Landing podcast guest appearances is an excellent way to market your podcast and speak directly to new listeners in your target audience. Guest podcast interviews also benefit brands, businesses, or experts in a particular field trying to boost their credibility.

But there's an art to getting booked as a guest and being the type of guest other podcasters want to have back in the future. This blog breaks down three ways to get booked on podcasts and reviews everything you need to know to knock your next guest appearance out of the park! 

JUMP TO SECTION:

• Method #1. Reach out to podcasters
• Method #2. Use a third-party platform
• Method #3. Market yourself as a podcast guest
• Best practices for being a great podcast guest
• FAQs

Method #1. Reach out to podcasters

The good news is, a lot podcasters are looking for podcast guests, and make themselves pretty easy to contact. Follow these four steps to find relevant podcasts and pitch to their hosts:

Step 1. Make a podcast wishlist

Make a list of podcasts of roughly 30-40 shows that you feel are the right podcasts for your expertise. If you are a podcaster, look for shows that share similar podcast listeners as your own audience so they'll be more likely to subscribe to your show.

You can find relevant podcasts to pitch to in several different ways:

1. Apple Podcasts. Type the name of your podcast in the search bar and click on your show. Scroll down to You Might Also Like to find the top shows related to your podcast. Browse the podcasts listed in this section and take special note of podcasts with guest interviews.
2. Listen Notes. For a deeper dive into more niche podcasts, go to ListenNotes.com and enter your podcast's subcategory. You can use the drop-down filter menu to narrow the results.
3. Podchaser. Search potential podcasts in Podchaser to make sure the host has featured guests in the past. If they have, you can reach out via the platform as long as you have a Podchaser account.
4. Reddit. There are a lot of podcasters on Reddit, and providing valuable comments to their posts can be a great way to get noticed for an interview.
5. Facebook groups. Podcasting Facebook groups can be a great networking resource, and some are even dedicated to finding podcast guest opportunites. Just be sure to read the rules of each group before you join.

Make sure to vet the podcasts on your list to ensure you pitch to active podcasts. Check the podcast itself to see when the last episode was published and visit the social media page to make sure they have an active presence there, as well.

Step 2. Find contact info

Now it's time to find the show host's contact information for the shows on your wishlist. Fortunately, nearly every podcast host is online in some way.

You can typically find the host's name on their Apple Podcasts or Spotify page, or in the introduction of one of their episodes. Once you have their name you can typically find them on social media where you can reach out directly.

Here are some ways to contact hosts once you get the host's name:

• Website contact form
• Email (typically available on their website or YouTube channel)
• Podcast's Facebook page
• Personal Facebook profile
• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Patreon page

Step 3. Craft your pitch

It takes a little forethought to craft an effective podcast pitch, but you typically get what you put into your pitch emails, so try to spend some time here making it the best it can be. Every solid pitch consists of four distinct parts:

#1. Subject line

Make the subject concise and to the point. It should summarize the topic of the email in a short, succinct phrase. Try to keep it under 60 characters and less than 10 words.

Here are some dos and don'ts:

✅ "Podcast Guest Inquiry: [proposed topic]"
✅ "Alban Brooke Podcast Guest Inquiry: I'd love to connect!"
❌ "Podcast host looking to be featured as a guest on your show"
❌ "I have an idea about something you could interview me about"

#2. Context

The first few lines of your email or message need to convince the podcast host that you have something to offer. Here are some questions you can answer to establish a more meaningful connection and keep them from hitting delete.

• How do you know about them?
• Have you listened to their podcast?
• What do you like about them or their podcast?

#3. The pitch

Once you establish some context, you can go for the ask. Make the ask succinct and clear and be sure to frame it in a way that makes it clear how your appearance will bring value to the host and their podcast.

Example:

"I've noticed that you haven't done an episode talking about ______ yet. I'm an expert on _____ and talk about it frequently on my podcast, ______. I would love to share my knowledge and experience with your podcast audience and dive into (three things you're qualified to talk about relating to the topic)."

It's also a good idea to link to mention your qualifications and link to relevant content where you have discussed this topic before. This could include:

• blog articles
• social media blurbs
• other podcast episodes
• video interviews, etc.

#4. Overcoming objections

Even if you nail the first two parts of your pitch, there's a good chance the podcast host will have at least one objection come to their mind. Here are three common objections and how to handle each.

• "It will be difficult to find a good time". You want to be accommodating of the host's schedule. If they've only got an opening every other Tuesday evening, make it happen. The more available you are, the better.
• "I'm not sure you'll be a strong guest". Send the host a link to an episode of your podcast or and article where you talk about the topic so they can hear what you bring to the table. If you've already landed a few guest interviews, send them links to those as well.
• "What's in it for me?" Make it clear how your appearance will benefit the host. You can tell them that you'll promote your guest appearance on your podcast, to your email list, and on all your social media platforms.