Podcast guesting: here's how to secure more [Practical Snacks mini-series]
Episode 4
According to research recently from Edison Research, more UK adults than ever are actually listening to podcasts, and audiences are getting younger, and way more diverse. So there's an opportunity.
Plus, according to RAJAH’s Midas, survey 21% of the UK population tune into podcasts in an average week and listen to around seven hours of podcasts each week.
DOWNLOAD OUR PRACTICAL SNACKS MARKETING MINI-SERIES PLAYBOOK HERE
This episode of 'Practical Snacks' looks at how you can secure more podcast guest bookings. I share:
How to research and find relevant podcasts
The key questions to ask yourself in order to create a compelling pitch
How to prepare for a podcast interview
How to promote a podcast appearance
Introducing the Practical Snacks Playbook
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Introducing the Practical Snacks Playbook 〰️
As a thank you for listening to the ‘Practical Snacks’ Marketing mini-series this Summer, I’ve created a free, handy Playbook that brings together all the tips that have been shared in each episode. Make sure you download your copy so that you have it handy as a reference tool whenever your marketing needs a lift.
About the show
Practical Snacks is a special weekly summer mini-series of short, snappy tactical marketing episodes that are under 10 mins on a particular marketing topic or theme. Make sure you follow the show wherever you listen, so you don’t miss out. And do share with others who you think will find this actionable style content valuable.
Resources and links
Listen Notes - Good for podcast research as well as Spotify and Apple
Interchange podcast - the integrated transport delivery podcast I host and produce
More episodes
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Further reading
Transcript
Ayo Abbas 00:00
Ayo Abbas, hello and welcome to The Built Environment Marketing Show hosted by me, Ayo Abbas. I'm a Marketing Consultant, speaker and trainer, and I work exclusively with architects and engineers. If you want to find out more about my work, head to www.abbasmarketing.com so today is the final episode of my practical snacks marketing mini-series. They are episodes which are short, snappy, tactical episodes under 10 minutes long on a particular marketing topic or theme. Make sure you check out the previous free episodes, which are on SEO, website home pages, and also email marketing, so all practical short episodes that you can really action now. Anyway, on to today's episode I am talking about one of my favourite things, podcasting, but podcasting from the view of being a guest on others. The reason I really wanted to focus on this was because I really do think that podcasting is a great way to position yourself as a thought leader, spread the word and also by being a guest on other people's shows, you can really, really tap into their audiences. Let me just quickly take you back about why I think podcasting is brilliant and another area that built environment firms can exploit and use. So basically, according to research recently from Edison Research, more UK adults than ever are actually listening to podcasts, and it's still on the rise. The audience is getting younger, and it's also getting much more diverse. So there's an opportunity. There another piece of research, which was done by Midas, talked about the fact that 21% of the UK population tune into podcasts in an average week, which is enormous, and those people tend to listen to around seven hours of podcasts each week. For me, that's almost a day. I probably listen to way more than that in a couple of days, to be honest. But for most people, seven hours per person over a week, which is an immense amount of time to be in someone's ears. And I think the opportunity for me, is understanding that people are saying, oh, there's way too many podcasts out there. But really, when you compare podcasts, which is a relatively new medium, to things like blogs, there are only in 2023 there were 4 million podcasts in the world, and compare that to 600 million blogs out there. So you see that we've got so much scope to grow into this medium. So it's definitely, don't write it off as there's no opportunities for you. There really, really are. Now, I am a huge fan of podcasts. I host this one, but I also host one about integrated transport delivery for a client. So you can check that one out if that's your bag. But I think the thing for me is that when clients ask me, Should we go on a podcast? Should we do? Shall we set up our own podcast? I always say, if you don't listen to podcasts already, then don't bother. Don't waste your time. It takes a lot of effort to do podcasting, which is why I think guesting is such a good way to get started. So here's some tips on how you can get started in terms of being a guest before you invest resources into your own show. Firstly, I think the first thing you need to do is listen to podcasts. You need to understand podcasts, what they work, how they work, what's the structure, what you can bring to a podcast, really, really. Listen to an episode. Listen to ones in your sector, listen to ones outside your sector, just to get an understanding of the medium, and also in terms of guesting, understand what makes a good guest. So start to listen to really think, what's this guest bringing to that show? What are they selling? And I think the other thing you can start to do is actually go on the podcast platforms at Apple and Spotify, and start to research podcasts in your sector. So tapping architecture, tapping engineering, tapping marketing, you know. And just look at the podcasts