Book Marketing Mentors

Jam-packed with smart, easy and simple ideas, this weekly podcast features experts who share proven techniques to add power and zest to supercharge your book marketing plan. Hosted by Susan Friedmann, CSP, international bestselling author, and founder of Aviva Publishing, this new and exciting podcast aims to rev up your marketing efforts with fewer struggles, and more success. Start listening today and discover how to get noticed in a crowded marketplace.

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Book Marketing Mentors

How to MasterPodcast Guesting to Promote Your Book and Brand - BM510

January 28, 2026 • Susan Friedmann • Season 3 • Episode 510

0:00 | 29:12

Podcast guesting isn’t about showing up and hoping for the best. It’s about showing up strategically.

In this episode, we pull back the curtain on what actually makes podcast guesting work for nonfiction authors—and what quietly sabotages it.

My guest is Noemi Beres, co-owner of Podcast Connections, one of the most respected podcast booking agencies in the industry. She shares what hosts look for, what turns them off instantly, and how authors can use podcast guesting to build real authority, not empty exposure.

We talk about pitching the right way, showing up as a guest hosts want to re-invite, and turning a single interview into long-term visibility and book sales—even if your book isn’t published yet.

This is not about chasing interviews. It’s about earning them and making them count.

Key Takeaways

Research Before You Pitch
Why generic pitches fail and how doing your homework instantly sets you apart.

Value Beats Promotion
How authors lose credibility when they sell instead of serve—and what to do instead.

Treat Interviews Like Conversations
What keeps listeners engaged and hosts grateful you showed up.

Make One Interview Work Harder
How to extend the life of every appearance across your platform.

Relationships Matter More Than Reach
Why professionalism, gratitude, and follow-up lead to more opportunities than downloads ever will.

If podcast guesting is part of your book marketing strategy—or should be—this episode will change how you approach it from here on out.

Podcast Connections is an official sponsor of Book Marketing Mentors. Please consider supporting them. See more information below.

Here's how to connect with Noemi

Website

LinkedIn:
Instagram:

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When Visibility Feels Hard, Podcast Guesting Changes the Game

If you know your book deserves more reach but visibility feels like a struggle, podcast guesting can open the right doors.

Podcast Connections gets you in front of the audiences who need your message and your expertise.

Contact them at PodcastConnections.co

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Susan Friedmann [00:00:00]:
Welcome to Book Marketing Mentors, the weekly podcast where you learn proven strategies, tools, ideas, and tips from the masters. Every week, I introduce you to a marketing master who will share their expertise to help you market and sell more books. Today, my special guest is Noemi Berris. Noemi is the co owner of Podcast Connections, a podcast booking agency helping entrepreneurs and business owners share their knowledge, grow authority, and connect with quality podcast shows. With a background in online marketing since 2007 and a master's degree in Danish literature and language. She's a linguist, a content creator, a master organizer, and she is based in Cyprus. Noemi, I am so thrilled to invite you to be this guest on our show, the Guest Expert. And thank you.

Susan Friedmann [00:01:02]:
It's such a pleasure to have you here.

Noemi Beres [00:01:05]:
Thank you so much, Susan. It's a pleasure to be here. I was really looking forward to this conversation.

Susan Friedmann [00:01:11]:
I've been looking forward to it, too, because we've got so many people in common. Even though you live in Cyprus, and people are like, how is this happening? And we're just talking that yesterday you spoke with a good friend of mine, and we just have several people that we know in common, which big, small world. I love it.

Noemi Beres [00:01:33]:
I know, I know. Word is just getting smaller and smaller. It's so much fun.

Susan Friedmann [00:01:37]:
It is, it is. And podcasting plays a role in that, especially for authors. And as you know, I mean, I work with so many nonfiction authors, and I feel that podcasting is one of the primary marketing tools for them to get out there and share their information. Let's talk about this whole being on a podcast, preparing for the podcast. So let's start at the beginning. How would an author start preparing for being on a podcast?

