114 - Podcast Guest Success: What You Should Know Before Saying "YES!"

Wondering if being a podcast guest will boost your visibility and brand? The answer is YES!!! But only if the show is a good fit for you. 

Being invited to be a guest on a podcast can be flattering, but it's essential to evaluate the show before jumping on board. In this solo episode, I share how to see if the show is a good fit, and a few reasons why it might be better to launch your own show.  

Top Takeaways

🔹Make sure that the audience is a good fit for you.

🔹How to vet a show before you say yes.

🔹Only 43% of podcasts even reach eight episodes.

🔹Don't assume you'll get questions in advance or not.

🔹Don't assume podcasts are audio only, most are recorded on video.

🔹Why you should consider hosting your own show.

🔹Value of having a mix of solo and interview episodes.

🔷 Thank you for listening. If you found this episode relevant don't forget to hit that Follow Button to keep learning and growing with us.

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Transcript

Hi, I'm Annette Richmond. Thanks so much for joining me today. I recently spoke at the ATD New England Area Conference 2025. And my topic, of course, was video. And they also asked me to share a little bit about podcasting because many of their members are interested in using podcasts to build their brand and visibility.

Annette Richmond 
In the description of my presentation, they mentioned that podcasting was a great way for people who didn't want to be on camera to expand their reach. Now I had some good news and some bad news on that, but I will say that I thought what I shared at the conference would make a good episode for content marketing school as well. So let's dive in.

Now, if you're listening to this, obviously you know that I have a podcast. What you may not know is I've been podcasting since 2020. During the pandemic, I actually noticed that a friend of mine, a colleague was doing a podcast. I stumbled on her podcast and I thought, you know, that seemed like a pretty cool idea. So I asked her, you know, how are you doing it? And she said, you know, I just read from my blog.

Annette Richmond 
Now, as a former magazine writer who went on to launch a content publishing site, I certainly had plenty of content. So I thought, you know what, I can do that. Now, of course, it wasn't quite that simple. I didn't just read blog posts verbatim, but I did use them as substance for many of the episodes that I recorded.

Annette Richmond 
Now my first podcast, along with my business, focused on career in business. But when I shifted my business to content marketing, I launched the show that you're listening to right now, Content Marketing School. And over the years, I've learned a lot both as a guest and of course as a host. And that's what I'm going to be sharing today. So let's get started with being a podcast guest.

Annette Richmond 
Now being a guest on someone else's podcast is a great way to expand your presence by simply borrowing somebody else's audience.

But when you do that, make sure that the audience is a good fit for you. If you're a training professional, for example, you probably don't want to be on a show focused on fashion and vice versa. You would be surprised at the people that pitch me to be on my podcast and they're actually maybe something like a dating coach. Now, while it certainly can be flattering to be invited to be on podcast,

I suggest that you spend some time vetting the show before you say yes or before you approach a show to be a guest yourself. Listen to a few episodes to get a feel for the tone and the format. Now my interview style is conversational while other interview shows have more of a Q &A format.

and be sure to check out how long the show has been around. know, many people excitedly launch a podcast and then they disappear after publishing just a handful of episodes.

According to a report by Podmatch, which is a platform that matches guests and podcasters, only 43 % of podcasts reach eight episodes and only 6.34 % reach 100 episodes or more. Now for context, Content Marketing School is currently at 113 episodes.

Annette Richmond 
And distribution matters too. Where can people find the podcast? That may depend on the podcast hosting platform. Now, content marketing school is available pretty much everywhere. Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Audible, iHeartRadio, Overcast, and so, so many more platforms. As I said, basically everywhere. But I have a friend who hosted her first podcast on a free platform and it was only available on three platforms.

Annette Richmond 
Also, will you get questions in advance or not? As a host, I tried both ways, sharing questions with my guests and not sharing questions. And I landed on not sharing questions for a few reasons. The main one being that I had a few guests who prepared so much they were actually reading their answers, which sounds really bad on audio and it looks even worse on video. But it's something to think about.

particularly if you're a newbie. So before you say yes, ask the host so you know what you're in for, what you're walking into.

Annette Richmond
Another thing to consider is the recording format. Now, a lot of people think being a podcast guest means they won't have to be on camera, but I have some bad news for you because that's not necessarily the case. Content Marketing School is an audio only podcast on Buzzsprout, but I record the episodes, both solo and interview on video. And I sometimes record the interview episodes live.

If you're interested in expanding your reach with a podcast, consider hosting your own show, which can be really rewarding. Now, as the host, you can build authority, particularly with your solo episodes and build an audience that's a good fit for you. It's also a great way to expand your network. You can invite guests that you want to learn from and people that you just want to meet.

I know colleagues of mine who even invite prospective clients to be guests on their show as a way to get to know them. Either way, you bring added knowledge to your audience beyond just your own voice, and you can grow your audience at the same time.


Now I recently hosted a four hour mini marketing marathon with speakers from around the world. And every person that I invited to be part of it, there were 12 speakers said yes. And that's partly because most have been guests on my podcast. So they knew me, they knew my style and they kind of knew what to expect.

Annette Richmond 
Before you launch, also think about what format will work best for you. Will it be interviews or solo episodes or a mix? Now I found that a mix works best for me.

Now I found that a mix works best for me. It gives me the opportunity to invite interesting people onto my show, but also build my own authority and not just be the entertainment host.

Annette Richmond 
Another thing to consider is how will you record? Will you record audio only or will you record on video? If you absolutely do not want to be on camera, hosting your own show and recording audio only might be the best path for you.

Annette Richmond (11:43.916)
Another thing to think about is where are you going to host your podcast? Now I use and highly recommend Buzzsprout. It's an audio only platform. I've been using them for years. So I share my audio of my videos on Buzzsprout, but I also share the video on YouTube.

Annette Richmond (12:04.642)
You also want to think about what your topic will be, something really broad like business, which is a pretty big umbrella or something that's smaller like content marketing or even something that's even more niche. And think about why are you doing it? Now, podcasts can be a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of work and commitment matters. As I mentioned, many shows launch with a great expectation that it's going to be a huge success.

and they just don't last more than a few episodes. And one thing that I will share that I learned and did with my second podcast, this one, Content Marketing School, is launched with at least three, but three to five episodes published so that when someone discovers your show, they can listen to multiple episodes and that increases the chance that they will follow your show.

And yes, you need to decide if you are going to record on audio or video. Now, I can say that one of the big advantages of recording on video is having content to repurpose. For example, I record my podcasts on video, I use the audio on Buzzsprout, I share the video on my YouTube channel, and I use the video to create clips for social media, and then I grab the transcript to create other content. 

Now podcasting truly is a great way to expand your visibility, build authority, network, and even have some fun. But before you jump into either hosting or guesting, think about the audience, the positioning, and if you're launching your own show, really think about the commitment. So thanks so much for joining me today. If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a friend.

And to continue the conversation, please connect with me on LinkedIn.