Scale Up Strategies: The Business Podcast for Coaches, Consultants, and Speakers
We're your hosts and Business Coaching experts Mary Fain Brandt and Laura Bashore
We’re sharing all our mistakes and insider tips from our 20+ years in business and
how we successfully scaled up our businesses without losing our minds or our husbands.
Sure you can piece it together and try to DIY your way to success
OR
you can listen to us every week and learn the shortcuts because we promise there
are some.
Scale Up Strategies: The Business Podcast for Coaches, Consultants, and Speakers
Becoming a Sought-After Podcast Guest: Proven Techniques
Ever wondered how to become a podcast guest that hosts can't resist inviting back? Discover our top strategies for standing out and making the most of your guest appearances. In this episode of Scale Up Strategies, we share personal tales of navigating extreme weather and quirky Friday the 13th superstitions while diving into the booming world of podcasting.
With insightful statistics from Edison Research, we highlight how guest appearances can expand your reach and build your brand without breaking the bank. Plus, we emphasize the importance of offering something free to your audience to attract your ideal clients.
We break down the art of crafting a compelling podcast narrative, teaching you how to captivate listeners with dynamic stories and active listening. Learn the essentials of preparation to avoid rambling and make your message impactful. Additionally, we explore effective ways to promote your appearances, from sending thank you notes to leveraging your network for more guesting opportunities.
Uncover the secrets to finding and securing gigs on platforms like Podchaser and Podmatch, and understand why personalized pitches are your golden ticket to becoming a sought-after podcast guest. Don't miss these actionable tips to elevate your podcast guesting game!
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You're listening to Scale Up Strategies, the business growth podcast for coaches, consultants and speakers. We're your hosts and business coach experts Mary Fa Grant and Laura Bay hore.
Laura Bashore:We're sharing all our insider tips from 20 plus years in business, including how we successfully scaled our businesses without losing our minds or our husbands.
Mary Fain Brandt:Sure, you can piece it together and try to DIY your way to success. Or you can listen to us every week and learn the shortcuts, because we promise they're really awesome.
Laura Bashore:So grab your favorite cup of coffee, tune in and let's start the show. So today we are talking all about how to be a standout podcast guest and how to find guesting opportunities to grow your brand and attract more clients. How's it going?
Mary Fain Brandt:It's going great. Before we dive into that, I heard that San Diego's been like 100 degrees. Are you guys trying to compete with Arizona?
Laura Bashore:yeah, uh, it's, it's. Sweltering is the word. Um, I told my kids. I said, hey, you know, our summer vacation, when we would spend a week in Fresno, prepared us for this. We know what we're doing. It was so hot and like immediately you just walk out the door, and I happened to be sick during a portion of this time too, so it was even worse.
Mary Fain Brandt:Oh that is the worst.
Laura Bashore:My kid, my older kid, who does baseball. We had to go watch his first baseball game at 2 pm In this heat. Soccer canceled, even some other baseball teams canceled, but not my son. I was out there. It was. It's horrible and you know.
Mary Fain Brandt:My friends. We have a group text and they're like what the heck? They showed me a picture. She was in her car and it said 112. And'm like it's only 106 here. She's like what the heck? How is it hotter in San Diego than Arizona? We have had over 100 days of over 100 degrees. But this morning I have a big announcement. I sat on my patio and drank my cup of coffee. It was cool enough.
Laura Bashore:I know, yeah, I was following that, you know, because the same thing, like I'm always watching Arizona stuff because I'm like what, what's going on there, and I saw that 100 days of that's crazy, that's crazy.
Mary Fain Brandt:And today is Friday the 13th. We are recording this on Friday the 13th, so you might be you're either probably a love it or hate it superstition. I have to say shout out to my husband, joe, it's his birthday and 13 is his favorite number, obviously.
Laura Bashore:Oh, is he a Swifty too Like is that Joe the Swifty? Taylor Swift, that's her favorite number.
Mary Fain Brandt:Well, it's his favorite number because it's his birthday.
