5 Mistakes to Avoid When Podcast Guesting [Ep. 148]

 
 

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Here’s what to expect from this episode:

Podcast guesting can be an incredible tool for your business. But unless you've experienced the power of guesting on the perfect-fit show, you may not really get what the hype is all about.

Like when I got glasses for the first time and had NO idea that my vision was so bad (neither did my mom; she felt terrible!).

If you're a long-time listener of this podcast, then you've probably heard me go on and on about why you should be podcast guesting. But in short, it can help you grow your podcast audience, email list, and social media presence, create new relationships, and increase your authority and brand awareness. Sounds pretty great, right??

Guesting on the right podcasts WORKS. I can say this confidently since my first podcast guesting experience on that perfect-fit show (School of Sellers, hosted by Erin Waters). The topic was right, the timing was right, and I saw immediate results. I had people messaging me on Instagram hours after the interview went live, and I saw an immediate HUGE boost in podcast downloads. Many of those people quickly became email subscribers and then purchasers of the course I launched a couple of months later.

But before you start sending out pitches to podcast hosts, there are definitely some podcast guesting mistakes that I see people making when they approach this strategy. So today, I'm sharing 5 podcast guesting mistakes and what to do instead to see that ROI.

And if you want more support implementing (or updating) your podcast guesting strategy, sign up for my Guesting for Educators Mini-Course and start taking action today!

Topics covered:

  • The benefits podcast guesting can have on your business

  • My first experience with podcast guesting on the perfect-fit show

  • The 5 podcast guesting mistakes I see (and what to do instead)

  • A quick breakdown of my Guesting for Educators Mini-Course

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

favorite podcasting resources:

  • Sara Whittaker 0:01

    Your Podcast is a powerful tool that serves your audience and your business. But how do you manage it all bring in new listeners, and convert those listeners into customers. That's what this show is all about. Welcome to podcasting for educators. I'm Sara Whittaker, classroom teacher turn podcast manager. And I'm here to help you get the most out of your show, all while making an impact on other educators.

