One of my favorite ways to promote a book is by being featured on podcasts that reach your target audience. Podcasts can have tremendous influence over listeners because it is human nature to take the advice of people we like.
When a friend recommends a restaurant or a book or a show on Netflix, we take that recommendation to heart. When you are a featured guest with a respected podcast host, your credibility gets a boost and listeners take notice. This can lead to book sales and other opportunities, like sales of your related products and services.
Even more exciting, there are hundreds of thousands of podcasts to choose from. And while we’d all like to be on top shows, smaller podcasts can be effective too. A one-year old podcast that reaches a smaller niche audience can still have tremendous influence. And interviews on smaller shows can lead to interviews on bigger shows because you will be able to demonstrate that you’re an experienced and engaging guest.
How to Locate Podcast Guest Opportunities
Small and mid-size podcasters frequently tell me they need guests, yet they don’t receive nearly enough pitches to fill all of their interview slots. This is great news for authors because you have built-in AUTHORity in your field, which makes you an easy choice to be a guest.
To research podcasts, search iTunes or Stitcher for shows that reach your target audience. Here are some ways to search:
- Browse categories that match your audience.
- Type in keywords related to your industry.
- Search authors and influencers in your genre to see who has interviewed them.
- You can also conduct Google searches for keyword phrases. For example, “small business growth podcast” produces a variety of articles featuring lists of what they deem the top small business podcasts.
I recommend building a spreadsheet with podcast show names that you find. Next, go to Google and locate the website for each show. Many feature “Submission Guidelines” that detail how they want prospective guests to submit a pitch. If guidelines aren’t apparent, look for contact information and send your pitch directly to the host or website manager.
How to Craft Your Pitch to Podcasts
When it comes to any kind of media coverage, it’s important to remember the pitch is never about you or your book. The pitch is about the audience. How can you educate or entertain them? Ideally, you should come up with several different angles for your pitch.
Media pros aim to bring timely topics to their audiences so tying your pitch to a current event or upcoming holiday can boost your chances of acceptance. For example, if you’re an expert in reading body language and there is a current news story about a politician who was caught in a lie, your pitch could be “5 ways to tell when someone is lying.”
If you’ve authored a history book of any kind, link your pitch to a commemorative holiday. An author of a memoir that features a love story could deliver romance tips for Valentine’s Day. A book about caring for dogs could lead to offering pet care tips on National Dogs Day.
You might be surprised by how many holidays exist! Chase’s Calendar of Events is a comprehensive guide to all kinds of occasions. For example, February includes the following:
- Spay/Neuter Awareness Month
- Black History Month
- Time Management Month
- Youth Leadership Month
- Spunky Old Broads Month (really!)
In fact, anyone can submit a holiday for inclusion in Chase’s catalog. Perhaps you can create your own!
If you can’t tie in your topic with a timely event or news story, you’ll need to find something with broad appeal for your specific target audience. For example, if you’ve authored a financial planning guide, your pitch should offer options like:
- 6 ways to save for college without changing your lifestyle
- How to turn loose change into a long-term asset
- Mistakes to avoid when refinancing your home
If you’ve authored a memoir or narrative nonfiction, you will need to choose a theme from your book. For example, if your memoir details how you overcame addiction, your pitches could look like this:
- 5 ways to identify an addict in your life
- How to help an addict in your family
- Coping strategies when loving someone with an addiction
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