Starting a podcast from scratch can be a daunting task – especially when you have to secure guests before you can even launch.
This was the situation we faced in late 2023. During this time, we began preparing the creation and launch of Mics to Millions, where we share in-depth conversations with top-tier podcasters in the health and wellness industry on how they’ve grown their shows.
With a launch date of January 2024, we began collecting a list of ideal guests to contact in August and started pitching in September.
From the start of September 2023 until the end of February 2024, we sent 42 pitches to hosts with podcasts ranked on Listen Notes in the top 0.5% to 2% of podcasts in the world based on listeners. As a result of this outreach, we received 23 responses agreeing to come on. Wondering how we got a 55% success rate? Let’s jump right in!
We used a clear and direct pitch structure
By being clear and direct, you show the host that you value their time, grab and hold their attention, and can convey what you need.
That’s why we kept a simple structure to the pitch:
- We gave them a genuine compliment on their work.
- Invited them on to Mics to Millions and shared what it’s about.
- Offered them the edited recording of our interview to give value back.
- Shared tailored questions for them that we wanted to ask during the interview.
- Left them with a Calendly link so they could schedule a time at their convenience.
In total, not including the interview questions, the pitch rarely reached a word count above 160.
We first reached out to hosts in our network
We started by contacting hosts we’d worked with in the past. But in some cases, we found ourselves reaching out to hosts we hadn’t touched base with for a while. To address this, we made sure to start with a brief reminder of how we’d worked together to help jog their memory.
Additionally, we’re a podcast booking agency that uses personalized pitches to pair up hosts with guests who are on point for their shows. By consistently delivering quality and value, we’ve developed links with hosts that put us at an advantage. (This also means that our emails are more likely to be opened and read, while others get thrown directly into the trash.)
Plus, because they love our pitching style and our recommendations, the chance to join us for an interview offers another opportunity to connect on a deeper level for a different reason.
You might not be an agency with an extensive network, but fear not. You can still develop these relationships with smaller shows, as they are less likely to receive the same level of attention and inbound requests that larger shows experience. These shows might have the potential to grow over time, planting the seeds for a valuable relationship further down the line.
👉Friendly reminder: Not everyone you’re connected with will make an ideal guest. Remember why you’re creating your show and the profile of the guest you want to feature when going through your contact list.
We tested our pitch by sending it to a small number of hosts
Here at PodWritten, we understand that pitches must be put through a test period to assess their effectiveness.
In the first batch of pitches, we sent invites to 11 hosts and received 8 yes responses. While this list contained numerous contacts we had some past interactions with, the overall reaction was a positive indication that the pitch worked.
We then started building up a list for round two. In the second wave of outreach to new hosts, we sent 15 pitches and got seven responses accepting the invitation.
In the latest collection of pitches, we sent 16 invites and received eight responses that said yes. It is worth noting that we had minimal prior contact with the hosts, further indicating that it was the pitch itself and not necessarily the history of contact that influenced their response.
We landed a great pitch the first time around, so we continued to use it. But this isn’t always the case. For example, if you send a pitch to 11-15 hosts, and you receive no responses or potentially even rejection, take a step back and look into what might be the issue and how you can fix it. Ask yourself: Am I offering value that will be useful to the host? Are the hosts I’m targeting the right type of guest for my show? Is my pitch too long?
We got creative when it came to giving back value to the guests
If you’re a large show with a well-established audience, then your guest spot interviews are highly valuable. However, starting our show from scratch, we didn’t have that advantage. This meant that we had to offer value to our guests beyond just featuring them on our show.
Given that Mics to Millions breaks down how these hosts have created and produced their shows, we noticed that these interviews could serve as valuable bonus content for the hosts on their podcasts.
With this in mind, we offered to send each host a professionally edited, audio-only version of the interview, which they could feature in their podcast feed as a special behind-the-scenes look at how their show was made.
Here’s an example of how The Face Yoga Expert Podcast used our interview in their podcast feed:
This is a great example of a win-win collaboration. Not only does the host get to share extra content with their audience, but our podcast – which only just launched – gets broadcast to well-established audiences.
Check out Mics to Millions to learn more about podcasting!