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Welcome Seekers. Be my guest as we talk about your next podcast.
What's in store for this edition:
Be a podcast guest!
Podcasting for PR
Podcasting is a powerful public relations tool. They can build an incredible depth of trust and engagement with the listening audience. Since we’re in the business of public relations, using a relationship building tool like podcasting is very important.
When you think of it, a podcast audience has chosen to spend a large amount of time with you. About 2/3 of podcast listeners are college educated and make 6 figures or more. So for all of you marketers out there bells should be going off in your head right now. You have the captive audience of a smart, high-earning group of people that are on the path of trust with you.
This episode will focus on being a guest on a podcast, since this is much easier to do than creating, hosting, or producing a podcast yourself.
Benefits of Podcasting
Builds trust and credibility
Powerful way to build your personal brand.
Helps you appear on AI searches
Builds relationship and rapport with host and audience
Podcasting can give lots of content. Social media post, newsletters, ebook.
Podcast Pitching
If you want to be on a podcast you need to pitch yourself. There are plenty of bad pitches out there so if you prepare a good pitch it has a much better chance to catch the eye and interest of a podcast host or producer.
What makes a bad pitch
Using a template screams amateur. If the opening line is: I heard your recent episode about ____, made me think of our CEO ____… this classic template style is very off putting.
Not personalized lets the person know you don’t care.
Not researched, means you don’t know what the podcast is about.
When you pitching yourself as the only reason to invite you to be a guest, shows you not thinking about the audience.
Spray and pray is a term we use if you don’t personalize or do the research, and just send out quantity over quality communications. They won’t open the pitch. You can’t build report if you send out garbage pitches. They’ll swipe and delete.
What makes a good pitch
Pitch a unique story idea. Stories that are meaningful will make you easier to remember.
Make your pitch tailored to the host and their audience. Make it clear that you have spent time with their content.
How to find a podcast to pitch
There are millions of podcasts out there so you definitely need a research tool to find the contact information and other stats.
Rephonic This tool can give you audience estimations. Most podcast don’t divulge audience numbers, so estimations are as close as you can get. Listen Notes is a podcast search engine. Both tools have free and paid versions.
“"Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”
Make good use of the powerful public relations tool that is podcasting. Build depth of trust and engagement with an audience by crafting good pitches that will land you more and more guest spots to get your story the attention it deserves.
Do this now:
Make a list of podcast you would like to be on.
What would you have to say that’s meaningful and beneficial to the audience.
What story can you tell to make your point.
Next Time: Now that you’ve landed yourself a guest spot on a podcast, learn how to prep for a podcast interview, what to expect, and what NOT to do!
Term to Learn
SME, or subject matter expert, is a person with deep knowledge and specialized expertise in a particular subject matter. It can come from years of experience in a field, formal education, or both. They are often interviewed by news media when they need expert insights into a matter.
FAQ
Q: Can I pitch myself to be on podcasts?
A: Absolutely. Follow the tips found on Attention Seeker for writing pitches, use various tools for finding out the correct email to pitch too. You can also hire a public relations agency or there are firms that specialize in pitching podcasts. I would be very, very wary of these firms, especially if they are making promises.
Learn from others.
100% Cool : 0% Cringe
National Wildlife Federation Wants You to be on TV
Recently I received in the mail a press release form (I call it press release mad-libs) from the National Wildlife Federation. It encourages you to fill out a press release and “submit to your local newspaper, TV, news website and radio stations.”
National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat webpage with link to a template to create your own media release
Of course being a PR professional I found this tactic very interesting. They have come up with a clever way to hopefully get press for their federation, by having clients do the reach out.
They do say “the media in your area will be interested in hearing about your efforts to garden for wildlife.” I’m not so sure about that, but maybe on a slow news day.
What I do wish they would have said is how to find the correct journalist to send the press release to.
✍️ Key PR Takeaway: I’ve personally never seen a company use this tactic before. It has the customer do the reach out, but this can be useful because journalists want to cover interesting stories and the people behind them, not necessarily the company behind the story.
What do you think? Should I fill out the press release, send it in and see if any outlet picks it up?
Useful PR Resources.
🧰 TOOLKIT
PodcastGuests.com
This is a free tool where you can get booked as a guest on podcasts or find guests for your show. This is a great free resource to use, especially when you’re just getting started in podcasting, and I still use it all the time.
You’ll get two emails weekly. They have a list of featured guests (this is a paid option) and also a list of podcasts looking for guests. The paid version can set up a one-sheet for podcast booking.
Attention Seeker of the Week
Peter, the bookstore cat, the furriest employee at the Old Florida Book Shop, does his best to get attention by working as a cashier, playing with his tail, and lounging between the novels. And his PR skills are noteworthy, even getting a story by That Good News Girl’s blog where you can read more about him.
Can we feature your fluffy attention seeker. It’s free of course, we just love animals and think they need more attention!
What’s you’re favorite podcast? Have you been a guest on one? I’m all ears, just hit reply or comment below.
Until next week, keep your shades on and stay cool.
Your fellow Seeker,
Keren
🕶️
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