Laura Bashore:Right right, maybe he's a secret Swifty, you're going to have to ask. Right right, maybe he's a secret Swifty you're gonna have to ask. That's awesome. It's also my cousin's birthday to my little cousin and my niece, so big day for the birthdays, big birthday. I like Friday the 13th. Right after I had kids I kind of didn't like it as much because I got kind of scared. It's weird, but regularly I love horror, horror films and stuff. It's funny, so I'm I'm letting Harrison watch Scream tonight.
Mary Fain Brandt:On Friday, the 13th.
Laura Bashore:Okay, he told me he wanted to. I said, okay, I know it's parental discretion, but I went through on IMBD and they have a parental guide and so it tells you all the places where there are things that you might not want your kid watching. That's kind of cool. That's kind of cool, I know, I didn't know it existed. So, anyways, what we're here for, we are going to be talking about how to be a podcast guest, and so you know we love our stats, right, mary? That's what we like to share.
Laura Bashore:So we're going to kick this off with a stat from Edison Research 41% of Americans ages 12 and older have listened to a podcast in the last month, and the podcast industry is expected to grow to a $4 billion in revenue by end of 2024. Whoa.
Mary Fain Brandt:Yeah, podcasting isn't dying. You know, some people are like, oh, podcasts have been around forever. It's, it's not a thing anymore, and I think we have a podcast show. So we disagree with that. It's a thing. It's. It's not a thing anymore, and I think we have a podcast show. So we disagree with that. It's a thing. It's a thing, it's a thing.
Mary Fain Brandt:So we're gonna be talking about what the benefits are of being a podcast guest, so not doing your own podcast show, but how to be a good podcast guest. So it's one of the easiest ways to reach millions of listeners, you guys, and it typically doesn't cost you anything to go be a podcast guest, just your time. You get the advantage of getting in front of someone else's audience. And I'm gonna share a stat that podcasts are a rapidly growing medium. That as of September 2024, they're around, yeah, september 2024. So this is a real stat. I just pulled it around 4.25 million podcasts around the world, worldwide, and that's an increase of 1.67% in the number of podcasts compared to 4.18 million podcasts recorded in May of 2024. So they are growing.
Mary Fain Brandt:It is not a dying industry. More people are doing podcasts and podcasts are available in more than 100 languages, so it doesn't matter where you're at in the world. They can be translated, they're done in different languages. So we want to talk to you about why podcasting is a powerful branding tool. It allows you to get in front of bigger audience, to build your brand awareness. It's also great at attracting your ideal clients, right?
Mary Fain Brandt:I feel that it's really twofold in attracting ideal clients. So you always want to have like an offer as a guest, if they allow you, like a freebie. Like we talked about in our last episode, lead magnets, lead magnets. And I just feel that being a podcast guest allows you the opportunity to get in front of a larger audience, an audience that you're maybe not connected with, an audience that is a complimentary audience of the business that you do right. So I find that being a podcast guest is a great way to grow my email list, build my brand awareness, practice, my speaking skills, right To be clear and concise, and I think you're interviewing skills right.
Laura Bashore:To be clear and concise, and I think you're interviewing skills right. I mean, come on yeah.
Mary Fain Brandt:And it also leads to new audiences and new opportunities.
Laura Bashore:Yeah, yeah, you never know who you're going to be out there connecting with. I mean, it's basically another form of networking, like we're always talking about. You know, you're always networking, you're always interviewing. So this is another avenue where you can reach that new audience, like you were mentioning, mary. But it's also not just the audience, it's also the importance of networking with the podcast host.
Laura Bashore:Now you've added somebody into your sphere of, somebody who can be a part of your community and you can do further collaborations and have future opportunities with them. So there's different things it can do too, if you guys really connect, maybe some different forms of partnerships like actual speaking engagements whether that is doing like a virtual summit or doing something that's in person, and things like blogging or guesting in an article. There's so many different opportunities. If you understand that it's not just about showing up for the episode, but what you do before, during and after the episode, that really solidifies you as a powerhouse networker, which, to be clear, that's what people are doing with their podcast. They are looking to grow their network. So if you can show them that you too are a networker and that you understand this, it's going to go a long way.
