Strategic Podcast Guesting: Boost Your Professional Impact

SUMMARY

In this episode, John delves into the nuanced value of podcast guesting for professional speakers and coaches. The discussion explores whether incorporating podcast guesting into your promotional strategies is worth it and emphasises the importance of strategic planning over mere volume. Key insights include the potential benefits of both audio and video formats, how podcast guesting can enhance authority and create long-term opportunities, and the importance of being well-prepared for interviews. The episode also highlights the pros and cons of using booking agencies, the significance of a clear call to action (CTA), and how to pitch and promote podcast appearances effectively. Finally, tips are shared on maintaining professional integrity and ensuring guest appearances align with your goals for maximum impact.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction: Is Podcast Guesting Worth It?

00:41 The Potential of Podcasting: Audio vs. Video

03:13 Strategic Podcast Guesting: Quality Over Quantity

05:40 Preparation and Performance Tips for Podcast Guests

12:36 The Role of Booking Agencies

15:29 Starting Out: Tips for New Podcast Guests

18:45 Maximising Your Podcast Guesting Experience

26:01 Conclusion: The Future of Podcast Guesting

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Is Podcast Guesting Still Worthwhile For Speakers & Coaches? (Spoiler: It's Not A Simple Yes Or No)

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John: It's a little more nuanced. And if you've ever wondered how it is that some people seem to really make big with podcast guesting, how others are just wasting their time, how to do it strategically, and how to show up like a pro, this is your episode.

John: So let's get into it.

John: But audio podcasting isn't going away and it's still a really big medium. And even if the show is not in video format and only going out on audio, it could still be worth your while. Think of it this way, the people who listen to podcasts on average have around four or five podcasts that they like to tune into on a regular basis, and that's very different to YouTube where you might be subscribed to multiple channels and just see what's coming up from each of them.

John: Audio has some benefits that video generally doesn't, in that it's much more evergreen. When people find a podcast that they like, they will often start to binge listen to episodes of it and go back through the catalog of previous episodes. That means something that you may have recorded six months, 12 months or more in the past, could still generate leads and opportunity for you long into the future unless those episodes end up getting taken down.

John: One of the important elements of podcasting in general, both video and audio, is that you do have an opportunity to increase your authority, which is always very valuable. And to a degree, you have a bit of borrowed authority from the host of the show or hosts if it's more than one, because they're trusting you to come on their show and serve their audience and have fun chatting with them.

John: One small show that I appeared on some while back was with my good friend Bob Gentle, and within a short while at that show, I probably had more people checking out my LinkedIn and other profiles than I'd had in very long time because whilst he may have a smaller audience, he has a pretty committed audience who like Bob and like to tune in and, and follow his leadership as well.

John: So small can still be surprisingly effective and powerful.

John: It really is the case that the more podcasts you go on, the more time you spend going on podcasts, but that does not mean that you are gonna see results and return on your investment of time, energy, and knowledge into those shows. So it really does pay to be a bit more strategic about this. If you are one of the people who is ostensibly throwing money at the problem by paying somebody else to get you on shows, well that can be working for you or against you because it could still mean you're ending up going on shows that will say yes to you because either they're desperate for guests, they're just getting started, they don't care so much about who's going on.

John: I'm not very interested in the pitches that they get from these agencies who send out, and I'm gonna talk a little bit more about agencies as we go forward. It's not a hundred percent true, but it's probably about 90, 95% true. So keep that in mind if that's you. You pitching yourself and doing the research and checking stuff out before you go on, it does have a lot more value.

John: Now, it may be that you really just want to do the spray and print approach and go for volume, or your real goal is just getting on as many shows as you possibly can. Then having, being able to list that and refer people to them and create content from them or whatever else you're looking to do there.

John: So that really is where the intention for podcast guesting becomes important. If you don't have a strategy for doing this, then you may just find you're wasting a lot of your time and wondering why the needle isn't moving at all.

John: If we go on with very unclear talking points, we are not really prepared at all. I mean, just, um, coming up with off the cuff answers all the time, which a lot of people do. I've done it myself. That you go on a shine thing, I don't really need to prepare that much. I know about me, I know about my expert subjects, so I'm pretty much ready for whatever questions come up.

John: But generally, you'd probably still want to plug in a better microphone than the one that is in your phone, as it is worth having a little investment into that, especially if this is something you're gonna be doing as part of your strategy. Treat it like you would any formal pr. For any kind of performance or promotion that you're looking to do, because if you were going on mainstream television, for example, you hopefully are not just going to show up willy-nilly and just be dressed however, and maybe not even bothered really brushing your hair.