Noemi Beres [00:02:17]:
That's a great question. And it's an important one for authors. I mean, first and foremost, start with research. It's really important. Apple, podcast, Spotify, YouTube, there are so many podcast hosts out there, and they have their podcasts on these platforms. So you can just do a search, obviously, and find those podcasts that the most align with your business, with your message, with your story, and listen. Listen to some of the podcast episodes, previous episodes, to get a feel for the host style. And the topics are typically covered because, believe it or not, ism.

Noemi Beres [00:02:57]:
But many people, they don't do that. They just reach out to the host and that's it. Sometimes they have nothing to do with the host podcast. So that's why it's crucial, it's key to listen to some of the previous podcast episodes when you do your research. So you Know what the podcast is about. I think that's the first and most important step.

Susan Friedmann [00:03:18]:
I have to agree with you there, because I get pitched for podcasts two, three times a week sometimes. I know that if I go and look at my email now, there's at least one or two pitches. A PR company or whoever is trying to get a position on a podcast for their client just sees the word book in. In my book, marketing mentors, and they think, oh, she's about books. Yeah, my client wrote a book. I was like, you don't know anything about my podcast, if that's what you think. I do that I interview guests just because they have a book. I don't know if you have a book.

Susan Friedmann [00:03:57]:
Do you have a book? I don't think you do, do you?

Noemi Beres [00:04:00]:
No, I don't. Not yet. We always say not yet. Not yet, not yet, but yet.

Susan Friedmann [00:04:05]:
You're a perfect guest for my show. Yeah, because having a book is not critical for being on the show.

Noemi Beres [00:04:13]:
Exactly. I mean, as long as the podcast that align with your expertise, the target audience, the niche, it's so important. So look for shows that share similar themes or topics relevant to your brand. I mean, that's key.

Susan Friedmann [00:04:27]:
Yes. I love that you use my favorite word, niche. So we'll come back to that. But listening to the podcast, too, beforehand, even the people who I interview, I do ask that they listen to an episode, but I know many of them don't, and it's a shame because it saves a lot of explaining how I run the show. I mean, I've got a certain protocol, even though it seems sometimes that there isn't. But I do have a format that I like to follow. It's really helpful, at least so that they get to know a little bit about me. And, I mean, I do a lot of research on my guests.

Susan Friedmann [00:05:09]:
I always think it would be nice if they did it about me and my show too, but whatever. I can't make them do that.

Noemi Beres [00:05:17]:
That's why we have our strategy call. And when we have a strategy call with our clients or potential clients, we always explain them that, like, please do listen to at least one of the episodes before the actual interview. And I did it, too, before I got on your show today. It's important. Yeah.

Susan Friedmann [00:05:32]:
Yeah. Well, thank you. I appreciate that. And I did actually ask you that question.

Noemi Beres [00:05:36]:
Yes, you did.

Susan Friedmann [00:05:37]:
I knew the answer, but I did want to check, but yes. So let's talk about. So we've done the research, and let's say we find a handful of podcasts, five, 10 podcasts that might be a good fit for us. What next?

Noemi Beres [00:05:56]:
You need to write that pitch, which is not a nice word, but we still use that in this business. And you need something that you can stand out with when you reach out to podcast host, always craft a personalized and attention grabbing pitch. It's so important. Explain why you'd be an excellent guest. Highlight your unique perspective and what value can offer to the audience. Because podcast interviews are not about promoting your book all the time. And, oh, you can find this and that in my book. It's.

Noemi Beres [00:06:31]:
No, it's not. It's not a promotion space. It is, and there's a space and time for that. But the most important thing is that you add value to everything, whatever you do. And it's the same in the podcasting world. When you get on a show, the most important thing is to add value to the listeners. Give them tips, give them tricks. There's something good.

Noemi Beres [00:06:52]:
Takeaways, golden nuggets that are really important because we can talk, you know, for ages. But the most important thing is to help the listeners with important key takeaways.

Susan Friedmann [00:07:04]:
Yeah, that's so critical. And that's something. As you know that when we talk before, I mean, that's one of the most important parts of this show is that I want my guests to be sharing practical tools, techniques, ideas, whatever, but something that the listener can go away with and say, wow, I can do that. Or I can find out more about that. Because that for me, if a listener says that, then I feel, wow, it's been successful. Yes. And adding that value and also remembering that the book is a tool. You are not the book, but so much of you is in the book.

