Mastering the Art of Finding and Inviting the Perfect Podcast Guest

Struggling to find that perfect guest for your podcast? Fear not! This episode serves as your blueprint to discovering and inviting the right guests that align with your audience's needs. Learn the art of defining your ideal guest, creating an enticing pitch, and personalizing your approach for a better connection with potential guests. 

But wait, there's more! We also dive into the nitty-gritty of tapping into your existing network and leveraging online platforms to find guests. Moreover, get insights into the critical aspect of building rapport and trust with your guests. This episode is the guiding light in your journey, whether you are a novice or an old hand looking to take your game up a notch. Come, join us and elevate your podcasting journey!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the Elevate Media Podcast with your host, chris Anderson. In this show, chris and his guests will share their knowledge and experience on how to go from zero to successful entrepreneur. They have built their businesses from scratch and are now ready to give back to those who are just starting. Let's get ready to learn, grow and elevate our businesses. And now your host, chris Anderson.

Speaker 2: 0:26

Welcome back to another recording of the Elevate Media Podcast. I'm Chris Anderson, your host, and today we're going to get into an important subject that will help you for your podcast if you're interviewing people, and that's how to successfully bring guests on, find guests and bring them on to your show. So first, in today's episode, I'm going to go over and highlight and show you exactly how you can go about finding guests to bring on your show, to interview and to bring great value to your audience. So if you're a podcast host who interviews people for your show and you're having a little hard time finding guests to bring on, then this episode's for you. So first, what we need to do is define who our ideal guest is. You know what aligns them with your show, what do they talk about? Will their topic help your audience and bring value to your audience? You've got to be able to define who's going to fit well for your show before you just go out searching for people to bring on. You want to know, obviously, what your audience needs, what they're looking for, and then what type of people fit that mold that you can bring on to share different topics, perspective stories. That's going to benefit your audience in the long run. So, for me, I'm looking for successful individuals who have built a six to seven to eight figure business, who have been in the trenches, started from nothing, started from scratch and built something really amazing and battled through all the ups and downs that we have to go through as we're building our businesses. You guys, you listening you are people who are just starting out. You're trying to get some traction going. You see what's possible and you have big goals, but you're at the start line or you've just gotten started, and so my guess is to help you, to elevate you on your journey, same as what I do on my solo ups. So just all to benefit you and help you grow on your journeys with video, podcasting, with your online businesses, and so that's what I've done. I've understand who I'm helping or who I'm trying to help, and so what guests are going to come on that are also going to be able to help you? Listening as well. Once you understand who can fit as a guest, that's going to bring value to your show. That's going to help your audience.

Speaker 2: 2:41

Next, you have to craft that perfect pitch. How are you going to approach these possible guests to bring them on your show? So picture this you've identified somebody who aligns perfectly with your show and your audience, so now you have to go and convince them that your show is the right platform for their topic, for them to be on. So how do you do that? It all comes down on how you pitch yourself to them. Your pitch should be like a captivating movie trailer someone you need to highlight the best parts and get them excited to actually want to share. You've got to remember that these potential guests are interested in the value they can bring to your audience, but also, are they a fit? Are they going to be able to grow their audience through being on your show as well? So make sure to highlight how their expertise can solve problems or inspire change or provide new perspectives for your audience, and then show the benefits that they'll receive from being featured, whether that's expanding their reach because you have a big audience, or building more credibility, or just connecting with like-minded people in your audience, depending on their levels and how far along they are, you've got to show them what is in it for them as well.

Speaker 2: 3:59

So when you're reaching out to these potential guests, you want to make sure you personalize that approach. You don't want to just have a generic copy and paste message that you send to everyone, trying to just do quantity over quality. Now, I understand, at the beginning that might be the simplest thing, but you really do want to do some research on the potential guest backgrounds, their achievements and what they've done recently and mention that within your pitch as to why they would be a good fit for your audience. When you add a personalized touch that demonstrates you have a true interest in that guest and so it connects better and increases the likelihood that you're going to have at least have a positive response and that relationship can be started building. If it's not, if it doesn't go right to being a guest.

Speaker 2: 4:49

So when you are formulating this pitch, when you are looking to create your message for these guest, potential guests, you want to make sure your message is concise, engaging and easy to understand. Start with a hook, something that's going to really pique their interest and get them interested in reading more. Then go into what makes your podcast unique, those selling points You're the mission of the show, your reach and the engaged audience that's eager to hear their story and their expertise and then you just wrap it all up with a call to action. Maybe it's inviting them to be a part of something special, or maybe it's taking that next step to scheduling, or maybe it's just telling them to let you know if they're interested. But you've got to close it off so they know what to do next. Now, when you're building out this compelling pitch. It takes time to hone your skill and refine, but it pays off in the end. Remember, this pitch is a reflection of your podcast brand and your dedication to delivering value to your audience. So take the time to tailor each message to these potential guests and watch how you line up even more guests and watch as you continue to bring on remarkable guests because of it.

