Your Ideal Host, Your Criteria

💥 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞?

A small but critically significant detail in your podcast guesting strategy is the host of the shows you do your appearances on. 

In this episode, we look at how you can draw up the must-have profile of your ideal hosts - the people who are going to make you sound like the rock star you really are.

🌟 what to look out for
🌟 criteria you need to consider
🌟 perspective on hosts as part of your podcast guesting strategy.

It will change the way you approach shows and invitations to be a podcast guest.

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Are YOU interested in making podcast guesting work for you and your business?  We are running monthly training events - the PODCAST GUESTING PREP SCHOOL -  to explore the potential for you.  We look at what's achievable, map it to what your business needs, and lay down the foundation and plan that will make this a powerful weapon in your promotional arsenal.  Ongoing training each month to get YOU started RIGHT!@

💥 We'd love it if you could drop us a review on Apple podcasts or iTunes.

👉🏼 Find us over at The Of Course Podcast Guesting website for more resources.

💥 If you've got any questions or comments, well, you can drop us a voice message via this SpeakPipe link for leaving a voice mail and we'll answer it for you.  Who knows - it might end up as a topic of a future episode!

Transcript

0:00

What if I showed you a process to consistently get high value content that showcases you and your business? Get it created for you with almost no work on your part? And then have it featured on your behalf on media platforms, where people actually come expressly to find content and solutions, just like yours. And you get all that for free? That's what strategic podcast guesting will do for you. And that's what the podcast guesting for business growth podcast is all about. I'm your host, September Smith. And in this episode of Podcast Guesting for Business Growth, I'm talking about one very important aspect of your search for the ideal podcast that you want to do interviews on. And that is the show host. Seriously. Yes. In a previous episode, I talked about the five areas that people's grew up when they are trying to use podcasting to grow their brand and their business. And the second one in that sequence is getting on the right shows. A small but very important aspect of the right show for you and your goals is the host of the show. As someone using podcast guessing to help grow your business, you need to have an agenda. The first thing is you want to star in as many top quality interviews as possible, that showcase your expertise, your business. And for some people, depending on your business, your unique persona that makes you irresistible to your ideal customer. In addition, you want to have high quality audio and or video content that you and your team if you have on can be leveraging in your content marketing. So for that criteria, the host of that podcast show that you interview on can make or break your episode, your interview episode is or should be a duet, it is dependent on the input of the two of you. And not every host is right for that. In fact, most aren't. For this kind of thing. I tend to use the analogy of online dating, or any kind of dating for that matter. Just like you would probably not date everyone and anyone on my dating site. You need to know what your goals are and have goals based criteria for your search for the perfect mate. In this case, the perfect host. Okay, I'm gonna strain the analogy here. But the in the case of the strategic podcast guest, and that's you. In dating site terms. You're not looking for a casual hookup or someone into random see where it goes experimentation, or that guy with a million fish pics and his truck. You have a mission and you do not want to waste your time. But okay, let me back up and explain why this kind of fastidiousness is actually really necessary. In this journey you're taking with podcast casting, anyone can be a host. Unlike other media, such as TV or radio, the vast majority of podcast hosts are not professionals. Anyone can become a podcast host. And that's the beauty of the medium. But it's also the risk that you run. TV and radio host have a set interview style that is informed by best practice that the show's creators and directors have decided on. And they have a team that does all of the writing and that prep work to ensure that each interview is the best it can be 99.99% of podcast hosts have none of that. Well, either through years of podcasting experience, or previous professional experience or just natural ability. Some hosts are fantastic interviewers and you will be lucky to be their guest. However, you cannot assume this to be the case. And here's some of the things that you have to look at when you're looking for that host and vetting them for your potential podcast interview. One their approach? What is the overall intention that they bring to the podcast on their interviews? Is it to entertain, to inform to shock and outrage to change minds? And if so, for whose benefit? What are they creating? What are they trying to create with each episode? Is that something that will work for you and your business goals? Is there even a cohesive intention? It makes it hard for you to predict what sort of outcome that you will have with an interview? If there's no discernible intention to the host interviews. There's no repeating format. So their approach next, what's their focus? Of course, he want to be on shows either directly or strategically indirectly related to what you talk about. But you also need to look at what they focus on within that topic. If you are an expert in, for example, the benefits of organic food on the body, but the host focus is Organic food as an environmental issue, or that it's a hoax, your interview on that podcast may be a very little value to you as a business asset. In fact, it may actually be harmful for what you're trying to create a body of content positively showcasing you and your expertise that attracts audience and clients. If you're interviewed on a show that is pitting the host against you, or that they're actually dubious of what it is you're talking about. That's what the listener is going to take from that episode as well. And you can't take that back. That episode will be out there for all types for people to find. And that's how they're going to judge you. The next thing you want to look at is their interview style. Do they even have one? To do that, of course, you've got to be listening to the episodes. If you've listened to a wide range of podcasts, you've probably noticed that there's a wide variety of approaches to the interview. Some hosts just kind of have an organic conversation with their guests, letting it go where the Spirit takes them and the guest is the secondary participant in this conversation. Some hosts have a set of questions that they ask all of their guests. In some cases, these are a clever well thought out series of questions that yield an interesting set of results across the body of interviews. In other cases, the question set has been chosen randomly by the host based on a possibly misguided idea that this is the best or the easiest way to conduct an interview that might not stand you in best stead other hosts structure their interviews chronologically starting from so how did you become a whatever it is that you're that you are an expert at some host employer more strategic psychological interviewer approach that ensures that the listener is pulled in right from the start. And it's taken on a journey that builds their interest and their understanding as the interview progresses, and creates a memorable story that will stick in the listeners mind, inextricably