This is Tools of the Podcast Trade , where you can learn about the tools and resources you can use to start and grow your podcast . Tune in this week as we talk about the help you need to remove the mystery from podcasting so you can become a successful podcaster that can reach your audience where they are .
Hello , fellow podcasters , today I wanted to do a solo episode on guesting Finding guests for your podcast . If that's the format you choose for your podcast , then this episode is for you . Now , how do you find guests for your podcast ? I know you probably started off thinking that you would ask your friends and family , but that's not always a good option .
It's not a sustainable option , but it might be hard for you to find to get your friends and family to agree to be on your podcast . That's just how it is .
I had a guest the other day I think it was Timmy B who said if you're looking for your friends and family to support your project or your business or your podcast , then you're going to be disappointed , so don't . If they show an interest , then that's fine , but don't depend on them to support your podcast , because that's just how life is .
So how do you find guests ? Where do you find them ? I think the easiest place to start is on social media , where you are already a member . Are you a member of a group ? Are you on Facebook ? Are you on Clubhouse in a room ? Do you follow people on Instagram or LinkedIn or Reddit or Quora ? Any of those platforms will help you get guests for your podcast .
It will depend on your topic , where you go , which group you join . For example , on Solo Moms Talk , my other podcast , I joined several single moms group and I contributed to the group . I joined the group for years , being an active member . I didn't talk about my podcast , I just talked about what was being discussed in the group .
Lot of single moms have questions about single parenting , and so it was a great group for me to be in Because that was my audience and it gave me a chance to see what my audience was talking about , what was top of mind for them . So that's a very good place to get guests for your podcast . Facebook , clubhouse , instagram or LinkedIn , reddit or Quora .
You can also join podcasting group Groups that were created for podcasters . Some are created for new podcasters , some are created for podcasters looking for guests and some are created for podcasters looking to be a guest on other people's podcast , which is something you should be actively doing as well , guesting on other people's podcast . So that's my number one .
That's my first place . I wouldn't say it was my number one , but I think it's an easy . It's an easy thing to do . It's an easy way to get guests while you connect a network with your audience . So get involved with those groups and you'll see that you'll get a lot of guests right .
The second way I believe you could get guests is , if your topic of discussion accommodates it , you could approach groups or organization that you belong to , whether it's a business group , social group or just a community group that you belong to that you could make it known that you have a podcast or you're starting a podcast on what a topic is , so that you
could see if they're interested in being a guest on your podcast . Now , this is where having a trailer really helps . So if you're just starting out , record a two or three minute trailer about what your podcast is about .
And in episode eight of Tools of the Podcast Trade , I talk about how to create a mission statement for your podcast using the five W's , and this is a way to keep your why , your mission , your reason for starting your podcast , top of mind .
So once you know what your mission is , then you could create your , you could create your trailer for your podcast and you could use that trailer as an introduction to potential guests , especially guests , potential guests in the business or , you know , social Networking community arena . Right , it is also , I think , a good idea to have a podcast one sheet .
Podcast one sheet is great if you're Potential guests who look into a podcast house , but it's also a good tool . It's like your podcast resume that you could use to give to these individuals in your community , business networking groups as well .
And if you have a website , put your podcast one sheet on your website and Give a link like share a link to potential guests to that podcast one sheet . That will have the links to your social media profile and it works . You've done .
If you've authored a book , if you have some group you know , anything that you have going on in your life that pertains to your podcast Should be on that one sheet . So that's two things you'll have to point people to , To show proof of concept . You know , that's your social proof , your trailer .
If you haven't , if you have not yet started your podcast , your trailer , which is derived from your mission statement , and your podcast one sheet . So it it makes you appear professional , because you are , and it gives guests an idea of what it is that they're in for , should they agree to be on your podcast . Make sense , hopefully does .
The third way you can get guests for your podcast is by joining a podcast guest platform . There are three that I'm familiar with matchmaker FM , podcast guesting pro and and pod match , calm now Podcast guesting .
That pro I've never used , but I'm a member of both matchmaker FM and pod match and they both operate in similar ways whereby you join and you you create a profile .
You create , you create two profiles you create a profile of your podcast and you create a profile of you yourself so that potential host Could see your profile and ask it to be a guest on their show . So it pays to make these profiles really good and represent who you are .
But the podcast guest , the podcast profile , is a way for potential guests to see you know what you're doing with your podcast . That's where you provide a link to your podcast one sheet and provide a link to your trailer so that Potential guests can check you out , check out what you have going on . Hopefully that makes sense now .
When you're a member of both pod match and matchmaker , they'll send you emails to you know , to give you a list of potential guests , guests who may be you may be interested in and then you could just go on the platform and send them a message and say you know , reach out to them and see if you guys are a match .
I love pod match because for two reasons . Pod match has a very , very vibrant community associated with it called pod pro . They hold events on the host event , their whole summits , and it's a very vibrant community of podcasters . And so it , the community , is free .
But whether or not you join pod match , you can join pod pros and Get information and connect with people there . But one of the good things about being a member of pod match is that they pay you to interview guests . Now , isn't that good news ? So when you're a member and you interview guests .
So that's one big benefit of being a member of the pod match , the pod match guesting platform , is that you actually get paid to interview guests . But from getting guests , from a getting guests perspective , both matchmaker FM and pod match are quite I would say they're quite good .
Of course , I do prefer pod match because it has one other advantage over matchmaker , in that Guests can actually schedule an interview with you from the Podmatch platform . You can add your booking link to the platform .
They can schedule an interview with you and if you are a pro , if you have a professional membership , they can also sign a guest release which you will get a copy of once it's signed . So Podmatch actually helps you organize your guest .
Now I have a suggestion for you when you set that up is make sure that your link when your guest is registering , all the information your guest is including comes to you so you have access to that their emails , their profile , their bio , their photos because you're gonna need that for the interview and for the marketing .
I keep my guest profiles on pod page because that's where my podcast automatically goes to , that's where their house automatically wants their publish on pod page , and so I have a guest profile which each guest will go and register . They'll sign the , they'll sign the guest release and they will be able to . I will be able to have access to all that information .
Now if you , if your host is captivate FM , you can also do the same with them . So that's part of the guest management process .
Right now I don't want to get too far into that , but I also want to let you be aware that if you join a platform like Podmatch where your guests can book from the platform , make sure you have a mechanism whereby to collect your guest's info their social media , their bio , their photo , their email so that you have that to use for the interview and whatever
else you agree on for using that . So hope that makes sense to you . So that's covering how to get guests for your podcast , whether you're a new podcaster or not . I put a little bit in there about if you are a new podcast , so what to do and how to attract guests using the podcast , one sheet and having a trailer .
The other thing is that on Podmatch you can actually record a short YouTube . You could record a short video to potential guests or host who want to find out more about you . You could do that so you could join social media platform , connect with your target audience . Please don't be rude and spam people , but just be a contributor and it will come back .
I've had so many guests . I'm six months out on Solamum Start because of how many guests I've had . I get from these platforms , but mostly most of my guests right now come from Podmatch , because that's where I focus my time .
So I hope this episode helps you to formulate a plan of action if you've decided you want to go the guest route , or even if you just want an occasional guest to you know , deepen your podcast influence . I hope this helps you to decide and make a plan of action for having guests on your show . Thank you for listening . Got questions about podcasting ?
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