The Podcast Guest Problem - The Podcast Report

A lot of people believe that a podcast must be an interview. This is an interesting problem. This episode is an interview, but that is not always the case. People are paying tons of cash to get guests for their podcasts. Some of these guests turn out to be good some don’t. There are all sorts of options for getting guests from high end services that run into thousands of dollars to databases, but none of these are perfect.

Someone who is doing 52 podcast episodes a year needs a way to connect with guests. Having someone on your team taking care of this is the best solution, but what if you don’t have that? Steve Olsher invited me to his New Media Summit. This was like speed dating for podcast guests. This was an interesting solution. Steve loves his event and is excited about promoting it. He also shares some serious knowledge bombs about topic of influence articulation, the need to get to the decision maker, being an engaging guest, and the concept of the bounce.

Tip of the Week:

Your podcast audio doesn’t have to be perfect. Your job is to get your message out. You want to make it sound good, but you don’t have to be in front of a professional microphone. It’s fine to broadcast your podcast. Don’t let the naysayers tell you otherwise. Position your audio as exactly what it is and let your listeners know that this recording is less than perfect.

Finding Podcast Guests, Topic of Influence, Being Engaging, and Bounce:

[06:17] Steve is an online player, not an enthusiast. Instead of a service, he offered podcast guest speed dating.
[07:11] Steve hosts the Reinvention Radio Podcast and was getting hit up with guest offers. It occurred to Steve that there wasn't a great way to find guests and become guests. He created a forum to do this along with how to leverage and monetize this media. New Media Summit is the event or forum that Steve created.
[08:59] It won't be in the speed dating format in the future. They plan on using a format that will work a lot better for everyone involved.
[09:51] Everyone there was up to something interesting. They are now going to give people the floor to pitch everyone in attendance. Steve thinks everyone will leave with a lot of bookings.
[14:46] Why is it so hard for shows and talent to connect? To develop meaningful relationships is to spend time with people. It's hard to know if a guest will be good without knowing them.
[16:32] Steve likes to turn his events into a big old-fashioned wedding.
[17:17] We love to position podcasting as intimate. This type of intimacy requires a relationship.
[19:32] It is amazing what can happen over the course of three days together. Some of the larger events are very cliquish. This makes it hard to connect at a meaningful level.
[24:55] How to get guests on your show. Learn how to articulate who you are and what your value add is. Have a great hook.
[26:34] Sam Horn talks about the eyebrow test and being able to create a level of intrigue and interest. This is a big part of the process. Have a hook and articulate that value add in two to four words.
[27:17] Share a summation of your topic of influence. Use these three or four words as a search tool. Type in your topic of influence.
[28:13] If no one is talking about your topic of influence then there is no interest in it. Articulate your topic of influence and then leverage it.
[28:54] Have a media one sheet. Also understand who the decision makers are and the players in the world you are interested in.
[29:32] Topic of influence. Identify the shows you want to be on. Get booked on those shows.
[29:47] Be an engaging guest. This is a skill. You want to do 200-300 interviews before being on those big shows. A lot of people just want to jump to the front of the line.
[31:03] Enroll people into your ecosystem. The secret is all about bounce. You have to bounce them from a passive listener to being an active prospect in your ecosystem.
[31:47] Monetize your visibility. So many people have great shows, and their guests don't know how to monetize their visibility.
[32:51] Understand how focuses strategic attention is so important. If you want to be on a show that brings value, the approach is more than filling out a form.
[34:15] There are a lot of ways to invest your time. Look at the number of hours people spend chasing shiny objects. Average people need to jump start their visibility process. Figure out if what you are doing provides ROI.
[36:34] There are plentiful opportunities in three days of New Media Summit.
[39:13] You are the solution to someone else's problem. There are people waiting for what you offer. Share your what with strategic abandon.

Links and Resources:

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