John: So very quickly, really important to know why you're doing this. Are you looking to, uh, get more sales for a book that you've released? Are you looking to get more people following your own podcast or show? Do you want people coming into your email list? Are you looking to have more website traffic?

John: Whatever it is that you are looking to do, be clear on that being your intention for guesting on podcasts and aim to make sure that you are fulfilling that as best you can.

John: building up your network and, being seen in many more places, maybe with much more diverse audiences if you feel that's gonna help you achieve your objective.

John: I would generally encourage you to choose shows most more on alignment than on ego. So I, I ideally want to be relevant to the show, to the host, to the topics that you're gonna be talking about and to the style of the show as well. You want it to be a good fit for you. I don't really, personally just want to turn up on shows and be asked questions and like, tell us about yourself, or how did you become a speaker?

John: Or what led you down this path, or what makes someone funny? The questions that I probably get asked more, uh, more often than anything else. Uh, really don't want to just be there as somebody who's answering questions because anybody could be asking or you just, you could just send me a list of the questions or have the computer read them out and probably get the same effect.

John: He will have questions ready to go, but they're more like launchpads into a conversation than him just sitting there asking question after question and leaving the other person to answer. So he does lead them into conversation and that's much more interesting. And I would encourage you if you are looking to this as well.

John: Treat the questions that you get asked as springboards into conversation. See if you can look for ways to shorten, shorten the answers to questions that may not be that interesting or relevant to the audience. Such as like, oh, well how did you end up becoming a professional speaker? Uh, how did you get to where you are now?

John: And maybe that's the reason you've been brought on the show. Or perhaps you are a celebrity or well known person, in which case they might be a bit more interested in you because they may have tuned in. Particularly because they're following you. If that's not the case, they're more likely tuned in because of the topic and because of the program that you're on.

John: And so consider it from that sort of sense. If you went on a talk show on TV and you weren't able to have a bit of back and forth with the interviewer. You're gonna seem like a very dry and unfriendly guest, so be friendly, be interactive, treat it more like a social engagement, a professional social engagement than anything else.

John: So a few words about booking agencies beyond what I've already said. I think that some of them are definitely good. There are some good ones out there, but I think there's a very small percentage there are. So it's really worth doing some homework on this if you are going to use them.

John: I would really only use them if you do not have any available time to be able to spend doing your own pitches to podcasts and doing a bit of research, because generally that is gonna serve you much more effectively. If you don't, then ideally want to work with an agency who will do that for you and not just find out what category of shows in and then send them a standard pitch.

John: Don't just assume that they're gonna be able to deliver it. They might be able to get you on a bunch of shows, but. That might not do anything for you professionally. However, it could be useful to look at these options for things like book launches. Um, that generally they're, they're pretty spammy. They send out standard format pitches, which are not very interesting to most hosts, and they don't really do a proper job of briefing.

John: Check that it is a good fit for you to proceed forward and then tailor a pitch to those shows can be much more effective for you. Video pitches still hardly anyone does them. If you want to stand out the voice messages, if you want to go that way. Something that will make you stand out and add a little bit more personal connection is much more likely to get you booked on a show, especially if you can show what would make your episode essential viewing and listening for their audience.

John: And I think if you can't answer that question, you have no business applying to be on podcast anyway.

John: So if an agency does end up getting you booked on a show about cryptocurrencies to talk about leadership, fire them.

John: Now if you didn't, if you'd done this before and you moved right, it doesn't really work for me. Didn't move the needle well, I think it's time to a little bit of a brief audit for you to just see, well, what shows were you going on? Did any of them convert? Did any shows move the needle? What didn't? Maybe you do need to look at how you can show up more professionally.

John: Do a bit of an I. Important bit that I missed out before, but do a bit of an energy check as well. Make sure that you are actually coming across as somebody who has some energy, who sounds interested and interesting in the things that you are talking about. It's very important to listen or watch yourself back on some of the past episodes that you've done as part of this audit to see.

John: It all presentinfluence.com. But go there, take the quiz, and then take a look around. Much easier to give them that simple call to action of, there's one thing to do, one website to go to than to say, all right, well I'm on LinkedIn, I'm on Instagram, I'm on all the socials. Uh, come and send me a message or whatever else.

John: It's okay to say that as your CTA come and send me a message on Instagram, but give them something to say, come and send me a message that says this, uh, or send me a message that says, Hey, I heard you on the such and such show, and I would love to connect with you so that you, you are also getting a sense of where these leads are coming from too.

