Elevate Your Podcast With Guests

Welcome to *Wonder Boldly*, the podcast where entrepreneurial dreams become reality.

In this episode, host Christine Santos dives into the exciting prospect of having guests on your podcast.

Whether you're curious about how to start or looking to enhance your current guest episodes, Christine shares valuable insights and actionable steps to help you create compelling guest episodes that add tremendous value to your content.

Episode Highlights:

•  Introduction to the benefits of having guests on your podcast.
• Finding and Booking Guests
• Personalized invitations for potential guests
• Preparing for the Interview
• Creating a comfortable and engaging environment for your guest
• Post-Interview Steps

Transcript

[00:00:00] Christine Santos: I'm Christine Santos, ex corporate woman turned founder of my own boutique podcast production company. And it wasn't that long ago that I lacked the knowledge, the time and the community to focus on growing my small but fun and exciting business. Through it all, I've had many challenges and failures and lessons learned.

[00:00:26] Today, I have so much fun helping others change lives and having the time and choices that allows me to spend more time with my family. It wasn't too long ago that this was just a someday dream. I created the Wonder Boldly podcast to give you inspiration with actionable steps. To help you go after your someday dream.

[00:00:54] Now, if you are ready to take your days, weeks, months, life back into your own hands, or you're just curious what it means to create a business that makes an impact in a life you love, you are in the right place. Let's go. Hello, hello, hello and welcome. To another episode of Wonder Boldly. The podcast where entrepreneurial dreams become reality.

[00:01:26] I'm your host, Christine Santos, and today we're going to dive into an exciting aspect that you can add into your podcast show. And that is Is having guests now, this of course is only if it feels right to you. If your podcast doesn't fit the model of having guests or you just are not feeling it. Don't do it.

[00:01:51] You don't have to, but this is for those of you that are maybe curious or you're currently doing it and you're wondering, how can I make this even better? This is the episode for you. So let's dive in.

[00:02:06] Having guests on your podcast, and let me first say that every episode doesn't have to have a guest. You could have them maybe once a month, maybe twice a year, whatever you want. It's always a good opportunity if you decide to do it, because it adds tremendous value to your content, attracts new listeners, and provides a diverse perspective, which you know I love! That's why I love podcasting. That's why I love meeting all of you and chatting with you. Because we all have something to add to our world. I'm an avid learner and I love to learn from you. And others want to learn from you as well. So get your message out into the world. Okay, so let's explore the ins and outs of booking, preparing, and interviewing guests on your podcast.

[00:03:01] So, I guess the first question would be, How do you find guests and the right guests for your show? Start by considering what is your podcast theme, and who are your listeners, right? So you want to bring on guests that are going to, speak to the theme of your podcast, your mission and your vision for your podcast, and also, and very importantly, are going to add value for your listeners.

[00:03:29] This could include industry experts, authors, influencers, or even your own listeners with compelling stories to share. And I also want to pause here and say that Everybody has value to add, so don't only look at experts or influencers. Yes, you want all that. You want that to provide value for your listeners.

[00:03:54] And, Your next door neighbor, for example, might have a skill set, knowledge, expertise in something that would be really valuable to your listeners, and just because they're not an influencer, or they're not maybe even on social media, It doesn't mean that they won't add value to your listeners. They will have people in their lives that will listen to the podcast when they find out they're on it.

[00:04:23] So then you are still attracting other people to your podcast. So please keep that in mind. I think we can get hung up on all the experts and the influencers and all that. Which I am too. Don't get me wrong. I'm loving Gary V. You know I love Amy Porterfield. They are experts in what they do. They provide so much value.

[00:04:46] And that is fantastic. And your next door neighbor could as well provide a lot of value. Or somebody in your book club.

[00:04:55] Once you've identified potential guests, it's time to reach out and invite them. So you want to really craft a personalized invitation. So if it's not your next door neighbor, you can just go over and ask them. Um, but if it's somebody more that you really don't know, you found them on LinkedIn, they're an expert, you want to really provide an invitation.

[00:05:17] A personalized invitation that highlights why you think they'd be a great fit for your show and what value they can bring to your listeners. Be clear about the format topics you'd like to cover and the expected time commitment. And really let them know what they can expect.

[00:05:34] Once your guest agrees to be on your show, it's crucial to prepare thoroughly. You know, I've talked about this before. Really having the respect for your guest. Showcasing their work is so important. If they're going to see you and you're doing this over Zoom, let's say you're having an author on the podcast, you want to have their book there, you want to have read their book and be able to speak to it.

[00:05:56] Research their background, their recent work, any previous interviews they've been on.

[00:06:01] Not only to show them respect, but this will help you craft thoughtful and relevant questions. Share a brief outline of the topics you plan to cover with your guests beforehand so they can prepare as well. Next, ensure your technical setup is ready.

