It’s exciting to be a guest on podcasts, especially when you are able to be exposed to a new audience. The excitement builds, your agent talks to the host and their team, you go on, and then what? At a minimum, I receive around 40 emails a week with people requesting to be on the shows we produce. Typically they come from podcast guesting agents that really haven’t listened to our shows to know if they are a fit, and that are paid by potential podcast hosts. One out of ten may be a fit, at most. It’s difficult to always take the time to be polite to say, “No thank you.” The game of “We’d love to interview you to hear about your expertise…” as a thinly veiled pitch is widely known. But, if people are not pitching the guests that have been pushed on them, where is the benefit to having on relative strangers? It comes from the follow-up – not only for the hosts but for the guests hiring these booking agents. Let’s first talk about what the booking agent is doing for you, as the paying guest to be booked. Before you sign with a podcast guesting agent, ask them what they do after the appearances they secure for you and you show up for.
Ask your podcast guesting agent or potential booking firm these questions:
- Who gets you the full transcript?
- Who gets you the embed code you can use?
- Is there a link to the RSS file for the show?
- Are there promotional graphics that were used? Can you get those?
- What are the links on all the podcast app venues for your specific episode?
- Has your profile been added to sites such as Podchaser (free) as a creator?
- Is the podcast you are on also on Podchaser so you can connect your appearance to their profile and ask people to rate it?
- Do you have a playlist of your appearances?
- Do you have all social contacts for each show host you appear with?
- Is there a video version or clips you can also share out? If so, you need the links.
If your podcast guesting agent is simply booking you and then it’s all over because they are moving on to the next client to book, you may want to find another firm. How are they supporting you AFTER the appearances, or prepping you before. Also, this puts a lot on you, as the FREE guest on a show. Do not waste the opportunity and paid “gift” you have been given. You need to do your homework for that show. Just because you have a podcast guesting agent, doesn’t mean they did a great job matching you up with a show or appearance. They may be tossing pasta against the wall hoping it will stick – ANYTHING, just to get you on a show so you keep paying them to book you.
You need to do some homework.
- Look for the show and listen to a couple of episodes.
- Connect with the host ahead of time on social to thank them.
- Research their bread and butter company -the one funding the podcast. Get to know them so you can provide value to THEIR audience. It should be about the guest, but it’s usually not all the way especially when you are a stranger to them.
- Connect with a couple of their past guests that are similar to you and ask about the experience.
- Find out how the host promotes their show episodes. An appearance does no good if it is not promoted.
- Ask them how you can help. This is where your list for AFTER the show is about to start.
After you are on their show:
- Did you thank them on social media?
- Did you send them an email or physical CARD thanking them?
- What is a highlight from the episode?
- If you got the transcript, embed code, and graphics you need to use them.
- Post the graphics with links to the episode on social.
- Get quotes from the episode where the HOST sounds super bright and cite it in a post on LinkedIn with a link to the episode. Be sure to @mention them and their company and anyone you mentioned positively in the episode.
- Rate their podcast on the podcast apps.
- Write a blog post and use the embed code from the episode and graphics.
- Send the host and the booking agent the links, push on social and @mention them all.
- If you got the entire transcript, add that after the “read more” portion of the posts and link to their podcast site.
- Three months later, repeat 6.
- Introduce the host to a good match for them after you learned more about their company and the type of person they are.
- Give the booking agent feedback.
- If no one has done it for you, create your own CREATOR’S profile on podchaser.com to keep track of your appearances and build your audio resume to get invited onto more shows. It’s easier to send that link to your profile citing all of the appearances rather than sending people to a bunch of different sites.
- Consider adding a “podcasts we love” page to your own site when it was a good match – include that show.
- Consider a feed you can create from Feed.informer.com with all of the feeds from those shows to display dynamically on that page.
Hosts considering helping out these booking agents, and don’t be shy about asking for some courtesies:
- A link to previous appearances so you can preview the guest’s personality, ability to speak on camera or a mic, and see if this is a good match.
- How does the booking agent promote the show before and after?
- How will the guest promote the show before and after? Give them the list above to see what they will commit to.
- Remember, you are helping them in most cases. You still have to spend the time, research a bit, pay to have the episode edited and promoted. It’s OK to ask for some help.
- Follow up a few weeks later to ask the guest for the link to the blog post where they promoted your episode. If they have not, make it easy for them to do it. If they still do not, let the booking agent know and consider adding them to the “no fly” list.
- Was it an excellent show? Should you add it to your email marketing campaign? Be sure to include the guest in that promotion.
- Do you want to have them on again? Did it go that well? If you do some of these other things they’d most likely be happy to come back on, even after they’ve become rich and famous after appearing on your show!