wrapped around the persona of you that guest expert. That is the kind of interview that you want to be the star in. Another thing you want to look at is the vibe of the host. Again, seriously, as you really want to know, what's their vibe, because a big part of the usability of your guest appearance to grow your business is the quality of the conversation to the listener. And if they're enjoying the conversation, they're going to stay with it longer, and you will be in their head longer, more deeply embedded in your message. A huge part of that quality of conversation is the compatibility of the tone of the host and the guest. You don't have to have the exact same tone. But the best results are those episodes where the intended audience hears two people having an engaging informative conversation with similar and appropriate levels of animation and seriousness for the topic. And the audience. You want a host that has a vibe that will enhance how you sound in your interview. If they are interesting, you will sound more interesting. If they sound intelligent, you will probably sound more intelligent as well. So check out there. But One last thing that I'd say to look for in the host is the perceived legitimacy with your audience. And what I'm talking about here is how a host would sound to the audience that you want to attract. While you both may be talking about the same topic, if they have an opinion or a viewpoint that is not accepted or respected by the target audience you want to attract. This can undermine you and your message with that audience. For example, if you're a wellness practitioner coming in from a strongly science based approach, and your host wants to frame the conversation in terms of metaphysical themes, such as past lives, or crystals or guardian angels, all of which have their own audience. You and your message are now painted with that same brush and your intended audience, that more science based audience may now perceive you as being to them less legitimate as an authority. And this undermines your goals with podcast casting. So their show their agenda, that agenda might not be yours. For some hosts, it's kind of like, it's not about you. It's about me, their show is all about them. And you are basically there as a prop. And this is the last thing I want to add to this list of provisos re perspective hosts. Is it some host for them, the show is all about them, which is fine, it's their show, but you need to be aware of that. And some of those hosts are pretty egotistical, and their guests are only invited on as a plot device in a production that is all about the host. I think of it as using the guests as stage props. You serve a purpose, but only as far as you make them look good. The guests on shows like this are disposable, forgettable aspects of an episode that aggrandized is the host shoring up the host image and reputation and doing little for yours. This is not the kind of content you want circulating out there. If that kind of episode is the first thing your prospective customer finds about you, it will be the last thing, they're not going to go looking for more because you are now not relevant to them. That episode will be working against you for years to come. Similarly, some hosts and their shows are there just to exploit their guests, kind of like a Jerry Springer sort of thing through sensationalizing mocking or trivializing their guests to advance their agenda. On the extreme end of hosts, there are some egotistical hosts who would have you on as a guest just to trash you to demonstrate their superiority to their audience and to elevate themselves. A similar type of host will argue with you and denigrate your stance, your expertise, or even you as a person just for the spectator sport of it. This extreme is usually a bro show phenomenon. But overly egotistical hosts are something to avoid, and can happen on any sort of podcast. So it's their show, and you are not going to come off well. All of these things are aspects of a host that you need to have done your homework on. So how do you find the right host? Back to the dating app analogy? If you're doing podcast casting for the purpose of benefiting your business, you really need to know what your goals are, you need to know what you're looking for. Because you'll be living with the results quite likely for a long time good or bad. So do an analysis of what your business needs are, and how podcasts and podcast guesting can further that podcast content is powerful, dynamic content, but you do need to have a plan for creating it, using it and leveraging it now and into the future. Doing this might be easier done with someone experienced in identifying business goals and strategies for achieving them. It's kind of hard to figure that out for yourself. Once you know what you need, like what you're looking for in a relationship, you make two lists. Make a prioritized list of all the characteristics that you require in a host and in their show. Nice to have factors can be further down the list, but get them all in there. Next, make a prioritized list of the no go factors. My no-go factor list is a long one. As much as guesting takes a whole lot less effort in time than podcasting itself. You are still taking time away from your business and your personal life for your podcast guessing efforts. Make sure it's time well spent. Once you have your list, apply them as a litmus test to every opportunity that either comes your way, or that you find while you're using your unique strategy for finding your ideal shows to be a guest on. So there you go. When you're doing your podcast guesting and you're looking for the shows that are right for you think about like online dating. Think of all the things I mentioned above that are things that you want to avoid, know what your goals are. And then based on the goals, figure out what are the list of characteristics you want to have an in a show and in host? And what are the list of things that are no go factors for you things that you do not want to encounter. When you're doing your research. When you're finding your shows, use those two lists as the criteria by which you make your choice. Remember, while podcasts present an amazing business growth opportunity, you have to be aware of the pitfalls. You have to be strategic. And you have to take all of the factors I talked about today into consideration when you're looking for the best shows for you to pitch and hopefully book. There are a lot of other considerations, but the host is an important one. If you found this episode useful, follow or subscribe for more podcast guesting info, tips and tactics. If you have a question, hit the SpeakPipe link in the notes below and drop us a voicemail and we'll get back to you with an answer. If you'd like to get a free guide to strategic podcast casting, you'll find the link in the notes. And I'm happy to share because I want you to get the most advantage out of podcast casting. If you're really serious about it, there's a link there I would love you to book a call and absolutely obligation free call with me. And let's find out how you can be leveraging podcast casting. Cheers. Thanks for being here. I hope you got some value from this episode. I very passionately believe that podcast guest appearances. done right is one of the biggest opportunities available to us right now. To build our brand, plant our flag and start building a media presence that establishes our authority and expertise. If this is something that you would like to have working for your business in 22 Make sure you subscribe and follow and join us for our free virtual events that we do every second month to help you figure out how you can be using other people's podcasts to explode you Your presence and credibility and reach the audience's that need to be hearing you