As a creative entrepreneur, it’s important to put yourself in there and find ways to grow your audience, so in today’s minisode, we’re sharing our best tips for how to pitch yourself as a podcast guest when you don’t have a direct connection.
Emily Thompson 0:02
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Kathleen Shannon 1:08
Alright, Caitlin, what do you have for us today?
Emily Thompson 1:11
Okay, this question comes from Jenny in the clubhouse. She says, Well, this was to the whole clubhouse. So she said, I have a question for all you podcasters out there. But I'm like, Kathleen, obviously, you can hear. She says one of my goals for this year is to use my voice more. I'm thinking of a podcast on my own but unsure of the time commitment. So in the interim, I'm committing to try to speak on other podcasts to get a feel for how I like the platform. And whether or not it's something I'd like to move into. And obviously, she was just on the podcast here. At this point, all the podcasts I have been on, I have known the hosts or been introduced to them. So I didn't have to send a cold email. So my ask is, for those of you who have your own shows which subject lines don't feel creepy, coming from PR, I'm feeling fairly okay with putting together a short pitch email about what topics we could talk about my background, and how I might be a fit for their audience. But I get stuck with the subject line. Any tips, please. And thank you. So maybe this could be broader, even beyond just the subject line, but just best practices for pitching yourself cold to a podcast.
Emily Thompson 2:26
I think my biggest thing is making sure that people who are pitching me actually listened to the podcast and are actually fans of ours. So if you want to know subject line, like I love your podcast, or something similar, because we do get tons of cold pitches, and we go through them pretty swiftly. And the ones that get deleted the fastest are the ones that have no like they don't understand our voice. They don't know who we are, if you can tell it's a forum email, or they're just plugging in our podcast name. And actually, it's probably they're probably pitching the same topics, every podcast. So it's the ones that are different is the ones that's obviously not a form email, where they're really getting in there with like, what their favorite episodes are, what their favorite topics are. Those are the ones that always catch our catches our eye. So for me, emails are usually something we tout pretty hardcore is saving you lots of time and energy, but for pitching on, what's it called on formulating? Your email will probably get you a lot further than then streamlining the process.
Kathleen Shannon 3:37
Yeah, I mean, if you're not personal friends with someone who has a podcast and you can send them an email, just saying, Hey, here's why be a great fit. And still treating those super professionally with the bullet points and subjects that you can talk about. I think that's super helpful. I think that you can maybe create some tears here of how you might approach other podcasts. So one thing that you might do is actually start emailing your friends and asking them if they have any friends who have a podcast and they can simply make a recommendation for you. So that's another way to do it. Another way that you could start to pitch other podcasts is the ones that you listen to, of course, and this is that cold email where you're going to be telling them what you love about their podcasts. I love it whenever people make reference to past episodes that specifically resonated with them, that they would love to riff on a little bit more whenever they drop little clues that they've listened to us like they talked about my love for Beyonce or Emily's past as a beauty pageant, like whenever they captured little details that really prove that they've been listening. That's really awesome. But I've also said yes to emails before that aren't necessarily coming from listeners. And those are the ones where they have a really concise point of view and a really solid pitch where they're saying here's specifically what I want to talk about. Here's what I can really help your listeners with. Here are some stories that I can share. They just get really super clear, but also keeping it kind of brief and make it very clear that what they're asking is to be on the podcast. I cannot tell you how many pitch emails I've gotten, where I've been left wondering what it is that they want from me. Like, I don't know if they actually want to come on the podcast, or if they want to write a blog posts or if they're trying to they just wanted to send you an email. Do you want to sponsor it? Like, I have no idea what you're asking. So having a very clear ask is also really, I know, it seems like a no dull moment. But it's one that I cannot emphasize enough. When it Kaitlyn you get a lot of our pitch emails, is there anything else that you see that really resonates with you, whenever it comes to who we end up inviting onto the show? From those,
Emily Thompson 5:45
I think that's the biggest thing is make it as easy as possible for the other person to say yes. And by that exactly like Kathleen said, Take the work out of it for them. So outline how your episode would go and compare it with those past episodes. So, for example, you talked about money management. In this episode, I would love to get specific about this portion of money management. And then Jenny, when you're including that in your include that in your email subject line. So maybe if money management is their thing was right, no, well, actually, you do a good job of that. So it could be something like money management, speaker on insert podcast name here, like make it very clear, say what you mean, easy for the reader to know what you want from them, and then be able to picture you in that episode.
Emily Thompson 6:35
And I also want to second this idea of brevity, and keeping it as short and as simple as possible, because you can end up putting a lot of things in there with referencing past episodes and how things will go and what you want to talk on. But still keep it really short, because if they're long, we're not going to read them.
Emily Thompson 6:52
I'd also like to say to that we do get a lot of people who follow up two or three times after they've initially pitched, which I think usually people say that's a good idea. But if you don't get an email back, that person's inbox is usually really full. So think of other ways to get on their radar, follow them on social media and comment on their stuff. read their blog, if they have a comment section on their blog post, get on their radar in other ways, and they might check out your stuff and turn around and invite you on the show.
Kathleen Shannon 7:26
This is such a good point, I am so much more likely to actually read through a pitch email if I recognize the name. And I'm engaged in my social media outlet. So if I've seen someone liking or commenting on my Instagram post, like even just the familiarity of their name, it gets it through so much easier. One other thing I just want to mention for whenever I'm looking at having guests on the show is diversity. And so Jenny, being a woman and whatever makes you stand out amongst the crowd is a positive thing. So I'm not sure like how to say like, whenever you pitch someone to necessarily say like I'm a woman of color, but to be able to say how you stand out from their normal guests can also go a long way as well. I know that especially a lot of like, dude, bro podcasts are sometimes have a hard time finding anything other than other dude bros to come on their show. So that's just also something else to consider. What do you think about that? You guys?
Emily Thompson 8:29
Yeah, I think showing people how you're different than all the other people who's on their podcast, like some people think, Oh, well, I'm not like everyone on their podcast, so I shouldn't pitch them. That's a really great reason to pitch because we are looking, or most podcasts are looking for some level of diversity and having different conversations, because that's what makes for a good podcast. So go for the ones that are unlike you, or even the kinds of podcasts you generally listen to, and then tell them why it is that you're different.
Kathleen Shannon 8:59
Alright, I think that's all we've got. Thanks so much for your question, Jenny. Good luck.
Emily Thompson 9:04
Right now go show podcasts. Yeah.
Kathleen Shannon 9:10
Hey, boss want even more actionable guidance from me and Emily, we're taking our expertise in branding, marketing and building profitable businesses to the being boss clubhouse. The clubhouse kicks off with a two day online retreat followed by a year of support and community. We've helped our clubhouse members get focused double their revenue, launch their dream offering and market themselves like a boss. Learn more at www.beingboss.club/clubhouse. Again, that's www.beingboss.club/clubhouse. This minisode was brought to you by Twenty20. Check them out at twenty20.com/beingboss that's twenty20.com/beingboss s.
Emily Thompson 9:59
Did you like this minisode Be sure to check us out on our website at beingboss.club. There you can find more from being boss including our full episodes minisodes and blog posts. And while you're there, be sure to sign up for our mailing list so that you can get access to behind the scenes and exclusive content from Kathleen and myself to help you be more boss in your work and life. Do the work be boss
