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Do you want to guest on a podcast but keep having your podcast guest pitch rejected?
Are you simply unsure where to start with pitching yourself to other podcasters to be on their shows?
Then buckle in because, in this article, you will learn how to write the perfect podcast guest pitch that will help you stand out and get noticed the next time you apply to be a guest on a show.
Why Guest on Another Podcast?
Ok, first things first; why should you even bother to guest on other people’s shows? You have enough to deal with appearing on your own show! Let alone trying to provide content for someone else. So let’s break this down.
As a podcaster, your primary focus is likely creating engaging content for your own show. However, a really effective growth strategy for your own show is guesting on other podcasts. Why? Because being a guest allows you to tap into an already established audience, expand your reach, and showcase your expertise to potential new listeners.
Guest appearances can offer a load of benefits if you are looking to expand your influence and grow your show’s audience. This is because guesting on another podcast not only provides you with an opportunity to cross-promote and attract new subscribers but guesting on other shows can also help to establish you as a thought leader in your space. By sharing your personal insights on a topic and your experiences, you’re able to reinforce your authority and build credibility with a wider range of listeners.
Another great reason to guest on other podcasts is that guesting is an amazing way to network and collaborate with other creators. I’ve made genuine friendships through guesting on other people’s podcasts and these friendships have in turn given me further networking and collaborative opportunities.
Don’t get me wrong, guesting on a podcast isn’t an instant win to getting thousands of new downloads, but by strategically guesting on a range of shows where your target audience hangs out, you’ll start to see a definite increase in your own podcast audience.
But, before you can take advantage of these benefits of guesting on a podcast, you need to know how to write a killer podcast guest pitch that will leave a podcaster begging to get you booked as a guest.
Why Guest Pitching Matters
I’m just going to give this bit to you straight: I get A LOT of pitches for The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Podcasting that go straight in the virtual bin.
Why?
Mainly because these pitches tend to be a copy-and-paste email that is clearly sent out to multiple podcasters en masse. After all, emailing someone vaguely saying, ‘Hey podcaster! I love your show!’ and then proceed to tell me how you’re an expert in something that my audience is not interested in/doesn’t add to the topic of my show is never going to get even a curious reply.
It’s a waste of my time.
So I delete and move on.
There really is something that can be said for a personalised pitch.
As I said, I get a lot of poor pitches that don’t showcase why the potential guest would be a good fit for my show.
So what is it that I want? Well, in short, I want pitches that are personalized and make it easy for me to envision that person as a guest.
Now, don’t get me wrong, you won’t need to formally pitch to every podcast you want to appear on. The more you know someone, the less formal your pitch will be. I’ve sent and received pitches that have been along the lines of ‘Do you fancy recording this weekend?’ And because I knew the person/had a rapport with them, the answer was ‘Yes’ straight away.
But if you don’t personally know the person you are pitching to, a simple ‘I’d love to be on your show, DM me to chat more,’ just isn’t going to cut it.
Related post >> 4 Reasons Why Podcasting is a Must for Your Coaching Business
Related post >> Do You Have To Pay Your Podcast Guests?
Related post >> 22 of The Best Interview Questions to Ask Your Podcast Guests
So, let’s dive into 3 top tips to help you craft the perfect podcast guest pitch:
Podcast Guest Pitch Tip 1: Do Your Research Before Pitching
This might sound a tad boring and laborious, but it’s obvious when pitches have been researched before the ‘Sent’ button has been hit.
The key to a great pitch is tailoring it to both the specific podcaster and their audience.
How to research a podcast before applying to be a guest:
- Listen to at least a couple of their episodes. It’s important that you’re comfortable with the podcaster’s interview style and the show’s format. When someone’s pitching to be on your show, you want them to be familiar with your format and style of delivery. As you listen, think about what unique value or expertise you can provide to that show’s listeners. Make notes on any interesting points from the host you can reference later. Show you’ve done your homework!
- Learn about the podcast’s audience. Are they the same people as your audience? Why should they listen to you? You can get an idea of the podcast’s audience by listening to the show you’re pitching to and by checking out their website/socials.
- Find out who the podcaster is. Don’t just send an email with a generic greeting. Write TO the podcaster using their name. A bit of personality goes a long way when it comes to first impressions. It shows that you care about them as an individual because at the very least, you’ve bothered to find out their name as a minimum. I won’t lie; any podcast pitch that comes my way starting ‘Hey podcaster,’ or similar immediately heads for the bin.
