Read the Blog Post: How to Ensure You’re a Long-Term Success As a Podcast Guest

How can you make your podcast guesting even more effective? Well, that’s what we’ll talk about today: building a system around your podcast guesting that hosts will love and make your guesting life a dream. 

I’m Patty Block, and I grappled with this question when I first started guesting on shows. I wanted to be very effective in what I was doing, and I had three goals:

• Build a relationship with the podcast host.
• Raise the visibility of my company.
• Develop content that I could use over and over.

Do you have similar goals? If so, here’s some good news: I will share a strategy for building a system that you can use to accomplish all three goals precisely.

Many podcast guests show up, answer questions, and hope for the best. But that one-and-done strategy will only get you a little. So I realized that early on, and maybe you’ve already experienced that.

So I had high hopes for them, especially the first show I watched many years ago. And I kept thinking about it and dreaming, well, I’m going to be on this show, and they’re going to promote it, and I’m going to get all these calls. Of course, we all know that this works differently. I recall that the first show was based in Australia, and I’m in Texas. So, just the time zone difference was daunting. 

Once we did the interview, it went great. And the host did a great job, not only leading the interview but also promoting it later. And even so, it was crickets. I saw no response to that interview. And it made me reevaluate what I was working to accomplish, mainly because I was putting so much time and energy into setting up, interviewing, and then figuring out what to do after the interview and how to promote that. So that’s what I want to talk about today. 

Setting Clear Goals for Your Podcast Guesting Strategy

When I talk about a system, a system is a series of steps you can refine and repeat. So, it is a checklist. You could even develop a checklist for all the different phases of being a podcast guest. 

So, for example, you can start with what you’re currently doing when you reach out to podcast hosts, or you use a system like PodMatch, which I also use. And that streamlines things because so much of PodMatch is automated. So, having a system ahead of time where you figure out who you want to, which shows you want to appear on, and who you want to talk with. Is there an audience, your audience? That’s very important. But more importantly, is the host aligned? And do they run a show that aligns with what you’re talking about and what you want to accomplish? 

Initially, you search out those shows, apply or talk to the host, and set up. You already have a system for setting up those guesting spots, so you may be prepared for what you did after the interview. 

Preparing Effectively Before Each Podcast Interview

So think of it as three stages: before, during, and after. The before phase, you’re probably already doing, and you already have a system around that. The during phase is about preparing for the interview, making sure you have your talking points, and a lot of times, we have to create something new, some new concept or new description for every interview. And that’s not the case because remember that there are so many podcasts.

Your message is so widely distributed when you’re on different shows, so it’s doubtful that the same person will hear it more than once. And because of that, having a core message is essential. That’s what you become known for. So keep that in mind. You don’t have to create something new for every interview, but you want to have that core message you always talk about. And I will tell you that after years of doing this, I get to the point where sometimes I’m tired of talking about those topics, but I do it anyway. Because, again, there are people out there who need to hear your message, and they aren’t necessarily listening to the podcast that you’re on.

Harnessing the Power of Post-Interview Promotion

So now we have the before and the during. After the interview, most people need to pay more attention to it. And that can be the most powerful. A lot of people don’t listen to podcasts live. You don’t have to because they’re recorded. So, many people, and I know I’m one of them, will go back and listen to a podcast I’m interested in. And that’s, I think, where the magic is how that episode is promoted, by whom, you know if the host is doing a good job promoting it if you’re promoting it if you’re sharing it with your network, and also who else is hearing that and sharing it. So, those methods can compound the people who get your message. 

So, when discussing a system, I will focus on the after-the interview. That is an area where you can do several things. Remember, I talked about developing content that I can use repeatedly. So, my system is to develop two-minute clips from the recording and use them in many different ways to promote my company, my message, the host, and their podcast. And very few people do this. So, the podcast hosts are surprised and thrilled when you ask for the recording. 

Efficient Post-Interview Workflow: Collecting, Editing, and Filing Podcast Recordings

So, let’s start from the beginning. I use three steps to discuss what you do after the interview, which works well for me. Start by collecting the recording. Then, you want to edit and refine that recording and distribute it. So let’s take those one at a time. Before the interview, I ask the host by email or if I am talking with them if they’re doing a pre-interview visit. I asked them if it would be OK to download the recording after the session.

I will then make clips and promote your podcast. So, I’m very transparent. I tell them exactly what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. I’ve never had a podcast host say no. They’re always surprised and very pleased. They’re a little curious, wondering if I will do that. But I do.

So that’s the collecting piece. Once you get the video, you need to download it, file it, and have a filing system. Mine is in Dropbox, and I have a folder for each podcast host by their name. I do that because I need clarification about remembering the podcast’s name, but I will never forget the host’s name. So, all of my recordings are filed in that way.

