How to Get Booked as a Podcast Guest

Getting booked as a podcast guest is one of the best ways to expose yourself to an entirely new audience. Podcast listeners are highly engaged and willing to take action after hearing something on a show.

It’s great for PR, authority marketing, and building your personal brand.

I have experience on both sides of this—booking guests for my show and appearing on other podcasts. So whether you have something specific to promote or you just want to have some fun, I’ll teach you how to get booked as a podcast guest.

Give Them a Reason to Book You

Getting booked as a podcast guest is easier than you might realize. Most shows are actively looking for solid guests because it makes their episodes more engaging.

In fact, 76% of the top-rated podcasts in the US feature guests on episodes. 

That said, they won’t book just anyone, especially if you’re targeting a popular show. Your outreach efforts will likely be ignored unless there’s a good reason for you to be there.

• A professional online presence that showcases your expertise and credibility.
• Unique life experiences that provide compelling stories.
• Recent accomplishments, like launching a successful business or hitting a major milestone.
• Newly published books or groundbreaking research.
• Timely connections to a current event.
• An original perspective on a particular industry or trend. 
• Relevant certifications or credentials in your niche.

These are the kinds of things podcast hosts look for when searching for quality guests in their shows. Falling into one or more of these categories definitely increases your chances of getting booked. 

Master Your Pitch

Ideally, podcasts will reach out to you directly. But that’s not going to happen if they don’t know who you are or what you bring to the table—meaning most of you will likely need to pitch yourself via email or through a website form. 

Here’s a quick five-step plan to ensure you stand out from others and present yourself as a viable guest:

Step 1 — Identify a Show That Fits

This has to be a good mutual fit for both parties. Make sure the show actually books guests, and look yourself in the mirror to see if you’re the type of guest they want. There’s nothing wrong with shooting for the moon, but you need to set realistic expectations for yourself.

Step 2 — Pitch the Right Person

While the host may have ultimate approval, they might not be the person who books their own guests. Do some digging and see if you’ll have a better chance of pitching a producer or the host’s agent. Having the perfect pitch is useless if it lands in the wrong inbox.

Step 3 — Concisely Explain What You Want to Talk About

Clearly articulate what you want to discuss on the show. This should be as concise as possible, in up to two paragraphs at the absolute max. If they’re interested in booking you, they’ll reach out for more information, and you can elaborate at that time.

Step 4 — Pitch Your Value

Include information about why you’re a valuable guest for the show. This can likely be tied back to some of the reasons we discussed earlier. You may also want to reference another episode to prove you’ve listened and offer parallels to yourself and other successful guest appearances. 

Step 5 — Don’t Be Greedy

Your pitch should not be overly promotional. If you just wrote a new online course, you can mention that in one sentence. But nobody wants to book a guest who’s just there to promote themselves. Your appearance alone will be a tremendous help to whatever you’re promoting, so the pitch shouldn’t be focused on that.

Use a Service That Connects Podcasters With Guests

If you don’t want to spend hours researching potential shows and cold-pitching producers who may not even be interested, you could also sign up for a service that connects hosts with guests.

This is great because you know any host using these platforms is actively looking for people to interview. 

MatchMaker.fm is one example. 

I like it because it’s a relatively smaller network of podcasters, which makes it easier to get booked.

PodcastGuests is a bit more popular. This one blasts our opportunities to podcast hosts via email.

IndiePod Community and PodChaser are two additional options to consider. 

Just be prepared to pay a small fee for maximum exposure on these platforms. They start around $15 to $35 per month, which is a reasonable rate in my opinion, considering the PR benefits of getting booked on a show.

Always Be Networking and Expressing Interest 

This is more of a passive strategy and doesn’t work if you’re trying to get booked immediately. But you’d be surprised how well this can work if you just happen to say the right thing to the right person. 

Genuinely expressing your interest in certain podcast genres or chatting with others about stuff you’re working on can lead to big things.