    One of my core memories is the first time I tried on a pair of glasses in early elementary school, we were at LensCrafters at our mall, and I put these glasses on. And I remember looking around and not to be overly dramatic. But my world changed. Everything was crystal clear. The colors on everything seemed brighter. I literally felt like I was in a new world. I clearly very much needed glasses. And I didn't know what I didn't know, I had no idea that my vision was so bad. Neither did my mom. By the way, she felt terrible. She still talks about this story all the time. But I didn't know that my vision was so bad until I experienced the alternative. I'm sure that something like this has happened to you. You just don't know how great something is until you actually get to experience it. And that is how I feel about podcasting until you've tried it. And you've really experienced the power of guesting on the perfect fit show, you might not really get what the hype is about. If you're a longtime listener of this podcast, then you've probably heard me go on and on and on, about why you should be podcasting. First and foremost, it is an excellent way to grow your podcast audience because you're putting yourself in front of people who already listened to podcasts. So you don't have to cross that barrier of convincing them to be a podcast listener. It's a great way to build your email list your social media following and your overall authority and just brand awareness online. Plus, it's a fantastic way to build new relationships with people in your niche. I have met some really great podcast hosts that I've done podcast collaborations with who have become some of my best business friends. I was first introduced to the world of podcasting, when, through my clients, I knew that this was a good strategy because I'd seen it work for other people. And so I had some clients that I would pitch other podcasts for to ask them if they could be a guest on their podcast. And I saw what a great ROI they got on that because it really doesn't take much of your time as the guest, but it can make a really, really big impact on your business and on your podcast. And so I was doing that for clients, I saw what great results they had. And that was kind of when I was doing only like behind the scenes stuff. And then when I really rebranded my business, started podcasting for educators, and started marketing my own podcast and my own digital products. That's when I said, it's probably time for me to actually start guessing on some podcast as well. So I want to share really quickly a little bit about my experience with that, at the beginning of 2022, I guess did on school of sellers, which is probably a podcast that all of you know really, really well. It's hosted by Aaron waters, who is such an amazing resource for TPT sellers. And this was not my first podcast that I had ever been on. But it was the first one where it was truly the perfect fit for my business. The topic was right, the timing was right. And I really saw immediate results. I had people messaging me on Instagram. The morning that the interview went live, I saw an immediate huge boost in my podcast downloads. And I saw many of those people quickly turn into email subscribers and then purchasers of my course that I launched a couple months later. I tell you this because guesting on the right podcast works, and that's kind of the magic sauce there is is you really see the incredible results when it is the perfect fit show for you. I've seen the results over and over and over again. And just like my story with the glasses, you might not realize the effect of it until you experience the right fit. Now, there are definitely some mistakes that I see people make when approaching this podcast guessing strategy. And I don't want you making those mistakes. So today I want to quickly share five mistakes that people make when guesting on other podcasts and what to do instead so that you can avoid these mistakes. Mistake number one is not making your pitch stand out. If you are going to pitch a podcast host asking if you can come on their show. Most cases you get one chance To do this, so make it count. I have seen so many people just send out a million generic pitches with the hopes that something is going to stick, which, as you probably can assume, never really ends well. So here's what to do. Instead, you really want to put some thought into your pitch. When you are approaching a podcast host, you want your pitch to show the host exactly why your audience would love to hear you on their podcast. It doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to take you hours to write, but it needs to be good. My biggest piece of advice here is before you reach out to podcast hosts, craft a pitch that focuses on one specific topic that you can speak on, and show how it will help their audience. And don't be afraid to get creative with this. But in your pitch, you really want to kind of take that work away from the podcast host and you want to lay out exactly what this episode could look like. This is what I'm going to talk about. This is what your listeners are going to walk away with. This is why it's going to be helpful for them, okay, you really want to make it about them and their listeners. Mistake number two is pitching or talking about a topic that you don't have an offer aligned with. When it comes to your guest interview, you really want two things to be true. You want to bring major value to the podcast audience, and you want it to benefit your business in some way. So what you can do is suggest a topic that aligns with one of your offers, this could be a TPT, bundle, your membership, your course, your service. If it's a low ticket offer, like a $7 resource, you can give that call to action and talk about that thing right there in your interview. Or you can direct people to a freebie that will funnel the email subscriber into your offer. The natural progression that happens when people listen to podcast interviews, especially in the business space, is that anyone who's interested in what you're saying, or what you're offering is going to go and check you out wherever you hang out online. So you want to have things for them. You want to have free things and paid things clearly listed out on your website and your socials when they come to check you out. Mistake number three is going into your interview without a plan. Now, I think most of us like to be prepared, especially for something like a podcast interview. Because when you're when you're guessing on another podcast, it can feel a little bit like you're out of the position of control because you're not going to be the one editing the episode. So you want to be prepared ahead of time so that you can do the prep work and prepare yourself to make it the best interview that you possibly can. But here's the thing, not every podcast host has systems in place. As nice as that would be. It's just not the case. So as the guest if you're guesting on a podcast, ask the host. If it's the night before your interview, or a couple days before your interview and you haven't received any kind of prep email from the host. Don't be afraid to ask it's okay to say, hey, X, Y, and Z, whatever their name is, I just wanted to confirm exactly what you'd like me to cover on our interview. And then you could even list out some suggested questions. If you have a plan, you're going to be able to prepare at least the big points that you want to focus on in the interview. Also, if you're unsure if it's even okay for you to talk about your freebie or your offer on the interview, just again, ask worst case, the host is going to say no, I prefer you not best case they're gonna say yes. And you really want to get the most squeezed out of that interview. So don't be afraid to ask these questions. Okay, fourth mistake