How to be a business podcast guest – the huge opportunity your team is ignoring

By Steve Blears

Director - Bit Famous

There are more than 2.4m podcasts globally with established shows for almost every business interest and niche. Appearing as a guest on a podcast is one of the quickest and easiest ways to:

Share your expertise and get known, liked and trusted

Raise your career profile and that of your organisation

Develop fluency as a subject area specialist

Get noticed by the people you want to engage and influence. For instance, colleagues, clients, candidates, partners, stakeholders, suppliers, investors and even policymakers.

Why your people should appear as guests on business podcasts...

12% of the UK's adult population listen to a podcast each week - that's 6.5 million people

Podcasts interviews are longer, sometimes up to 45-minutes, which is more time to share your expertise

Podcast episodes have shelf life as they're available for much longer than TV, radio or print media

Appearing on someone else's show means you don't need to get involved in any podcasting tech or software

It has a great ROI. Appearing on a podcast is FREE.

Bit Famous Podcast Workshop

The one-day Podcast Workshop will get you team communicating with confidence and sharing their expertise on the microphone. We'll create a podcast which (should you choose) we'll help you publish, plus there's absolutely no complicated tech nor software involved. Discover the Podcast Workshop

How to get your team started as podcast guests

1- Consider your expertise

First, start by considering the range of expertise within your team. Depending on the size of your organisation there'll be a raft of in-house talent.

Remember, there are thousands of business podcasters covering countless niche subjects.

They're constantly looking for great guests, go-to experts who can comment and give their perspective on ideas, trends and news related to their chosen topic.

Your people might be finance, manufacturing, tech or HR professionals, for example. As long as they have knowledge, experience and passion for their topic, they have the right credentials to appear on a show.

2 - Target podcasts that accept guests specialising in your expertise

Find a handful of podcasts that cover your business niche. Search for "podcast about (your niche)" and then listen to them.

Don't skip this step because targeting shows that are right for you is crucially important. Unless you can identify programmes where you're most likely to turn up, you'll still be thinking about this in another six months' time.

While listening, make notes on the following:

Does this podcast feature guest interviews?

Is the content good quality and the right fit for me?

Do I like the show? Can I hear myself appearing on it?

Is this the sort of show that people I'd like to engage would listen to? (Such as clients, industry colleagues etc.)

3 - Making contact with the podcaster

The majority of podcasts are published with a contact email address embedded in their feed. A simple way to find this is via the largest directory of podcasts called listennotes.com

You'll need to set up a free login to access these email details.

Use listennotes.com to find shows to appear on as a podcast guest

Their email address may also be on their podcast show notes or website.

Once you've found it, drop them a short friendly email that includes your ideas, expertise and the value you can bring. Don't forget to say you've listened and enjoyed their show. Briefly add comments or examples you'd like to share as a guest.

Most podcast guests are recorded remotely. Your host will explain what you need to do. It's often as simple as a chat on Zoom (or similar browser based software). You don't need mics or special equipment.

4 - Success when you appear as a guest

Prepare some ideas, comments and examples to illustrate what you'd like to say. Podcasts aren't live radio, so there's always the option to repeat something if you make a mistake.

Top tip! Don't write a script. Jot down a few bullet points or notes as a reminder. The FACE planner is an excellent way to prepare ideas and examples.

5 - Make the most of your podcast appearance

Take a selfie of yourself straight after your interview (you could have the podcast's website open on your screen behind you) and share it on social media. Don't forget to share the podcast episode link when it becomes available, tag the presenter and use any relevant hashtags.

Need some help building confidence and communication skills?

We designed the Bit Famous Podcast Workshop to teach your team or group of colleagues everything you need to know about preparing for, appearing on and performing successfully on this very modern medium.

Bit Famous Podcast Workshop

The one-day Podcast Workshop will get you team communicating with confidence and sharing their expertise on the microphone. We'll create a podcast which (should you choose) we'll help you publish, plus there's absolutely no complicated tech nor software involved. Discover the Podcast Workshop