How to Get A-List Speakers on Your Podcast
With examples and screenshots!
I started “The Edgy Podcast” on 1st January 2022. Unlike the basic notion of “taking it slow in the beginning,” I took off at full throttle. I published one podcast every week in the first month of releasing it. This translates to — onboarding one guest speaker every week. Not to mention, all these guest speakers are an expert in their very domain (influenzas as you might say!)
Therefore, I needed a sustainable process to make it possible without constantly spamming people.
3 things happened within the first month of starting The Edgy Podcast —
- It gave my podcast a head-start within my online community.
- It boosted my self-confidence seeing the progress I made in just one month.
- My podcast ranked position 10 in the category Marketing (India) in Apple Podcasts Rankings in January 2022 by Podstatus. (See the screenshot attached below.)
Now that we’ve established its worth, let’s move on to the main topic of this article.
How did I do it?
- Did I have a huge following online?
No.
- Did I have a lot of influencer friends?
No.
- Did I pitch to 100 influencers to get only 4 aboard?
Hell, no.
All these facts are to tell you that I didn’t come from any extraordinary background to make it happen. So if I could do it, then you can too. ❤
I followed a simple 4-step process to onboard guest speakers on my podcast. It’s nothing fancy, but something I devised whilst hosting Twitter Spaces.
I used to host a lot of guest Twitter spaces in 2021. In fact, that is where I got the idea of starting my own podcast in the first place. I realized my love for sharing knowledge and my knack for convincing people (shameless flexing).
People liked my Twitter Spaces — so much so that they insisted I record the spaces for later access.
Incidentally, Twitter didn’t provide a “record spaces” option back then so I decided to try something new.
And that is how TEP (The Edgy Podcast) came into existence. We are now thirteen episodes down in eight months, and going strong!
Finally, here’s the 4-step framework I mentioned above —
1. Decide a niche for your podcast.
Although I did not have any specific niche for TEP, I just had a theme in my mind — youth-centric topical issues (marketing, business, mental health, etc.)
Interacting with hundreds of youngsters whilst hosting Twitter spaces gave me a clear idea of the type of topics I wanted to record on my podcast.
2. Figure out a medium to approach your target speakers.
- Where are they most active? — Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or their own website?
- Interact with their content for a while. Make your name and your DP familiar to them.
For me, it was Twitter since I already had a follower base there (<5k.) Moreover, I was also familiar with some names to begin pitching already.
3. Find the best way to reach out to a particular speaker to maximize your chances of getting a yes.
- Example — E-mail, DM, audio, video, referral.
4. Finally, send a star message. How?
- Research your speaker.
- Tell them why only “they” are best suited for speaking on that particular topic. This is where your research comes in handy.
- Also, include what’s in it for them.
Note:- I made myself familiar to all my guest speakers before approaching them for recording the podcast.
Examples-
1. Tushar Tayal- A fellow podcaster, and Web3 writer. I chose him as the first speaker on my podcast because he helped me begin my podcasting journey.
At first, I invited him to be a speaker on my Twitter spaces and talk about podcasting. Then, I sent him a curated DM on Twitter stating why he is the best fit for speaking on my first podcast. The topic was “Decoding Podcasting.” It resonated with him completely since he was already working on his podcasting e-book. Hence, he said yes.
Know what your target speaker is upto recently.
2. Udit Goenka- Founder at FirstSales.io, speaker at Josh Talks.
I used the same strategy with Udit, too. But with a twist. He was one of the first two people I ever met offline via Twitter. I used that opportunity to fraternize with him.
Most importantly, I observed how keen he was to expand his network and share his knowledge with people.
Hence, I grabbed the opportunity and made my ask.
Strike while the iron is hot.
I used this strategy multiple times, and it worked 8/10 times. But that doesn’t mean you have to copy this exact same strategy. In fact, I don’t even host Twitter Spaces anymore but I still host my podcast.
The key is to find out your own way of fraternising with your target audience. Be it the speakers or the listeners.
Whilst this strategy works wonders. What if your target speakers are not available online?
How to find speakers offline?
Let me explain this to you via three examples from my podcast—
1. Colonel (Dr.) Inderjeet Barara- He is one of India’s Top 20 blockchain influencers (see the image below.) I met him at an alumni meet where he was the guest speaker. I took the opportunity to introduce myself and share my views on cyber-security (the topic of his speech.)
I didn’t pre-plan to invite him to my podcast. I thought of doing it at the moment and was very nervous to approach him because I thought he was a far-fetch. (We’ll learn more about this later.)
But now that the ice was broken, I took the leap of faith.
I grabbed a moment right before he was leaving and asked if he would be happy to speak on my podcast.
Guess what? He happily agreed and gave me his card for contacting later.
And that’s how I got a personality like him on my podcast.
Sometimes, you got to stop looking for opportunities far away, because they might be right under your nose.
2. Divya Dawar- She is a certified clinical psychologist with her own practice in Delhi-NCR. I found her via a friend who was seeking therapy from another psychologist in the same practice.
Coincidently, I was also scouting for a legit guest speaker for my next podcast on mental health. So, I approached Divya via her colleague initially and then added her to my own contacts for further communication.
Soon after, we blocked a date for recording the most sensitive topic of my podcast yet.
Use your immediate and offline connections to find amazing speakers.
3. Jagriti Pande- She is a UI/UX coach, entrepreneur, and a pro-artist. She achieved all this at a very young age. So, how did I manage to get her aboard?
Well, this is where one of my past-job experiences came in handy. I had once reached out to her to conduct a UI/UX workshop in my then office. Although that couldn’t work out for some reason, I managed to maintain a connection with her over time.
I used this connection to approach her two years later with a podcast opportunity. She was a kind soul to agree and boom, another amazing podcast was recorded.
Maintain professional relationships over time because they come handy when you least expect it.
Pro tip — Choose only legitimate speakers for your podcast to build credibility.
Now that we have established the laying ground for onboarding guest speakers for your podcast, let’s not forget a very important thing.
Sometimes you might do everything right but still not be able to lock the deal. Why?
Because the other person is not your target speaker. Simple. Move on.
You need to target people who are showing signs of similar interest. These signs could be:
- They are actively engaging with their audiences online.
- They want to share their knowledge far and wide.
- They are collaborating with other creators to grow their network.
These are the kind of people you need to approach and show why recording a podcast with you could be a good idea for them, too.
Make it about them as much as possible.
Now you might wonder that all of these tactics only work for small-mid size accounts or influencers.
But you’ll be surprised to know that most of these speakers on my podcast enjoy a massive following online or have an amazing (and intimidating) portfolio offline. You can even Google their names to confirm this claim.
So do not hesitate to contact big names just because you think they’re out of your league. (See the example of Colonel Barara above.)
Follow the steps mentioned in this article, and I promise you to block four excellent speakers or more in a month’s time.
But what if you don’t have a podcast yet?
Will these points still be useful to you?
Of course! As long as you need to grow your network and get more leads, this article is 100% relevant to you.
You can use these learnings for various events such as Twitter spaces, LinkedIn audio events, YouTube videos, Clubhouse rooms, etc.
After all, writing a pitch will always be a core part of your work no matter what you do.
Author’s note — Watch out for my next podcast releasing on 30 August 2022 to see how a student created an Instagram marketing empire at the age of 17.
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