Do’s and Don'ts to Pitch Yourself as a Podcast Guest -

Shannon Baker

I would like to welcome everyone to this week’s episode. And I’ve been excited to talk to today’s guests because this topic is one that is near and dear to me as a podcast host. And I know there are women who have podcast in my community. And some of the things we talked about today are pet peeves that they have about being pitched by people to be on their podcast. But let me introduce today’s guest is Christina possehl, of confetti creative. So I’m not going to go on and on about her because she’s amazing in what she does. But Christina, tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to be in the podcasting space and doing what you do.

Christina Bizzell

Sure, first, thank you so much for having me, Shannon. Excited to be here. Hi, everyone. I’m Christina. As Shannon said, I’m a public relations strategists. And specifically, I worked at a podcast with an agency for three years, so I’m very well versed in the podcast space. Now I’m running my own public relations business where I specialize in getting women business owners in front of their ideal audiences, mostly on podcasts so that they can become booked out with dream clients.

Shannon Baker

Awesome. So we’re going to find out, you know, her expertise with helping women find these podcasts for their dream clients. As we get into our discussion, a little bit about how Christina and I connected actually was through a well pitched email about a new freebie that she was creating. And she wanted to feature my podcast. Once I got that email and read it, I went and looked at her Instagram account, watch the stories, a couple of her reels. And I was like, Oh, perfect timing, because this topic about how to pitch yourself to be a guest was like at the top of my list of podcast topics. So let’s just dive right into this thing, because it’s big. I mean, you know, there are so many different podcasts, everyone may not want to be a podcast host. But we know, then a podcast guest is a great way to increase awareness about your brand, share your expertise, tap into someone else’s community. So when someone’s thinking about, you know, pitching themselves to be a guest, what are some of the things that they should include, or think about in that process before they even reach out to someone about being a guest on their podcast?

Christina Bizzell

Okay, so before you pitch yourself to a podcast, there’s some research that needs to go on. First thing you want to look at is the show’s bio. Now, you can find this on Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you listen to podcasts, there’ll be a bio about the show. That will give you a good idea of what the show covers, who their audience is, and what the audience is coming there for. This is going to be very important in your pitch because one of the biggest things, the overarching theme of the pitch that you send is how can you help the podcaster deliver that value that the audience is coming here for. So for example, with this podcast, people are coming to this podcast to find out how to build an online business and stay organized, stay sane, all while being a mom.

So with that in mind, you should frame your pitch around that. Frame your pitch with the best interest of the audience at heart. One of the biggest mistakes that comes out is people will pitch a podcast and because they know that they need to prove themselves and that there’s competition to be on a podcast they will make the podcast all about them, their achievements, why they’re great, what’s in it for them, their new book, what’s coming out their new promo their new offer. While you do want to talk a little bit about your credentials, so that they know why they can listen to you. You want the bulk of the pitch to be about how you can help the listeners. I cannot emphasize that enough. And so that is huge.

And then you also want to look at past episodes of the podcast, just scroll through and see one do they have guests. That’s step one, because some shows don’t have guests and they still get pitched guest submissions. Two, you want to look at what kind of topics are they covering in these past episodes. Sometimes not always, but sometimes there might be a disconnect a little bit between the bio and a new direction that the podcast is taking. So you want to see what the episodes have been about. And that can also help you start to think, what angle or what talking point that you want to pitch to the show, because then you can see what they’ve covered. Maybe there are some gaps that you notice that you can talk about, they’ve covered this, this, this and that, but not this thing. They’ve covered social media, but they haven’t covered email marketing. And then you could come in from that angle.

And then you also want to look at, maybe you’re an email marketer, and the show has covered pretty much everything about email marketing, then you might want to look for maybe another angle that you could come at it from, and stand out from the sea of what they’ve already covered. And lastly, whenever you’re looking through the podcast episodes, you can also see have they had somebody on the show that you have a connection with, and be a past client, someone that you’ve done a workshop with somebody that you’ve worked with, because this is networking. People want to have guests on their podcast that they have a connection with because that lends credibility to you, and already warms up the podcaster. And one last thing, you also want to look at the website of the host, or the website of the podcast, to get an idea of who the hosts is, what perspective they’re coming from, what industry they work in. Because once you get an idea of what the host is like, you have a better idea of how to connect with the host in the pitch email.

Because at the end of the day, you want to talk to this podcastor like a person and the same way that you would network with somebody in real life. You want to see what things you have in common and sort of find an in there. If this podcaster on the website is talking all about their kids and how crazy their life is at home, you can maybe draw a connection between that if that’s how your life looks, too. It’s very similar to networking in person. I think that’s a huge misconception that people have, when they pitch, they get very nervous, and start to get weird with it, treat it like the same way that you would talk to somebody when you’re meeting them face to face for the first time.

