Being an expert guest on podcast shows is undoubtedly a great marketing strategy for business owners, coaches, book authors, and pretty much any expert looking to reach more people, increase their SEO, and establish themselves as a thought-leader. 

As more people are realizing the unique benefits and potential of podcast interviews, more podcast booking agencies and services are popping up. The podcast industry has never had so many options to choose from - from podcast shows, to guest speakers, to all-done-for-you services. 

If you’re toying with the idea of venturing into the world of podcast guesting, hoping to be featured on shows to boost your marketing and sales, how do you know where to start? Is it worth investing in the use of a podcast interview agency, or can you secure your own interview features? If you use an agency what should you look for, and what should you expect from them? 

Hopefully this article will equip you with the knowledge you need to make the best choices that best meet your needs. 

What is the process and time involved in booking podcast interviews?

As somebody who has personally booked hundreds of interviews, and has a team who have secured thousands, I can tell you that it’s certainly not a quick process. There are many stages and there’s a lot of leg work involved in getting each interview booked. Shows specific to you and your expertise have to be found, researched, contact info gathered, and a good email including an impelling pitch has to be created. Then it’s not a matter of sitting back and just waiting, most hosts require numerous follow-ups before they’ll send a response (remember for most hosts their podcast show is a side-gig and not their day job, so getting an answer from them can be slow). Then there is the correspondence needed to organize and schedule the interview date, and to ensure both host and interviewee have the relevant details. It’s not complicated work but it is definitely time consuming.

Should I pitch top rated podcast shows?

Yes, what have you got to lose! We have been in the business of booking podcast interviews since 2014 for business owners and the very foundation to our success is based on our ability to book our clients on shows that are worth their time, effort, and of course investment. However, every client has a different reason for wanting to do podcast interviews, as I am sure you have your reasons. For some, it’s to establish themselves as thought-leaders, others to promote their service and acquire more customers, some purely want the SEO benefits from the valuable organic backlinks, or often a person has a book launch coming up and they want to get the word out. Obviously “top” shows are desirable and it's always worth approaching them. But keep in mind that it should be more important to find well-established shows that are best suited to you personally, your specific expertise, shows targeting your ideal audience type, and that will best help you accomplish your marketing goals. It’s not always about the “big” or “top” shows. It’s more often about finding the right shows; well-established, good-quality podcasts that are well suited to YOU.

If you are looking to use a service, it is not always reasonable to hire a booking agency and say “I want to be on top shows” and then expect them to deliver. It doesn’t quite work like that. The best agencies out there don’t have the “Joe Rogan’s” on speed-dial. 

You need to have an honest look at yourself, and ask “Am I a top-guest?”

It may sound harsh, but it's realistic. Are you a New York Times Bestseller Author, and do you have a 5-6 figure social media following? If you are, then great, your chances for getting on the big shows are high. If you haven’t yet accomplished those things, that’s okay! You’re probably an amazing expert at what you do and more than worth being featured on great shows. The point is, you have to have realistic expectations when it comes to the “top” shows.

Something else to keep in mind, often show hosts of the larger podcasts charge a high fee for guest features. If someone has the single purpose of only wanting to be on “top” shows, my advice would be not to use a podcast booking service. You can go to the host’s website, fill in a form, give your best pitch, and if they deem you a worthy candidate, pay the fee.

What about show size and how do I know if a podcast has listeners? 

Rather than thinking about show size, it is more reliable to look at how long a show has been airing. We only book our clients on well-established podcasts, because if a show has been around for a good length of time, and have a good number of quality episodes aired, it stands to reason that they have a good size listenership. A lot of work goes into producing a good podcast so a host wouldn’t keep putting their time and money into it if they didn’t have listeners.

We base our service guarantees on how many episodes a show has, the general quality of the content and caliber of guests they feature, and ensure the host is providing valuable backlinks to our client’s website. If you are booking yourself, you should look for the same benchmarks for a few reasons.