[00:06:16] Test your recording equipment, software, internet connection ahead of time. Turn off those notifications. If your guest, like I said, is remote, provide clear instructions on how to join the recording session and what equipment they will need.

[00:06:31] Now, with that said, technical issues always happen no matter how well prepared you are. Stay calm, resolve them, and continue to move forward.

[00:06:41] At the beginning of your recording session, you want to make a comfortable and engaging environment. You want to create that space. Start with just conversation. Start with just talking with them. And a lot of times what happens is, if you take this approach, so many good nuggets are happening and coming out during that casual conversation.

[00:07:03] And that's really powerful. And with their permission, you can use that in your marketing material.

[00:07:10] During the interview itself, listen, listen, listen. Actively and be ready to follow up on interesting points. Encourage your guests to share personal stories and insights as these can make the conversation more relatable and compelling for your listeners.

[00:07:24] After the interview, take the time to edit the recording to ensure it flows smoothly and maintains high quality.one little pet peeve I have is when you have a guest on, they're an expert in something, they're telling their story, Or they're telling the how to's and they can't remember something. It happens to all of us, right? That's not my pet peeve, to be clear. It happens to all of us. It happens to me all the time.

[00:07:52] I digress. So, I like to edit that out. Like, give them that respect. It happens to the best of us,

[00:07:58] they're telling your audience, your listeners, how to do this step by step and they forget. And they're like, Oh my gosh, what was I saying?

[00:08:06] Where and what? What is that? What's the name of that? We've all been there. I'm there every day, multiple times a day. Okay. I like to edit that out because I just think it's respectful. I'm not trying to make it so They don't make mistakes or we don't make mistakes We all make mistakes or we all forget things whatever the case is But I just like to do that.

[00:08:28] Now, side note, and I swear I'm going to get back on track, but side note is in my show notes at the top there is a link where you can click on it and you can send me a message. I cannot message you back. It's not like a texting thing. It will send me a message inside my podcast host And I won't know who it's from.

[00:08:50] The only thing I will know is the last four digits of your phone number. I cannot reach out to you. I don't know your name. Nothing. It's completely anonymous. I guess not completely. It gives me the last four digits of your number. The reason it does that is because Is, if you want me to directly respond to you in an episode, I can say 4, you asked about Blottedy Blue, this is what I'm thinking.

[00:09:15] So, if you don't agree with what I just said about cutting out when somebody can't remember something and they're hedging, and you think that I should leave that in, let me know. I'd love your feedback and would love to know what you think about that. Okay, getting back to it.

[00:09:32] You want to promote the episode. You want to really showcase your guests. You want to show how proud you are to have them and their knowledge and share them with your community. You can share it on your social media channels, tag your guests, collaborate with them on Instagram. You can encourage them to share it with their audience.

[00:09:52] Create engaging graphics and audiograms and reels and all the things really take advantage of this [00:10:00] medium that you have to showcase them and share their message that is so respectful to them and so important for your community and their community So they can learn more about them and their expertise.

[00:10:15] All right, to sum it up, here are the key steps to having guests on your podcast. One, identify and reach out to your potential guest. Two, prepare thoroughly with research and a clear outline. Three, ensure a smooth technical setup. Four, create a comfortable, engaging, interview environment. Five, edit and promote the episode effectively.

[00:10:37] Thank you, as always, for tuning into Wonder Boldly. I hope you found today's episode insightful and inspiring. Having guests on your podcast can elevate your content and open up new opportunities for growth. If you have any questions at all or want to share your own experiences with interviewing guests, feel free to reach out to me.

[00:10:57] Either at that link at the top of my show notes, on social media, on Instagram, at Christine B. Santos. You can go to my website, christinebsantos. org, and send me a message there. As always, thank you, thank you so much for being here. Until next time, keep pushing those boundaries, stay curious, and continue to wonder, wonder, wonder.

[00:11:18] Boldly.

[00:11:19] Lastly, you may have noticed I spoke a little bit quicker this time, and the reason I did that was because I've been listening to my own podcast episodes and I find thatI draw my words. 

[00:11:30] I have long dramatic way that I say things. So I thought, hmm, maybe that's annoying to my listeners. I'm gonna try to speak in a quicker paced way. So, again, link in the top of my show notes. Let me know what you think. Do you like it quicker paced or do you like my long, droning on the way I speak? I never really noticed and once you start doing podcasts, you really notice all of these things about the way you communicate. So let me know what you think.

[00:11:56] What would you prefer? Thanks so much. Until next time, continue to wonder boldly. That's it for this episode. Thank you again so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Please share it with a friend and leave a five star review. It means way more than you know. Until next time, continue to wonder boldly.