Shannon Baker

Oh, but your tips are like spot on. Everything that’s been, you know, circling around in my brain about this topic, because the majority of the pitches that I receive, one is a company that’s been hired by the person to pitch for them. So right away, that eliminates that personal connection. And then as you mentioned, the research is just so critical, because really the majority, if not all of the women in my community, we operate as solopreneurs. So I’m not fishing through a 1,000 word email, and looking at all your attachments, and all of these things that this person sends me to see whether or not you’re a right fit for my audience. And I’ll be honest, most of the time anyway, the pitches are so generic, like you said, it’s about what they’ve accomplished and how great they are. And half of them don’t even apply to things that my audience is looking for. Like I actually got a pitch from someone who does like investments in farms. And it’s like, why are you even emailing me for this person that has nothing to do with my community.

But one thing you mentioned when you’re looking at websites for people to pitch is, you know, a process person, see if they have a process, which it’s simple. It even says it on my website, and I see this on many – submit an application or apply to be a guest right there. They’ll let you know, they don’t want an email. They have a process for tracking. I know I have one day a week where I focus on podcast tasks. That’s when I go and I review the applications but the application has to be submitted in order for me to follow my process. That makes sure I reply to everyone whether it’s I’d love to have you on the podcast or no thank you, this isn’t a good fit for my audience. So why don’t we get in, let’s get a little bit more deeper into the mistakes some of the other mistakes that you see people make when they’re pitching yourself or even that the a company that pitches for others may be making.

Christina Bizzell

Yeah, so we’ve covered being too generic and this is huge. Sometimes people will make a very generic pitch, and then send it out to as many outlets as they can find. I worked with a client who said that she had received a training in the past that told her to pitch to 20 podcasts a week, or something like that. And if you’re getting to that frequency, it’s hard to take the time you need to make your pitches personal. It’s one thing to start with a template. But you need to personalize that before sending it out. Maybe the meat of the pitch, the topics that you’re going to talk about might be the same for shows in the same niche.

But your introduction, your call to action, you should be finding ways to change that up and make it tailored to this podcaster. Because, like you said, it is it gets ridiculous, it gets to the point where somebody in agriculture is pitching a parenting podcast and it just doesn’t, doesn’t make sense at all. And it’s clear that they did not do any research. And another big mistake that I see and hear about a lot that’s in the same vein of being overly focused on yourself and overly self promotional is sending your media kit right away. I think there are ways to do it tactfully. Maybe at the end of your pitch, say, you know, I’ve also attached my media kit, in case you’re interested. But what I’m hearing more so is that people will just sort of send the media kit, and with almost nothing else with just a couple sentences, hey, I want to be on your podcast. Here’s my one, one sheet. Let me know what you think, when you want to book the interview. That’s not going to work! No one’s going to be interested in your credentials and accomplishments if they haven’t been warmed up yet.

Think about whenever you meet somebody face to face, you don’t just immediately start talking about who you are, what awards you have. Start talking about your life, your deep details right away, you start by with a handshake and introducing yourself making some connections with each other building some rapport, and then talking about what you do, who you do it for, and how that can be maybe advantageous for that person to enter into a partnership with you. I think, as I was saying earlier, a lot of times people get online and sort of forget how to socialize a little bit. Because yes, you do want to sell yourself as a guest. And you are trying to make yourself seem credible, and stand out against the other applicants, of course. But the best way to do that is not by talking about yourself for five paragraphs. The best way that you can do that is by positioning yourself as somebody who can help the audience.

That is going to make you stand out so much, especially with how Shannon was saying that podcasters get so many bad pitches. If you can send a good one, you are going to stand out so much. Don’t worry about the fact that, oh, I’ve been in five articles. And I need to put all five articles into the stitch? No, you don’t know you don’t. And it’s easy to think that you need to send all five articles that you’ve ever been featured in and put those all in the pitch. But no you don’t. You can just put in one. I see it a lot of times where a client will come to me and one of the biggest things that I have to convince them of is that they can actually share a little bit less than they think. It doesn’t have to be an exhaustive resume. You don’t have to try that hard to get the podcaster to like you. You can establish your credibility and two to three sentences. And then the rest of your pitch should be focused on how you can help the audience because at the end of the day, that’s the most exciting part.