Mary Fain Brandt:Yeah, and you mentioned, you know, collaboration and opportunities. So it's not just about being a guest. If you choose the right podcast to be on, with the right podcast host, it can open up the doors for, like you said, speaking training, referral partners. There's a lot and I think that we're going to talk about our own experience a little later, so I could talk about that for probably 10 minutes. But before we dive into our experience with being a podcast guest, let's talk about what it looks like or what it means to be a great podcast guest, cause I'm sure we've all listened to a podcast and we were like, really, this is who they have on their show. I mean, you and I we've even had that experience where we bet our guests and we had, unfortunately, one guest that we couldn't use that recording. Yeah, just, they weren't prepared. So that's what we want to talk about how to prepare for your podcast appearance. First, ask if it's going to be on video. Just because it's a podcast like ours is video and on YouTube. You need to ask that question Because if you show up, you know, in your gym outfit with a ponytail, I mean, if it's a workout podcast, yeah, that's great, but if it's a professional business podcast, you want to be dressed appropriately. If it is a video podcast, so ask that question. Don't assume that video is not going to be recorded.
Mary Fain Brandt:You want to research the podcast and the audience. So just because someone has business coach, right, what kind of business coach are they? Who is their audience? Are they realtors, are they tax preparers? Are they entrepreneurs? You really want to know who the audience is so that you can tailor your talk to that audience, because the worst thing to do is to show up, not be prepared and have a talk or your outline for a different audience. So ask the questions. And then I like this one. Laura, I listened to past episodes. Have you ever done that?
Laura Bashore:Yes, absolutely. I want to see what I'm getting into and how the host behaves and interacts with their guests. Absolutely, all the time. Like what?
Mary Fain Brandt:what the style is, you know? Is it just question, question, is it conversational? How long is it going to be? If the host doesn't give you all of that information? It's your responsibility to ask those questions. So just create a you know a doc with all the questions you should ask when you're going to be a podcast guest. I like listening to the past episodes, checking out all of their social, and then it's also important, you guys, to make sure you have a special offer for that podcast, right?
Laura Bashore:So create Specifically to speak to that audience on that channel or that avenue of where you're going to be broadcasted.
Mary Fain Brandt:Yeah, so have a special offer. That's just hey. For anyone listening in Brandon's podcast, you know I put together a special offer just for you guys. You can get $200 off, or here's my free checklist or here's an ebook, whatever that is. Make it specifically for that audience. And if you guys are wondering, we talked about lead magnets in our past episodes so you can go back and listen to that of what makes a great lead magnet. So you really need to do your work. And the next thing is crafting your message right. What is that narrative that positions you as the expert in your industry and engages the audience? So expertise, experience, engagement. You don't want to just talk like here's the five things that I do, right, yeah.
Laura Bashore:I mean, I'm sorry, I just have to interrupt here, because this is probably the thing that frustrates me the most and I'm so glad that you're bringing this up is the engagement piece. You are there to engage with an audience. Do not just read some notes that you have and and you know you need to change the influx of your voice on certain things. You need to really be listening to the person who's asking you the question so that you can provide answers that make sense and provide some clarity, because people are listening to podcasts to be entertained and to walk away with something.
Mary Fain Brandt:Yeah, education and entertainment, exactly. If you don't, you have to do that.
Laura Bashore:Yeah, if you don't know how to engage, I mean it's just, it's pointless. There's no reason for you to go on, and I think that that's okay, she's okay.
Mary Fain Brandt:She's very passionate, yeah. So you need to be able to educate the audience that is listening to this particular podcast that you're a guest on, and you also need to engage with them, and the best way to do that is to have stories.
Mary Fain Brandt:You need to have some stories about you doing the work, you speaking on the stage, whatever it is that you're conveying. You need to have stories to share, real life stories, not made up. Stories about experiences, situations. Clients that you've worked with share those aha moments so that they're sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for the next story, waiting for the next tip, because it's amazing.