Susan Friedmann [00:07:46]:
Talk about that and talk about the value that the book offers. But you're not necessarily selling the book. But yes, you can mention it. I mean, absolutely. I like that. I think that's a critical point in that One of the things that I find with guests, Naomi, is that they often talk too much. It's not a conversation, it becomes a monologue. Talk to us about that being a.

Susan Friedmann [00:08:20]:
No, no.

Noemi Beres [00:08:21]:
Yeah, yeah. It's part of kind of being respectful with the whole space as well, because you are a guest on a show. But it's also necessary to understand that this is a friendly conversation between two people. It needs to have a flow. It needs to have a back and forth between the two people. So try to avoid a monologue. And yes, you can share your story. Yes, you can talk about your book, but not for five minutes straight.

Noemi Beres [00:08:47]:
I mean, this Is not that space. Maybe if you can shorten it down like maybe for two minutes or something when you have a story to share. Because it's so much better if you do that, especially if it's an intro you 40 minutes long. You can have five, 10 minutes monologues. Because first, I don't think it's respectful to the host that, I mean, the host is just sitting there and listening to you. It's important to have a flow of the conversation and yeah, to respect that. And once you have that flow, everything is just so much easier and the listeners will tune in and won't leave the show. I think that's important because you are engaging and you speak clearly and with enthusiasm and try to be just, you know, conversational rather than stiff or formal and talking about yourself all the time.

Noemi Beres [00:09:35]:
I think that's crucial when you are a guest in a podcast.

Susan Friedmann [00:09:38]:
Yes, I love that word respect, because often they don't have that respect, even though they say they will keep it short, sweet and simple, as you say. Sometimes they do go on and on. And then I'm just waiting for them to take a breath when I can say their name and say, okay, let's move on without saying that. But I find a way of changing the conversation away from this monologue that they've been going on and on about. So, yes, well, that's a good way in terms of keeping the conversation engaging, too. How can they do without feeling rehearsed? There's nothing worse. People want me to ask them the exact questions and I'm like, no, I'm not going to do that. But I'm not going to try and catch you out.

Susan Friedmann [00:10:30]:
I just want you to speak naturally. So talk to us about that. Do you offer your clients some training in how to conduct a conversation? What's your preparation?

Noemi Beres [00:10:43]:
I would say most of the clients that I start to work with, they are already speakers. So they were on stages. And I'm not saying everyone was on podcast interviews, but most of them are already speakers. So they have some kind of idea how does it work. But of course, podcast is a little different than being a keynote speaker. I try to help them and try to be better guests and give them tips and tricks how to do that. But the most important thing, whether you are an author, where you are leadership coach or sales marketing expert, it's really important to come prepared, have a clear understanding of what you want to talk about, and prepare some key points, or we can call them topics and talking points to guide the conversation. And you can have A little cheat sheet or something, you know, next to your monitor and next to you.

Noemi Beres [00:11:38]:
So just to rely on. If you, for example, forget something, but never wing a conversation, always come prepared. Always have those talking points and topics ready, and always have some stories ready because these are the examples that can showcase your expertise. And in this way, you can really provide valuable insights during the interview.

Susan Friedmann [00:12:04]:
So talk to us about some of these tips for during the interview. Say the host is often prepared, or hopefully prepared, but maybe they're not. Yes, maybe they're not. And they sort of run dry for a few moments. What might be a tip that a guest could help them with, you know, with that back and forth. If you're listening to, like, I'm listening to you and getting involved in the conversation of what you're saying, but in the same way, I'm making this assumption that you're listening to me and what I'm saying. So what happens when, let's say the host is like, where do we go from here?

Noemi Beres [00:12:52]:
Yeah, what you just said, Suzanne, is so important because some guests just, you know, repeating the script that they always use on different podcasts, they may not be truly present because listening, like active listening, being present is so important during a conversation because sometimes you just. You're not there, and especially when the host has a problem like that. So what to do now? Obviously, you can help them out a little bit. Sense of humor always goes a long way. I think when we have that, because we are human, we make mistakes, and that's okay if we have like a short pause or something. I think you can come out of it pretty well if you have a sense of humor. And also if you just try to be yourself and engage authentically with the host, with the audience, I think it's smile or. Or.

