How Do I Book Guests?
By Matty Staudt
One thing a lot of new podcasters discover about producing a podcast featuring interviews is that you have to find new guests each week. Great guests are the lifeblood of great interview podcasts, but finding them can be hard.
Booking guests can be frustrating and time-consuming, but if you do your homework you can find a great guest in a matter of minutes. The first thing to do to get in touch with a person is to simply Google their name and find an email or contact person. You can also use Twitter to tweet the person directly and see if you can get a response. Public figures often tweet, and if you can get their attention out in the public arena, then you may find an opening that otherwise wouldn’t be available to you.
If you’re nervous about contacting people directly, ignore your fear. The worst thing that can happen is they say no. If you are in the business of booking people for interviews, you are going to have to be willing to put yourself out there, make a request, and have people tell you no. When you make regular interview requests, people will inevitably turn you down sometimes. The experience comes with the territory. But if you are persistent with follow-up emails and messages, and you are professional and respectful in your interactions, then odds are that you will score successes. Once you score some successes, take those and build on them.
The next and most important step in landing a guest is pitching yourself. When pitching yourself in any situation, you want to play up your strengths and the show, mention other guests who have come on and topics you cover. Keep your request short and sweet. Tell the person what topic you want to cover, how long the interview will be, and at what times you can do the interview.
Finally, be prepared to be persistent. Some people may decline to be interviewed or not even respond to you at first. But if you keep at it, you will eventually be able to book an appropriate guest for your show.
Ideally, the interview will be a win-win for both you and the interviewee. Your interviewee benefits from the opportunity to have his or her voice on air and to promote their site, product, or podcast, and you benefit from the individual’s expert opinion or star power being associated with your show. Moreover, public figures you interview will often be promoting something, and your show will provide them with a platform to do so.
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