Laura Bashore:Amazing, yeah, exactly. So you know that really leads into this next part, which is practicing for your interview. Because, just like any job interview you ever did or speaking engagement you've held, you need to practice. If you don't practice, you're not going to have those stories concise enough so that it makes sense and doesn't go off on tangents. You know, really making sure that you say clear your story has to go.
Laura Bashore:So I have a great friend, my one of my best friends, here in San Diego. Hopefully she's listening and won't be upset, but it's just funny because my girlfriend, katie, she we would go out and I have known her since I was in my early 20s okay, so long years of friendship and every time we'd go out she was gonna tell a story and you would think she was from the south and I'm not trying to be mean about that, but you guys understand what I'm saying where we start somewhere and then we're getting to a climax and then right before you get to that, it just fades out and goes somewhere else. And so the funny thing with her is, most of the time when she goes into a story, me and now all of our groups of friends will be like the end, like we will just come out and say the end for her. And now it's been like this decades long running joke of like, okay, here goes Katie with her stories, the end.
Mary Fain Brandt:Yeah. So you can't just ramble on. You're not there to fill airtime, You're there for a purpose. And I think sometimes people are they ramble because they haven't prepared, they haven't done their research, they haven't prepared their talk. They're like oh, I know what I'm going to talk about. And some, some people are really great. They know what they're going to talk about and they know the points they're going to share. But not everyone's like that. And if you're just starting off, you need to prepare to be a podcast guest because you want to get other opportunities.
Laura Bashore:It's your reputation right, exactly, and you want to be known as a great podcaster because, while to Mary's stats earlier of these, 4.25 billion, podcasting is still a really tight community. Once you get in with your community, you know the people and you will be like, hey, this wasn't a great guest, right? I mean honestly, flip side. You'd be like this is an amazing guest. You should bring them on. I do want to touch on one more point here, because you were talking about having an offer, and having an offer is great. First, make sure it's allowed, as you said, yeah, but second is, um, do not promote this offer throughout the entirety of your conversation.
Mary Fain Brandt:Yes, thank you for bringing that up, they the podcast host didn't invite you to promote your business, contrary to popular belief.
Laura Bashore:Exactly If you were just sitting here and you're just being completely salesy, and every other sentence is, and that's why, with my blah, blah, blah, I just it's horrible, and not only are the guests, not the listeners, not going to get anything from it, but you will not be invited back. So save that for a time. And if you guys haven't discussed that ahead of time, notes to self start asking ahead of time. To make sure hey, is there a point where I could offer this? Is that okay? To make sure, hey, is there a point where I could offer this? Is that okay?
Mary Fain Brandt:So just remember that because it's like just etiquette 101. And typically the podcast hosts in my experience they have a form or something that you fill out and it'll ask you do you have a gift or free resource or something for my audience? And they're going to want that ahead of time because they're going to put that in the show notes. So if you have a ebook or a discount code for a course or something, you want to have that all dialed in so that you can like, line yourself up for these guest episodes and be ready to go.
Laura Bashore:Yeah, and try to get that in sooner than 24 hours before the episode. Get that in sooner than 24 hours before the episode let's just throw that out there, right, so?
Mary Fain Brandt:just like with any other interview, remember your interviewing etiquette After you have an interview, you send a thank you note.
Laura Bashore:Was that my cue? That was your cue, that was my pause.
Mary Fain Brandt:What else should we do besides send a thank you note Laura we should also promote the episode.
Laura Bashore:So hopefully you are going to be told hey, this is live now. Maybe they'll have some additional clips for you to share, maybe not, but put it out there and then tag tag the people. Promoting is tagging. It is not just saying because you know as it stands right now, but it'll be different in a year. But more people know me individually. So, laura, this is Laura talking, laura Bayshore, and more people know Mary Fane Brand individually than they do the scale up strategies podcast, correct, so you want to be able and make sure that you tag the interviewee, um, the interviewer. You want to make sure that you tag them in all of your promotion. You know, don't just tag the business page or, um, the, the name of the. Yeah, yeah, exactly Like you. You want to make sure that you're tagging the people, because that's why they brought you on too, cause they'll be tagging you in their promotional posts. So you get the cross. I don't want to say contamination. What do I want to say? I don't want to cross contamination.