Noemi Beres [00:13:40]:
Yeah, I mean, I think it just comes naturally. But the other thing is it comes with practice. So I'm not saying that you'd be a perfect guest during the first conversation that you have, but with practice, with a couple of months and years, it definitely helps to solve this kind of problems or situations when you end up like that.

Susan Friedmann [00:14:01]:
Yes, it definitely. And as you know, I recently had my 500th episode of this podcast.

Noemi Beres [00:14:08]:
Congratulations.

Susan Friedmann [00:14:09]:
Yeah, thank you. I just believe it. But 10 years of experience, starting out with some horrendous episodes where I was obviously much tighter about the conversation. I couldn't relax in the same way and not necessarily having good guests, but I still put it out there. Just because if you stop waiting for perfection, that never happens. And I screw up. I know I do now. I just sort of make fun of it.

Susan Friedmann [00:14:43]:
As you say, that sense of humor, something you also said that I think is very important, and that is smiling. That we're doing this audio only. So you can't see me. The listeners can't see you, but they can hear if you're smiling. I can hear if you're smiling. You can hear if I'm smiling. It just makes for a much lighter and more fun conversation, and I think maybe even easier to listen to. Would you agree with that?

Noemi Beres [00:15:14]:
Absolutely, 100%. It's so funny because I just wrote a blog. Not blog post, a LinkedIn post about this today. And today or one of those days when I wrote about it. It's about the language, the tone of our voice, how we use it. It's so important, and it makes such a huge difference. Because if you sit there and talk like this, everybody probably think that you're not smiling because it makes a huge difference. So the tone of your voice, even if they don't see your face, your energy, your vibe, your dismise, you people can hear it.

Noemi Beres [00:15:46]:
People can feel it. Mm.

Susan Friedmann [00:15:48]:
And even if they do see you, I mean, they want to see that you're smiling. They want to see that you're enjoying the experience.

Noemi Beres [00:15:54]:
Yeah.

Susan Friedmann [00:15:55]:
Because it should be an enjoyable experience. I mean, if you don't want to be there, then don't do it, you know?

Noemi Beres [00:16:01]:
Exactly. And at the end of the day, it's your choice. You are a guest here.

Susan Friedmann [00:16:05]:
Yeah, exactly. You're a guest. You're a guest in somebody else's home. Yes, I like that. Yes. I know I'm the host, but the host with the most. Yes. Or the hostess with the mostest.

Susan Friedmann [00:16:19]:
Let's talk about etiquette. You talked about. Okay. In the beginning, the pitch letter. And I like you. I don't like that word, but that's the word that people use. And personalizing it so that it sounds as if you've done your research on the show. But what about after the show? Is there some kind of etiquette that you encourage your clients to take part?

Noemi Beres [00:16:45]:
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Promote the episode, please. Please do promote the episode. Because believe it or not, Susan, and I think you believe it because probably you saw that happening. There's so many people out there. They are guests on several podcasts, and they never, ever promote the episode. And I heard that so many times from different podcast host that I've been working with or podcast I was a guest on that.

Noemi Beres [00:17:11]:
They always tell me that, like, no, Amy, I don't understand why they don't promote it after the episode release. Because it's so important at the end of the day. Podcast marketing. Podcast guesting is a marketing strategy. That's how you promote your book if you are an author. So please do share it on your social media channels as many times as you want because you are creating evergreen content. And as my dear friend and mentor Bob Berg said, once you never stop promoting your book, once it's out there, you always promote that. And this is it.

Noemi Beres [00:17:45]:
Because it's not just about going, you know, the book tours when your book is published, but it's so important to keep doing that and people, they put your link, your Amazon link or whatever link your book on in the show notes and people can buy it. They can buy it today, they can buy it tomorrow, in two months or two years later. It's so important. And please tag the host whenever you post on social media. Really, really important. So promoting this episode is crucial. And just being respectful and nice with the host, not nice, but kind. Because there's a big difference between just being nice and kind.