Because I see people all the time getting booked on the podcast, and they haven’t won an award. They haven’t been in People Magazine and USA today and huge, huge outlets. And they still get booked on to podcast because they have expertise that can help the audience and they have a good personality. Now something that Shannon and I were talking about before was that another great thing that you can do to increase your likelihood of being accepted as a guest that has has nothing to do with your credentials or focusing on yourself in the pitch is connecting with podcasters on social media. That is a great way to get yourself on their radar maybe a little bit before you want to pitch them and warm them up. Because again, networking is huge. And people want to work with somebody that they know, already and like and trust already. And once they’ve connected with you on social media, and they can see some of the information that you’re sharing, they can see how you talk, they can say, you know what this person does know what they’re talking about whether they’ve been featured in magazines or on TV interviews or not. They know what they’re talking about, I would love to have them as a guest.

Shannon Baker

And that is key. Because even I’ll be 100% honest, I don’t think any of my guests that I’ve had on this show is someone that I wasn’t already connected to. There are a few that submitted applications. And before I accepted them to be a guest on the show, the first thing I did was go look at their accounts online, start a conversation with them. Because one thing that’s important when you’re a podcast host is to have someone with personality. Someone could be an expert at what they talk about, but their personality may not be a good fit for your audience. For me, I know by looking at someone’s profile, if they freely use profanity. That’s not what I want on my podcast because I have a clean rating, I want to keep it clean. You know, that’s the disclaimer when you submit your information.

So I’m not going to invite that person to be on my podcast. But those are the things that you have to find out by being online and really researching as a podcaster, to see if they’re a fit for your audience. But you know, for someone that you’re going to pitch, like you said, network, make the connection ahead of time. That way, it kind of jumps you to the front of the line, if you submit the application. But it’s even better if you develop the relationship and the podcaster just reaches out to you and says, You know, I love the content that you share online, would you like to be a guest on my podcast? Then you don’t even really have to pitch yourself, they work for you because they just straight out ask. So you shared some really valuable tips in that area. Now, what are other any other things that someone can include? If it’s a cold pitch, that will put them ahead or as you say, take them from being blocked to show stopping?

Christina Bizzell

Yes, there are a couple things that you can do to elevate your pitch and stand out from the crowd in a good way. First thing is to listen to an episode or two or more of the show before you pitch it. You want to know, what kind of personality does the host have? What’s the format of the show like? Is it something that you enjoy? Because at the end of the day, you need to be having fun on these podcasts. And this needs to be a partnership that helps the both of you. And it’s also good to know what kind of questions are asked, and what interviewing style the host has. Maybe there’s something that they always reference to, or something like that, that you can put into your pitch, and just show that you are a listener of the podcast and show that you’re genuinely engaged with the content that this podcast is putting out and you support them.

Another good thing is to personalize the pitch to the host’s specific needs and quirks as someone that touched on a little bit earlier. But to go a little bit more deeply into that, if the host is always talking about something or if there’s something that they really don’t like, or something that they’re personally a fan of, if you know that this host loves Trello and talks about it through different episodes. And you’re a huge fan of Trello bring that up. Or you know if you know that this podcaster talks a lot about their love of design and you’re interested in that, make those connections because it’s, again, just like in person, you want to connect with the host because you have to put yourself in the podcast host position.

Think about how they feel they’re getting all of these applications. They’ve never met you. And so they need to have somebody on the show that they can build chemistry with right away. So if the interview is fun to listen to, they need to feel like they’re going to have some similarities with you. They need to be able to trust that you’re going to teach their audience well. And so whenever you keep the host in mind and touch on topics that they frequently bring up, talk about things that, you know, are important to them, they are going to feel so much more supported. And they’re going to think, well, what a thoughtful pitch. I like the first one right away, they clearly get me, they clearly get my audience, come on my show, I would love to have you.

And another thing that I have not mentioned yet, is the length of your pitch. Podcasters are busy. Most podcasters are running their podcast, they have a business, they have a personal life, they have so many emails. And so whenever they open your email, and they see that you have written a book, they’re just gonna throw that out, they’re not going to look at that. And so I recommend keeping your pitches to under 350 words 250 could be good to somewhere between 250. And like 350 is the sweet spot for pitches with keep it to the point. less information truly is more, because in a way these pitches are like an appetizer, a teaser, you want to drum up interest. And then in the interview, that’s when you give away all of your secrets. And so you don’t have to worry about Oh, but I need to put in my whole life story. You don’t, you don’t have to worry about putting in every idea you’ve ever had. Fully teasing out every talking point you have. Just keep it short, sweet to the point and I promise you, the hosts will be intrigued and read your pitch and love it.

