Podcasting Made Simple
Podcasting Made Simple is the premier podcast about podcasting! We’re here to help podcast guests and podcast hosts reach more listeners and grow their income so they can change more lives! Join Alex Sanfilippo and other podcasting industry experts as they share how you can level up on either side of the mic! (Show notes and resources: https://PodMatch.com/episodes)
Podcasting Made Simple
Getting Podcast Guests to Share Their Episodes | Karen Roberts
If you're a podcast host with an interview-based podcast, you've felt the pain I'm about to mention. You have a great interview with a guest, the episode comes out, you send them the links and some assets to share, then crickets. Thankfully, this painful reality doesn't have to be yours. In this episode, Karen Roberts shares the formula for getting podcast guests to promote their episodes. Get ready to go from being ghosted by guests to watching them become your show's ambassadors!
MORE ON THIS EPISODE: HTTPS://PODMATCH.COM/EP/317
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Podcast Guest Promotion
02:52 The Importance of Guest Preparation
06:11 Post-Recording Engagement Strategies
09:05 Creating Promotional Assets for Guests
11:49 Building Relationships Through Communication
14:45 Recap and Final Thoughts
Takeaways
It's essential to clearly communicate your expectations to guests.
Preparation starts even before the recording takes place.
Post-recording engagement is crucial for guest promotion.
Creating promotional assets can significantly ease the burden on guests.
Building relationships with guests can lead to better promotion.
Don't hesitate to remind guests about their promotional responsibilities.
Utilizing social media effectively can enhance episode visibility.
Asking for shout-outs can be beneficial for audience growth.
Organizing tasks with a checklist can streamline the promotion process.
Over-communication is key in maintaining guest relationships.
MORE ON THIS EPISODE: HTTPS://PODMATCH.COM/EP/317
📊 This month's Independent Podcasters Report is now available! To see podcasting industry insights that matter for indie podcast hosts and podcast guests, please visit https://PodMatch.com/Report!
You're listening to Podcasting Made Simple. If you're a podcast host and you invite guests onto your show, hoping to have the opportunity to be introduced to their audience, as well as the guests being introduced to yours, have you ever felt like it's a one-way street? My name is Kat Roberts, the CEO of Podcast Profits Limited. I'm here in the UK and I love everything about podcasting. Now today's talk is about getting your guests to be your ambassadors. How to nurture the episode promotion process to maximize your podcast promotion. I was naive when I first started because I was expecting my guests to promote the episode and then almost feeling resentful if they didn't. Hang on a minute. I'm doing all this work to promote you. We all know that there's a cost to actually researching your guests, reaching out to them, getting them to complete a form with their bio, headshot, their links, et cetera, maybe even an episode release form, which is all made easier with PodMatch, but it still takes time and money. And then there's the actual recording, post-production. It would be great if your guests could also promote for you because it gives you an opportunity to get in front of their audience. But I was wrong to expect them to do the work. It was my responsibility the whole time to articulate clearly what our process was and give them clear instructions. Guests are coming on your show to be introduced to your audience. Let's face it, the episode is about them, an opportunity for them to share their story and demonstrate how they helped. their target audience achieve a specific goal. If they're not promoting the episode, I don't think it's been done deliberately. It's just that we're all busy. We have our business, your guest has their business too. Quite often, if you haven't demonstrated what your process is, after the recording, they've forgotten about you until you let them know when the show's aired. you even do because I've spoken to many other hosts who also guest on other people's podcasts and they tell me like, it's crazy. I never even heard from them again, which is madness because they would have been willing to share the episode on their social media platforms and email their list. So what can you do to encourage your guests to do the same? If you want your guests to be your ambassadors, then it's down to you and only you to inspire them to be. And it can start even before you record the show. Then on the day of the recording, after the recording, before the show airs, directly after the show airs, and maybe even a month later, don't be afraid to over communicate. six tips for you, and it all starts with the prep. Tip number one starts even before the recording. You want them to shine. Most of us know that if we're guesting on other people's podcasts, we should go at least and listen to their podcast first and get a feel of how they run them. But you can take this a step further. Always go above and beyond. Before you record the show, prepare them. It sounds obvious. but make sure that they know what's expected of them for simply showing up. Even around the basics, good mic, headphones, in a quiet room with lighting. Then what is your structure for your show? Is it purely conversational or do you have a specific format? Will there be specific questions to direct the flow of the conversation? If so, let's... them know so that they can be prepared. You could prepare a video so that after they put the recording, it will take them to a page which explains clearly what they need to do to prepare for the recording, but also what your process is after the recording, post-production. Again, don't be afraid to over-communicate. Remind them before the recording by sending another email out, maybe back to that video and check that they understand. That's tip number one. Tip number two is on the day of the recording. As I said, most hosts do so much work in the beginning and up to the recording, but it mustn't end there. If you can let them know again, either before you hit the record button, or straight after the recording of the episode, what your particular process is, and also what social media platforms you will be promoting on, and find out what social media platforms your guest primarily uses. That is really key, and make sure you are connected. Because in the past, I know I've done this, when I've gone to promote the episode, I can't even tag them in the post. because we're not even connected. So make sure that you get all this information in advance. Now also, if you can't set the release date on the day of the recording, make sure that you do so as soon as you know it. And again, don't be afraid to over communicate. If you told them your process before the recording, trust me, after the recording, They think they're done. So send out a reminder email. So tip number three, start after the recording. Now it might sound quite obvious, but I know for a fact that many don't do this. Thank them for taking the time to prepare and show up. Be grateful for their insights. You can send them a simple email and