How to Leverage Strategic Podcast Guesting for Publicity with Nicole HollandRead Time: 9 minutes

2022-03-20T18:04:25-04:00

Nicole Holland

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In today’s environment of easy-to-access information, podcasts are quickly becoming a major component of people’s daily learning and entertainment. So how can you leverage that interest for your business? Tom sat down with podcast guesting expert Nicole Holland to learn how she gets publicity from podcasts for herself and her clients.

What is Podcast Guesting for Publicity

Publicity, according to Nicole, is when people recognize and know your brand. Too often people with big ideas struggle with making themselves and their companies visible to the public. That’s where publicity comes in. The more people are able to see and learn about your business, the more likely they will be to fall in love with those ideas you’re hoping to draw attention to. In turn, they will want more from you.

Nicole’s favorite way to get publicity for her business and those of her clients is podcast guesting. Where Nicole’s process differs from the norm, however, is in her execution of those appearances.

The common approach to podcast guesting is to appear on any and every podcast that will have you. Unfortunately, that approach isn’t the best for publicity. This is where Nicole’s process for strategic podcast guesting comes in.

You shouldn’t appear as a guest on a podcast unless it has an audience you’re synced with and a host you have a connection with. Luckily, she shared her 5 steps for creating connections.

5 Steps for a Successful Podcast Guesting for Publicity Initiative

Step 1: Development of Media Strategy & Podcast Specific Focus

When you only seek to appear as a guest on podcasts with topics that directly correlate to your business, or “surface guesting,” you cripple your efforts. To really get the best publicity out of your guest podcasting, you have to remember that your ideal buyers are people, not businesses. Focus on establishing personal connections with listeners in order to convert them to leads. Doing this will be the foundation for your guesting initiative.

Step 2: Pipeline Conversion Strategy

Once you’ve determined your ideal buyers and the message you want to target them with, it’s important to ensure your guesting is converting into sales. One way to do this is to create landing pages specific to each audience you speak to. This will help you track who’s coming to your website and from which podcast audience they originate.

After you’ve conducted an interview and set up your landing page for it, it’s important to promote the episode on all your media channels. You need to also get it in front of as many eyes as possible so you can get more people into your company ecosystem.

Step 3: Find Your Ideal Podcasts

There are multiple ways to find the podcasts your ideal customer is listening to. The first is to go on iTunes and search for your targeted keywords. These keywords should reflect the pain points and interests of your ideal buyer. Once you have the results, it’s time to put your framework from step 1 to the test. Determine what angle you can take as an expert and delve into the human aspect of each audience.

Your second option for determining podcasts to target is to ask your current clients what their favorite podcasts are. They are the perfect examples of your target audience.

Step 4: Nurture Relationships with Hosts

Once you’ve determined which podcasts you wish to appear on, Nicole recommends ranking them on a scale of 1-10 based on which you wish to get onto the most. The highest ranking podcasts will likely be the oldest and most difficult to become a guest on. You should begin establishing rapport with the highest ranking hosts immediately.

Remember the human aspect we told you to keep in mind earlier? It’s also important during the relationship building stage of your podcast guesting initiative. Podcast hosts are people too, and the podcasts are their babies. Sharing their content, listening to their episodes, and paying attention to what their audience cares about will make those “best of the best” podcasts much more likely to ask you to be a guest.

Step 5: Approach Hosts about Podcast Guesting

Although it’s unlikely you will immediately become a guest on the higher ranking podcasts, you will have a better chance of immediate results on the lower ranking options. You can be more aggressive in your approach to becoming a guest on newer podcasts with fewer episodes under their belts. This does not mean you should not still strive to avoid surface guesting and develop strong relationships. On the contrary, relationships are just as important for these lower ranking podcasts as they are for the others on your list.

Closing Thoughts

If you’re going to be on podcasts as a guest and leverage it as a strategy, you cannot expect to get a huge result from little effort. You have to be willing to dedicate yourself or hire somebody who is dedicated to making the connections you need. It takes time, expertise, and hard work to implement a successful guesting initiative. The success will not happen overnight, but it’s possible for anyone to grow their business with podcast guesting.

KEY INSIGHTS

Research a podcast host and their audience before suggesting yourself as a guest.

By appearing on shows your ideal buyer is listening to, you can connect with them on a level of commonality, rather than simply business

If the foundation for your initiative isn’t there, all your efforts will crumble.

NICOLE’S TAKEAWAYS

If you can’t bring yourself to leave a 5-star review for a podcast, you shouldn’t pitch yourself to be a guest.

Success from your podcast guesting efforts won’t happen overnight. Be patient, and don’t expect to get a lot of payoff for little input.

Anyone can be successful with podcast guesting if they’re willing to put in time and effort.

MORE FROM NICOLE

Nicole’s LinkedIn

The Nicole Holland Show

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