Securing guests on your podcast isn’t as easy as a simple ask—you need to put a little bit of thought into it. In today’s episode, I’m sharing how to craft perfect pitches to secure guests to come on your show!
Clocking In with Haylee Gaffin is produced and brought to you by Gaffin Creative, a podcast production company for creative entrepreneurs. Learn more about our services at Gaffincreative.com, plus you’ll also find resources, show notes, and more for the Clocking In Podcast.
Insider’s Tip to Book Certain Guests (1:34)
How to Reach Guests You Want to Pitch (2:00)
- Brainstorm guests you want on your show
- Warm them up to your brand
- Build your pitch for each guest 9
Building Your Perfect Pitch (2:55)
- Why do they benefit from coming on your show?
- How would your audience benefit from this guest?
- Pitch your topic.
- Thank them for their time.
- Do your research!
Finding The Best Place to Pitch Your Guest (5:17)
- Website Contact or Speaking Page
- Follow the path on their site
- Avoid pitching directly on social media
- Follow their directions!
Give Your Guest Time (6:36)
- Two week follow up
Be Genuine (8:42)
Links
gaffincreative.com
instagram.com/hayleegaffin
Review the Transcript:
So last week we talked all about pitching yourself as a guest on podcasts. I think this is so important for both educators and podcast hosts, but today we’re talking all about how you as a podcast host can pitch and land some of the best guests to join you for a conversation on your show.
Intro
Welcome back friends, This episode is airing a little later in the week than normal, but for a really amazing reason.
Yesterday my dear friend and client, Natalie Franke launched her book, Built to Belong! I want to encourage you to head to your favorite retailer to buy this book! Now, I know I’m a little biased as someone who has worked on the launch of this book, but friends, it is a book that will shift how you look a community, belonging, and even competition.
So now that I’ve celebrated this amazing release with Natalie, let’s dive into today’s topic! we’re rounding out a month of podcast related episodes with how to pitch and secure amazing guests on your podcast!
I want to tell you one quick insider tip I’ve found from being on the podcast management side of things. There are actually a few companies that manage booking for talented guests—while I don’t love how every single one out there operates, I will say that building relationships with these brands is helpful for when you’re looking for a particular guest that they may have a connection with.
Now, with that caveat out of the way, let’s talk about what to do when the person you want to pitch isn’t represented by a brand like that.
The first step I want you to take to brainstorm who those people are that you want on your show. Before you ever start pitching them, let’s talk about warming them up to your brand. This could be as simple as engaging with them on social media, buying their products or booking their services, leaving them a review…. Anything to show that you support them and what they do.
I always like to encourage this because I think it’ really important to get your name in front of them before you ever pitch them.
Now once you have that list of potential guests, you can start the process of building out the perfect pitch for each of them.
Start with why they would would benefit from coming on your show.. This could include stats about your listenership, your audience, or even an engagement rate. It’s important that your guest feels like their not only giving to your audience but receiving a perk from you —even if they’re looking for it, you want to be providing that.
Next, explain how you believe your audience would benefit from the guest. Describe who your audience is, what they’ve asked to hear about, etc.
Then, this is where you pitch them your topic.. Determine what they specialize in talking about—many speakers have topics already mapped out on their site so make sure you do your research.
As you’re building out this topic, go ahead and nail down a few questions you might ask during the interview—this will help the guest understand that you’ve done your work, have a plan for a great podcast episode, and will encourage them to say yes.
Thank them for their time, include a link to book an interview with you, and you’re almost ready to send it out!
Here’s where I want to push you to do your research—figure out the best places to pitch someone or to start the conversation.
If you’re looking at some of the bigger names in your industry, they may have someone who manages their schedule or bookings for them. Here are a few places I encourage you to look first:
- Head to their website and see if there is a speaking page or a contact page that may guide you to pitching them.
- Follow the path that their website guides you on to connecting with them. Usually that is through a contact form or an email address..
- If you’re having trouble with either of those, you can reach out on socials, but this is the very last resort AND I want to clarify that you should not be pitching them there—simply introduce yourself, explain why you love what they do, then ask them if you can pitch them and where the best place to do that is! This just like if you were pitching yourself.
Follow their directions! This is so important! Once you’ve pitched, give them some time—you are on their schedule now. I usually encourage a 14 day followup. People get busy or they have hoops to jump through for scheduling and approval.
As long as they have all the info they need, they’re set.. Your followup two weeks later should be a simple nudge reminding them and letting know you’d love the opportunity to talk about that topic!
I know this seems like a simple episode, but I really want to encourage you as a podcast host to really prepare your pitches.
This week, I’m cheering for my dear
