How to get big influencers on the podcast?
Podcasting can be pretty rough when you are affected by imposter syndrome. It means we would like to copy the practices and methods of another big shot podcaster and we assume that we will get the same result as they did.
For eg: Joe Rogan brings in people like Elon Musk or Garyvee, who are considered as the Legends in their respective field. We can take another example of Tim Feriss’ show where he brings in people like Hugh Jackman and a lot of other great actors to talk about their life and how they became great in their career.
If you send an email to any of these people, will you get a reply?
I am gonna answer with maybe or maybe not. Some celebrities or influencers want to help out the little guy so they will appear on a podcast which has just started or been into some episodes. But this doesn’t happen to a lot of people. So my simple suggestion is don’t be afraid to reach out to influencers or big shot people but make sure you are not disappointed if you don’t get a reply.
Does your podcast need Big Shot influencers?
Before jumping into ways that you can find these influencers, you need to know whether it is actually worth and valuable to bring in people like these into your podcast.
Podcast Niche
I will start off with my podcast as an example then will give you various other categories. So my podcast niche is podcasting itself. I talk about podcasting and the nuances in it. This can include monetization, getting more reach, getting clients or sponsors etc. There are over a million podcasts out there and out of that let’s say half of them are active and running in the last 90 days.
My job is to find guests who are experts in the field of podcasting so that I can find what are the tactics and strategies that they are using in order to increase their podcast reach or help their clients. If I were to bring in a guest who is currently working on various client projects directly rather than handling a big team or outsourcing it to them, that person can add more value to the podcast than a big company CEO or CxOs.
Let me tell you the reason behind this. As a podcaster, I help people to edit, monetize and do other things for their podcasts. Those things will be known at a surface level if you find an agency owner, let it be a million-dollar company that outsources the work or has a surface level of understanding of what is going on.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying all the Top-level management people don’t know about this, only those who didn’t start their own podcast for experimenting won’t be able to talk in detail about what’s happening in the podcasting space or any other important critical details.
They can give you tips regarding sales or how we can find a team etc, but for my podcast what is more important is the beginner level information.
There are a lot of people on Instagram who are into podcast production and who manage various podcasts by implementing different strategies. It would be worth bringing in these people.
Now coming on to other categories let’s say a specific business or a specific job role for eg; sales. Then it would be great to bring in someone who made a million dollars in sales. The interesting part is if you bring in someone who is in the intermediate level they will give you a more detailed view about the current situation they are in and how it is difficult and also rewarding at the same time in the field of sales.
This also comes down to these categories of True crime or horror story podcasts. This doesn’t require a big celebrity but more amazing stories and stuff.
Whom are you podcasting for?
Enterprise or yourself
If you are podcasting for an enterprise you will have a set of standards to follow. This will include the quality of sound, video and especially the content. The quality of the content depends on the episode structure and the guests involved.
So in this case you may have to reach out to influencers in your space. Most of the time influencers in the business space would be willing to go even on small podcasts because they’ll never know which one will pop and get a hit.
I will give you an amazing example.
In the podcasting space, one of the notable influencers is James Mulvany.
He is the Founder/CEO of Radio.co, Podcast.co, MatchMaker.fm.
These companies have helped a lot of podcasters in their guest quality and a lot of other things. If you send him a LinkedIn message (A proper invitation for being on the show) then he would definitely reply or you can text on matchmaker.fm as well.
So don’t be afraid to reach out to big-shot people. You’ll never know what happens.
If you are podcasting for yourself just for fun or maybe to get some interesting conversations then you don’t require much. There are a lot of people who are doing things in a simple way.
They also would be having a decent level of the audience with interesting stories to say that you can leverage for your podcast.
How to find guests with huge followings aka influencers?
Now there are a lot of ways to find influencers. Each one of us can come up with a creative way. We will have so many questions like where do we start? Whom should we invite? How do we contact the right person?
Don’t worry, we will run through all the things that will come in handy in our search for our potential guests.
Start with your niche:
Out there, there are many podcasts that cover the same niche as ours. Find them and check if they are willing to do interviews.
Make sure that they are a good fit for you and your audience.
When going down this route, be mindful of not recreating the exact interview your proposed guest has done elsewhere. Even if you’re after the same stories and key takeaways, try to approach your questions from a different angle.
This will keep things interesting and fun for you, your guests, and your audience.
For more help with this, check out Great Podcast Interview Questions and How to Prepare for a Podcast Interview.
Search out in Blogs & YouTube
Look for people who are doing similar content like yours in blogs and youtube.
