Finding a guest for your podcast is very important. Not only will it help boost the number of downloads for your episode; it will also provide you with quality content to inspire your audience to contact you.
Selecting the ideal podcast guest can be a challenge. How do you decide who is the perfect match and who is not? Here are some ideas to help you.
1. Their Niche
When it comes to selecting someone for your show, you know that they’ve got to offer something complimentary to your podcast. It would be pointless for you to invite a psychiatrist specializing in adult care to talk on a podcast about bringing up children. Consider their niche and how it will fit with your show’s general premise.
At the same time, you don’t want the guest to be a direct competitor or rival to your services. This would undermine your authority on the podcast, direct more traffic to your competitor and they aren’t likely to promote you equally.
2. The Influence On The Market
Another aspect of bringing a guest onto your podcast is the potential pull they have on an audience. Some people will download a new podcast because they’ve heard an influential guest has appeared on the show. For this, you need to determine how much of an influence your potential guests have so look at their:
- Social media following.
- Website traffic.
- Number on email list.
You also need to know what platforms and resources they are willing to use in order to promote their presence on your show. If it is a quick Tweet to a few people, then there isn’t much marketing power.
3. Their Topic Of Interest
As well as determining the niche of a potential guest, you need to find out what topics they would like to talk about. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, you don’t want to repeat topics too frequently. Secondly, you don’t want to be covering something that is out of your podcast’s general area of conversation and finally, it has to be important to the audience.
The final point is important. You could have the most impressive public speaker on your podcast but if your audience is not interested in the subject they will not listen to the podcast or will switch off. The long term impact on your downloads could also be devastating, with many not returning to listen to you again.
4. Their Voice
Another critical element in podcasting is getting the voice for your audience and yourself right. You don’t want someone who has a speaking style that is the polar opposite to your own. Instead you want to talk to someone who has the same tempo and style. This makes the show look more refined and allows the content to be more powerful.
When there is a difference, your audience will concentrate more on the sound of the voice than what is being said.
Another problem is when your voice sounds too much like the guest’s that the audience can’t tell you apart.
To ensure neither of these events happen, listen to sound bites or previous podcasts from the potential guest. Then compare it to your own voice on record.
Conclusion
Podcasting is an excellent way to use the influence of others to draw attention to your brand. However, you need to ensure your guests are right for your podcast. If you don’t, you could drive listeners away from your content and never see them again.
How do you recruit listeners? What criteria do you use?
Let us know in the comments below.
Action Steps:
- Create some criteria for your ideal guest.
- Compare a list of potential guests against those criteria.