Noemi Beres [00:18:21]:
So be kind with the podcast host and just send a thank you note. It can be an email and it can be more personalized. You can send out cards. I know many podcast host does that. Sometimes I got even presents from podcast host after an interview. But you can do it yourself as a guest. Even if you just email that like thank you. I really enjoyed the conversation.

Noemi Beres [00:18:42]:
I think it's the two things are so important, just following up after the episode and this can be the beginning of business relationship when you follow up or after the episode with the podcast host. Always consider staying in touch for future collaborations. You never know what can happen. You, you can be on each other's mastermind or private Facebook groups, you can invite each other, you can start a business relationship or friendship and you can organize like a post interview chat after the interview, how you can help, how you can serve each other.

Susan Friedmann [00:19:18]:
I love that. And I think I can count on one hand how many thank yous I've had over the years, which is sad really. Yeah, I often send a thank you note. I don't always remember to do it, but I often send a thank you note to my guest for being on the show. Because yes, again, I don't like to do the show all on my own. I love the interaction. Even though people have said, well, why don't you do episodes where it's just you talking? I was like, ah, yes. And I much prefer having a Guest and I find it more interesting.

Susan Friedmann [00:19:57]:
The conversation is very different than if I'm just talking. So, yeah, I love it. I think there's some great tips and I think something that you said which is critical for our listeners to really remember that podcast guesting is a book marketing strategy.

Noemi Beres [00:20:17]:
Exactly.

Susan Friedmann [00:20:17]:
Yeah, it's a dynamite book marketing strategy. And it's free in a certain amount of. It is obviously when they're working with an agency, when you're finding positions for them on the right kind of shows. Yes, there's obviously a fee involved, but relatively speaking, it's low when you look at what PR costs. I mean, yeah, I think well worth doing. Ladies and gentlemen, who are listening, what about talking about more about how you can promote the show, where you would promote it on social media, where else can you help promote the show?

Noemi Beres [00:21:03]:
If you have, for example, a blog, if you write a blog, if someone is author, obviously you love writing and blog is not that. Because there's so many people talk about that blog is that. No, blogging is not that. I mean, if you have a blog, you can easily turn your podcast interview to a blog post. And now we have AI, we have ChatGPT, we have different AI tools. It takes seconds to. For example, you have the podcast interview, for example, on YouTube or whatever channel it's been recorded, you can take the transcript, you can turn it into an amazing blog post and you can use that. Or if you have an email newsletter, you can send it to your subscribers first.

Noemi Beres [00:21:44]:
It can be a teaser that I'm going to be a podcast guest on this and that podcast and it's going to be doing me amazing. And check out the podcast, leave a rating and review for this show. And after, when your podcast episode is released, you can send another email to your email subscribers, like, oh, I was a guest here and check it out, it was amazing. Maybe you take some golden nuggets, some key takeaways, you include that in your email. And bump. I mean, that's another type of content that you can use, not just relying on social media only. There's so many other opportunities out there that you can use. And I think blogging and email, they still go very strong.

Susan Friedmann [00:22:23]:
One of the things that we do is that we give an embed code so people can put this on their website so often, and especially speakers love this, that they put the podcast embedded on a media page, let's say, on their website, which gives the interview longevity as well. I mean, it isn't here today and gone tomorrow, but it's got A place on your website. And then of course, we were talking about directories, Apple, Spotify. What are some of the other platforms? I know we're on all of them, but I can't remember them all. What are some of the other good platforms?

Noemi Beres [00:23:05]:
Obviously YouTube. I mean, it's still the second largest search engine. So even if your podcast is like, was an audio podcast, you can still use that. It doesn't matter, people will listen to it. So YouTube, definitely. As you mentioned, Apple, podcasts, Spotify, what else we got there are.

Susan Friedmann [00:23:22]:
I think we're on audible and audible as well.

Noemi Beres [00:23:24]:
Oh, yes, you mentioned Amazon. Amazon.

Susan Friedmann [00:23:26]:
True. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So there are many outlets. Exactly. Yeah. Beyond them.

