Hey! I’m Candace, your Podcast Guesting Strategist and producer, here to help entrepreneurs like you leverage podcast guesting and strategic podcasting to grow your visibility, expand your audience, and build your business with ease.
As a long-time podcaster and entrepreneur, I’ve been in the trenches—and I know what it takes to launch, grow, and sustain a podcast that makes an impact.
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In solo episodes, I’ll guide you through guesting tips, podcast growth, and how to build a sustainable podcasting strategy. I also bring in guest experts to share valuable advice on growing a thriving business.
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233: How to Find the Right Podcasts to Guest On (The Real Answer)
•Season 1•Episode 233
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This is THE most common question I get from coaches and service providers who want to start guesting on podcasts — and I'm going to give you the honest answer, not the easy one.
Spoiler: it takes time, it takes a system, and it takes knowing exactly what aligned really means. Here's everything I know after building a database of 150+ shows.
Why you need a tracking system before you do anything else (+ grab my free tracker)
Why a smaller, aligned podcast will always outperform a big, misaligned one for lead generation
The rabbit hole method for finding niche shows that fit your exact audience
Why Threads is an underrated goldmine for finding podcast guesting opportunities right now
The real reason people pay me to do this part for them
🎙️ If you've tried finding shows and felt like you were going in circles, this episode is for you.
If I had a dollar for this question that people ask me all the time, I'd be a very rich lady. If I guess on a podcast, if I speak to membership groups, everyone always wants to know how do I actually find the right podcast? How do I find the right shows to pitch to? It honestly, there isn't a really quick and easy, clean answer that people hope that I'm gonna tell them. It's not a big secret, and I'm gonna lay it out for you. You can take it and run with it. It is the most time-consuming part of a podcast tour. However, it's also super important. First things first, finding aligned shows, that's not hard because they're not out there or the information doesn't exist. It is hard because it's time consuming to do it well, but it's also really important. And if you've tried this and it's just felt overwhelming because you search on the search engines and all you get are hits for big production company type shows, and that's not really who you're looking to guest on. Currently, it's not a you problem. This is the reality of the process. So before we talk about exactly how to do this, I also want to talk about having a system because if you don't have a system, you're gonna do a couple shows and you're just you're gonna lose track of things and you're gonna forget. And you may not ever get booked because you didn't follow up and all these different things. It's gonna feel really chaotic. So I have a tracker, it's free, it's linked in the show notes. You can download that and use that or create a tracker that you like. But basically, have a spot to link in the link to the show, the name of the show, the host, link to their socials or email if you can find it. But finding those things, that's a time-consuming part, right? Having that in a tracker, and then I have some drop-down boxes in my tracker that says, like, you know, have you sent the pitch? What topic did you decide on that you pitched to this show? Is it booked? Do you have it scheduled? Have I followed this person on Instagram? Like all these things, a spot for notes, because it it's gonna get messy. Having a tracker in place allows you to do bits and pieces, come back to it later, follow up with people, come back to it later, find more shows, add it to the tracker, come back to it later to pitch them. It allows you to have the system that you can pop in and out of when you have time and when it works for your schedule. Big important part to make sure you're organized before going down this rabbit hole. The last thing before I say exactly how I do this is why it matters. Aligned shows matter first and foremost because not all podcasts are created equal for you and your goals. A show with 50,000 downloads whose audience is mostly, I don't know, hobbyists, that that will do less for your business than a show with 500 downloads. But these listeners are coaches who are actively looking for your support. The alignment wins every single time, it beats size every time. You are not looking for the biggest rooms, you're looking for the right room. So before you would pitch a show and before you decide is this show right for you, you're gonna ask, is this host's audience already looking for what I offer? Would I genuinely love to talk to this host? The other thing to check is are they taking guests? Have they had guests before? Some people only do solo episodes, it's really easy to see because you can scan the titles in the show notes. And if they don't ever talk about a guest, they don't take guests. So don't pitch that show. The other thing to check is are they having recent episodes? Are they up to date or have they not published any episodes since six months ago? Move on, find other shows because they're maybe not doing their show anymore, or they took a break, or they're just not gonna be as consistent as you would like to be connected to. Okay, here's the method. And yes, it's a bit of a rabbit hole, but this is honest truth. So, first, you know, you can search. You can search, you can search like a business podcast, entrepreneur podcast, ADHD podcast, whatever. You're gonna get the biggest names first that will dominate the search engine that will show they'll show you that the most. These are great shows, likely, but they're gonna be the hardest to get booked on. And if you're just starting out and you don't feel that confident in the reps you've put into speaking and about your offers and such, then you know, don't start there, right? Maybe start with a smaller audience or put in some reps before that. So that can be like a destination down the road. Finding the smaller shows, I look for mid-size shows that feel really aligned. You can find these on threads, you could find them like if you like for me, I've had guests on with shows. So I might go over to their podcast and then on their show, they might have a guest on that also has a podcast. And so this is kind of this breadcrumb trail that I talk about, where one small show leads you to the next small show and so on, and you can start putting them all in your tracker. You kind of have to find a couple small shows first to get you in the door to lead you to more small, not small, but like you know, not big mass production type company shows. So shows that either the host is doing all the work start to finish, or maybe they have a VA or they have an editor, small team. Those kinds of shows are awesome to get on. They tend to have audiences that are super loyal, super locked in, really big fans, and also people that are in business, constantly trying to learn and looking for your skill set. Threads is a super underrated place as well, especially since now you can link your podcasts right in your profile. So it's super easy. That pops up, can click on those, save them in your Apple, Spotify, whatever accounts, uh, and get them into your tracker later. And those can lead you to more. If you find someone you really like, they maybe have guested on other shows. You can see that. So it's it's it's a rabbit hole. It is a breadcrumb trail. And honestly, this is part of the reason people pay me to send them on a podcast tour because I have a database of over 150 shows and counting. I add to it all the time, and I've already researched and found the hosts' name and their socials and their emails and things or their application for their show. And so I've already have this laid out in my business, and also I've connected personally with you know 50 plus hosts as well. So I have a database, and that's why you pay an expert, and that's why you pay people because that's gonna be kicked back to you tenfold when you invest in that and speed up that process. So you can take this and run with it. Start with my tracker, it's in the show notes. But if you've tried and you feel like you're going in circles and like this is taking so much time, then you got to think about is your time well spent here? Should you invest in me and someone that does this so that you can do the part that's fun and get on the show and speak to your expertise and then start seeing the new leads, new clients, new followers come into your audience. All right. Everything's linked in the show notes. Get the tracker for sure. And then uh, you know, if you want that tour, I'm currently booking spots. So go grab your spot and I will have your tour to you in two to five days. All right, see you next week.