Podcast Guest Pitch Tip 2: Focus Your Pitch on Serving the Audience
Too many guests view a podcast appearance as a chance to talk about themselves. But remember – the listeners are what matters. Sarah suggests pitching one clear topic you can discuss and how it will benefit that show’s audience.
Remove the guesswork for the host by spelling out exactly what you’ll bring to the table. You know what you can offer, so tell them!
Podcast Guest Pitch Tip 3: Follow Up Politely If Needed
What if you don’t hear back right away?
This can be a tough one, especially when you’ve spent time and care crafting the perfect pitch! If you’ve sent an email with your podcast guest pitch and don’t hear anything back, a good rule of thumb is to follow up twice, and a maximum of three times. Be understanding – don’t assume your email was ignored or rejected yet.
If you don’t hear anything from your guest pitch, send a friendly reminder while also making it clear you understand it’s ultimately their decision. Persist while also respecting boundaries.
Common reasons for not hearing back or getting a ‘no’ from a podcast guest pitch:
- The podcaster doesn’t have space in their content calendar (more on that in a bit!)
- Your email subject line wasn’t clear enough, so the email got thrown out
- The email got picked up and directed straight to a spam or junk box
- Your pitch wasn’t personalised to the podcaster you’re pitching to
- The pitch was a generic copy-and-paste which didn’t convey your desire to be on that particular show
Related post >> How To Be An Amazing Podcast Guest (+ Free Workbook)
Podcast Guest Pitch BONUS Tip: Be Gracious
Remember, every podcaster only has a limited amount of episodes that they release per year.
For example, 35% of podcasters release 1 episode per week. That means that for those podcasters, there are only 52 opportunities to guest on that podcast each year. And that’s assuming that they have a guest every week!
38% of podcasters release 1 episode every 2 weeks. So for these podcasts, there are only 26 opportunities to guest on that podcast (again, assuming they interview guests every episode).
For podcasts who don’t interview every episode, there are even fewer opportunities.
So the point is, if you don’t get a ‘yes’ to your pitch, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you aren’t wanted for the show. Some podcasters plan their guest slots out months in advance and so your ‘no’ might be a simple case of logistics and there isn’t availability to record with you.
If you find yourself in this situation, there’s never any harm in asking the podcaster if they’d be interested in you contacting them in the future when they are planning future episodes. You never know, the answer may change from a ‘No,’ to ‘Get back to me in a few months!’
Related post >> Why You Need A Podcast Guest Release Form (and How to Write One)
An amazing example of a stellar podcast guest pitch
Sarah from CopyHop sent me an incredible podcast guest pitch email earlier this year. It was so good, I’ve copied it below for you to see. She has a template on her website available here which you can use to create your own podcast guest pitch email.
Sarah’s podcast guest pitch email
Hi Verity,
As an inherently Lazy Girl, I was so happy when I discovered your podcast at the end of last year! As you say yourself, your episodes are really binge-able and I’ve been enjoying listening to them, especially your Taylor Swift/podcasting mash-up ep (oh my god, I’d LOVE it if she did her own podcast!!). There are a lot of voices in podcasting and podcasting advice, but yours is one of the most insightful and fun.
I am emailing you for a reason: I know that 2024 is your year of email so I was wondering if you’d be open to me guesting on The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Podcasting to talk a little about the opportunities for podcasters who master email marketing?
I also work in the podcasting industry, helping podcasters to grow their show and their influence through strategically remarketing their content. Last year, I gave a seminar to a group of podcasters about how to run a great email list for their podcast with less effort, touching on why email is a great medium to connect with subscribers, how to use AI to repurpose podcast episodes whilst maintaining content quality and the different kinds of emails to send to your podcast list. It was a great success and it encouraged those podcasters to start or keep going with their email list without putting as much work into it.
I’d love to discuss all or some of the above on your podcast and if you’d like to have me as a guest, I’d be delighted to promote your episode far and wide. However, I appreciate that you know your audience best so I’ll leave it up to you to think about 🙂
Hope that the sun is shining on you in Jersey and that the Taylor Swift n*des scandal didn’t leave a Blank Space in your episode download numbers!
Have a great day!
~Sarah at CopyHop~
Here’s the episode she was referring to in her email!
What do you think? Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments!
