hard time narrowing down podcasts relevant to your niche? Here is a trick for you.
Those who have been in business for a while probably know a few major influencers within their industry. These are the people who often appear as guests on the podcast. To find potential shows, look for podcasts that these individuals have featured on.
Type this in Google’s search bar:
Influence name + podcast
The results will bring up shows these individuals appeared on. Add the names of these shows to your spreadsheet.
4: Search Shows On Spotify & iTunes
This is a time-consuming process but it’s worth it. Choose any of the streaming platforms (Spotify or iTunes) and search for the shows in your industry.
You might have to run a little Google research manually as well to learn more about the Podcast sites you have come across. Add the relevant podcasts to your list.
5: Your Audience
Finding a relevant podcast is one-half of the equation. The other half is knowing your audience.
If you are not clear on who your audience is, you are likely to end sending pitching emails that won’t generate leads. Even if you succeed to snag an opportunity, you could be speaking to an audience that does not connect to your topic.
6: Get your Pitch Script Ready
Assuming that you have identified your niche and prepared a list of podcasts you would like to pitch to, it’s now time to create a script.
Pitch on topics related to your niche. Create multiple generic scripts based on the category of the podcast as well as your audience. While creating a pitch, follow these tips:
- Pick a story or a lesson and be specific about it. Podcast listeners prefer hearing real stories because it helps them connect with others.
- Be concrete about who you are and what you are bringing to the table. Don’t confuse the host by including a long list of examples of why you would be a good fit for their show.
- Create a connection between the host and yourself. Tell them how you align with the goals of their podcast. This trick will get their attention for sure.
7: Start Outreaching
Usually, podcasters have a contact form on their sites. Some don’t provide email on their website because they don’t want to get spammed.
Fill the form and wait for a response. If there is no email or form provided, the last resort is to reach them via Instagram. Before you send a DM, check their author’s bio. Some have mentioned explicitly that they don’t accept podcast pitches through DM. In that case, be respectful.
Keep track of your outreach emails and follow up periodically.