that I see people make when podcasts guesting is not leveraging your socials and emails after the interview. A really good way to leverage an interview is to post some social media content around the topic you discussed on the podcast, the week that your interview airs. So that week that your interview goes live, you want to have some social media posts, whether it's on your feed or in your stories about the topic that you talked about. Because if people want to connect with you or learn more about what you offer, a lot of them are going to come and find you. And one of those places that they're going to go is Instagram. So if you can plan to post content related to the topic you spoke about, this is really just going to continue driving home, the fact that you are an expert on that topic. And again, back to what I said a couple minutes ago. Don't be afraid to ask the host when the interview will air if you aren't sure. Like if you want to plan out your social media content, make sure that you're talking about these things and make sure that you're promoting the episode. During the week it goes live and you have no idea when it's gonna air. Like I have actually been on interviews where that host never told me I just was like scrolling through their feed one day and saw my episode And I had no idea that it had had even aired. So if that happens to you, and you haven't heard anything, just ask, just say, Hey, do you know when this is going to air and you can even ask that right there on the interview when your interview ends while you're talking to them. Because sometimes we'll do an interview and it's going to air the very next week. Other times the host might be months ahead and recording and it's gonna be a while before it airs. So just ask. And then same thing goes with your email. If you're sharing a freebie on the podcast that you're guesting on, make sure that you have a nurture sequence set up in your email provider, that's going to offer more value to these new subscribers so that they can get to know you even more. And then you can even be funneling them into some sort of offer. And the fifth mistake that I see people make is only trying podcasting once and then calling it a day. Just like any strategy and online business, you can't just try it once be willing to stick with this strategy. Maybe the first time you do an interview, it's awkward, and you're nervous, and that's okay, you're gonna get more comfortable, the more that you practice, or maybe you do your first podcast interview, you feel like it went really well. But then it airs. And it's like crickets, you don't feel like you got any ROI from it. And this could be for so many reasons, by the way, like, the topic maybe wasn't a perfect fit for that audience. Or maybe the podcast has a really, really small audience. But that's okay, because two things, remember that podcast audiences are gonna grow over time. And it's still really good exposure. So don't get down about that. podcast episodes, they only gain traction, the longer that time goes on. So if you didn't see any kind of action, the week your interview went live, give it some time. Just like I was touching on at the beginning of this episode, it might take several podcast interviews before one or two or three of them really hit, you're probably going to see a difference. The more that you do, okay, you're going to see more action taken, you're gonna see more of an ROI on on some than others, but you you have to do several of them in order to be able to differentiate and see which ones are making an impact. Overall guessing on multiple podcasts is going to help your brand awareness it's going to give you backlinks. When they mention your website and other things in their show notes it's going to pay off, you just have to be willing to stick with it and do it more than one time. Hopefully, this gave you some things to think about so that you can go in to podcast guessing and feeling really confident. So to kind of recap instead of listing them as mistakes, I'm going to tell you these are the five things that you want to make sure that you are doing. You want to make sure that your pitch stands out. You want to make sure that you're pitching a topic that you have an offer aligned with. You're going to go in with a plan. You're going to leverage your social media and emails after the interview goes live. And you are going to try guesting on multiple podcasts and not just one and done. If you're feeling like you need a little bit more help with starting this strategy and doing it really well. I do have a guesting for educators mini course, it's something that you can get through really quickly in a couple of hours and take action on right away. It's going to help you craft your topics that you can pitch, it's going to show you where to find the right fit shows. And then a big piece of it is helping you plan your perfect pitch that email that you can send to these podcast hosts. And I even include email templates for these pitches that you can kind of plug and play with your unique voice and information, as well as templates for follow up emails and swipe copy for sharing the interview when it's live. Plus there are editable Canva templates for media one sheets that you can include in your pitch. And I talk all about what that even is in the mini course. It's also going to help you prepare for your interview and give you more information on how to leverage your interview. It's just kind of taking some of that work away and making this all feel a little bit more doable so that you really can start taking action and do this with competence. Rebecca is someone who has taken this mini course and she wrote and said this has helped so much to give me confidence to reach out to some big people who I want to approach about being on their podcast, but I didn't know where to begin. Kristin said I loved this mini course I've been podcasting for a couple of years now and have been wanting to guess on other shows but didn't know where to start. Since the teacher slash education niche is so small. And Jacqueline said this mini course was spectacular. The content was digestible and value packed. I'll leave the link for that. in the show notes so that you can go and check it out and see exactly what's included. But regardless, I really hope that you try out this podcast guessing strategy, whether it's for the very first time or maybe you've done it before, but you want to kind of amp it up and do it more consistently. If you've seen good results from podcasts guesting, I'd love to hear all about it. You can message me on Instagram at podcasting for educators anytime, and we can chat about it. Thanks for being here today. I'll catch you here next week.

    Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. To keep this conversation going connect with me on Instagram at podcasting for educators. I'm always looking for an excuse to talk about podcasting. If you're looking for support and launching, managing or growing your podcast, check out my online course the podcasting for educators prep school at podcasting for educators.com/prep school. I'll see you here next time.

More about Podcasting for Educators:

Podcasting for Educators is the podcast for TpT authors and other online educators. It's a show that will help you get your podcast in front of those who need it most - teachers, counselors, literacy specialists, SLPs, parents, and more! Each week, Sara Whittaker and her guests will share top tips and actionable strategies that you will need in order to launch, manage, and grow your podcast. You’ll learn how to leverage your show to build long-lasting relationships with your audience and promote your TpT resources, courses, and memberships, all while providing valuable and accessible content!

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Sara Whittaker