Learn how to identify and reach out to potential guests that can contribute to your podcast's niche, theme, and goals. Follow these tips and strategies to create engaging and valuable episodes.

Knowing your podcast's niche is the number one most important thing. You need to know how you serve listeners and where you'll take them. Only then can you decide which guests can help you take your listeners on the journey.

The most valuable aspect of any podcast interview, whether you were the host or the guest, is building relationships. In fact, I would say, the most compelling reason to do podcasting on a regular basis is to build quality relationships at scale. To do this effectively, you should focus on providing immense value before, during and after the interview. Follow up and see how you can help.

How can you identify guests that align with your podcast's vision?

Podcasting is a great way to share your passion, expertise, and stories with the world. But how do you find guests that can add value, diversity, and interest to your show? How do you make sure they align with your podcast's vision and goals? In this article, we'll share some tips and strategies to help you identify and reach out to potential guests that can enhance your podcast and delight your audience.

1 Know your niche

Before you start looking for guests, you need to have a clear idea of what your podcast is about, who it is for, and what you want to achieve with it. This will help you narrow down your search and focus on guests that can contribute to your niche and theme. For example, if your podcast is about travel, you might want to look for guests that have unique experiences, insights, or perspectives on different destinations, cultures, or trends. If your podcast is about entrepreneurship, you might want to look for guests that have successfully launched, scaled, or exited their businesses, or that can offer advice, tips, or lessons learned.

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Alex Sanfilippo

Podcaster & Founder of PodMatch.com 💜
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Knowing your podcast's niche is the number one most important thing. You need to know how you serve listeners and where you'll take them. Only then can you decide which guests can help you take your listeners on the journey.

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Julie DeLucca-Collins

Helping Business + Female Coaches Build and Grow Sustainable and Profitable Businesses | TEDX Speaker | Workshop Facilitator | Host of Top Rated Podcast | Sales & Organic Marketing Expert |
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After four years of podcasting and helping others launch their shows, I have found that knowing your niche is crucial to creating an insightful show that brings value to your listeners. At times, some shows do not have a defined theme. Your listeners may not be as committed to tuning into the show weekly because they may not always find your content relevant. Defining your niche and having an idea of what you will address during your show can also help you plan in advance and create a seasonal podcast or an episode arc that will keep listeners coming back for more.

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Michaell Magrutsche

AWARENESS TRUMPS ALL! Our #1 human-disturbance stems from the unawareness of living in a system"habitat" vs. how we function as a species of nature. Balancers are Creating (art), Healthy Dialogue and Adaptability.
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I would say know yourself and your podcast is the extension of your essentially YOU. I agree with Alex that niche is important to know but I would redefine it to contextual preferences. For me this is human-centricity and the human tool of art-creation. That's why I am invited to 50 different podcast niches. From art to team-work to marketing, AI, philosophy, leadership and war. #humanabilities #systemupdates #TheSmartofArt #dyslexicthinking

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Brett Deister

🎙️ PODCAST HOST, EDITOR, PRODUCER | Podcast Management | Launching, Distributing Podcasts | Digital Marketing & Branding | Interviewing | Media & PR | Project Management | ☕️ Coffee Lover & Golden Doodle Dad 🐶
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I always recommend if you want to start a podcast make sure it's in a niche. This way you can find the right guests and find the right listeners for your podcast.

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2 Research your prospects

Once you have a list of potential guests that fit your niche, you need to do some research on them. This will help you evaluate their suitability, credibility, and availability for your podcast. You can use various sources to find out more about your prospects, such as their websites, blogs, social media profiles, books, articles, podcasts, videos, or interviews. Look for clues that indicate their level of expertise, authority, influence, or popularity in your field. Also, look for signs that they are open to podcast invitations, such as mentioning their previous appearances, offering to speak at events, or having a contact form or email address on their site.

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Michaell Magrutsche

AWARENESS TRUMPS ALL! Our #1 human-disturbance stems from the unawareness of living in a system"habitat" vs. how we function as a species of nature. Balancers are Creating (art), Healthy Dialogue and Adaptability.
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A pre-interview is much more important than researching your prospects. Research is generalizing unique humans and it is never to truly see if host & guest can dance with each other. I have a lot of doubtful podcasters pre-interview me because they see me being an creativity-awareness educator and did not know what to do with me but once they met me we had a ball creating the episode and I was reinvited twice or even more times on a regular basis. Expertise and Authority is a false system lie that we collectively procreate. They can only exist with purely system-relevant topics like motors, computers or financial skills which you can find en masse on YouTube. #humanabilities #systemupdates #TheSmartofArt #dyslexicthinking

