Growing a podcast community means having valuable content to consume. You need influential and insightful guests on your show. Podcast guests can make or break the show so before you start reaching out people ask yourself this:
How do I find the perfect podcast guest?
How will I make this person say yes?
Finding the perfect guest
Define the goal.
Know and reflect on your goal or message you want to convey. Is it for brand awareness? Niche technical insights? Be clear about that because that is your starting point in looking for your guest.
Segmentize.
Who do you want to interview to achieve the goal? Influencers, customers, experts, end-users of your product, and services?
Research and List.
When you purchase a laptop, you need to dig deeper into features and functionalities to find the model that will suit your needs. The same thing goes in looking for the perfect guest.
Before reaching out, ensure that the prospective guest's personal brand aligns with your message. There could be a lot of influencers out there but are they in sync with your show's over-all branding? Are there commonalities that you can bank on?
Connect.
It can be through email, social media, or any other means available. Email is a good platform to reach out to prospect podcast guests.
Follow-up.
If you haven't heard from the prospect guest for a while, do not hesitate to follow-up. There are many reasons why emails get unnoticed. And there is also no harm in making sure that it got through.
How to get that yes
Interesting subject line.
Okay, so we have talked about connecting with potential podcast guests. If you do that through email, don't waste time on boring subject lines. We all are busy people and we want our time to be worthwhile. And when I say worthwhile, that's what the reader should feel just by reading the subject line.
"Change Lives by Sharing Your Experience with Orphans"
"Help Millennials Know About Financial Independence While Promoting Your New Book"
Assuming you have done your research and these prospects are really into such thing, you are communicating already not only the intention of your podcast but also what's in it for them.
Craft an irresistible pitch.
Now that you have lured your prospect to open your message, bank on that opportunity, and create a compelling pitch. If you think of sending the same generalized pitch to every potential guest, then think again. Remember, you have to make them feel this is worth their time. It's not worth their time if you did not even devote time to customize your pitch. You have to make them feel like they are the one.
So how are you going to do that?
1. Introduce who you are and why you are contacting them.
2. Tell them what's in it for them if they take your offer This isn't a problem if you can pay them for their time. But if you are just starting or have no budget for talent fees, then you better be providing lots of value.
3. Touch base on the possible topics to talk about and how long it's going to take.
4. Provide an easy way of confirming. As you close your email with a call to action, ensure that it will not require much effort. End email with: "Up for the challenge, just reply 'yes'."
5. Keep it brief. You do not have to plug-in all the details of the show. Reserve that when you get a yes.
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