The Secret to Becoming a Show Asset as a Podcast Guest Speaker
If you’re a guest on my podcast, I have only one goal for you: to help you shine!
Edison Research found that 65% of listeners report being likely to purchase after hearing about a product or service on a podcast. According to Tom Schwab of Interview Valet, one of the world’s top podcast booking agencies, podcasting interviews can convert 25 times better than blogs. In that episode, Tom shares how they prepare their clients for a podcast appearance that becomes an asset for the host and listener.
Plus, when you’re at your best our listeners benefit from your wit and wisdom.
But it takes two to do the interview tango. So I have three absolute things you can do to prepare to become my most popular podcast guest (or a stellar guest on any show for that matter).
THING 1: Please do your homework
(And make sure your booking agent does theirs, too).
All quality podcasts have a point-of-view. The Business of Story is about helping leaders of purpose-driven brands excel through the stories they tell. It’s this listener-centric approach that has grown us to be among the top 10% of downloaded podcasts in the world, according to our podcast hosting site, Libsyn.
Please listen to a few episodes and understand who we are for before you pitch us.
You might be an SEO savant, social media guru, start-up goddess, affiliate aficionado, stand-up comic, defense attorney, a victim of wildfires, a myth-maker, TV producer, Hollywood director, screenwriting coach (we’ve featured them all), but if you can’t make your business points through the stories you tell, then we’re not the right podcast for you.
We seek people who can tell vivid stories about business. We want to show our listeners how to craft and tell compelling stories that sell. Period.
THING 2: Throw away the conversation crutches with a focused theme.
What is the theme of your message? And how will you support your theme with three or four true anecdotes about the real-world impact you make happen for the people you serve?
When you arrive for your interview with this kind of focus (I call it your Appearance Aperture), then you will sound like the expert you are.
When you don’t, guess what happens? The “uh’s, um’s, like’s, right’s, ya know’s” and other conversation crutches limp along with you. We all do this when we’re not prepared. These time-buying, thought-collecting utterances cause you to stumble through your interview. That ain’t good for anyone, right?
If your industrious host/producer decides not to spend three hours cleaning up your interview, your episode will probably land in the trash bin under the guise of “technical difficulty” never hearing the light of day.
Tom will teach you how to sound like a million bucks so you can, well, maybe make a million bucks.
THING 3: Tech-up!
Cool, you’ve done your homework, determined your right for the show and have strategized how you will create wins for your host and their listeners. You’ve landed on a focused theme and have prepared short stories to make a BIG impact.
But you arrive with sketchy wifi, a buggy Bluetooth connection with earbuds that are on their last leg. Or worse. You’re in an office echo chamber leaning over your laptop microphone sounding like you’re coming from a diving bell in the Mariana Trench.
There are loads of quality, inexpensive microphones you can use to plug into your computer so your expertise comes through loud and clear. The Blue Yeti, Audio-Technica ATR 2100X, or any of these inexpensive headset microphones.
Tom and I talk about some of the great technology that is just an Amazon click away.
Do these three things and you will become a sought-after podcast guest. Plus, you’ll become better at ZOOM meetings, presentations, speaking engagements: anytime you are the thought leader people have tuned in to hear.
How to be a guest on a podcast
Know your sh!t from Shinola
If you or the client you represent as a podcast booker are still interested in being on the Business of Story podcast, and I hope you are providing we’re the right show for you, please fill out our contact form.
Do your homework. Listen to some of our episodes. Get to know me and how I like to inspire our listeners. Do these things and we’ll have a marvelous time on our show.
After all, I’m here to help you shine, but you need to bring the polish.
Story on!
