When my clients first hire me, they’re quick to tell me they want to be on national television programs like Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday and The Today Show and they want to be published or mentioned in outlets like Forbes, Fast Company and Entrepreneur.

And while those are all terrific goals, and certainly part of our strategic planning, it’s not where we start.

No matter what background our client comes from, the first thing we pitch clients for is podcast interviews. And it’s not unusual to get a little push back from clients, especially when they see our pitch list full of niche podcasts. If they’re going to be on podcasts, they want to be alongside Gary Vaynerchuk, Tim Ferriss or John Lee Dumas.

Again, great goals – but not where we start for most folks.

Here are six reasons I love landing podcast interviews for my clients – and why they love them to once they see the results!

1. There’s a podcast for everyone 

I’ve booked clients with a wide range of backgrounds and business goals on podcasts: a doctor, a lawyer, a cookbook author, a health coach, a “work smarter not harder” coach, a sales trainer . . . you get the picture. It’s one of the few mediums where both those with a product and those with a service do equally well.

With over 250,000 active podcasts and 1 billion podcast subscribers, there really is something for everyone. In fact, I’ve never had a client I couldn’t book on a podcast.

2. You can target your ideal client with laser precision

Because there’s a podcast for everyone, there are probably at least a few in your niche. And instead of getting in front of a huge audience where a small percentage fits your ideal client profile, these niche podcasts allow you to get in front of an audience where every single listener might be your ideal client.

While appearances on big-name podcasts can gain you credibility – which is, of course, important as well – most of my clients find they get more leads from niche podcasts. Because niche podcasts can be easier to get booked on as a guest, it makes all the sense in the world to pursue these opportunities and start generating those quality leads for your business.

3. Your know, like and trust factor with the audience grows quickly

You’ve probably heard that people won’t buy from you until they know, like and trust you. Generally this means they need multiple touch points with you before they convert into clients or customers.

However, podcast interviews can speed up this process. Listeners already know, like and trust the host, and because the host has essentially endorsed you by having you on their show, their guests tend to speed through the process more quickly than a cold lead.

The form for my discovery calls asks where the person heard about me, and quite often I find they list a podcast (which is how I know they work!). This one pictured came in mere hours after my podcast interview was published, and she signed up for a $3,000 VIP Day on that very first call!

I also landed a client for my small group publicity program from that podcast and the host hired me on retainer for my done-for-you services – I’m even in talks with a university for a paid speaking gig because they heard the podcast and reached out!

Those kind of results don’t happen with every podcast interview, but it happens enough to keep me booking them!

4. You’ll generate leads with ease

The great thing about most podcasts is that you can offer a free gift to the audience. Generally speaking, you get the chance to offer the free gift both verbally during the podcast and via a link in the show notes. Some hosts even take it a step further and push out the link to their audience on their social channels or even through their email list.

Your free gift can be your current opt-in or one you’ve designed specifically to fit the podcast audience. I use tracking links or custom landing pages to track how many leads I generate on each podcast interview, which can number into the dozens or even hundreds, depending on the show.

But, here’s the most important thing about those leads – the ones I generate from podcast interviews open my emails at a higher rate, click on my links at a higher rate and rarely unsubscribe. When you’re in front of the right audience, you get incredibly high-quality leads that are engaged.

5. They cost you nothing

You can be a guest on dozens of podcasts and only be out the time it takes you to pitch the host (learn how here!) and record the interview. Although a publicist or other type of podcast booker might be able to take it off your plate, it is something any entrepreneur or author can learn to do for themselves.

A warning here, however. You will probably receive an email somewhere along the way from a podcast or radio show offering you all sorts of marketing opportunities if you pay a small fee to appear on their show. Having done hundreds of radio and podcast interviews myself over the years – and being married to someone who has worked in radio for 20+ years – I can tell you that these “opportunities” aren’t worth your while. You can get far better results on your own by seeking out podcasts that are truly in your niche.

6. You’ll have evergreen content you can recycle for the foreseeable future

Generally speaking, you want to pitch evergreen topics for podcasts. You might be focusing on certain topics leading up to a launch or be making an offer that’s time-sensitive, but for the most part podcast interviews are evergreen and can be recycled in your marketing for quite some time.

For example, I create a blog post for each podcast interview I complete (see an example here), and then I add the post into Meet Edgar (my social media scheduler) and it reposts about it on social media every few months. This allows new people to discover my podcast in the future who might not have been a follower when I completed the initial interview.

As a bonus, podcasts hosts love when they see you still promoting their podcast months later. I’ve even had a client get offered a recurring interview once a month on a podcast!

Hopefully these points have convinced you of the power of podcast interviews.

If you’re ready to start pitching podcasts, check out my free guide to get you started!