Speaker 2: 6:06

So where do we go to find these guests? You have an outline of a pitch, you have an idea of how you're going to reach out to these people, but where do you go? The first place you want to go is your network. Who are the people that you're already connected with on social media, through email, through your phone? Your network is your net worth, as they say. So those contacts, colleagues and acquaintances you've met can provide valuable insights into potential guests who are a fit for your podcast. So you can tap into the expertise and relationship you've already built, so you can tap into the expertise and relationships you've already built to find those hidden gems for your show.

Speaker 2: 6:47

You don't have to go and try to pitch the Joe Rogan's or the Grant Cardone's right out of the gate. You have amazing people around you already that would be eager to be on your show. You just have to reach out. And when you reach out again and when you reach out again, remember, reach out with respect and authenticity. Again, make sure that message is personalized to that person so they feel special, for they don't just feel like you're copying and pasting something. Again, explain your podcast, what it's about, why they'd be a good fit, and try to show them how it would benefit them as well. Continue to build on these existing relationships and the likelihood of positive responses you're going to get will increase and the more guests you're going to be able to have.

Speaker 2: 7:31

And then you want to continue to build rapport and trust. Developing rapport is crucial. Before making any requests, try to engage in meaningful conversations with these contacts, these individuals you're trying to bring on your show. Show genuine interest in what they've done and what they're accomplishing, whether that be commenting on their social media posts, interacting, fostering more engagement or just sending a message telling them you appreciate what they're doing. This approach not only fosters trust, but it also enhances the quality of recommendations you can receive, because you're going to be genuine, you're going to be adding value before you're asking for anything, and so it sets a good precedent when you're reaching out to new people who then you're going to ask to be on your show.

Speaker 2: 8:15

And then this next one is a big one and one that we really utilize as well. It's utilizing online platforms. There are a number of places online you can go to find people eager to be podcast guests, so you've already cut down the searching because they're looking to be on shows. So now you just have to show the value of yours and why they're a good fit and what's in it for them. You can start as simple as finding Facebook groups that are geared toward podcast guesting people looking to be on shows and you can post in there and start making connections. You can look at other shows and who they've interviewed and then start building that connection with those guests that they've had and try to show them the value of coming on your show as well.

Speaker 2: 8:57

And then these are some of our favorite things to use right now are a couple online resources called Guestio, created by Travis Chappelle, who's actually a guest on our show, where you can go on and connect with potential guests, pitch your show and then get the guests scheduled. And then there's Podmatch, which is another amazing online platform to find guests for your podcast. That was created by Alex Sanfilippo, who's doing amazing things over there as well, and those two platforms right there have a vast variety of individuals looking to be on your show that you now just get to go on and connect with, and it makes it super simple. Again, it cuts down the searching because they're all there within the platform, so you just be able to search based on keywords and find people who are really closely aligned with your show. And again, both Travis and Alex are doing amazing things with these platforms that make it super simple for podcast hosts to find guests for your show and check out. Below We've got links to both of those platforms in the description and we'd love for you to check them out, because they really are doing amazing things and making podcast guests finding a lot easier, and on these platforms you can actually put your show so guests can pitch to be on your show as well, or you can pitch to be on other shows. So it's a really great platform to be a part of.

Speaker 2: 10:23

And then, of course, you can find guests on industry forums. So, going to specific forums and online communities that are tailored towards your industry or your niche, they provide valuable insights. You can be in discussions, share about your podcast there or an episode or something from an episode, and even ask for guest recommendations from the community. Just be respectful of the rules and etiquette as you interact with potential guests and individuals in those communities. But, again, those are great platforms as well to get ideas for episodes and get ideas for guests and then connect with potential guests. At the end of the day, having guests on your show can help build your credibility. This will bring more value to your listeners as it grows, and high profile guests are more likely to accept invitations when they see the positive impact their appearance can have on your audience and how it can benefit them as well.

Speaker 2: 11:18

So, again, to recap this episode, when you're going about trying to find guests for your show, you want to understand who's a good fit for your show first. You want to craft a compelling and personalized pitch that you can send to these potential guests. After you've built a relationship and so, building that relationship, you want to make sure that you're Connecting with them in some way and letting them know that you're appreciative of what they're doing out in the marketplace. And then you can go find these guests on different locations Facebook groups, like I mentioned, guest deal and pod match two amazing sites or or industry specific forums. Look at what conversations are out there on social media and who's involved in them.

Speaker 2: 12:00

Other Podcasts, shows and who they've had on. Those are all places you can go and find guests as well. But I hope you can take something from this episode as you're going out and trying to find more guests. Hopefully you can streamline the process, start bringing in more and more guests that bring value to your audience, to help grow and elevate your show and the lives of those listening. So that's all for this episode. Share this with someone else if you know that there are podcast hose, who interviews people, and let's make a difference together. But until next time, continue to elevate your life, elevate your brand, and we'll talk to you soon.

Speaker 1: 12:36

Thank you for listening to the elevate media podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. See you in the next episode.