How to Prepare to Host a Podcast Interview to Get the Best Out of Your Podcast Guests

Podcast interviews are a brilliant way of getting more information and expertise to your audience on topics that you might not have as much knowledge in.

Some podcasts rely on podcast interviews, whilst others sprinkle interviews in with solo episodes.

In this blog post, we’re going to consider how you could prepare for your podcast interview before it happens. After all, as the old saying goes, ‘those who fail to prepare, prepare to fail.’

This post will cover the following points of preparing to interview guests on your podcast:

• Do you need a podcast guest?
• Finding the right guest for your podcast
• Examples of good podcast interview questions
• How to structure podcast interviews
• How to prepare your podcast guest for being interviewed on your show
• Podcast guest release forms

Do You Need a Podcast Guest?

Ok, this might be a bit of a weird question to start off when prepping for a podcast guest to come onto your show. But it’s a valid question to ask.

You see, a lot of podcasters often fall into the trap of interviewing so many guests on their show that they never end up building up their own authority or sharing their own expertise on their own show.

And this can be a huge mistake if you’re wanting to gain the trust with your audience as an expert in your niche.

After all, if all you’re presenting your audience with is the expertise of others, you’re never going to build your own authority with others as anything other than an interviewer.

For some shows, this could be fine. There are many excellent interview-only podcasts where the show aims to share the stories of others. However, if you want to sell an offer or similar product to your audience, then without building your authority, you’re unlikely to be able to get people to buy from you.

So, if you’re looking to build authority with your audience, consider whether you can either do the episode solo or get someone to interview you on your own show to build your own authority and trust with your audience.

Reasons to feature a guest on your show instead of doing a solo episode could include:

• Wanting to share useful insights and information with your audience which you don’t have expertise in
• You have a show that purposefully shares the stories of others

Great examples of podcast shows where the premise of the show is to share the stories of others include The Life Shift Podcast and We Need to Talk.

You also need to consider that if someone is being interviewed for your podcast and they’re a professional; it’s likely that they will want to pitch a freebie or an offer at the end of the episode.

After all, they’ve given you their time and expertise for free, it’s only fair that you give them space to promote their offer(s) to your audience.

However, if you have similar offers or also want to promote a freebie or offer within the episode, this can be confusing for listeners who might end up ultimately not signing up for either offer from you or your guest.

Finding the Right Guest to Interview

Too many shows (in my opinion) interview whoever is available to them.

They reach out on social media with a post saying something vague, such as ‘I’m looking for podcast guests, let me know if you’re interested!’ and then interview whoever comes along.

This is not vetting your podcast guest appropriately and lands you with the risk that you’ll be interviewing someone who isn’t the right fit for your show.

And I’m saying this in a high-and-mighty way, because I’ve been there myself.

I interviewed someone who was not right for my show at all…and it was a disaster. So much so, that I never even ended up publishing the episode.

What a waste of everyone’s time!

And it could have been so easily avoided if, in my enthusiasm as a new podcaster to please people, I hadn’t vetted them first and then respectfully declined their request to be on my show.

Finding the right guest for your show takes time. But, in my opinion, having no guest is better than a derailed episode that doesn’t resonate with your audience and loses you listeners.

Ways to vet a potential podcast guest include:

1. Asking Them Specifically What They Can Talk About

And don’t accept a vague answer such as ‘marketing’ or ‘building a business.’ Find out what they can specifically talk about in that topic area and how they will serve your audience.

2. Listening to Other Interviews They Have Done Before

This will give you a feel for their guest and interview style and how they respond in a question and answer environment.

3. Asking for Their Credentials

And don’t just take ‘I worked at X company’ as a credential. You worked there, but what did you do? There’s no point in speaking to someone whose expertise doesn’t align with the topic of your show.

So what which companies they’ve worked with or for before? Where they’ve worked is rarely relevant (unless you’re doing some Undercover Boss type thing); what they’ve done and what they know is more relevant.

Finding Guests Through Cold-Pitch Emails

We’ve all seen them, those emails that say something along the lines of:

‘Hey! I loved listening to your latest podcast episode and I think my client will be a really good fit for your show!’

Even better are the ones that include the wrong name of your show, or include something like ‘[insert podcast title here] ‘rather than actually including the name of your podcast. You’ve got to just laugh at those ones.

I will admit, I have only ever said yes to one person who has cold-pitched me to be a guest on my podcast, and this was Sarah from CopyHop.

Her pitch was so authentic and funny that I could tell that she had actually listened to the show and had a genuine reason to want to connect with my audience. In fact, after we interviewed for the original reason why she came on the show (to discuss creating an email list for your podcast), we then did a separate episode to discuss pitching yourself to be on a podcast.

In my humble opinion, replying to cold-pitch emails for podcast guesting isn’t really worth my time and isn’t the best way to get guests.

This could just be down to my own experiences, but I much prefer to find someone who I think will be a great fit for my show for whatever reason, vet them by listening to previous interviews they’ve done and checking their credentials online, and then approaching them myself to invite them to be on the show.