If someone is talking about the same things as you, there’s a decent chance they’d be more than happy to come on your show.
Not only can this provide you with valuable, relevant content, it can also help boost your audience numbers. Who knows, the interviewee may be interested to participate in your future podcasts too!
Ask other Podcast Guests
When you finish the interview, develop your relationship with them. Ask if they know anyone else who’d be a good fit for coming on the show. You can either email them or ask in the live session too.
I think it’s best to do it whilst you’re still on the call with them. This way, you’ve just spent a bit of time chatting, and you’ll get an immediate response.
When you approach other potential podcast guests, mention the interviewee who recommended them, as this will increase your credibility. “I was speaking to [guest] recently on my podcast. She recommended I get in touch with you, to see if you’d like to come on the show too?”
Immediately you’ve established some common ground, and most people will be very receptive to that. If the chat with your initial guest went really well, you could get a direct introduction to their contact.
As an example, here’s our interviewee request form for Podcraft.
Approaching potential podcast guests:
Every topic and niche has its “celebrities”. But it is not as easy as it sounds when it comes to approaching them. If someone is so popular that they get 100+ emails a day, they’ve probably outsourced reading them to an assistant. There’s a chance yours will be seen as, “just another podcast interview request,” and deleted without a response.
If there’s someone whom you’d absolutely love to have on the show, then you could record your message to them as audio or video. This has a lot more chance of actually getting through their filters. It shows that you’re not just sending out a throwaway copy and paste emails. Be professional if you do it.
This is also an instance where you could use social media more effectively. For example, you could tag someone in a video you’ve recorded for them on Instagram. It depends on your own personal preference, and whether or not you and your potential guest use these platforms.
Also, I would recommend you to attach your calendar link where they can book a slot that works for them (as well as you).
Use PodcastGuests.com
PodcastGuests.com is a tool that’ll help you find more interesting, qualified interview guests for your podcast. It’s a mailing list, but with a member-based website alongside that adds some extra features.
On the newsletters, you can post-interview requests through which people can apply to come on your show. Or, on the website, you can browse their existing database of guests, and get in touch with them directly.
If you upgrade to the premium service, you can also list yourself as one of those ‘subject experts’ and get invited to more shows. The free newsletter is a great way to find better guests, more easily, and to appear on more shows yourself.
Use Podchaser Connect
A newer way of finding podcast guests is to use Podchaser. It’s a platform that’s often referred to as “the IMDb of podcasting”.
Podchaser has a range of excellent features for podcast listeners and podcasters alike. The platform enables you to create your own profile, then link that profile to all the shows and episodes you’ve ever been involved in.
Their Podchaser Connect feature is marketed as “a new platform for strategically connecting experts and podcasts to create amazing content and grow audiences.”
Alongside its custom profiles, it enables data-driven matching between podcasters and potential guests, as well as detailed analytics and reporting.
Use MatchMaker.fm
MatchMaker markets themselves as “like Tinder, but for podcasters”.
You can use it either to find podcast guests or to put yourself forward to be a guest on other shows.
It’s totally free, and you can connect via your LinkedIn or Facebook accounts.
Other ways:
You can also make use of the existing traditional media such as radio, TV, newspapers or magazines. Mine these platforms and find suitable people who are willing to spend both their time and knowledge for you.
And you’d be surprised at how many of them would be happy and willing to have a chat on your podcast if you asked them.
Reporters, writers, and folks working in the media usually have a number of projects on the go. Why wouldn’t they want to connect with yours? after all, their business is all about reaching an audience.
Always lookout for people who are selling things. It may be a writer or a product selling guest. In the case of a writer, if they have written something related to your topic, drag them in for a podcast. They will accept the invite as they can use it as a promotional tool while you can harness their credits. It’s a win-win situation.
Don’t approach people for their following base. Sure, this can be a nice bonus. But the size of their following doesn’t necessarily equate to extra listens for your episode. Especially if the interview you do with them doesn’t stand out enough for them to share it.
So some pointers going forward. Make sure you prepare for your interviews and ask good questions. There are various ways you can encourage guests to share their episodes, once they go live.
If you would like to check out an interview I made with Agnes Bilik regarding this topic then you can check it out here
What are your views on this? Let me know in the comments below!
If you have any doubts in the field of podcasting feel free to message me at jeffreyboopathyj on LinkedIn or jeff’s podcast academy on Instagram.
Links are available below
https://www.instagram.com/podcastforpodcasters/
Check out my podcast here
Happy Podcasting.
