Making & Managing Guest Pitches For Your Podcast
Hosting a podcast means managing a lot of incoming guest pitches. And creating great content for a podcast requires reaching out to interesting people to invite them on your show.
And that all boils down to a bunch of email time you might not have anticipated when you launched your show.
I'm going to tackle both making pitches for guests and managing potential guest pitches in this article because I believe that understanding both sides of the equation helps you make better (and faster) decisions about both.
First, a potentially heretical opinion: interview shows aren't actually about the guests being interviewed.
I've seen too many podcast hosts let their guests dictate the content and flavor of their show. Instead, when it comes to selecting guests, you need to be a leader.
Your guests are a means to an end—not the end itself. Your goal isn't to get great guests, your goals are to tell great stories, educate or entertain your audience, and develop a relationship with the listener.
Guests help you achieve those goals.
To do that, you have to be a ruthless curator.
Your job is to only select guests that help you fulfill the premise of your podcast and help you create the content you want to create for your audience.
Making a pitch to a potential podcast guest
Before you ever consider who you want to have on your show, make sure you've spent some time thinking about the topics and stories you want to cover—and how you want to cover them differently from other shows in your category.
Let the content drive who you invite onto your podcast instead of who seems like they'd be a fun conversation or who might drive a bunch of downloads.
Once you know what topic or story you want to pursue, consider who might be a good fit to talk about that. Maybe that have a specific life experience they can share. Maybe they have expertise in that area. Maybe they're "in process" and can have an interesting conversation with you about it.
At the same time, consider who you might not already know about who would be a good fit. That might sound strange but what I mean is that if you have an idea of the kind of story or expertise you're looking for, you can branch out of your existing network or awareness. This is a great way to ensure you're inviting a diverse array of guests onto your show and creating more inclusion conversations.
Then you can either research people who fit the description of who you're looking for or you can share your description with your friends or colleagues and solicit recommendations.
Once you know who you want to invite on to your podcast, reach out!
We find that podcasters really overthink this step. There is no reason to sit on an idea for a great guest until you're more established or have a bigger audience. There is no magic formula that gets people to say yes. And there is no one right way to reach out.
If you have a mutual connection, ask for an introduction.
“Hi Kate! Hope you’re well! I was wondering if you could introduce me to Cynthia Jones. I’d love to have her on my podcast to talk about her journey from entrepreneurship to intrapreneurship & executive leadership.”
If there's an email address or contact form on a website, make use of it.
“Hello ConvertKit team! I’m the host of a marketing podcast for creators and I’d love to invite Nathan on the show to talk about how he sees the future of email and digital marketing playing out for bloggers, YouTubers, and Instagrammers.”
If you follow them on social media, reach out there. Yes, really. This works!
“Hi Jason! I’ve learned so much from following you and I’ve noticed how much you’ve upped your Instagram game in the last 6 months. I host a podcast about social media and I was hoping you’d come on to talk about that evolution. Is there an email address I can reach out to?”
When you do reach out, lead with why you're inviting them on the show.
Tell them about your unique angle or the story that you really want to talk to them about. Share with them how their expertise or story will be a benefit to your audience. Make them feel like their voice is going to be an important part of your body of work (because it will be!).
Keep this message pretty concise. If it's someone you already know or have a connection to, you likely don't need to say a ton about yourself or your show. Keep the focus on what you want to talk to the guest about.
If it's someone who is totally new to you, you'll want to introduce yourself and your show—a link to your podcast page on your website is helpful here so they can do their own research if they're interested.
If you reach out on social media (likely a direct message), keep it really concise but do message what your show is about, why you want them to come on, and ask for an email address to reach out with more information.
Make booking the interview as easy as possible.
When you send your initial email, make the next step—booking an interview—easy. We always use a scheduling service like CozyCal or Calendly so that we eliminate most scheduling back & forth.
Don't hesitate to include that booking link in that first email. You don't need to get a yes first. Eliminate that step.
From there, you'll complete the rest of your Guest Management procedure. That's an article for another day.
Managing the pitches you receive for your podcast
It often comes as a surprise to new podcast hosts how quickly their inboxes fill up with random pitches from people wanting to appear on their podcasts.
Some of these pitches will be good. Most will be complete trash.
I ignore pitches that are trash and we recommend our clients do the same.
These pitches fall into the "spray and pray" territory. You might pride yourself on great email hygiene and responding to every email you receive... but the people sending these pitches aren't expecting to hear back from you. They're emailing tons of people every day.
When I receive a pitch that actually sparks my interest, I'll respond. Even if it doesn't fit my editorial calendar, I'll reach out and let them know that. If the pitch isn't right but I think the potential guest could be a great fit for another topic or story, I'll try to redirect.
What I look for in a guest pitch is that it feels honest, that it's considered the premise of the podcast, and that the potential guest has considered how their story or experience fits into the body of work.
So let's take a closer look at those 3 things.
A pitch should feel honest.
In the last year, we've seen a lot of podcast pitches that seem obviously disingenuous.
Because we receive so many pitches, we can see when people are using the same templates. One template we've seen recently starts off by saying how "the whole office" is listening to the show. Another starts off by saying they've recently discovered the show and really appreciated an episode from about 8-10 weeks ago.
Sure, I'd like to believe these are true. But when you receive the same style of pitch from 5 different people, it's quite obvious that it's not. If the praise seems non-specific and from an unlikely source, it probably is. That might not be a reason to throw out the whole pitch but it isn't great.
I'd rather see a pitch from someone who has done a little research about the show and is upfront about why they want to come on rather than trying to make it look like they're a "big fan."
A pitch should be focused on the premise of the podcast.
Most podcasts put some version of their premise in the show description or right on their website. It's fairly easy to see what someone is looking for from a guest.
Unfortunately, most pitch templates recommend just one style of pitch and potential guests (or their agents) don't check that style of pitch against the actual premise of the show.
For instance, the description of What Works says flat out that it's not a show that features experts. However, 99% of the unsolicited pitches we receive still pitch the expertise of the guest.
Look for a pitch that's taken the care to consider what makes your show different because that guest is going to help you create great content instead of regurgitating what they say on every podcast.
A pitch should demonstrate how the guest will fit into your body of work.
This piece is a bit more nuanced. A good pitch will find a way to demonstrate that they've looked at the other people you've had on the show and the other topics you've covered and considered will add to what you're trying to do.
In other words, they'll recognize your curation and speak to it in some way.
Some might point out how they bring a different perspective on a topic you've already covered. Others will show how they can speak to something new in a way that's familiar to your guests. Some might want to dive deeper, others might want to bring a primer.
You have more opportunity to respond than just saying "yes" or "no."
A pitch is just the start of a negotiation. Even a good pitch will probably need to be adjusted a bit.
When I respond to a good pitch, I make sure to clarify exactly what I want to talk with them about—including what might be out of bounds.
Then, similarly to sending a pitch to a potential guest, I'll include my booking link in that same response (unless I really need to negotiate!). It'll sound something like this:
"If you're game to talk about that, you can book your interview by clicking here."
I also let them know if there's a particular time frame I need them to book in.
You're in control of the booking process
Whether you're pitching a potential guest or managing the pitches you receive, remember that you're in control.
It's your body of work. It's your voice. It's your show.
Take the lead, state what you want, and expect to get it.
Curating the perfect stories and topics for your show is how you'll make a standout podcast.
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