You may end up speaking to a podcast host or producer at some event, exchange contact information, and then hear from them in 3-6 months when they want an upcoming show to cover a topic in your niche.

Or who knows, you could bump into the best friend or spouse of a successful podcast host. Just put yourself out there and always be promoting your brand (in a non-braggy way). 

Invite Other Podcast Hosts to Be Guests on Your Show

Here’s an easy one. If you invite people to be interviewed on your show, there’s a good chance they’ll reciprocate—especially if it goes well.

You can even say to them directly after the recording, “I’d love to be on your show sometime if the opportunity presents itself.”

The only problem with this tactic is that it assumes you already have your own podcast. 

If you don’t, this is just one of the many reasons why you should consider having your own show.

Follow-Up, and Then Follow-Up Again

Too many people just pitch a show once, never hear back, and that’s the end of it. But there’s nothing wrong with following up on your initial pitch. 

You don’t know what goes on behind the scenes of a podcast production. Maybe the first time you reached out, the producer was on vacation and returned to an inbox with 200 messages. Or maybe that show doesn’t do a good job of keeping potential guests organized, and you slipped through the cracks.

Try a gentle nudge anywhere from 4-6 weeks after your initial pitch. You can even follow up a third time, 3-6 months later. 

There’s a big difference between being persistent and being a pest. Three follow-ups is fine, but it may be time to move on after that. 

Reverse Engineer the Booking Process From the Host’s Perspective

This is a fun one. Put yourself in the shoes of a podcast host, and ask yourself what they would look for in a guest. 

What type of guests do they want? How would they find this person?

Now go and do exactly what that host would be looking for and position yourself to be that guest. 

For example, I’ve previously written about how podcast hosts can find guests for their shows. One of the tactics on that list is creating a dedicated landing page for guest applications. So if you reverse engineer this process, you can simply Google some keywords that will find those landing pages for you.

Here’s one I found from Rob Dial’s personal website, the host of The Mindset Mentor Podcast. 

There it is. Rob has a form you can submit to apply to his show, which we found by reverse-engineering this process from his standpoint. 

Go through my entire list of ways for podcasters to find guests, and try to reverse engineer all of those steps.  

Nail Your First Appearance

I want to preface with the fact that being a podcast guest is like anything else. It takes time and practice to be good at it, and your first appearances likely won’t be perfect.

So don’t put too much pressure on yourself.

That said, you need to show up prepared and deliver on your promises. Make sure you’re dressed professionally, get there on time, and bring a pleasant attitude with you. 

One benefit of podcasts is that the shows are pre-recorded. So if you screw up or say something wrong, the producers may just edit it out—meaning you shouldn’t get too caught up in the moment when this stuff happens (which it’s bound to).

If you nail your first appearance, you may be invited back, and it proves to other podcast hosts that you can be a quality guest for their shows. 

You should also prove you’re a team player. 

Promote your appearance on your social channels before and after the episode becomes available. Other hosts will love to see this, as it shows you’re willing to play ball, and they’ll assume you’ll do the same for them. 

Be Flexible With Your Schedule

You’ve been booked! But the host needs you to fly from New York to Los Angeles next week for a 7 am recording. 

Still interested?

This won’t always be the case. Since podcasts are pre-recorded, you’ll typically be offered a few different time slots. But you still need to be flexible to increase your chances of actually appearing on the show. 

They may be offering you just one of two remaining guest spots for the rest of the year. If you can’t be there, they might just move on. 

So as long as their requests are reasonable, don’t blow an opportunity because it might be slightly inconvenient for your schedule. 

Final Thoughts

Getting booked as a podcast guest can open lots of doors for your future. You’ll have the opportunity to reach thousands of people who would otherwise never know who you are and what you do. 

Plus, being a guest on a podcast is so much fun. I love having guests on my show and I rarely turn down an opportunity to appear on another show.

When you look at it through this lens, good things will happen. And if you’re interested in being on my show, just reach out and ask!