Amateur podcast sites are missing these 2 things
(just a 30-min fix to your site)
I do podcast booking for Christian authors.
After hundreds of guest pitches, to my surprise, the pros do two things right.
But first, here is a list of what amateur Christian podcasters do:
Never reply to email
Ghost you after a conversation has started
Hate getting cold emails.
Strangely, I thought amateur podcasts would be easy to pitch.
But they ain’t.
And when I say “pro” podcast, I mean the ones that get 50 pitches for every one interview they publish. (One host was generous enough to share that stat with me.)
These hosts deliver the who’s-who interviews in Christian evangelical influence.
The first thing they do is really easy.
How can you upgrade your podcast in ZERO seconds?
Decide to reply to pitches fast.
I will not name names, but this has happened multiple times. Pro podcasters reply within 24 hours. Either the actual host or a producer writes back.
Pro podcasters even love to be pitched. And are gracious enough to tell you why a guest is not a fit. Such valuable intell.
Amateurs give you the vibe that you are annoying them. And
Here is the second upgrade, and it takes thirty minutes.
How can you upgrade your podcast in 30 minutes?
Set up a guest pitch form.
Make a free Google Form and turn on a notification. Force pitchers to do their homework. Ask questions that make sure they are pitching a relevant guest. Make every field required.
Then write them back fast, especially when they are a bad fit. And tell them why.
Amateurs try to spare feelings and say “sorry, we are not looking for guests right now.”
I don’t believe them.
You cannot tell me that if Tim Keller rose from the dead and wanted to get on your show, you would not clear your schedule for that interview.
But pros have given my authors some excellent constructive criticism.
So, a guest pitch form plus a fast reply turns you into a legit pro podcaster.
What about pitches that come through DMs or your inbox?
Three small upgrades:
Set up a dedicated
guest@yourpodcast.comaddress so you can quickly reply to a DM with “hey, send your pitch here.”Save a reply template that links pitchers to your form or asks your standard intake questions.
Redirect every pitch to your form.
Sure, you will get some crazies and some irrelevant pitches, when you make it easy to be pitched.
But, there is a world of unheard-of authors out there, who can hit the bull’s eye of your audience’s heart.
Unfortunately, they can’t reach you.
—Blair
P.S. Right now I am pitching an author, who has one of the most refreshing approaches to personal evangelism. No more awkwardness or scripts. Reply or message if you want me to pitch him for your podcast.