Leveraging Video Clips for Enhanced Visibility and Engagement

I then go into the editing stage. I have engaged a professional video editor through one of the platforms, Upwork or Fiverr. These are very low-cost people who are freelancers and have a great deal of expertise. So that’s what I did many years ago. I reached out, interviewed, and found a video editor who has continued to work for me all these years. He’s doing a great job. He takes the interview video and chops it up into two-minute clips. He sends me those raw clips, and I review them. I add a title for each clip, and my titles are always questions related to the clip’s content. And don’t worry if your clips are longer than two minutes. If people are interested, they’ll watch them, and if they’re not interested, it doesn’t matter how long it is.

Establishing Editing Standards for Consistent Brand Representation

So I have some that are five minutes because I had a point to make, and it doesn’t make sense to edit the video to be shorter. And if people don’t watch it, that’s OK. It still raises my company’s visibility. In the editing stage, you want to set some standards around what you want those video clips to look like. So, for example, you want to use your brand colors, logo, name, podcast hostname, and podcast name. All of those things will create a standard format. Not only does that make it more uniform and tie into your brand directly, but it is also more straightforward and cost-effective because your video editor will always use that same framework standard.

So once you have that and it looks the way you want it to, it sounds the way you want it to, then you can take those clips, add the title, which in my case is always a question, like are you eating the broken cookies? I have a concept called the broken cookie effect. This is to raise people’s curiosity, and then they can watch the video. Remember that it’s essential that your video editor add captioning. Inclusion is important, and many people need sound to watch videos. So be sure you have those captions so people can watch your video without sound and still get your message.

Once you have that format and your video editor starts pulling out those clips from your interview, you’ll want to go back and review them, make sure they look right and sound right, and then decide how you will use them. So, this now takes us from the collection and editing phases into the distribution phases. And this is the fun part. Yes, you can use them on social media, and they’re super effective. You’ll write a brief post, and what I do is I write a brief post typically with a question, then I use hashtags related to the content or what I think people are searching for, and then I have a link that goes to the entire interview that’s posted on my website. So that means I’m also driving traffic to my website, and all of my interviews are in one place on a media page.

One of the things I find compelling and necessary is that I’m consistent in my work. Everything is consistent: the look, the sound, the appearance, the message. That’s important so that you don’t look haphazard. The listener or the person consuming your content gets a sense of who you are, your work, and your effectiveness. Consistency is an essential part of that.

Leveraging Edited Clips for Multi-Platform Distribution and Engagement

You can also post those clips on YouTube. And the benefit of doing that is that it improves the search engine optimization on your website when you link it back to your website. So many behind-the-scenes things benefit you in having all these clips instead of one interview that’s 40 minutes long. You now have ten two-minute clips that you can use over and over, use them in your email newsletter and social media on all the platforms, and use them when you are promoting yourself for other podcasts. So you might send one as an example of your speaking style to the host. So there are so many ways that you can use that. And now I have thousands of clips to use over and over.

And the ones that could be more effective. I wouldn’t say I liked how I came across when I said something. I remove that one and don’t use it again. So you have a lot of choices and latitude in how you use these clips. Whenever I post on social media, I tag the podcast host. I’m also sharing it with my network.

Strategies for Raising Company Visibility Through Podcast Guesting

So the host can see that I did what I said I would. I made the clips, posted them, and promoted their podcast. Often, they comment, and we’re starting more engagement by doing that. As I mentioned, the podcast hosts are surprised and happy and think this is great. I get more engagement and visibility.

And so again, it accomplishes those three goals of building a great relationship with the host, who may ask me back but may also refer me to other podcast hosts. It also develops all that content that I can reuse, and it raises the visibility of my company. So again, it does all three things. So keep in mind this is a straightforward, cost-effective strategy.

And I post regularly. So, I post three times a week with these clips and have been doing that consistently for a long time. So I get lots of impressions. I’m posting on LinkedIn because that’s where my audience is. But I have an outsourced marketing company posting on all major platforms, so most of my engagement is on LinkedIn, but I’m visible on the other platforms.

Implementing a Consistent and Cost-Effective Promotion Strategy

So again, a straightforward, cost-effective strategy is that once you get these steps in place and maybe you have a checklist, it’s easy to follow and becomes a habit. And the more you do it, the better results you will see.

What are your goals for being a podcast guest? How can you make it as effective as possible? Using that system of all the steps that you do before the interview, during the interview, and after the interview will make you a very sought-after guest, will raise the visibility of you, your message, and your company, and will make all that time and energy that you’re investing worthwhile. Thank you.

About Patty Block

Since 2006, business advisor and pricing expert Patty Block has empowered women business owners who are experts in their fields to turn up their power to price, sell, and run their business on their own terms.

In her book, Your Hidden Advantage: Unlock the Power to Attract Right-fit Clients and Boost Your Revenue, Patty reveals proven, practical solutions to run your business with less stress and more joy.

Patty considers herself a native Texan, even though she wasn’t born there. She raised three wonderful humans who all caught the entrepreneurial bug and have their own successful businesses.

• Visit Patty Block’s Website: theblockgroup.net
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