This way, I have far more control over the guests who are on my show.

Related Post >> 3 Top Tips for How to Write the Perfect Podcast Guest Pitch

How Should I Structure a Podcast Interview?

Like anything, a good podcast interview needs a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Within your interview, you want to:

• Introduce your guest at the beginning
• Have your conversation or question and answer session in the middle
• Wrap up with learning points from the episode, contact details for your guest, and thanking them for being on your show

Again, each of these parts sound easy enough, but they all come down to preparation.

1. Planning to Introduce Your Podcast Guest

Before you can introduce a guest, for example, you need to do your research. You need to know who they are and figure out a way in which your audience will quickly understand why you’re interviewing this person on your show.

Some podcast guests will send you over a media kit with a standard bio attached before the show for you to use to introduce them on the episode. For others, you might need to do your own research and dig around online a bit to find out relevant information.

What’s important for your audience is that you don’t just read off their whole LinkedIn bio or resume at the start of the episode. Your listeners don’t care about that. They’re there for the interview. It’s your job as the host to know what information to use to introduce your guest, what to pepper into the interview later, and what just doesn’t need to be said.

Related Post >> How to Introduce Podcast Guests & Keep Your Audience Engaged

2. Planning Your Conversation and Questions

Planning your podcast interview (as in the actual interview part) is just as important as actually having the interview.

Think to yourself: what is the end goal of this interview? What information do I want my audience to walk away with?

Once you’ve clarified those answers, you can work backwards and come up with questions that will help deliver this information to your listener.

Some podcasters like to have a strict set of questions that they don’t deviate from (some podcast guests like this, too).

Others (like me!) will have 3-5 questions that I’ll ask, but I won’t be afraid to deviate if something comes up in conversation that I’d like to explore further.

Whichever your approach, I would always recommend giving your podcast guest the questions (or rough questions) you’d like to ask them ahead of recording the podcast interview. This will give them appropriate time to plan and also suggest other questions or talking points that they might feel more comfortable with, or could help get the best out of them and the interview.

3. Wrapping Up Your Conversation

Yes, you’ve got through your introduction and a whole podcast interview, but it’s still important to effectively wrap up the episode.

Personally, I like to ask podcast guests before we start the interview if they have a freebie or offer they’d like to promote at the end of the interview. And yes, I stress at the end of the interview because I don’t want any of my listeners to think that I’ve got someone on the podcast just to sell to them.

I also ask the guest for links that we can include in the show notes, that I can also direct listeners to whilst wrapping up the episode.

Finally, don’t forget to publicly thank your guest. Yes, you’ll (hopefully) thank them for their time when you’ve finished recording and before they go, but it’s nice to thank them on the episode recording for their time for being on the show, too. After all, the very vast majority of podcast guests are not paid for their time, so it’s only nice to get a genuine thank you from you as the host in front of your audience.

Related Post >> Do You Have To Pay Your Podcast Guests?

What Are Good Podcast Interview Questions?

This is a tricky question to answer, because good podcast interview questions will be personal and relevant to the person you are interviewing and the topic you are covering.

As I said before, your best strategy for having the best interview questions for your podcast interview is figuring out the end goal for your interview and then working backwards. Once you’ve identified what you want a listener to get out of the podcast interview, you can then figure out what questions you need to ask your podcast guest during the interview in order to extract this information from them.

Some good general questions that you might like to use in your podcast interview include (fill the blanks with a relevant niche or topic:

• What is the most understood thing in…?
• What do you wish people understood more about in…?
• If someone were starting in…today, what would you suggest they prioritise?
• What’s the motivation behind what you do?
• How can listeners contact you after the show?

Another tip for choosing great interview questions to ask, is to ask your podcast guest what they normally get asked in interviews, and if there’s anything they’d like to be asked.

If there are common questions they are usually asked, you could see if there’s a unique take you could spin on this question to make it more relevant to your audience.

For example, if I were interviewing someone in marketing, rather than asking generic questions about marketing, I’d make sure that the question targeted marketing in podcasting.

Your podcast guest might also have something they want to talk about, but are rarely asked about. Asking what questions they’d like to be asked allows your guest to talk about more unique topics that they aren’t discussing everywhere else.

Related Post >> 22 of The Best Interview Questions to Ask Your Podcast Guests

How to Prepare Your Podcast Guest

Preparing your guest for your podcast interview is part of the overall preparation of the episode. Don’t assume that someone knows how to be a podcast guest, or the type of equipment they’ll need.

The best way to share this information with your podcast guest is to have a crib sheet populated with all of the information that is relevant to you and your show that you send to them ahead of your recording. They can then come back to you with any questions they have before your recording day.

Here are 6 points you might want to consider when preparing a podcast guest to appear on your show:

1. Ask Them to Wear Headphones

These don’t need to be expensive or top-of-the-range headphones. They could be the headphones that come free with mobile phones, or similar. But wearing headphones helps to improve audio quality and can also create a more engaged podcast interview.