that are coming up. What's their names, what's their titles, who are their hosts? What markets are they hitting? You know, some of them are based in Australia. Some are in the US, mainly. But actually just research what's out there in the sector and actually where your opportunities lie, then you can start to build your wish list. These are shows that I am going to ultimately be pitching to. So think about your target audience. What sort of topics will they be searching for? You know, there is definitely, you know, there's things around energy, there's a sector podcast, there's things around being an architect, there's things around architectural careers, there's things around design and home. There's such a huge array of podcasts, so really go on to Apple podcasts or Spotify and just search around. And another place that you could also look is called Listen Notes. Listen Notes. I think it gives you some free searches, but it gives you an idea on actually the popularity of certain podcasts, and also just gives you a bit more background information. So there's lots and lots of different places that you can research. I will put a link into all of those places in the show notes as well. Another tip for you is actually to look at some of your competitors, look at what podcasts they've been on, and add those to your list, to your wish list. Have a look and see. Listen to their interviews. Understand what they're talking about. Why did they get onto that show? Think about that and also use that as another way to understand how you can be a better guest for somebody else. So once you've done your research, which I think is a huge thing, and you've listened to a few episodes, it's about writing a compelling bio and a compelling, I guess, sell a compelling offer for you. So what you know, three or four ideas, or what ideas can you bring to that podcast, or any podcast? Maybe you could start off broad, but then actually just tailor that pitch to that relevant podcast. What sections do they have? How do they how do they do their titles? And really, really, really think about what you can bring to that show. I think it's really important to understand your strengths, the issues that are topical, that you can talk about, all those issues that you're really passionate about, because that will come across and make you a much more compelling guest. And then it's on to crafting your pitch for that show, for that particular show, what would you bring to it? How would you benefit that audience? Remember, it's about them and not you. Well, how can you help that host to do what they need to do? I know, as a podcaster, having to produce content regularly can be a bit of a strain. So someone can come to me for a great pitch that sort of says what they'll bring to my read, my listeners, and really, really, sort of says what they'll bring to me. I'm all ears, but it's going to be on point. You've got to listen, and you've got to tell me why you benefit me, why you benefit my audience, and some really tight, good show ideas, and really, just sell yourself, and a compelling introduction to who you are on a really strong bio. I think if someone came to me and pitched like that, I would be much more happy to listen. I mean, I've had my podcast for over four and a half years, and I have to admit, I don't think I've hardly ever got a good podcast pitch. A lot of them are blanket and highly irrelevant. So for me to actually receive one, that would be really, really, targeted to me, I would actually be really happy to see it. I think the other thing you could do as a podcast guest is make sure that you've got decent equipment, you've got a decent setup, so you want a good microphone, you want some headphones and a decent camera, so that you are ready to go. How can you be ready that you are putting your best foot forward to be on a show in terms of podcasting as well as listening? For me personally, I always give my guests a brief and some outline questions. They're not necessarily all the questions I'll be asking, but it gives you a good structure of where I'm likely to take it. Now, what I find whenever I guest on other people's podcasts, I actually do ask for that, because it just means that I can write a few bullets under the questions and make sure that I'm fully briefed about what it is that I want to share and what it is that I want to talk about. I find that kind of whole process of just going there and writing a few bullets really just helps to focus my mind. And before you appear, it's also worth thinking about where it is. You want to send people at the end of the interview, do you want to send them to your website? Do you want them to book a call? Do you want them to connect with you on LinkedIn? Think of your CTA, so, so important as usual. And finally, when the interview is shared by the host, make sure that you share it on social media natively yourself, so that you can give the episode the attention it deserves. I always think podcasts are a lot of work, so it's really lovely when a guest gets on board and does their share in terms of promoting it. So that's the final episode of my practical snacks mini series. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoy putting it together. And as a special gift. I have put together a mini guide which brings together all the main tips from all four episodes. So if you check out the show notes, you can find a link there to download it. So I hope that's useful too. So please do share about the mini series. Let me know what you thought of it, and I look forward to seeing you in two weeks time with a regular Built Environment Marketing Show Episode. Thanks for listening. Bye.