Regarding audience size, show statistics and demographics are a little tricky in the podcast world. Things have recently started to change with some promising software tools on the horizon, but up until now a podcast's download figures and audience size are not publicly available. Only the host has access to reliable statistics for their show. Sure we can ask hosts for this info, and we do when it’s appropriate (it can be a sensitive area, kind of like asking a woman her dress size, some will happily share, others will not and take slight offense). Keep in mind also that figures and stats are constantly changing.

When it comes to rating numbers on platforms like iTunes, it’s not a true indication of a show's listenership. For example, we know many shows that only have 2-figure ratings, but are actually getting 5-figure downloads per episode. The fact is that the majority of listeners simply do not take the time to rate the shows they listen to.

In our experience a show’s size is not necessarily its most valuable asset. Getting yourself in front of your ideal target audience is actually the most important factor for ROI - think quality over quantity.

 

How do I know which podcast interviews are worth my time? 

No podcast interview is a waste of time in my opinion as there are so many benefits to podcast guesting. Sure, you don’t want to be paying a podcast booking agency to get you on new shows, as you can probably secure those pretty easily yourself, but they would still be valuable to you in one way or another. It would be an opportunity to polish your speaking skills, and no new show stays new for long. You’ll be listed as one of their guests for their audiences to listen to for potentially years to come. Also, regardless of a show’s size if the host posts show notes with backlinks then that is valuable SEO for you.

Never be quick to turn down a podcast interview, even if it seems like a small show. Keep in mind that in addition to the actual listener audience, there are numerous benefits to podcast guesting, including:

·  Establishes you and your company as thought-leaders, boosts your reputation, and bolsters your online presence.

·  Drives more traffic to your site.

·  Each episode is ever-green marketing content that is forever searchable online. 

·  Each episode is great content that can be repurposed for your website/social media. 

·  Hosts post your episodes to their websites with show notes giving organic back-links to your site, increasing your SEO

·  As you deliver valuable advice and experience you inform and give back, helping build a global community.

 

What are the benefits of hiring a podcast booking agency?

As mentioned there’s a huge amount of work that goes into booking podcast interviews, so the biggest benefit is time-saving. If you use an experienced all-done-for-you service, they will take care of everything for you. Just tell them the types of shows that you want to be featured on and leave them to make it happen and get your interviews on your calendar. An experienced podcast booking agency will also have good connections and will be able to open more doors for you with podcast hosts. Also, having an agency represent you often looks more professional and again increases your chances of getting on good quality shows.

What should you expect from a podcast booking agency? 

Although we discussed above having realistic expectations, it is also absolutely reasonable to expect from an agent or service what it is that they promise to deliver. If an agency guarantees that they can get you on certain size shows, certain types of podcasts, and secure a specific number of interviews in a set period, they should deliver that. 

As with any industry, there are the more experienced services/agencies who are well established, have well-rooted connections, and have booked hundreds, if not thousands of great interviews. Then there are those who are still gaining their experience. Within the podcast industry service prices charged do not identify those two categories of agency - the newer guys do not necessarily have the cheaper fees. So do a little shopping around, read the “About” or “Team” pages on agency websites to get a sense of how much experience they have and the types of clients they work with. Make sure that you are clear about what you can expect when working with them, what they guarantee and what they do not promise. We all appreciate transparency and would rather be told “we’ll do our best but can't guarantee that” than have someone promise something and not deliver. 

As a podcast booking agency we don’t like to sign our clients into a minimum contract period and/or charge a sign-up fee. But it is pretty standard that most agencies do. That certainly doesn’t mean they are not a great service. Just be sure to double check those details with anyone you're looking to work with. 

Any experienced agency should be discerning about who they represent, so if after reviewing your application details they agree to work with you, then you have every right to expect them to fulfill what they guarantee. 

Can I get booked on podcasts without hiring an agency?

Sure you can! If you are willing to put in the time, prepare your pitch, be diligent on follow-ups and do the scheduling yourself, that might be a good option for you. Just remember, those follow-up emails are key!

Whether you choose to use a podcast booking agency or decide to go lone-ranger and do it yourself, remember to have reasonable expectations, be open to all types of interviews realizing they will all benefit you in some way, and enjoy the experience...after all, how many marketing strategies offer so many valuable benefits whilst having the human aspect of a real conversation, person-to-person, at the very core! 

Happy guesting! 

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