Your book comes out in eight months, and someone has probably already told you to get on podcasts. Great advice. The part nobody explains is that timing is what separates a podcast tour that sells books from one that is just about being on podcasts.
One of the therapist clients we work with is publishing a book in April 2027, so Team PodWritten spent hours talking with the best-selling health and wellness authors and weeks studying how they actually ran their podcast tours.
In this blog, you’ll learn when to start pitching, which interviews to prioritize, how to plan releases around your publication date, and more.
When should you start pitching podcasts for your book?
Earlier than you might think, ideally, six to nine months before publication.
Timing matters because successful podcast tours require a long runway. Established shows often book guests months in advance, and some record episodes two to four months before they’re released. So, if you wait until launch month to start pitching, you may already be too late.
If you don’t yet have a portfolio of podcast interviews, starting even earlier can work in your favor. Those first appearances help you become a stronger guest, build credibility, and form genuine relationships with hosts. Then, as your publication date approaches, you may have opportunities to return to those shows and talk specifically about the book.
How many podcast interviews should I aim for on my book tour?
Nutrition and fitness expert JJ Virgin is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, so she knows what it takes to launch a book successfully.
When we interviewed her on our podcast, Mics to Millions, she told us that a podcast tour is her number-one book launch strategy: “My rule is that 50 podcasts is the minimum. That’s your starting gate.”
But she doesn’t recommend chasing the biggest shows at any cost. Her advice is to appear consistently, aiming for roughly two podcast interviews per week as your launch approaches, while prioritizing shows that reach the right readers.
Tracy Otsuka, whose book has earned thousands of ratings on Goodreads, shared a similar recommendation on our interview: “The number-one thing publishers recommend for promoting books now is getting on people’s podcasts. Get on 50 podcasts.”
She also encourages authors not to dismiss a relevant niche show simply because its audience looks small. A smaller podcast filled with your ideal readers can often sell more books than a much larger show whose audience has little connection to your topic.
How should you time podcast interviews around preorders and book launch date?
A successful podcast tour happens in waves; interviews before publication build trust and generate preorders, while interviews around launch turn that momentum into immediate sales.
Dr. Mary Claire Haver’s campaign for The New Menopause is a great example. Her interview on The Diary of a CEO aired in December 2023, more than four months before publication, and directed listeners to preorder the book.
Then, on March 21, her episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast reached a huge audience roughly five weeks before the April 30 publication date. A SHE MD interview followed on April 2, keeping the preorder campaign moving as launch approached.
For your own campaign, try to place one of your strongest confirmed interviews four to six weeks before publication. Its purpose is to reach new readers while they can still preorder. According to Penguin Random House’s guidance for authors, preorders contribute to first-week sales and can improve a book’s chances of reaching a bestseller list. They also signal early demand to booksellers, which may encourage retailers to increase their initial orders.
Publication week calls for another wave. Now the book is immediately available, so listeners can act before their attention moves elsewhere. Fresh purchasing activity can also support Amazon visibility because its rankings give more weight to recent customer activity.
Does my podcast tour stop after the launch date?
No. Publication day is the high point of the campaign, not the end of it.
Dr. Mary Claire Haver continued appearing on major shows after The New Menopause was released. The Diary of a CEO republished a shorter segment on May 2, two days after publication. A new Huberman Lab interview followed on June 3, and Brené Brown featured Haver on Unlocking Us in October. Each appearance gave the book another burst of attention and introduced it to listeners who had missed the original launch.
Instead of exhausting every major interview in one crowded week, Haver created new peaks of attention before publication, around launch, and several months afterward. The New Menopause went on to become a number-one New York Times bestseller.
What should you say on air before your book exists?
Getting listeners interested in your book is only half the job of a prelaunch interview. The other half is turning that interest into a preorder.
Saying, “My book is available for preorder,” asks listeners to pay today and wait months for the payoff. Without a reason to act now, many will simply decide to buy it later and then forget.
That’s why you need to give them an immediate reward, which can include exclusive content, commentary, companion resources, or other material readers cannot get from the book alone.
Keep the on-air invitation to one sentence: “If you’d like to put this framework into practice, preorder the book at yourname.com/book and I’ll send you the companion workbook today.”
Conclusion
A successful podcast tour for your upcoming book starts six to nine months before the launch. This gives you time to secure the right shows, record without rushing, and shape the release schedule around the moments that matter. Early interviews generate preorders, the launch-week cluster drives immediate sales, and later episodes keep introducing the book to new readers.
Making that sequence work takes more than booking a few interviews. There are hosts to research, pitches to write, follow-ups to manage, recording dates to coordinate, and releases to track. Unfortunately, all of this tends to land just as the author’s own workload is peaking.
PodWritten runs podcast guesting campaigns for health and wellness businesses, from therapists to doctors and healthcare CEOs.
Publishing a book in the next year?
Book a complimentary strategy call with us, and we’ll map your podcast tour together.
FAQ
Is being on podcasts enough to promote my book?
Not on its own. Podcast interviews build credibility with the host’s audience, while clips show your own audience that you are active, in demand, and preparing to launch something worth noticing.
Vivian Tu, the author of Well Endowed, did this particularly well. She appeared on major podcasts, then kept sharing moments from those conversations across her own channels. By the time her books launched, her audience had already seen her talking about the ideas from several different angles.
Cut three to five clips from every interview and share them throughout the weeks leading up to publication. It shows people that you are out there and creates excitement around your book.
When should I start pitching podcasts for my book?
Six to nine months before your publication date. Large shows book guests up to two months ahead and often sit on recordings for another two to four months, so early pitches are what put your episodes inside the launch window.
Do podcast interviews really sell books?
Yes, but not automatically. They work when the show reaches the right readers, the conversation makes the book feel relevant, and the episode airs at the right point in the campaign. Therefore, authors such as Mel Robbins, Tony Robbins, and Vivian Tu build major podcast appearances into their book launches.
Should episodes air before or after my launch?
Both, on purpose. Pre-launch episodes drive preorders, which the major bestseller lists count as week-one sales. Launch-week episodes drive same-day buying, which moves Amazon rank. Post-launch episodes extend your sales window for months.
How many podcasts should I aim for?
40 to 60 podcast interviews across the full campaign is a strong target, spread across the preorder period, launch week, and the months afterward.