Here’s How to Find Podcasts That Are a Fit For Your Expertise 

Many PR campaigns incorporate outreach to podcasts as a key component, and it’s easy to understand why. Many have curated niche audiences; their loyal listeners are already interested in a certain subject, and they’re looking for more.

One of Guide My Brand’s clients was recently surprised by the success of the podcast portion of her campaign. She’d built a subscription box business and then started coaching others to build their own subscription box businesses.

She told us: “I was getting a lot of requests to join my membership group the last few days. I told my assistant somebody is talking about me.” The client realized a podcast interview we’d booked for her had just gone live. “It’s interesting that I am getting so many hits on my group and possibly my website, because I was sure their people weren’t my people!”

The example shows that there’s value in expanding your outreach to even more podcasts, beyond just the first ones that come to mind. A wider perspective can make a huge difference in solidifying yourself as an expert in your field. For authors, consider this as you’re putting together your book publicity plan.

Here are 3 steps for deciding which podcasts to pitch:

• Start with the obvious.

If you listen to podcasts, which ones speak to you and your audience? There are probably a few that come to mind. Some of them may be goals for the future once you’ve notched some wins, but take note of them.

If you’re a subscription box coach, these could be podcasts that pop up when you search “subscription box.” Perhaps there are one or two very popular hosts in the field.

• Broaden your search.

Think more about your target audience. Here are some questions to get you started:

• What do you know about your audience or customer? 
• What are some of their current challenges? 
• What is their lifestyle like? 
• Are they demographically similar? 
• How can you help them?

This will open up more opportunities. With the subscription box example, people who may want to start a subscription box business could have some of these characteristics: They’re unhappy with their current job. They’re looking for side hustles. They’re looking for financial freedom. They could be existing business owners who are looking for new revenue streams. They may be crafters or artists with unique products.

There are a lot more podcasts in all of those realms than the very niche subscription box field. In this example, you could look for podcasts that focus on side hustles, financial freedom and growing businesses.

You could go even further and include leadership, coaching and mindset podcasts on your pitch list.

It was actually a side hustle-focused podcast that led to all of the new business for our subscription box coach.

• Be bold and expand your comfort zone.

How do you decide if a podcast is a good fit for you? You always want to stay true to yourself and your values. The key here is to recognize the importance of expanding your audience – to people who are less like you, to people who have a variety of interests and to people with different communication styles as well.

Some podcast hosts have more off-the-wall comments than others. On the other hand, you may have a more irreverent way of speaking than the podcast host does. How will you manage that?

Getting outside of your comfort zone and playing in some of these unfamiliar spaces is a great strategy to reach new people.

Again, the subscription box coach realized the benefits even though she was “sure their people weren’t my people!”

Finally, send the right pitch. Make sure your podcast pitch has the right components to maximize your chances of getting booked. We’ve laid it out for you with 4 Steps to Successfully Pitching Yourself as a Podcast Guest.

This can be a lot for a busy author, entrepreneur or business owner to handle on their own. The team at Guide My Brand is always ready to support you. Book a free discovery call to learn how we can help with the publicity piece of growing your brand.