Carl Richards of Podcast Solutions Made Simple shows solopreneurs, speakers, and small business owners how to set a goal, pick the right shows, and fill a calendar with podcast guest spots for a full year.
GROWTH PILLAR: Marketing & Branding
WHO THIS IS FOR: Solopreneurs, SMB owners, speakers, and leaders building visibility
WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A simple plan to get booked as a podcast guest: set a number, pick the right shows, track every pitch, and follow up.
Someday isn't a plan, and it won't book you on a single podcast. Every month you wait, another guest gets the spot you wanted.
Carl Richards helps people who want to be podcast guests but have no system for getting booked.
Carl Richards, founder of Podcast Solutions Made Simple, shows East Trade Winds members how to fill a calendar with podcast guest booking for a full year. He says about a hundred million people want to be podcast guests, but few have a plan. Carl walks through how to set a goal, pick the right shows, track your pitches, and use PodMatch to find hosts. He also covers personal pitches, follow-up after the interview, and why a media page on your website matters. Podcast networking does not end when the recording does. This session is for solopreneurs, speakers, and small business owners who want more brand visibility and speaking gigs through podcast guesting.
Key topics covered
Guest links
Full write-up: Read the full write-up.
Supporting persons mentioned: Thank you to Tony Gyenis of Phoenix Business Exchange for introducing Carl to Knack 4 Business.
Past episodes: Browse all episodes.
— PARTNERS ON THIS EPISODE —
Next Steps
Carl (00:05)
I want to be chatting with you about podcasting. Specifically, just as we get started here, I want to pose a question. anybody know any guesses how many podcasts there are globally?
Not active, but globally, how many podcasts?
It's between four and five million, depending on which way the wind blows. so somewhere right smack dab in the middle is pretty accurate. Let me ask you this question then. If there are four and a half, five million podcasts roughly, how many people do you think, and again, globally, how many people globally are looking to be guests?
On podcasts. How many people want to be guests on podcasts? There are a
About, and again, this number is changing all the time. We don't really have a fully accurate number, but there are about a hundred million people who are wanting to be guests on podcasts. So you figure there's about four and a half million podcasts. Not all of them are you are what you know suitable for guests to be on that show. Some of them are comedy podcasts or sports podcasts or true crime podcasts, top top categories for podcasts, by the way, where they don't necessarily have guests or they have specific guests that they invited.
but in the business space, let's say there are about 100 million. That means that there are more people looking to be podcast guests, as opposed to wanting to be podcast hosts. Either way, it's a space that is growing and expanding. So, what I want to talk about today and what I want to share with you is how to fill your calendar with podcast guesting opportunities for an entire year. Now, full disclosure, this presentation started out about
Two years ago in one of my other networking groups called Success Champions Network, and it started out as a podcast guesting and speaking opportunity talk, which has shifted more to podcast guesting. However, the creator of this workshop, who happens to be in this room, who happens to be me, hasn't really changed the text ever since then. However, the message still applies. So whether you're looking for speaking gigs, by the way, or podcast guesting opportunities.
The same things will apply. So let me share my screen. it should be fairly easy to do that. I am sharing the screen, you should see something that says getting podcast and speaking gigs.
So here's the thing with getting podcasting and speaking gigs, specifically podcasting gigs, because it's still a very in some cases unknown and untapped area is a lot of people don't really know.
How to get started in it. So they say, I'd love to be guests on podcasts. Maybe sometime, someday I'll, Someday I'll where all dreams go today. Someday I'll be on podcasts. I will be a guest. Well, here's the thing you can't just say someday I'll do that. You have to intend it. You have to make it your plan that you want to be a guest on podcasts. And then from there, the next step is decide how many do you want to be on? There are some really ambitious people.
That want to be on a podcast a day. That's likely not you. It could be. And if that's you, great. By all means, you know, go forth and do that. But a lot of people want to be on, you know, maybe they want to say, yeah, maybe, maybe two per month, or maybe weekly I want to be on a podcast to elevate my brand, my business, and my credibility. but make that decision yourself. I made the decision back a couple of years ago, actually, that, and again, I work in the podcasting space.