John: Or send 'em to a website or send 'em to a lead magnet. Whatever it is you want to do there. But give them one clear CTA and that's gonna help you a hugely huge. Also maybe create your own short list of shows that you would most like to go on as well, and maybe look at whether you could at least start applying to one or several of them.

John: Maybe see if you can find someone who works there or is involved with that show who you could connect with or check through their previous guest list and see if you actually know or are connected with any of their past guests who might be able to help you with an introduction.

John: If you're looking for high value shows to go on, well, you can certainly start to search With Apple Podcasts can be a good tool to help you search in categories and look for different themes and shows. You can use keywords to do that. You can use YouTube as well to help you search for these kinds of shows and guests.

John: Whilst it won't give you detailed analytics, it's gonna give you a much clearer picture than you would get from a. Apple Podcasts or Spotify or anywhere like that. So it could be worth doing a little investment into your research and time spent doing that to help you find out which shows are gonna give you the most bang for your buck.

John: It could also be a good idea to find the host of those shows on social media before you even pitch them and start engaging with them, start interacting with them. If they're active on LinkedIn, connect with them there. If they're active on Instagram or they're doing lives on YouTube, connect with them there.

John: No waffle and zero pseudoscience be a great pitch to someone like me. Music to my ears.

John: It's super important as well to match the host energy and bring your trim stories ready for that be but be podcast pace, ready for the shows. Turn up your energy dials a little bit before you go on. Warm yourself up like you would do for a presentation. At memorable quote, hopefully your own, make your own memorable quotes and have that one clear call to action sound as good as you can sound and serve the host and the audience.

John: Now let's be clear. The, some of the things that this community helped you with that may not be super obvious in podcast guessing are having sharper messaging. So get you get better at talking about what you do, who you serve, how you help, all those kinds of things. You'll find it easier and you'll get clearer every time you do that.

John: Your keynotes will probably become better as well. With more tested stories, you'll find yourself getting unexpected introductions to people you might not otherwise have been able to connect with, and you will gain authority by association to a much better degree than maybe just randomly having your photograph taken with some big name.

John: It's gonna give you content for your social media, for LinkedIn, YouTube, and wherever else, and you're gonna learn things as well from the host that you get to speak to. You will start spotting things like what makes good guests from mediocre ones.

John: Do not make the assumption for them better to stay open to your CRM instead and maybe reach out to them in three months time, six months time, see how they're doing. How's the episode performing? Uh, they interested in having you back to talk about anything else in the future more than anything else. Be fun to talk, to, be interesting, engaging, and be ready for this.

John: One of the things that has impressed me most, and I'll show you this is a great tip to have. When a guest came on my show and she had checked out a bunch of my episodes and was referring to them whilst we were talking and encouraging the audience to go and listen to back episodes of my show, that was absolute music to my ears as a podcast host.

John: You're gonna get, at the very least, you're gonna get stories and things you can post on social media about what not to do or experiences that you've had that might be relevant to stories that you could tell in the future. But wherever you can at least be professional. And if things get to a point where you are making, making a show or moving forward with something and it doesn't feel good or right, or you find something out that makes you feel uncomfortable, there's no harm and no reason why you can't just say, no, I don't want to proceed.

John: So keep your boundaries, keep your integrity as you go forward with this as well. Just because someone's invited you onto a show does not mean that you should automatically say yes. So here's the truth. This is probably longer than I wanted the episode to be, but um. Uh, probably should really, I, I've been thinking about turning this into a more of a masterclass anyway.

John: Podcast Guesting isn't dead and it isn't going anywhere, but unstrategic guesting. Let's be done with that. Let's, let's say that's dead. Treat this as a craft. Treat it like vital PR for your business. Hopefully you would not just go and appear on any old show and hoping that it delivers results for you, if that's an expectation that you've had in the past, let's let go of that and recognize that you're really only going to see results going on the right kinds of show with the right kind of people and the right kind of value that you deliver, and personality that you share as well. Because so much of this is personality and emotion driven is essential that even on this platform of podcasting, you connect with the watcher or the listener that you connect with the audience of the show.

John: I'm not a podcast guesting consultant. But it is something I have a lot of experience and expertise in as well and will be happy to share that with you. So you can let me know, um, in the article chat if you have questions about this on the LinkedIn article, um, or you can get in touch with me, email me, john@presentinfluence.com with your questions and if there's enough of them or they're relevant, I will

John: See you next time.