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Fernando Guifer

Product Owner Podcasts do Senac | Podcaster no 'Paternidade.doc' | TEDx Speaker | Autor de 3 livros | Papai babão e atípico da Laís 💜🌻
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Antes de disparar qualquer convite, pesquise muito sobre o convidado. Avaliar se sua expertise sobre o tema que deseja abordar no programa e se possui um histórico limpo e sem polêmicas que impactem sua credibilidade, é lição de casa imprescindível para erradicar qualquer surpresa ruim no momento da gravação ou do ao vivo. Durante essa pesquisa mais aprofundada será possível identificar causas e ideologias que o potencial participante acredita, e com isso, você cruza com a linha editorial e valores do seu projeto.

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3 Craft your pitch

After conducting your research, you need to craft a persuasive pitch to convince your prospects to accept your invitation. Your pitch should be concise, personalized, and respectful, and should include an introduction of yourself and your podcast, a clear explanation of why you want to interview them and how they can benefit from it, a brief overview of the topics or questions you want to cover, a proposed date and time for the interview and the expected duration, as well as a clear call to action and a request for confirmation. You can send your pitch via email, social media, or other channels that your prospects prefer. Make sure to follow up if you don't hear back within a reasonable time frame.

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4 Prepare for the interview

Before the interview, you should confirm the logistics, such as the platform, format, equipment, and backup plan. Additionally, review your research and outline your main points and questions. It's also important to send a confirmation email with the details and agenda of the interview. Test your audio and video quality and troubleshoot any issues to ensure a smooth conversation. Finally, make sure to be ready to start on time and introduce your guest warmly and professionally. Taking these steps will help you create a valuable conversation that meets your expectations and satisfies your listeners.

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Perry Knoppert

Founder @ The Octopus Movement & 📱TellTOM | Non-linear thinking advocate | Philanthropist | Artist | Octovist
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Make a human connection not with the podcast in mind, bit a real curious mindset and search for the space between thoughts that will give you the most interesting questions. This is called creativity.

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Michaell Magrutsche

AWARENESS TRUMPS ALL! Our #1 human-disturbance stems from the unawareness of living in a system"habitat" vs. how we function as a species of nature. Balancers are Creating (art), Healthy Dialogue and Adaptability.
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The only preparation for an interview is having a pre interview and jot down key words. No steps to generalize what YOU should do but learn how to dance with other humans that are all one of ones of 8 billion with different life-perspectives, look at your family. You have NO OTHER CHOICE to NOT prepare all news media loses audience because it became too controlled and generalized hodgepot of irrelevance. #humanabilities #systemupdates #TheSmartofArt #dyslexicthinking

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5 Build a relationship

After the interview, you should thank your guest for their time and contribution and ask for their feedback. You should also send them a link to the episode when it is published and encourage them to share it with their network. You should also follow up with them regularly and keep in touch. This will help you build a lasting relationship with your guest and open up opportunities for future collaboration, referrals, or endorsements. You should also acknowledge and appreciate your guest on your podcast, website, social media, or newsletter and invite your audience to connect with them.

By following these tips and strategies, you can identify guests that align with your podcast's vision and create memorable and meaningful episodes that will grow your audience and authority.

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Dustin Riechmann 🔥

Become a Profitable Podcast Guest 🎙 | 3X Founder | 3X Father | Front Row Dad | StoryBrand Guide
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The most valuable aspect of any podcast interview, whether you were the host or the guest, is building relationships. In fact, I would say, the most compelling reason to do podcasting on a regular basis is to build quality relationships at scale. To do this effectively, you should focus on providing immense value before, during and after the interview. Follow up and see how you can help.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Michaell Magrutsche

AWARENESS TRUMPS ALL! Our #1 human-disturbance stems from the unawareness of living in a system"habitat" vs. how we function as a species of nature. Balancers are Creating (art), Healthy Dialogue and Adaptability.
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Podcasting Talking Power: Collectively humans create too many goods and services that's why OUR one of oneness becomes more and more key to be recognized, NOT how you market yourself. Humans have to collectively get away from what I do system-relevantly like marketing, promotion and influencers etc. will justify the system-adaptation and sacrifice. Because system-relevant attention getting is minute and depends increasingly on short term brand loyalty that mini trends compared to YOUR individual value-contribution that you are born with by nature and life is a long game not just a system-skill. #humanabilities #systemupdates #TheSmartofArt #dyslexicthinking

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How can you identify guests that align with your podcast's vision?

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1 Know your niche

2 Research your prospects

3 Craft your pitch

4 Prepare for the interview

5 Build a relationship

6 Here’s what else to consider

Podcasting

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