People have been spending more and more time listening to their favorite podcast. This market is quickly becoming as influential as any other social media influencer and is a great option to get your brand more notice. 

How to Get Featured on Popular Podcasts

Just like finding a social media influencer to build up your brand, finding a way to get featured on a popular podcast can feel impossible. However, with the right emotional connection, it’s possible to land the popular podcast you’ve been eyeing. Our simple tips will have you celebrating your podcast success in no time.

Why be on a Podcast?

There are four good reasons why you should consider adding a podcast plug for your brand:

1. Podcasts are still growing

• Sure there may be 500 million active blogs, but there are already 250,000 podcasts, and that number is only expected to go up.
• Podcasts are new to the game, but they’re already seeing rapid growth.

2. Podcasts build stronger relationships

• People find you easier to relate to if they can hear you speak for 30 minutes.
• Listening to you talk can build trust, something not done as well with just the written word.

3. Podcasts have high conversion rates

• That personal relationship you’ve created by letting someone listen to you is what makes your conversion rates soar.
• You also can’t skim a podcast like you can an article. Your audience will get the full story from you that they might otherwise miss.

4. Podcasts are more time-efficient

• A great article can take up to five hours to write and edit. An hour-long podcast will only take an hour.
• If the conversion rate is just 2x more for a podcast than for an article, you’re already looking at 667% difference.

How to Find Podcasts

Finding a podcast is as simple as heading over to Google.

Just typing [Your-Topic] inurl:/podcast/ will bring up tons of podcasts related to your specific category.

Another great strategy is to look at what people with similar content have been featured on. Make a list of five to ten people and then head over to Google, or even iTunes! All of the tracks you see will have had guests similar to you. This means they are more likely to work with you.

If you have the opportunity, check and see if you know anyone on a podcast. Getting an inside connection through a friend, or even a friend of a friend can make a huge difference in getting your information featured. Introductions are always better than straight up cold pitches, so be sure to explore this avenue.

Narrow Down Your Results for Quality

Thanks to podcasts growing popularity, you could have hundreds or thousands to choose from. Unfortunately, this means that to make sure you get the best results you’ll need to check out each one.

There are three key pieces of information that you’ll want to look for as you peruse your results: Is the podcast still active? Do they do interviews? What is their contact information?

A lazy approach to narrowing down your results would be to send out an email to any podcaster that you can find information on. This won’t work out as well for a few reasons. First is that you’ll look silly. What if the podcaster has nothing to do with your material even if they covered it once? What if they aren’t even active anymore? Second, you’ll damage your brand this way. If you don’t do any research on activity or interview style, you may injure your brand because of lack of similar interests.

If you search for a podcast on iTunes, you’ll be able to find relevant information very quickly. You’ll be able to find the creator, the most recent release date, and descriptions of their episodes which often includes if they take guests. This one page has everything you need to know minus the contact information.

To find that, you just need to find their specific webpage.

More often than not, they will have some contact option. This site uses the term ‘connect’ instead, but it works the same.

Now you have a bunch of different options to connect with your podcaster.

Engage Before Proposition

Relationship building can go a long way in successfully getting a spot on a podcast.  Reaching out like this isn’t a new concept, we’ve recommended it with trying to get influencers to take you on too.

SEE ALSO: A Cheat Sheet For Working With Social Media Influencers

Building a relationship will give you a better leg to stand on when you ask them to feature. If they already feel like they know you a little, or if they know you’re one of their followers, they will want to work with you more than if you just cold call them.

Easy ways to engage your ideal podcaster are through blog commenting, subscribing to their newsletter, following them on social media, and sharing their blog posts. One thing that makes podcasts different from other influencers though is their love of iTunes reviews.

Even bigger names in podcasting, like Rob Walling and Mike Taber, only have around 250 reviews. Conversely, they may receive that many emails or comments a day or for one post. Posting a review for them will be more eye-catching than an email.

To really stand out from the crowd, iTunes review is a great platform.

Create a Pitch

Pretty much anyone can see a canned, recycled email from a mile away, so it’s important to personalize every email you send out. No one likes to get a standard template email, so use their name and reference an episode that you liked.

You’ll also want to sell yourself to them. Talk about how you’re a good fit for their audience and why your inclusion would be valuable to them. Work out how you’re an expert on your particular topic.

Another aspect of your pitch should be to build your credibility. This is a great time to mention if you’ve ever been featured anywhere else. Using social proof will help your podcaster feel that they aren’t just taking a chance on you.

This is a great email format to get you started.

Hi [Name],

I’m get hundreds of interview requests for [name of podcast] every day.

I’m just asking for 30 seconds of your time to read this email and if you have any slots for me.

I’m a business owner and huge fan of [name of podcast]. I’ve got something unique and interesting that your listeners would like to hear.

[Write a summary of your story]

I’m looking to give your readers lots of great knowledge that they’ll be able to head right out and use. I’ve studied what your audience likes, and I want to help you give it to them!

So what do you think?

[Your name]

What Do You Need to be Considered?

You might think that you need a lot of experience to get featured on a popular podcast. You might think that getting on the podcast you want will take a business that makes six figures a month or has been featured on Forbes or CNN to make an impression. This is simply not the case.

Many larger podcasters will do interviews with big names and small names that have one thing in common: a good story. 

A good story that grabs your attention and has an emotional feel to it will be able to find the right podcaster. Formulate your information into a good story with a unique slant.

Follow the typical storytelling arch to help you find your story. First, your main character (probably you) has a situation. Then they have a conflict and have to overcome it. To conclude, they come out in a different situation.

This may sound simple, but to garner attention, it doesn’t have to be any more difficult than that. Often, the types of stories that are featured in podcasts fit the storyline of ‘rags to riches.’ This is a classic entrepreneurial journey and one that has enough emotion and hope to gain the attention of listeners.

Emotion will play a huge role in engagement, so be open with your listeners.

If you’re worried that your story is too boring, just remember to bring your slant into it. Your slant is your perspective, and it will ensure that your story, even if it follows the same ‘rags to riches’ storyline, will be interesting and unique.

Final Thoughts

Taking your time to find the right podcaster and set up a relationship with them will go a long way in getting a popular podcaster to have an interest in interviewing you. Carefully craft your email so that they feel like you’ve individually sought them out, and leave them a great review on iTunes to further spark their interest in you.

Make sure to go over your story and evaluate it for interest. Build it up as needed until you have a story that no sane podcaster would say no to. Then send it out!

What podcasters do you love to listen to?