2. Ask Them To Use a Microphone That Is Separate to Their Laptop/Computer

Again, this microphone doesn’t need to be expensive or specialist. But using a microphone that is separate from the one built into a laptop or computer will enhance audio quality.

Again, this could be the microphone built into headphones; it’ll still likely give a better sound quality than a microphone that isn’t separate to a laptop/computer.

3. Explain Where is a Good Place to Record

Not all podcast guests are podcasters themselves and don’t necessarily think about where they will be recording for your interview. Remind your guest to be in a place that is quiet, free from distraction, and comfortable.

4. Give a Rough Idea of the Questions or Topics You’ll Cover

If you already have a set list of questions or topics that you’d like to cover, share these with your podcast guest ahead of the interview.

This will help them to prepare and also allow them to ask them to tweak or amend questions if they feel a slightly different take will help them get the best out of the interview.

5. Ask If They Have an Offer or Similar to Promote

If someone is giving up their time to guest on your podcast, it’s only nice to give them the time and space for them to promote an offer or freebie on your podcast.

This call to action (signing up to their newsletter, downloading their freebie, etc) should be limited to one, as otherwise your audience will become overwhelmed with actions and likely won’t do any of them.

Make it clear to your guest where and when they can promote their freebie or offer. Often, I only let guests share this information at the end of the podcast interview. This is because I don’t want my audience to feel that I’ve got a guest on the show simply to sell something to them.

6. Explain Who Your Audience Is

We’d all like to think that anyone guesting on our show knows exactly who our audience is, but it’s always better to tell someone than assume.

Otherwise, a guest might go into an interview thinking the audience has more or less knowledge on a topic that they actually have, or might frame the information in the interview to the wrong audience.

7. Ask If Anything is Off-Bounds from Discussion

Although I’ve never had anyone ever turn around and say there’s something they specifically don’t want to discuss during a podcast interview, I do think it’s nice to check this with your guest.

It doesn’t mean that there’s some big scandal that they don’t want to discuss. It could just be that they don’t want to discuss parenthood whilst discussing their business, or similar.

8. Make Sure They Know What’s Expected of Them After the Recording

Look, once you’ve interviewed someone for your show, recorded, edited, and hit ‘Publish,’ it is no-one’s responsibility to promote that episode apart from you.

I said what I said.

Because, at the end of the day, it is your show. And that means that the responsibility of promoting the episode is down to you.

If you guest does promote the episode they interviewed for, great! If they do it multiple times across different platforms, even better!

But their job was to turn up and be interviewed, not to promote.

If you would like your guest to promote the episode once it’s live, I’d recommend sharing the link and any graphics you’ve created with them, but appreciate the fact that they are not obliged to share these with their audience.

It’s important to include this point as part of the planning, because if you planned to interview someone and hope that the episode will go viral because they will share it with their audience, you might want to rethink either your marketing strategy for the episode, or your motivation to interview that person in the first place.

Related Post >> How To Be An Amazing Podcast Guest

Podcast Guest Release Forms

A Guest Release Form is an agreement that your guest agrees to (and often signs) before appearing on your podcast. Your Release Form can cover many things, including:

• Any compensation the guest may receive (if any)
• What you will do with the recording, once completed
• If there are any expectations of the guest in terms of promoting the episode once it’s live

Without this type of written agreement, further down the road, the person you interviewed can try to force you to remove an episode your catalogue, try and dispute that they should have received payment for their time, and a whole other host of problems that you likely will never anticipate until they actually happen.

The Release Form also shows that your guest has given you permission to record their voice/image and use it for your show and in your promotional material. Gordon Firemark is an entertainment lawyer and has an excellent Release Form template that is free for podcasters to use and amend for their own show.

You might think, ‘But it’ll never happen to me,’ but I’ve heard horror stories of people demanding all sorts of a podcaster post-interview. This includes a podcast guest demanding:

• Editing rights of the episode recording
• Removal of an episode from the podcast
• Removal of any mention of them from social media

and so many other issues that I just don’t think you should take a chance on thinking it won’t happen to you.

Sure, some of these things can be worked out rationally and on a case-by-case basis. But on the whole, you want to go into an interview maintaining control over the situation and the content being produced. At the end of the day, it’s your show.

Related Post >> Why You Need A Podcast Guest Release Form (and How to Write One)

Conclusion

In conclusion, podcast interviews are a great way to bring a range of experiences and information to your audience. However, planning to host a podcast interview is just as important as actually hosting the interview.

When planning your podcast interviews, remember:

• Planning an interview is key; winging it isn’t an option here
• Having a guest on your show might not be the best idea if you want to use your podcast to demonstrate your own expertise and build your own authority
• Podcast guests can bring new perspectives and information to your audience
• Booking a guest for their following doesn’t guarantee that their audience will listen to the episode or become listeners of your show
• Prepare your guest for the interview and don’t assume they know the best setup to be interviewed on a podcast, especially if you’re recording remotely

I hope that you’ve found this guide useful for planning your own podcast interviews!