How to Get Booked on Podcasts in 2026
For years, I’ve told podcasters that one of the fastest ways to grow a show is by appearing on other podcasts, but I hadn’t put much effort into guesting myself.
So in 2026, I decided to test it!
I tried everything from cold email pitches to platforms like PodMatch, and by the end, I’d appeared on more than eight podcasts. Here’s what I learned and exactly what I was going to start getting booked on podcasts today.
Table of Contents
- What Does it Mean to be a Podcast Guest?
- Misconceptions About Being a Podcast Guest
- How Podcast Guests Get Booked
- How to Build a Podcast Guest Strategy
- Creating a List of Target Podcasts
- Writing a Pitch That Stands Out
- How to Follow Up
- Getting Booked on Podcasts: A PodMatch Case Study
- Create a PodMatch Profile That Stands Out
What Does it mean to be a Podcast Guest?
Being a podcast guest is when you appear on someone else’s show as a guest instead of hosting your own.
It’s one of the few growth strategies that rewards you for showing up as yourself. It doesn’t require money, and it gives you far more than the 30 seconds of attention you get from an ad or promo swap.
PRO TIP: I started thinking of being a podcast guest as “collaboration that doubles as marketing.” That mindset shift made it a lot easier to prioritize for growth!
Misconceptions About Podcast Guesting
Before I started pitching, I held the same assumptions many people do: that getting booked was mostly about having a big audience or impressive credentials. I assumed hosts said yes only if you were already somebody.
But, I learned is that most hosts care way more about three things:
- Can you serve my listeners?
- Can you communicate clearly?
- Will you make my life easier?
We surveyed over 200+ podcasters about what actually matters when booking guests. Here's what they said:
How Podcast Guests Get Booked
Great podcast guests rarely appear out of nowhere. Most hosts find them through the same few channels: their existing network, past collaborators, referrals, and occasionally thoughtful outreach.
In the same survey of 200+ podcasters, the data confirmed this:
Understanding where hosts actually find guests made me realize that being a successful podcast guest is less about luck and more about having a thoughtful strategy.
How to Build a Podcast Guest Strategy
Before sending a single pitch, I had to decide why I wanted to guest in the first place.
Was I trying to grow my own podcast? Build authority? Promote something specific? Meet people in my industry?
Your goal shapes everything that comes next: which shows you target, how you frame your talking points, and how you introduce yourself.
My goal was easy: provide value.
If I could be genuinely helpful, I figured listeners would naturally want to check out my show, too.
That meant choosing podcasts where I knew I could contribute something meaningful, either through my experience or through topics that align with my own show.
Creating a List of Target Podcasts Based on Your Goals
Being a podcast guest is time intensive, so it's smart to prioritize shows where the listenership overlap is strong and the host has a track record of great interviews.
I built my target list around three criteria:
- Audience match: Are they speaking to the right audience who would genuinely benefit from my topics and insights?
- Content fit: Do they do practical podcast interviews?
- Host energy and format: If the show is thoughtful and the host asks good questions, the conversation will land better.
PRO TIP: Do your homework on a show before adding them to your list! If they don't regularly have guests or promote their episodes it may be a red flag. During my experiment I didn't fully check-out one show. But, we booked an interview. I was fully prepared (hair, makeup, notes, the whole thing) and the host never showed. Doing some investigating beforehand can save you time in the future!
How to Write a Pitch That Stands Out
When writing a pitch, I thought about my own experience as a podcast host.
I can tell you exactly what makes me ignore a guest pitch: if it’s clearly copy/pasted, too long, or shows zero understanding of my audience, I’m out.
Some of the worst pitches I've seen fall into three buckets:
- Wildly irrelevant: “I’d be great for your show” with no proof or connection to the podcast’s actual audience or topics.
- Entirely self-focused: Writing a novella of their life story and accolades.
- Overly demanding: Asking for exact episode outcomes, backlinks, or marketing commitments before a conversation even happens.
I also got a lot of generic guest pitches from PR firms or booking agencies. If an email includes an “Unsubscribe" link, that’s a giveaway that you've been included in a pitch blast.
So what does work?
- Clear positioning: They can explain what their podcast is about in one sentence.
- Proof of credibility: A link to a past interview or relevant discussion topics.
- Host-friendly logistics: A “make it easy” note like flexible scheduling, offering to work around my availability, or including a Calendly link.
I used my own experience to shape how I pitched for this experiment.
Here’s an example from a pitch I sent to the host of a customer experience podcast:
I watched some of her content, found a specific idea that genuinely resonated with me, and showed her how we practice the same thing. A little time goes a long way!
How to Follow Up
In my experiment, responses could be fast when the pitch was solid, but I learned not to panic if I didn’t hear back for a week or two.
Because inboxes fill up so quickly, it’s usually a good idea to follow up at least once after a week or so has passed.
I try to keep it short and respectful, and add something useful like a new topic angle or a relevant episode idea.
PRO TIP: Cap follow-ups at two. After that, the timing just isn’t right and you risk being blocked. You can always circle back later when you have something new to pitch!
Getting Booked on Podcasts: A PodMatch Case Study
For this experiment, I tested two routes to find podcasts that I could guest on: cold email outreach and PodMatch.
The biggest difference wasn’t just the response rate, it was also the effort I put in.
Cold outreach can work well, but it requires much more research and time. Plus, your response rate depends heavily on targeting and how well you pitched.
PodMatch dramatically reduces the effort because you’re meeting people who already want guests and are actively matching based on topics. Here is a pitch I sent on PodMatch:
The speed honestly surprised me! After filling out my PodMatch profile, I immediately received matches, pitched one show, and heard back 40 minutes later. We recorded the next week.
PRO TIP: PodMatch is faster and more efficient, and it's the tool I'd use going forward.
Creating a PodMatch Profile That Stands Out
If I had to start over tomorrow, the first thing I would do differently is create a PodMatch profile much earlier. It saved me hours of researching potential shows and served up relevant podcasts in my niche within minutes.
One thing I learned using PodMatch is your profile matters! Hosts want to know what you’re about, and having a strong profile helps. Here is how I built mine:
1. Start with the match engine in mind:
PodMatch matches you to hosts largely based on the topics and keywords you select. So be very specific when choosing your guest tags.
2. Write a bio that reads like an invitation:
A quick description of who you are, what you help with, topics you speak on, and one piece of credibility. A high-performing bio should quickly describe yourself and your podcast in one to two sentences, list two to four things you like to talk about, include a “why you” proof point (numbers, roles, results, street cred), and end with a clear CTA.
3. Make your profile host-friendly:
PodMatch recommends having a good headshot, a polished bio, clear episode ideas, questions you’re ready to answer, and links to past interviews. These all help a host say yes faster!
If you want to get booked faster, take the time to build a strong profile. It goes a long way!
Final Thoughts
This experiment pushed me to separate what I thought would work from what actually did.
The biggest misconception I had going in was that guesting is only for big names. It isn’t!
When you show up on the right podcasts with a clear point of view, make it easy for hosts, and go in with the goal of serving the audience, the growth is a byproduct.
That’s what gets you booked on podcasts, and what keeps growing your show.
Jordan Blair
Jordan Blair is the podcast producer for Buzzsprout and co-host of Buzzcast. She's also the creator of Dreamful Bedtime Stories, a podcast with over 13 million downloads.