Shannon Baker

And that that is so key short and to the point here, like you mentioned. I mean, you know, we don’t have a lot of time because we’ve got so many different other things. And honestly, podcasting itself takes a good investment of time. So I don’t have another, you know, 30 minutes to like you said read this long email and then look at your attachments or you know, look at where you’ve been in your your media kit, and I don’t care. I need to know that we have a connection, that is going to vibe with my audience because I know my audience by we love coffee, we love wine, we love self care. I mean, they’re just certain things that the women in my community love. They know I love the word no. And that no is a complete sentence.

So it’s like, knowing those things. I’m looking, always looking for people, whether I’m connecting to them on social media, or definitely having them on the show that as you said, we’re gonna just have this free flow conversation where we’re sharing information, but you get to showcase your expertise. But it needs to be a vibe that works for both of us. Because if you go on a show where it’s just like blah on either end, the chances are either the podcast host is not going to share the episode or they’re going to share the episode and send you the information, which hopefully they have a process for giving you the the links and the graphics, which makes it easier for you to share. But you’ll be proud to share the episode after the fact, which in turn is that mutually beneficial part of the relationship, keyword being relationship. So don’t look at pitching as just, you know, tapping into someone else’s community. But it should be the a building block in building that relationship with a person as you mentioned earlier, don’t forget the social aspect. Because this really a podcasting is a collaboration. Because it’s two people working together for a similar purpose. So don’t lose the social aspect of it when you’re you’re pitching as well. This has been great. So now you’ve listened to the show my guest chats, you know, I have a bonus question. So what is one system either in your business or your personal life that you cannot live without?

Christina Bizzell

I am a huge fan of AirTable. It’s for anyone who’s not familiar with AirTable it’s basically a smart spreadsheet. And I love it so much. My business is built around it. It’s where I keep contact information. It’s where I can track lists of different podcasts for projects I’m putting together. It’s how I can track clients performance. It’s how I can track how the pitch angles are doing. It’s the best. It takes so much stress off of me having to remember things and I love that all of my information can live in one organized place. I don’t love having to go between a ton of different websites or a ton of different apps and stuff that I have to remember. I love AirTable couldn’t live without it.

Shannon Baker

And as you were talking, you know, my face lit up because I love AirTable too. So my podcast dashboard is set up in AirTable. Has the links, where the downloads, the topic, you know, links to Google Drive, to the blog posts, and on and on and on and on. But it’s all in one place. So I describe AirTable as if Google Sheets and Trello got together and had a baby, it was AirTable, because that’s literally how it works. But that’s awesome. Because I’m sure with you pitching others, being able to keep up with all of those pieces is critical. And it’s easier, as you said, not to have to go to multiple places to find the information but to find it in one spot. So yes for AirTable in that wonderful system that we have, you know, that’s my jam.

Christina Bizzell

So yes, love a system. Got to stay organized. And having systems just eliminates so much stress in your life, because you don’t feel so much pressure to have to be on top of everything and have to remember everything on your own.

Shannon Baker

Yes, systems equals brain space, because it’s something you don’t have to think about and use energy to do. But now you have a new freebie. That is awesome. I was so excited when I got my copy. So tell us about this new freebie you’ve got?

Christina Bizzell

Yeah, so I am imagining that after listening to this interview, maybe I empowered some of you to start pitching yourself to podcasts. And if that’s the case, you will love this freebie. It is a list of three unique podcasts for 15 different niches all geared toward service business owners. So I’m sure at least something related to your niche is in there. And if that is of interest to you, you can find it at Confetticreative.cocapable, and you can find the list of different podcasts to get you started on pitching yourself and maybe even just listening to a new podcast.

Shannon Baker

Yes, and I’m going to drop a link direct link to that in the show notes. But just a little clue if you’ve been listening to my podcast for a while there are some previous guests that I’ve had, that their podcasts are listed in that freebie. So as I was going through, I was like, Oh, I know her and I know her I know her to grab your copy link will be in the show notes. And if they want to connect with you online, where can they find you?

Christina Bizzell

I’m the most active on Instagram. That’s the best place to connect with me on social media, on Instagram @confetticreative.co. And you can also find me at my website, confetticreative.co. I would love to hear from you all and my DMs are in the contact form on my website.

Shannon Baker

And she’s very responsive. We send voice messages to each other all the time. So definitely be sure to connect with her online, share this episode with anyone that you know that’s looking to build brand awareness or thinking about pitching theirselves to be a podcast guest. If they’re ready to step into that space, they definitely need to hear these tips so that they can be successful with pitching themselves so that they can grow their business. So thank you, Christina, for being with us today and sharing these tips.

Christina Bizzell

Yes, thank you so much for having me, Shannon. I really enjoyed talking to you today.

To hear all of my chat with Christina listen to episode 78 of the podcast. Click below and tune in on your favorite platform.

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