Noemi Beres [00:23:31]:
You're right.

Susan Friedmann [00:23:32]:
I always forget. We are on YouTube as well. And even though it's an audio, we do put it up there. I mean, that's growing as well. All of these are worth it. I like the fact that you even mentioned rate the show. Go in and ask somebody to rate the show, which also helps all these little things and keeping the contact with the host because as you said, you never know where this might lead.

Noemi Beres [00:24:03]:
Yeah, very true. And I know that podcasters work so hard and like you have your 500 episode, which is amazing. It's a fantastic milestone. Other podcast host as well. And I think just leaving and rating the show, it's a must. I mean, you know, it's a nice gesture. And when people get on the Apple podcast and to see that you have like 34, 50, 60 reviews, five star reviews, I mean, that really pushes the podcast up to the top. It really helps and I think it's really important and it's a form of respect.

Noemi Beres [00:24:33]:
Again, you are a guest and this is the least you can do.

Susan Friedmann [00:24:38]:
I very rarely ask people to put a review up, but I'm blown away. I mean, we've got I think 60 or 70 on Apple and I'm like, wow, I'm so grateful for everyone who's ever put up a review of the show, especially when it's a good one.

Noemi Beres [00:24:57]:
Especially that.

Susan Friedmann [00:24:58]:
Especially that. Yes. I can't ask for five stars, but if you happen to feel that way, please. This is a five star moment, Noemi, for you to share your contact information for our listeners because you've shared some amazing information. So I'm sure that we're going to have people who want to know more about where they can find you.

Noemi Beres [00:25:25]:
Yes, please visit our website, which is PodcastConnections.co not com. That's our website. And you can jump there, jump on that website and get in touch with us. I'm pretty active on LinkedIn. That's kind of my jam, my space. And if you type my name in, Noemi Barras, there's a tiny microphone sign next to my name. That's me. Please get in touch with me and let's have a chat.

Susan Friedmann [00:25:54]:
Lovely. I think we're linked on LinkedIn. I think you made that connection.

Noemi Beres [00:25:58]:
I always do, yes. Good, good.

Susan Friedmann [00:26:01]:
Because again, it's not something that's top of mind for me, but when people request it, I always accept.

Noemi Beres [00:26:08]:
Or usually I will tag you in the post for sure.

Susan Friedmann [00:26:10]:
Good. I appreciate that. Hey, we asked our guests. Now we've gotten smart. We ask our guests if they're going to do that because obviously we want to make sure that we can get as much coverage as well for the show, which obviously helps. And as you know, Naomi, we always ask our guests to leave our listeners with a golden nugget. What's yours?

Noemi Beres [00:26:35]:
My golden nugget is usually my motto, which is just keep going. It's really important because when you start podcast guesting as an author, you can get some news from podcast host. The market is really flooded with podcast guests right now. I know that so many podcasts was getting like, you know, 50 emails per week because people are pitching themselves to different podcasts. When you get your first nose, don't be discouraged. Just keep going. Just keep going, keep doing it, because the right podcasts are coming and waiting for you. Just be consistent, be patient with yourself, and keep getting in touch with podcast hosts, because after a few nos, and the yeses will come, too.

Susan Friedmann [00:27:20]:
Yeah, that perseverance is definitely worthwhile. Just keep at it because, yeah, there's going to be a yes somewhere along the line. Yes. So I appreciate that. Some really wise words. And yes, of course, Naomi can help you do that, which will make it a lot easier because she knows the podcast that you could get on. That's secret.

Noemi Beres [00:27:46]:
Yeah, the secret ingredient.

Susan Friedmann [00:27:48]:
The secret ingredient is very helpful. Yes, you've got the knowledge. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom. And listeners, if your book isn't selling the way you wanted or expected to, let's jump on a quick call together to brainstorm ways to ramp up those sales. Because you've invested a whole lot of time, money, and energy, and it's time you got the return you were hoping for. So go to bookmarketingbrainstorm.com to schedule your free call. And in the meantime, I hope this powerful interview sparks some ideas you can use to sell more books. Until next week, here's wishing you much book and author marketing success.