Whether you’ve just started your company’s podcast, or you’re a seasoned creator – sourcing guests is one of the most important parts of the creative process. But we all know that it’s not always easy to find an expert or someone who resonates with your listeners.
That’s why in this article, we’re listing our top tips when it comes to sourcing your future podcast guests for your brand.Let’s get right into it.
One of our most important tips is finding the right guest versus just any guest. There are a few different steps you should take in order to ensure this:
Don’t wait until the last minute to start reaching out to potential guests. Reach out to them several weeks or even months in advance to give them enough time to prepare and schedule a recording time.
This will also give you ample time to follow up, make any last-minute changes and ensure everything is set for a smooth recording.
Remember your podcast guests being happy with how everything was handled and organized is as important as your audience being happy with your content because it’s essentially all linked to your brand’s reputation and how others will talk about your show in public.
Partner with other podcasts or brands in your space and see if there are opportunities for cross-promotion or guest sharing. This can help you expand your reach and gain access to new guests. You can also share guests with other podcasts and benefit from the exposure they bring.
You may be surprised by how open to helping you other podcast hosts will be when they see you are just as generous and living out the idea that “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
Sometimes the best podcast guests can be within your own company and organization.
Take the time to see if there are experts and thought leaders in your company that might be a good fit for the show. This can be a great way to showcase your company’s expertise, diverse talent and create valuable content for your audience (plus your listeners will have extra incentive to tune in because it’s a colleague!).
It’s common for branded podcast’s to focus all of their guests on leaders within the organization. It's effective in bringing a more human element to your brand, especially if it’s larger.
All the experts you’re inviting for interviews on your podcast should have a great reputation in their field. When they’ve been a guest on your show, it’s a natural ask to see if there are other guests they would suggest and can introduce you to that are in the space.
Requesting references from guests is a great way to broaden your network and keep the pipeline of future guests full.
Also, we all know that when someone refers someone, they’re sticking their neck out and vouching for someone’s credibility, so it often results in high-quality guests.
Of course, there are a lot of platforms and tools out there that can help with guest sourcing. You might already be using some of these but there might be some that you may not have thought of:
Once you've built a big enough podcast audience, you'll have a great opportunity to solicit suggestions from them. Begin by asking your audience if they have any suggestions for guests you should interview at the end of each show.
To collect guest recommendations, you can use your website or social networking handles by putting out a poll. The benefit of this method is that your listeners already know who they want to hear from, ensuring that the episode will resonate from the get-go.
Also, in some instances, someone from the audience can be one of the experts who may be right to come on your show. What’s more engaging for your audience than mining within your own listener network?
So, there you have it – our top 7 tips to sourcing guests for your podcast. Keeping your audience interested and engaged is part of building brand loyalty and so much of that is connected to the quality of the guests you are bringing on and the conversations that are being had!
A team of driven podcast experts, the CoHost marketing teams goal is to provide content to help brands boost podcast growth, understand their data, and equip themselves with the resources necessary to scale.