How do you identify a podcast interviewee who will add value to your show?

Look for individuals with expertise or unique insights related to your podcast's theme or niche. Consider their reputation, credentials, and previous work to ensure they align with your podcast's standards. Evaluate their communication style during pre-interview interactions to gauge compatibility with your audience. Seek interviewees who can provide practical takeaways, interesting stories, or perspectives that resonate with your listeners. Prioritize diversity to bring varied viewpoints and experiences to your show. Research potential guests thoroughly to ensure they not only contribute valuable content but also enhance the overall quality and appeal of your podcast.

As as I'm sure you are aware, the #1 way to grow a show is by having on guests who will share the episode w/ their audience (that then become new listeners). Distribution power & willingness are CRITICAL factors to determine when looking for guests

Before identifying who would be a great guest on your show, you have to know the goal of your show and how your show will serve your audience. After that, you can reverse engineer who can help deliver that value. In our experience, episodes with famous guests don't deliver as many downloads as a less famous guest who has expertise and clarity on the problems your audience is trying to solve. Always go for guests who can deliver value over guests who can deliver audience. The episodes people share are the ones packed with specific and clear value, regardless of if the person is well known.

Guests on the Accounting Influencers Podcast generally tick at least one but preferably three of these criteria: 1. RELEVANCE. Huge expertise or credibility in the accounting world so their contributions are relevant to our audience (we get a lot of requests for guest spots who are just not a good fit for our show) 2. CELEBRITY. They have a formidable reputation or following that creates kudos for our show to have them involved. 3. COMMUNITY. They have a strong following or audience and are willing to share their episode with their connections. A guest with all three is a green light for our show!

I find it a lot easier to comes up with relevant questions and even people to interview if I have a well-worked through working title for the episode BEFORE I venture on to inviting guests. The early title will point the interview in a specific direction and make it easy to create an outline for the interview.

Research can take up a lot of time - make sure you aren't spending too much here. A key KPI for me is: Will this person add unique value to my show & will my listeners enjoy the banter? If the answer to one of those 2 questions is yes, the guest is typically a good fit

I have never regretted conducting more research on a guest. It is easy to just "show up" to an interview but the more thorough your research, the deeper the guest will be able to go into content that delivers value. Always have a plan. Never wing it.

When you're assessing the fit of a potential guest, some key things to look for are these: #1. Listen to them on other shows. Does their personality align with yours? Do YOU enjoy listening to them talk? #2. Do they have decent gear/setup so that it's not going to be a nightmare in post-production? #3. Do they share the content? (Are they proud that they were a guest and willing to share it with others? If not, that's a red flag, they don't really care...) #4. Are you easily able to tell what they stand for, believe in, and can talk about without having to do too much research? Or, are they all over the place? ... Answering these questions before proceeding will save you a TON of time and ensure a great interview!

I'm fortunate to have had some great guests on Sisternomics. They're usually engaging and willing to share their best practices and hard-won lessons. However, one challenge I've had is getting some of them to share the episode once it's live. Some guests don't realize how much work goes into producing a quality podcast. My team goes all in to produce marketing elements and short videos to make it easy for the guests to promote yet probably 40% of them actually do. That's why a big criteria for me going forward is going to be prioritizing getting guests to agree to promote and market the episode on their platforms before the interview is confirmed. If they are not willing to promote enthusiastically, find another podcast to pitch.

In seeking the ideal guest for my podcast, I look for individuals whose expertise aligns with my topics/themes and who bring unique insights into the podcast industry. Compatibility is crucial— I assess not just their knowledge but also their communication style to ensure a seamless fit for engaging conversations. Networking, recommendations, and reaching out with personalized pitches are essential steps in securing the right guests.

A good way to think about "fit" (beyond if they'd provide relevant value to your audience) is to determine if their audience would enjoy your show. Ultimately, you want these guests to have an overlapping audience that will discover your show from this guest & become a loyal listener!

When evaluating potential podcast guests, consider factors such as the relevance of their topic, the value of their knowledge to your audience, the engaging nature of their style, compatibility with your podcast's theme, and ease of communication. Prioritize prospects based on these criteria, focusing on those who score the highest to align with your podcast goals and audience.

Preparing a good and precise pitch is the difference between acceptance and indifference. I recommend engaging with the prospect on social before pitching a podcast. It increases the chances of acceptance from guests multifold. Just random pitching is futile and comes across as rude in some cases.

One thing that I remember from the (I think it was ) Social Pro's Podcast is, that it started with wanting to bring the people in the trenches to the light. Did skyrocket, though, even if those people didn't have a big following by themselves. So, look for people that your audience would like to listen to but not necessary need to love them. Instead, do more on a B level, don't always go for As.

It is super important to do the following after booking a guest to ensure a smooth experience: 1. Make sure they have clear expecations on the tech. This includes location and mic recommendations as well as to know if the interview is just audio, video, or live streamed and what platform requirements there are. This can be in a PDF or email. 2. Send them examples of top episodes to listen to so they know the host and the style of the show. 3. Be clear about what tone and style the host wants the interview to be and any questions they should have prepared answers to (if any). 4. Gratitude. Why are you grateful for them specifically to be on the show? You don't want the guest to think they are simply another random guest.

Assuming the technical quality was good, ask the two following questions: - Did the episode perform well (indicative of if your audience shared the show)? - Did you enjoy the interview enough to do it again? If both of these answers are not yes, you don't need to have the guest back on the show.

Evaluating the outcome is paramount. For me social media comments. Reaction on reels. DMs. Total views. Constructive Feedback from listeners. Feedback from guest. All facets are equally important to judge the outcome of a podcast so as to improve in future versions.

I'm a fan of the 4 Rs when considering podcast guests: Relationships: Tap into your existing network and connections. Reach out to people you know or have worked with before who are relevant to your podcast's theme. Research: Do thorough research on potential guests. Look for experts or individuals with unique insights related to your podcast's topic. Check their past interviews, publications, or social media presence to gauge their expertise. Referrals: Ask your network, your current podcast guests, and industry peers for recommendations on people who would be a great fit for your show. Reach: Consider potential guest's reach and audience. Guests with significant following can help promote your podcast and attract more listeners!

Growing social media accounts is a science (it's how I grew a Twitter account from 0 followers to over 850K in under a year)... It's all about cross-pollination of audiences. This means having guests on your show that will share their episode w/ their audience & engage new listeners

Podcast guests should be selected based on whether you are excited by the topic at hand or not. If you are not so sure then the conversation will not be authentic and your listeners will not connect with the podcast. It is just that simple.

I don't want this to seem cold or rigid; however, I do feel these steps were built more for larger, more established shows. While any host can use this process to attract guests, when you are starting your show, all of this is not necessarily needed. Hear me out: If you are just looking to get guests on your show to build an audience, pay a small fee for a service like podmatch.com and you will be able to find guests that align with what you want. However, to start your show, have family, friends, co-workers, and others as guests so you can start to build your process. Most podcasts don't make it past a few shows because of the discipline it takes to continue the show. Again, this process is well thought off but not needed by everyone.