How To Get Featured On Podcasts To Grow Your Business [Podcast Marketing Tips]

How To Get Featured On Podcasts To Grow Your Business

In today's day and age, businesses need to do new, innovative things to get in front of their audiences.

There's a ton of competition, and the only way to stay ahead, is by doing things that they're not currently doing.

All businesses are starting to use social media and content marketing.

All businesses use Google ads, Facebook ads, and things of that nature.

A lot of businesses are starting to use influencer marketing, a strategy that is still very effective and underutilised.

However, a marketing strategy I've recently discovered, that not a lot of businesses are using, is podcasts!

Podcasts are a great way to get in front of your ideal audience and sell your products or services.

The kicker is that, unless you're a big name, or you're well connected with podcast hosts, then it might seem impossible to get on other podcasts, to grow your business.

Business owners are doing it every day, so it's definitely not a shot in the dark! 

Today, we're discussing tips on how you can get featured on podcasts to grow your business.

Why podcasts?

So there are dozens and dozens of strategies one can use to market their business, what makes podcasts so special?

Firstly, being featured on a podcast puts you, the owner, in front of your audience giving them an opportunity to learn about you, your business, and your vision.

Faceless businesses are very hard to build today - brands that have a real, human presence at their frontlines have a much better chance of succeeding.

There's no better way than to be introduced to your target audience via someone they know and trust.

Podcast viewers or listeners are usually a small, tight-knit community of people who share a common interest in a specific topic.

This makes it easy to target very specific people, most likely to purchase your products or services.

If you're an eCommerce coach, there's no better place to market your service than to a group of people interested in starting eCommerce brands and businesses.

Finally, podcast viewers and listeners are very receptive, meaning you're likely to see higher ROIs compared to other forms of marketing.

This is because most people listen to podcasts while doing other things - driving, travelling, etc, giving them all the time in the world to listen to you and your message.

Here are tips on how to get featured on other podcasts to grow your business.

Expand your network

The first step to getting featured on different podcasts is by growing your professional network.

LinkedIn is usually the platform of choice - start by building a network on LinkedIn based on the people you think you can help.

Before you start, you might want to make it known that you're looking to get featured on podcasts.

Add this into your bio, the short description below your name, so that potential podcast hosts can see this.

LinkedIn makes it super easy to find and reach the people that are important to your business.

If you own an outdoors eCommerce store, you can reach out to those who run an outdoor podcast.

LinkedIn has many filtering options, so make use of this when you're searching for people.

While it might seem smart to only connect to podcast hosts, it's even better to connect to more general people - those who have an interest in your industry of choice.

A lot of the time, the gold doesn't lie in the direct connections themselves, but in the 2nd-degree connection - those that your connections are connected to.

While the people you connect to might not be podcast hosts themselves, they may very well have connections who run podcasts that can be of benefit to you.

If you're not having any luck with LinkedIn, don't stop here.

Try finding in-person events that podcast hosts in your industry might be interested in.

Building your network isn't a quick process, it's one that takes years and years to build, mature, and nurture. 

Podcast outreach

Getting featured on podcasts where you have no connection or previous interaction with the hosts is difficult.

Like most things, it's a numbers game. One where you need to be consistent and keep going.

The next tip to help you get featured on podcasts is by doing podcast outreach.

Start by compiling a list of potential podcasts you'd want to get on.

Set a goal for how many podcasts you want to reach, per year. A great place to start is one podcast per quarter, or 4 podcasts a year.

A good podcast episode is much more valuable to you and your business than getting on as many podcasts as you can.

You can find podcasts related to your industry by searching any of the following platforms:

• YouTube,
• Apple podcasts,
• Spotify,
• Stitcher.

While there are more platforms, most podcast owners host their podcasts on one (or all) of these platforms.

While some experts might tell you to treat this like a 'sales interaction', I would suggest that you don't.

After all, all podcast hosts are looking for content, and as long as you prove that you can provide this to them, they'll be happy to help!

Before you start spamming your list of podcast hosts, you should figure out where you can make the first interaction with them.

Try platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn - connect to them, and compliment their podcast.

This ensures that your email campaigns are no longer purely cold campaigns, but warmer emails that have a better chance to spark some interest.

Compose a simple and professional email campaign that highlights the fact that you've spoken online (they most likely will reply to your connection request) and that you think you have something valuable for their viewers/listeners.

Once again, this isn't a sales environment, so there's no need to overthink this.

Start your email campaign, and be patient - while a lot of people might not answer on the first or second email, replies tend to pile up after the third email.

Keep building your list of podcasts, as we said, it's a numbers game!

Be interesting

Finding a podcast to be featured on is never a one-way street. It's important that you have something to give, in return, for what you're looking to gain.

If you're looking to get featured on podcasts, you need to have something to share with them.

In most cases, this will be in the form of a valuable story, or experiences that the podcast's listeners might find interesting.

Podcast hosts are only looking to bring on those who their audiences will enjoy listening to.

If you're looking to get on a business podcast, it's important that you have something valuable to share.

Whether you've started a successful business in the past, coached business owners to success, or been an entrepreneur for 5+ years, listeners want to hear your story.

However, if you've just become an entrepreneur and are looking to get featured on podcasts, you might not have a lot going on.

A while ago, when I was working on a business called Condensr, I managed to get a 1-hr (give or take) long interview with 40+ pretty successful entrepreneurs.

While these people are all busy - some were investors, while others were owners of a 10+ business holding company, etc - they managed to make time for me because of one thing.

I was doing something interesting, and they wanted in on it.

The most important tip I can share today is that you must be interesting. You must have a unique situation, experience, or story that others will find valuable.

If you don't have anything interesting to share, then it's going to be a nightmare finding podcasts to get featured on.

You can do all the outreach in the world, however, podcast hosts will not put you on their podcast because they believe their audience will not enjoy what you have to share. 

Matchmaker.fm

Although this might sound like a dating site, it's one of the best (and only) platforms I've found that connect podcasts and guests together.

Matchmaker.fm is a great way for anyone, whether you're a podcast owner, or someone looking to get featured on a podcast, to connect.

Since I signed up for the platform, I have not used it actively, however, I've still managed to receive some requests to become a podcast guest.

Although the platform has a paid aspect, the free version is enough for anyone to find guests or podcasts to get on.

It's much better and more convenient than blasting prospective podcast hosts with cold emails, introducing yourself.

Instead, you'll have a much better reply rate on this platform because people who have signed up have essentially given you permission to reach out to them.

Matchmaker.fm is very diverse - you're able to find podcasts about NFTs, fitness, business, History, and anything in between.

Not only that, but you're able to filter your search based on location, language, and even meeting type, whether it's in-person or via a Zoom/online conference.

Getting started on Matchmaker is very simple.

Sign up to the platform, choose your role (podcast host, or guest) and create your profile.

I suggest spending extra time optimizing your profile so that people who are looking for guests can get a good idea of who you are, and why you're a good fit to be on their podcast.

Have a good, clear picture, a short elevator pitch, then a full description of who you are, what you do, and what you can bring to the table.

Include links to your work - companies you own, blog, YouTube channel, social media, or anything else you might want to show off.

From here, you can expect to receive some invitations to become a guest, or you can actively look for podcasts on the platform and reach out to them.

That's how you can get featured on other podcasts to grow your business.

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Mohamad