If You're Going to Be a Guest on a Podcast, Don't Make These 4 Mistakes — They Could Cost You Leads. Many entrepreneurs are using podcast guesting as their go-to marketing strategy. If it hasn't quite worked for you yet, check if you are making any of these four mistakes.
By Natasha Zo Edited by Kara McIntyre
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
In the last 12 months, the demand to become a guest speaker on popular podcasts has skyrocketed. Suddenly, lots of people woke up to the power of this marketing tool — or, as I like to call it, the last place on the internet where you can still get 30 minutes of undivided attention.
Many entrepreneurs heard that you can leverage podcast guesting to promote their businesses. However, with the rise in demand, I've also noticed an increase in confusion. Turns out, for many, this strategy doesn't work as well as they hope.
So, can being on a podcast boost your sales? Yes, but you must avoid some common slip-ups to make podcast guesting work for you. Here are some of the best tricks I've learned in my six years of experience getting entrepreneurs on podcasts.
For example, one of my clients filled up his high-end wellness coaching retreats shortly after appearing in a series of interviews. When asked, 60% of his retreat buyers reported they first heard about his services on a podcast.
How did he achieve these results? For starters, he went on about 20 to 30 podcasts that year. His strategy was to share the story behind how he came up with the unique method he now teaches his clients. On all these podcasts, he'd promote his weekly live webinar (clue: designing the right call to action is 70% of success). From there, his webinar attendees sign up for his email newsletter and eventually buy the retreat. But that's not the only case.
Related: This Is Why Being a Podcast Guest Can Transform Your Personal Brand
Here's why podcast guesting is a good marketing strategy
If you're wondering whether you should add podcast guesting to your marketing toolkit, the answer is yes, and here's why.
Reason #1: You can build a reputation as an expert and go deep
Podcast guesting is an excellent opportunity for you to talk about what you're most knowledgeable about and share this knowledge with a broader audience.
Most people listen to podcasts to learn something new and because they want expert knowledge that goes deeper than what they can learn from 60-second TikToks. Podcast guesting is your opportunity to satisfy their curiosity while establishing yourself as the go-to expert in your field.
Reason #2: You can promote your brand to a broader audience
Being a guest on a podcast can help you promote your brand and become known to a broader audience. Especially if growing your online presence is the goal, you want to appear on podcasts that have already amassed an audience full of your ideal clients.
Later, as you become more well-known, you can start guesting on more diverse podcasts to tap into more diversified demographics.
Reason #3: You can sell without selling
Podcast guesting is the closest thing to speaking on stage. You get a credibility boost and build trust which allows you to extend your offers to a warm audience. Even better: Unlike speaking, this strategy doesn't require you to leave the comfort of your own home or office.
Reason #4: You can build relationships with other entrepreneurs
Another benefit of podcast guesting is that it allows you to network with other entrepreneurs.
You can build relationships with business owners across different niches, which often leads to partnering up with your industry peers, cross-selling with someone whose expertise complements yours or simply having more business opportunities.
My other client relies on guesting as her number one strategy for online product sales. She follows a well-defined strategy: She appears only on podcasts with an audience full of her ideal clients and only shares stories that allow her to promote her online program effectively.
Just a handful of podcast interviews were enough to generate a ton of leads and sales. Upon one of the interview launches, she was able to triple her website traffic and revenue for about a week.
So why do other entrepreneurs spend time guesting on podcasts but don't see exposure leading anywhere?
Related: 6 Reasons Why Podcast Guesting Is An Untapped Marketing Tool
Avoid these 4 mistakes to get sales from podcast guesting
If you have been appearing on podcasts for a while but have yet to see a return on your investment, you may be making some of these mistakes.
1. Being a guest on any podcast
Being eager to expand your reach doesn't mean you should appear on just any podcast. Instead of pitching aimlessly to any podcast under the sun, choose podcasts whose audience can relate to your content, services and point of view. You can always check with the host to know more details about their demographic, as this information is not publicly available (unless you pay a subscription on one of the platforms with podcast analytics).
2. Outsourcing pitching to an assistant
Sure, pitching can be time-consuming and exhausting. But still, outsourcing pitching to an assistant who lacks insight into your business and goals — not to mention a good grip on the English language — can hurt you in the long run.
The best thing you can do to maximize your chances of success is to craft your own pitches and directly handle all communication with the host. When one of my students tried this personal approach, she secured a 1-year residency on the show. That's a great example of quality relationships you can gain by doing your pitching yourself.
3. Not preparing yourself for the conversation
Preparation, as they say, is half the battle. Once you secure that spot on a podcast, don't go in expecting to "wing" it. Instead, get intentional about what you want to say.
Most of the time, the host will share a list of questions or topics they'd like to discuss with you on their podcast. Go over them carefully and prepare your answers — even if you think you know what to say.
Related: How to Book Yourself on 10 Podcasts in 10 Weeks
4. Not including a proper call to action
A simple "follow me on my Instagram" isn't enough of a call to action to help you get new leads from your podcast appearance. Your CTA should be compelling enough to convince listeners to look you up or learn more about the topic.
A great example of a successful "hook" many listeners acted upon was offered by one of my students.
An expert nutritionist, he was invited to talk about nutritional types and specific lifestyle and diet recommendations for each of them. At the end of the session, he invited his audience to take his quiz to discover their nutritional type.
Now that you have a better idea of how to leverage podcast guesting to generate leads, it's time to craft your podcast guesting strategy. Avoid these four mistakes to arm yourself with a fail-proof plan.
