Steve Olsher | The Profiting From Podcast System

Step 1: Understand podcasts.

• Take a listen to different podcast shows.
  • You’d never want to pitch a show that you’ve never listened to.
  • Try to listen to different episodes and shows to build your preferences and to choose which shows you’d like to be booked as a guest.
  • Listening to podcasts will enlighten you on how podcast shows go and will give you ideas about how guests should be speaking on-air.

• Make sure that your choice of the show does interviews.
  • It would be pointless to pitch to a show and request a guesting if they don’t do interviews.

• Get to know the show.
  • Read listener ratings and reviews to get to know more about the podcast show.
  • Do some additional research online.

• Keep track of the shows you like.
  • Steve gives away his Ultimate Directory of Podcasters that has a categorized list of top podcast shows. This directory even has vital information about each show.
  • It would be smart to keep track of the shows you like and list some information about them that can be of importance to you and your business.

Step 2: Develop relationships.

• Get on the radar of the people whose podcast shows you’d like to appear on and develop real relationships with them.
  • Hop on and engage with the show’s social media profiles such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
  • Invest in one of the show’s products, programs, and services.
  • Get to know the show’s ‘currency’ and support these.
    • The term ‘currency’ in this case doesn’t mean money.
    • ‘Currency’ means the most relevant offer the show has at a certain period of time.
    • Note the podcast shows may have different currencies throughout the year.

• Remember that there’s still no guarantee of you being booked as a podcast show guest but developing a relationship with the people on a channel provides a hint that you’re prioritizing their show.

Step 3: Position yourself as the go-to expert in your field.

• Make sure that you have a good one-page media sheet ready that encapsulates who you are, what you do, and why you are good at what you do.
• This media sheet articulates your value based on the viewpoint of the audience which will, in turn, make the podcast hosts realize why they should put you on their shows.
• Have a dedicated media page of this on your site. Include the podcasts you’ve been on and other relevant affiliations on this page.

Step 4: Make your pitch.

• Polish your pitch and make sure that it’s a catchy one so podcast shows will pay attention to you.
  • Tip: If you plan to pitch the show via email, especially if you’ve never built a relationship with them, is to reference a past episode. (Ex. Set your email subject line something like “On Your Past Episode #, You’ve Got it All Wrong).
  • This gives the show a hint that you’ve listened to their episode and you’ve got a different take/opinion on their previous topic.

• Present a very specific pitch/es so the podcast hosts will know where exactly they’ll get you in.
• Follow up if you did not hear a response but make sure that you do it in a well-paced and respectful manner to avoid burning bridges.

Supporting Notes

• It would be better to try to get on to smaller shows that have loyal listeners first rather than targeting bigger podcast shows.
• If you’ve got booked, make sure to learn these ways to be a great podcast guest:
  • Provide entertainment – be fun to listen to and provide entertainment and encouragement with the things you share.
  • Teach – share in-depth knowledge in your field of expertise. Be a subject-matter expert.
  • Challenge – introduce a new contrarian point of view and establish a healthy and interesting dialogue.

• As a great podcast guest, you don’t have to sound sales-y and should be able to bring about a decent discussion on air providing knowledge to the listeners.