When planning a new podcast, decide on the type of podcast you want to produce. First, what is your niche? Is your podcast a stand-alone business project or an extension of your established business activities? Think about what you want to get from your podcast and your goal. Are you an expert in your field with extensive knowledge and experience?
Once you decide on your niche, style, and goal, you can start to determine the finer details of your show. Perhaps you have ethics you adhere to or particular aspects of your industry that you wish to focus on.
How do you imagine your podcast to sound, and what inspires you? Would you like to talk directly with your guests? Or would you like to have a co-host on your show? Alternatively, you might wish to interview guests for your show. This might even be the most important aspect of your show.
Here are some tips on finding, securing, and working with podcast guests.
Should You Work With Podcast Guests?
There are a few aspects to consider when deciding whether or not you wish to interview guests on your podcast. Here are some points that might affect your decision.
Set Realistic Expectations
The first aspect to consider when planning podcast guests is how many guests you can source for your show. This is an important question because consistency is essential for a successful podcast. As a prominent figure in your niche and well-known with extensive networks, you’ll have more options for inviting guests to your shows.
This is especially true if you’re an influencer, even if it’s just within your specific niche. Perhaps you are popular on social media and have an extensive LinkedIn network. If you regularly attend business conferences where you give talks and know the other speakers well, you have a network to tap into.
These scenarios indicate that you’re in a great position to invite regular, inspiring guests to your show. You may even be able to interview a guest weekly and make this a regular feature of your show.
If you only have a small network, you might want to consider interviewing guests just once a month, or perhaps even less regularly, if this is something you are not going to be able to fulfill for your listeners. Many very successful podcasts have co-hosts or just a single host talking. Not all podcasts have guests, it’s better to be realistic with your expectations.
Consider Your Location
Is your location conducive to guests? If you’re in a city location with easy transport links, and using a professional space to record your podcasts, you’re going to have a much easier time finding guests.
When you ask a guest to speak on your show, consider how you’ll entertain them while visiting you. This includes amenities like somewhere to eat lunch. This is going to be much easier in some locations than others. Remember that your guests have put in effort to visit you to be on your show, so you want them to have a great time!
You can consider guests recording from another location, but be sure that the quality of their recording equipment won’t affect the overall listening experience of your show.
How To Secure Podcast Guests
There are three areas for networking and reaching out to potential podcast guests:
- Traditional networking
- Social Media
- Digital Marketing
Networking
A great way to secure guests is at networking events. This can include B2B meetings, conferences, or talks. When you meet someone you’d like to welcome on your show, you can take several approaches to secure them. If you have met the candidates before and have already qualified them, you might be able to book a time to record a show with them immediately.
If you have just met a potential podcast guest, it’s likely to take more than one interaction before you can secure them as a podcast guest. For a start, you need to qualify as a potential podcast guest. This means you should ensure they’re a suitable guest for your show. Do you share the same ethics, are they responsible? You can create your checklist for qualifying potential guests.
Social Media
Social media is a great place to reach potential podcast guests that you might want to work with. You might have a regular contributor to your social content that you’d like to interview. Or you might follow another expert in your niche you’d like to feature on a show. You can reach out directly with a message on your social media platform.
Digital Marketing
You might want to create a landing page on your website with a form that potential guests can fill in to apply to be featured on your podcast. This will be increasingly useful as you become established as a podcast with regular guests and you can then filter potential candidates as they apply. You can have an administrator manage this part of guest management which can help you reduce your workload.
Qualify Your Guests
Before you invite a guest to feature on your show, you must qualify them as briefly mentioned before. You should review their business, and social media and search for them on Google to ensure a good match for your show. Your ethics should also be aligned.
What You Need From Your Podcast Guests
1. Time
Your podcast guest will need to commit to time for recording your episode and to look through the questions you plan to ask in advance. If your guest is well prepared, it will make recording a smoother experience and will produce a more enjoyable listening experience.
2. Promotion
There are two aspects of promotion. You’ll want to agree on how to promote your guest. Would they like you to talk about their brand or their work? Do they have a product to share?
When your guest has featured on your show, you’ll want them to be promoting your show as well. It’s not always obvious to everyone that they need to do this! Promotion from your guests is a great way to increase your audience and theirs.
3. Commitment
You’ll need commitment from your guest. Once you have booked them in for a show date, ensure you stay in contact. A week before the recording session, you should send a reminder of the event. You can attach travel details and any particular notes for where to find you. Let them know what amenities are available and what you’ll provide them. Perhaps you’ll be providing lunch to say thank you.
4. Share Resources
For each podcast episode, you should offer an actionable take-home point for your listeners, you can ask your guest what they’d like your listeners to get out of the show. Your guests might have a free resource they’d be happy to giveaway to your listeners, like a free downloadable ebook, for example.
5. Show Note Details
When you’ve recorded your podcast, you’ll produce show notes to accompany your episode. This will feature links to resources, so ensure you ask your guest what they’d like included here for their promotion.
6. Keep In Touch
Encourage your guest to stay in contact with you. Ask them to contact you with future details about their business. Perhaps they have planned a business expansion, and you’d like your guests to return to your show and share their updates with your listeners. This can be a great idea for successful guests.
Post Production
Your guest should be notified of the episode release date in advance. Make sure they have all the assets they need to promote the show. Make sure you thank your guest personally after the show and offer your services as a guest on their show. You can send a personalized note or a message on social media, whichever is most fitting for the guest.
When you work with Produce Your Podcast, we encourage you to source your guests, as this is not a service we offer. We can help with marketing activities to encourage your guests to share their show. We also provide episode assets to guests when they’re on a client’s show, such as promotional materials, like images and transcripts which can help with promoting the show.
FAQs: How to Find, Secure, and Work With Podcast Guests
How to get guests on your podcasts
You can reach out to guests in your network, on social media, and through colleagues.
How much do podcast guests get paid?
It’s most common for podcast guests to appear on your podcast as a cross-promotion. This way you promote each other.
How to find podcast guests
You can find podcast guests by meeting people in your business, at events, and on social media. Remember to qualify the suitability of guests before you invite them to your show.
Final Word: How to Find, Secure, and Work With Podcast Guests
When you start a podcast, you want it to be successful, and regular guests might be one of the key features you plan. Depending on your skills and circumstances, sourcing regular guests from your shows can be easy but it’s not for everyone. When you work with Produce our Podcast, we can provide attributes for your guests such as graphics and promo materials, etc.
Finding, securing, and working with podcast guests can be a challenge, but also very rewarding. It can help offer social proof and support your expertise and role within your niche.
Remember that ultimately you need to be producing a professional and high-quality podcast to attract podcast guests. If you’re unsure how to achieve this, then contact a podcast production agency, like Produce Your Podcast. With a great-sounding podcast, inspiring guests, and interesting content you can grow your podcast and business to new heights!
Produce Your Podcast is a premier podcast consulting, production & marketing agency. Our team of experts provides comprehensive, full-service quality solutions for B2B clients to incorporate podcasting into their overall marketing strategy. If you’re looking for a reliable partner to help launch or grow your business-branded podcast and boost your sales and marketing goals, we’re here to help.
Click here to schedule a conversation with our team today. Let’s work together to create a high-quality podcast that takes your business to new heights!
