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Get on the PODCAST wagon as a guest (in 3 easy steps!)

This week I’m on the podcast wagon. I don’t actually have one myself, but I know many who do. It’s yet another tool for positioning as an expert, nurturing a community that you own, and developing a personal connection with your tribe

Did you know?

  •  67 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly.
  • Podcast fans listen to 5 shows per week.
  • The average listening subscribes to 6 podcasts.
  • 85% of listeners listen to all (or most of) a podcast.
  • Podcast listeners skew less young.
  • Growth has been steady with year over year increases of 10-20%.

If you have a podcast, or are thinking of putting one out, be warned that they are a lot of work, and really only worth pursuing if it’s a long-term commitment. But, there IS a way to benefit by the growth of podcasts even if you don’t have one, and that’s to be guest interviewed on one. This can be particularly effective if the host has a large listening and subscriber base. And it’s even more appealing if you come from a complimentary position of strength – offering something that audience finds useful, while not directly competing with the host’s business. The key here is shop around and figure out who that might be, and then work towards nurturing a relationship, which might offer you the opportunity in the future.

Tips to become a podcast guest

1. Search for top podcasts in your industry. Then do your research. Is it your target audience? Do they appear to have guests? How often to they broadcast? How long has it been around?

2. Pitch the host, but ideally develop a relationship first.
Online is good, but in person is even better. Critical in a pitch would be name, title, credibility in the industry. This is likely best done with social media and website links, and any external earned media with clout.

3. Prepare for the interview, do a bang up job, then be prepared to cross promote. Approach the opportunity with a mindset of service. What can you offer to help others? Bring value. That will be more then enough to position yourself, without being tempted to take advantage of “selling” your services. That’s a sure fire way to not be invited back, or worse – blacklisted by others. Ideally this becomes a mutually beneficial arrangement, where you help expand the podcast audience through your contacts, and you gain visibility through the podcast audience. Basically you want to be personable, and make the podcast host look like a star for having you on.

I was thrilled to have this opportunity to be interviewed on Jason Skinner’s Business Made Easy Podcast out of Brisbane, Australia last month. The episode just went live this week. Jason and I met up at Social Media Marketing World in San Diego back in February. I’m pretty humbled to also be following on the heels of Chris Brogan (Owner Media)  and Pat Flynn (Smart Passive Income) interviewed in earlier episodes. We talk about “Being human at scale,” building an online audience you own, and spend quite a bit of time in the second half of the episode talking about my experience using LinkedIn native video versus Facebook live video. Lots of useful and insightful content here, plus Jason is just such a charmer to chat with. Here’s a LINK to have a listen. Enjoy!

And I’m also pretty excited to have an upcoming podcast episode interview on Active Travel Adventures with Kit Parks out of the US. Putting on my travel writer and blogger hat, I’ll be sharing some stories with her about a recent trip to Nicaragua with girlfriends, and some of the crazy adventures we found ourselves immersed in. That episode will air towards the end of June – strategically in time for the launch of my travel blog CarryOnQueen.com, where I’ll use it as an audience building tool, similar to what I have done here at fiveminutemarketing.com (The travel blog is still just a landing page right now while the designer completes it, but it’s a fun project that I look forward to developing further in the coming years) The website that will replace that landing page is looking awesome so far. Here’s a sneak peak:

Mary Charleson

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