I still made this intention and made this decision. I wanted to be on one podcast, aside from my own and working with my clients, one other podcast per month. I ended up being on two podcasts per month. And it's also the same year that I wanted to be do one speaking engagement per month. That ended up being two per month as well. So between podcasting and speaking opportunities, it ended up being a full calendar year for me, just from those two things alone. So pretty cool. think about where you want.
do those podcasts? Are you is there a specific geographic area? Podcasts are global, generally virtual, but there are some people who have podcast studios or podcast spaces, or when they're traveling for business, they want to be they they they want to do it in studio, not virtually. So where is it that you want to do those podcasts? And if you're open to doing the if you're traveling for business a lot or if you're open to just doing them virtually that's fine too or both also
Quite open as well. But but make that really think about that consciously and think about what your schedule can handle. What types of podcasts do you want to be on? very important. A lot of people will say, Well, I want to be on a podcast, and when you ask them why, sometimes they'll say, Well, because I have a lot to say.
Are they ones that are related to your passion project? have you released a book and you're looking to get that book out there in a specific genre?
So ask yourself what are the types of podcasts you want to be on? When is it you want to be a guest on podcasts? some people say, well, I can be a guest anytime. Well, you know what? Because podcasts are global, guess what? Every now and again I get invited to speak on a podcast that's the host is in Africa or in Australia, and their booking link says I have an availability at one, two, and three in the morning. Generally, when I like to sleep. Call me crazy, I just really like to sleep. So
So ask yourself, what is the time of day that you want to make yourself available to be on those podcasts? All right. what are the topics that you can speak on? Are there specific topics that and again, if they're not business related, also fine. I'm assuming if you're looking to grow your brand, your business, your credibility, and be seen as the visible go-to expert, are very, very skilled at at helping you do that. That you want to make sure that you're getting on the right podcasts that are.
related to or quasi-related to what you do in your business. All right. So one of those topics that you can speak about. For me, it would be not just podcasting, but I can talk about speaking. I can duck talk about the fact that I've been a business owner now in my seventh year. Yay! yay me, I made almost six years into my seventh. not everyone can say that. but I can talk about some of those early journeys in business. I can talk about speaking on a platform. I can talk about
Public speaking skills, all all sorts of things. But what are those topics that you want to be talking about? Whatever you do, as you start to dive a little deeper into this, track what you are doing. we track what we're doing if for no other reason because our team, when they start to reach out to podcasters, we don't just reach out to two or three, we'll we'll reach out to 30, 40, 50. So we have a running list of shows that we're trying to get people on. So we track. So you might find that too as you're doing your research.
That you'll need to have a tracking sheet as well. So you can follow up on the host response. do you need a follow-up email? All those things, all right? So definitely set up a tracking sheet to help you. ask for help. You know, this room or other networking groups is a great place to ask for help for sure. It's very easy in your you know, 60-second or 30-second introduction, whatever it is, to say, and by the way, I'm looking to be a guest on podcasts if you know anybody. And guess what? There are people, a few people in this room who have podcasts.
That just might either say, hey, reach out to me. I have a couple of ideas for you, or they might even get you on their podcast. So don't hesitate to ask colleagues, the networks that you're in. even post a question on social media. I've seen people just as a post say, I'm looking to be on 30 podcasts this year. Who has a podcast that would like to have me as their guest? There's certainly no shame in doing that. Okay. Internet searches help to find now, as I said, this this talk I created a few years ago.
Pre-AI, or as AI was still in diapers. Well, AI is kind of still in diapers, just sometimes they get a little sloppy. We won't talk about sloppy diapers though. However, with with AI makes it a lot easier to get that search out there when we were starting out to do it, we did the Google searches, internet searches. It was a long process to find that.
AI makes it easier to find those podcasts. We also use a tool called PodMatch. It's a podcast guest and host site, which if I have a quick moment, I might give you a quick tour of that. And then make sure as you are walking through this process that you're creating, you know, that you're submitting whatever necessary forms or whatever you need to submit for the host. Some hosts have a form for you to fill out, some don't.