Mary Fain Brandt:I don't know what you're trying to say, but we're just going to let that one go, okay.
Laura Bashore:Yeah, sorry, I've been sick so I'm going to take the next section, okay, so we're going to talk.
Mary Fain Brandt:I'm going to take the next section here on how to leverage your network to get the introductions Right. So here's an idea If you've been a guest before, reach out to them and ask them if they have any partners or any other podcasts. That would be a good fit for you that you could provide value and ask for an introduction.
Mary Fain Brandt:You can drop the DMs on LinkedIn. You can send an email. Why not have an email already crafted that in the thank you email that you send to the podcast host thanking them for being such a great host. You had a great time. You're looking to do more podcast guesting. Do they have any other colleagues that might be a good fit? Have that email template ready to go so you ask them via email. You can ask you can post about it on LinkedIn.
Mary Fain Brandt:I like to reach out to past. So for hosts that I've been a guest on, maybe six months ago, like hey, I hope the podcast is going well. I see you've had so many different great guests. I am now doing AI. I was wondering, right, Sometimes we pivot or add things in our business. I'm now a certified AI consultant. I'm wondering if your audience would be interested in learning about that. So if you add something to your services, maybe pitch yourself again. I always like to ask other people that are on podcasts. I know a ton of people that are podcast guests and podcast hosts. So reach out to all those people. Also, look for industry specific, right. So anything in the business coaching world for me is great right now with AI, so that is how I go about finding my podcast guesting.
Laura Bashore:Yeah, all really good points and I like the follow-up there, because sometimes you think, okay, well, I sent my follow-up immediately after I was a guest on there, but you never think to reach back out. But also, if you know that you are a good guest, they'll probably appreciate the reach out, especially if you have something. You are a good guest, they'll probably appreciate the reach out, especially if you have something new to offer. People will want to hear from you again, you know, especially if it has a little bit of time. So we're talking about how we want to be good podcast guests. You know we want to make sure that we're following up and doing what we need to, but we need to talk about how do you find podcasts that you could be on?
Mary Fain Brandt:right, because you run out of friends and referrals at some point your circle of people, so what are some places that we can find podcast opportunities? Laura.
Laura Bashore:Well, there are different things, like online platforms that you can use to find these opportunities. So, um, pod chaser, podcast, guest matchmakerfm and pod match yeah, so those are just a few right there that are specifically looking for guests. Um and and uh, so you can utilize those. There's also social media. Um, I see it all the time, right, like, don't you? I feel like I see it more in facebook than I do in linkedin at this point, where people are actively asking or they have groups dedicated.
Mary Fain Brandt:It's a lot on Facebook and you need to vet those people asking for guests, because a lot of them are not, I know. For me they're just not the right fit. There are a lot of different other podcasting groups and communities. You can also follow hashtags podcast podcast hosts, podcasting, podcast guests. You know you can follow hashtags on all the different platforms and then start connecting with a podcast host Now that we have this podcast. I don't know about you, laura, but I get hit every week pretty much with someone saying hey, you know, I don't know if you're looking for guests, but here's what I do. I think I'd be a great fit and so far it hasn't been a great fit. Agreed, so you know, make sure you're doing your research and that you would be a good fit so that you're going to get a yes versus what I've been sending us. Thank you for your interest, but that's not a good fit at this time.
Laura Bashore:So can I throw a little sidebar in here too? So some people utilize services right Services to pitch themselves. Yeah, If you are going to do that, please provide your VA or that service with something that is original and shows who you are and what you're going to do as a guest, instead of some AI drivel that starts to tell me uh, I'm going to revolutionize your podcast, you are. No, you're not what is happening.
Mary Fain Brandt:Did you see my video today on LinkedIn? It was a public service announcement. Stop the stop the pitch, slap in the DMs anyways.