or a DM thanking them. but taking time out of their day to appear on your show. Let them know that you value the information that they gave your audience and you really appreciate it. This will go a long way. Stroke their ego, but in an authentic way. Tip number four is all about the assets that you're going to create. Now, I'm sure that you're already creating assets for your episode. I'm sure you already supply them with some images and or snippets from the episode, but go one stage further because your guests are busy with their own business. They're not going to take the time out to write posts about being a guest on your show. You need to do it for them. They've already given you their headshot and their buyer. That's it. If you're already creating show notes on the transcription of your episode, I simply use chat GPT for this task. So also ask it to create some social media posts from the perspective of the guest in the first tense to encourage people to listen to the episode. If you're already prepping blog posts about your episode, again, ask chat GPT to rewrite the blog post from the perspective of the guest. Now, they may not have a blog, but they may be able to create a LinkedIn article. If it's written for them, you can encourage them to embed the episode in the article and maybe even add the YouTube video at the bottom. Then you've covered all areas written, video and audio. Also, you could give them a newsletter blurb that they can email out to their list again. written from their perspective. So if you've created a Google folder with all of these assets in so that they or their VA can use, then all they need to do is simply copy and paste. They don't have to take time out of their day to write anything. You've done it for them. The more you can do for them, the more likely that they are going to help with promotion. but it doesn't stop there. Again, people get distracted. So let them know via email each day you want them to send something out. If you use a CRM, you can automate this part. So maybe the week before you want them to send the newsletter article out, maybe the day before a snippet of the actual podcast with a bit of blurb that you've prepared for them. Maybe after the episode, you do a live stream. We'll get to that in a bit. But don't forget to ask them to tag you every time they post something. Look, the added bonus to all of this is that your listeners grow, your downloads grow, and you are being introduced to their audience. There's a win. Now tip number five is something that we weren't doing, but we are doing now. On the day of the recording, if you know the release date, actually book them in for this to do a live stream, maybe two days after the episode is aired. And if you use StreamYard or Restream, then you can invite them on. Again, you give them the title and the description from their perspective, and you can connect to a few social media platforms, but so can they. so they can connect to their social media platforms when you go live. And then just do a short live stream. You can say, hey, we had a great conversation the other day on this episode. Thank you so much for being there. You gave so many insights. There were so many golden nuggets in this episode. And obviously add the link or direct them to where the episode is. That way you're getting in front of their audience live. It doesn't have to be long. It could be just five minutes, but it could be a great way for increasing your downloads. number six. Now, depending on how big your guest is, right? You know what? If they've got a really large audience, why don't you ask them to sponsor your episode when they do their next episode for their podcast? At the end of the day, one thing's for certain is that if you don't ask, you won't get. And for some, they may offer to do it for free. And if not, it may still be worth it if they've got a large audience. Just ask the question. Ask them to do a shout out on being on your podcast and they can share the episode link in their show notes. So you may be already doing all of these things or you may be doing some of them. But why is it that many hosts don't do this? One of the things is I think people are afraid to over communicate, but please do not fear that. As I said, we're all busy and sometimes we just need a reminder because we may have had the intentions to do the promotion and then life gets in the way. I know for me personally, If a specific task is not booked in my calendar, then it's not going to get done. So don't be afraid to over communicate. Keep in touch because this isn't just a transaction. You are building relationships. Podcasting is an opportunity to build relationships. So don't be afraid to keep going back to them, letting them know. encouraging them when to post. And when you do a post for the episode, tag them in. Maybe send them a DM and encourage them to repost it. Just hit the reshare button. Because again, this is going to go a long way. So what else stops people from doing it? For me, it was always about being organized. Because if you're a host yourself, then you know there's a lot going on into the prep, the run up to the recording. post-production, and then this other step, the podcast promotion. If you have a checklist of what needs to be done and when, that's going to help you in so many ways. Now, another thing I suppose is time. Now for me, someone who is hyper-focused ADHD, I have specific blocks of time added to my calendar for completing all of these different things. I use the Pomodoro technique when I focus on one task for 25 minutes, then take a break, put some music on, maybe dance around the kitchen or grab a coffee or even do a micro workout. Maybe just 10 press ups and some burpees or some sit ups, release some energy and then sit back down, set my timer again for another 25 minutes. I have my checklist of what needs to be done and when, and these are unnegotiables in my calendar. So let's have a recap. Step one is about prepping your guests in advance of the recording. This can be done via video. Step two, on the day of the recording, again, let them know your process and make sure that you're connected on all social media platforms. And if you can, book them in for the live stream after the show airs. Tip number three. Show gratitude, simple yet effective. Step four, create the asset for them from their perspective. Hand them over in a Google folder, but also remind them when and where you would like them to post and ask them to tag you in. Tip five, do that live stream after the show airs. Tip six, ask for a shout out. from your guest. Thank you for staying with me. I hope you found this helpful. And I suppose the overall message is don't be afraid to over communicate. more episodes, please visit podmatch.com forward slash episodes. Thank you so much for listening. Hey, Alex here. I want to give you a gift as a way of saying thank you for staying around till the end of this episode. I put together a list of five things that you can read in less than five minutes. that will help you level up as a podcast host, guest, or agency. To see the five things with no email address required, please visit podmatch.com forward slash free. Thanks again for listening. I hope these five things serve you well.