More are leaning towards having a forum just because of rules, regulations, legalities, things like that. Are you going to show up? Will you promote the show on social media? so that's definitely it too. and follow up after the interview, follow up with the with the host. I find that some of the best relationships I've had with podcast guests have been after I've had them on my show. And we've tried to figure out, you know, are we are we going to do something together? Is there a synergy here?
Even if it's as simple as, hey, you know what, we can be referral partners. You know, we back and forth as you know as I as as they come. So definitely think about that. It's not just the interview, but also think about after the show. Is there an opportunity for business or business related activity for you too? A couple of other things that you might want to do as well as you're walking through this process, and maybe this should be part of the upfront goal setting for it, is
What's your goal for being on the podcast? Because if it's to elevate your brand, your credibility, be seen as the visible expert, it's probably advisable to set up a media page on your website if you haven't done that already. so you can highlight the shows you've been on and any other and any other media that you maybe have been on as well, other than podcasts. Okay. So I'll get to questions in just a moment because I know you might have some. But I also want to just give you a quick tour of Podmatch. this is a host, this is actually a site that I use for my own podcast.
But it's also one that we will work on with our clients. you can we can search this. This is set up as a in my agency account. So it'll actually search directly, it'll search hosts for me. So I can pick any of these just to see what they look like. And I'm doing this in real time, by the way. I haven't searched this out ahead of time. So here we go. Here's the Future Factory. It's a podcast for business. it tells me the rating that this person has. It looks like it's pretty good. This person has quite a few social media followers.
a hundred episodes or more, does a remote thing. So all of this gobbledygoop, very important if you're doing your own research. By the way, I'll put the link the link for pod match in the chat for you if you'd like. If you're looking to be on podcasts, but you're you know you really need to bootstrap it right now, that's fine. I'll put the link in there for you. it gives you a description of the podcast. You can also listen to the show. It's built right into this platform. So you can listen to the show to get a feel if that is a show number one that you want to be on. And if it is a show you want to be on
What's the flow of the show? Is there anything that you need to know as you're getting ready to pitch that podcast host? And by the way, when you are pitching that podcast host, you should probably personalize the pitch. Do not, do not do a blanket pitch that says, Dear sir or madam, AI generated post coming next. Here it is. because you know, one of the things that podcasters are passionate about, guess what? It's their podcast. And if you are disingenuous to them, they will likely ignore your
pitch, right? I've done that. I try to respond to all of them. Now I respond to with are you appropriate or are you not an appropriate fit or the right fit for my show? and if their pitch hasn't s sat with me, I'll at least give them any of the opportunity to say, hey, you know, for me to say, hey, you're not quite the the right fit for my show. Good luck. Ideal guest criteria. This is based on one of our clients podcast criteria as well so also very related to business developing a brand
leadership. This person is also a podcast guest. So if you wanted to do a podcast swap, if that was something you wanted to do, you could do that. other more information about the the host itself, including who the audience is and what you need to know about the flow of the show. And then my favorite part is reviews. And reviews work both ways. A lot of these so far they look to be very positive. But sometimes on this particular platform, PodMatch, if you're
Doing something funny, and I don't mean ha ha ha ha funny as in comical, but as in, I don't know, maybe trying to pitch your guest for business before you actually have them on your show. That might be a little bit unethical. so you could actually put that in your rating. They tried to pitch me and give them a one-star review. So that's a quick review of Podmatch. I'm sure there are some questions, but I'm going to post some information in the chat for you.
That might be of even more equal interest. Number one is the information about podmatch, but also I am hosting a free podcast guesting webinar called Borrow the Mic. It's Wednesday, October 7th from 10:30 till noon. It is free. And in that session, we'll be covering what you need to do before you even start your podcast research to what sought after podcast guests do after the episode is published. It's a two-step process to get your name signed up. I'm gonna put the
Information right in the chat. the first link is the link for the podcast guesting webinar. It's email and name. That's it. You don't have to give me your firstborn, you don't have to give me any other information. You will receive some email reminders and the zoom link once you've signed in. And the second link is for pod match if you want to check it out. If you're looking to bootstrap your podcast guesting opportunity, there are, as we shared, a lot of podcast opportunities out there for you.
This is your opportunity to decide, is that something I want to do so I can be the visible go-to expert? And certainly by all means, I encourage you to do that.