Laura Bashore:Oh my God, I didn't just because I haven't been on yet. I was in a meeting, but I will second that. Just stop. You know you're not. Do your homework, do your homework.
Mary Fain Brandt:Yeah. So the next thing that we want to talk about. So we've talked about what it takes to be a good podcast guest you know, doing your research, having an engaging conversation on the podcast, having a clear, a special offer for that audience, how to find different podcasting opportunities, and we earlier mentioned that we were going to share stories of what we've gotten out of being a podcast guest. So this has happened more than once to me. The podcast host has hired me for LinkedIn and AI, like full circle moment. They hired me after being a guest on their podcast and me talking about AI. They're like at the end, like I think I need to hire you. Mary, can you send over the proposal? So that's happened with LinkedIn my.
Mary Fain Brandt:LinkedIn and my AI. It's also led to if you're a good podcast guest, hey Mary, I know someone else that you would be a great fit for. So that happens a lot, and then I'll get a client here or there, but my my thing is the hosts hire me.
Laura Bashore:Well then you know you're being a good interviewer or interviewee, right? Because they're like yes, you're hired. We didn't even know it, but you're hired.
Mary Fain Brandt:Yeah, and that was not my intention, you guys, that's never my intention, for is like I'm going to kill it and the host is going to hire me, but that is how you.
Laura Bashore:It also comes probably from your preparation. You are somebody who always shows up very prepared, and so I know that anything they've asked you to send in, you've sent it in in advance. It's clear you've tailored it to what their audience is going to be. It's clear you've tailored it to what their audience is going to be, and so they see how you're able to tailor to someone's needs and they're like I could use that for me. What have we been talking about, right? So I think it's just an attribute to how you show up and present yourself absolutely like. I bet they were already thinking about it before your podcast and then, once they were done interviewing you, they were like sold.
Mary Fain Brandt:So what has been? Thank you, I appreciate that, and I've been live streaming and being a guest for years now, so maybe you're comfortable right.
Laura Bashore:Yeah.
Mary Fain Brandt:So, laura, what, um, what story do you have to share with us about being a podcast guest?
Laura Bashore:so, uh, I have really, every time I've been on a podcast, I have walked away with at least one client during that initial week of airing. So, um, again, I think it's because tailoring to what the audience needs to hear, like understanding what I offer and then understanding what the audience needs to hear from me so they can connect with it, so and I haven't gotten those clients from the host introducing me to them. It has just been, the client has figured out how to find me and I said hey, I heard you on this podcast and just wondering if you're taking on clients and, if so, um, how do I get on your schedule? So it's great, you know.
Mary Fain Brandt:Yeah, Well, um, so just to recap, you know the benefits of being a podcast guest. You get in front of a bigger audience, you can build your brand, your credibility, and you also have micro content Like we didn't even mention that like taking the podcast and creating content from that, which then again positions you as the expert. Yes, we'd like to encourage you guys to start researching podcasts and craft your pitch. You should have craft your pitch, you should have a podcast pitch. I have, like you know, three things I can talk about and three, and under each of those, it'll be like here's the title of the talk or the podcast, what I can talk about, and here's three points that the audience will learn right, the three key takeaways.
Mary Fain Brandt:So you know, start crafting your pitch, researching podcasts, reaching out to the people that you already know. To start being a podcast guest. Let us know when you're on a podcast. We'd love to support you. And I just want to say the next couple episodes coming up, we are recording with some amazing guests. One is a Facebook ads person, which is something that we don't do but can help you in your business, and then, ironically, we have a podcast coach coming on, so that will be complimentary to this episode today. And, laura, do you want to take us home?
Laura Bashore:Absolutely. Just a reminder listeners, we need you to subscribe, rate and review the podcast because we want to be standing out in that 4.25 billion podcasts that are out there. So help us reach more people. And until next time, here's the good coffee, great conversations and even greater success. Bye.
Mary Fain Brandt:If you enjoyed the podcast, show us some love. Please rate, review and subscribe to our podcast, and if you have any feedback, go ahead and share that with us too, because we want to hear from you. Until then, stay focused, stay motivated and stay caffeinated.
