3 Ways to Find Amazing Podcast Guests + 3 Interview Hacks!

Hey Friend!

Do you struggle to find the right guests for your podcast? Are you overwhelmed with the idea of finding the RIGHT podcast guests? I get it! You’ve put so much work into your show you don’t want just anyone on it! If this is you, or you want to uplevel your interview game, get ready! Today I share with you my top three tips for finding amazing podcast guests and my top tips for ensuring the interviews go as smoothly as possible while bringing great value to your audience.

How to Do a Great Podcast Interview – Find Amazing Podcast Guests & Interview Hacks!

Three ways to find amazing podcast guests

If you’re new to podcasting or haven’t started a podcast yet, podcast guests are simply people you have on your show. They often come on to teach something in an area you don’t teach on, and a great place to start is with people who have helped you along on your life journey. 
If you’ve been podcasting for a while, maybe you know this game, but you haven’t had the best experiences having people on your show. I remember early on in my podcasting journey, I had a few guests on the show that I did not vet properly or weren’t the right fit. And it got really awkward because there came a time when I had to decide whether to air that episode or not. And I want to help you never have to face that decision by being discerning over who you have on your podcast. We want to be sure we’re digging in and discerning through who we invite on our show.

1. Who do you know?

The first way to find amazing podcast guests is to think about who you know. If you have ever been in or know someone in network marketing, you will have heard of the list. Essentially, the list is when you get a big sheet of paper or a whiteboard and write down a list you write of everyone you know. Obviously, that’s super creepy and weird, so we’re not going to do that, but we are going to write down everyone who has made a specific impact in our lives, or we have learned from in our businesses, or we look up to. That’s the magic list I want you to start with. 

Next, I want you to consider who you know who has a podcast. This one might feel a bit weird because pitching someone you don’t know is so much easier. Who cares if they say no to me?! But when you knock on someone’s door that you do know, it might get a bit intimidating. And that’s okay. We have to remember that these are people that we already know, so it’s totally normal for us to say, “Hey, you’ve impacted my life in this area as my life coach. Would you mind coming on and sharing a bit about what it means to find the right life coach, invest in coaching, or whatever on my podcast?”  

I want you to remember that when you invite someone who has made an impact in your life, you’ve learned from, you’ve grown from, or teaches something in an area you don’t teach, they are going to feel so excited and so blessed to get that visibility and to hear that you view them so highly to invite them on your podcast. This is such a widely overlooked opportunity to have amazing guests on the show. You already know them, you’ve vetted them, and you know that they are legit because they’ve already helped you in some way.

2. Ask in a niche-specific community

The second way to find amazing podcast guests is to ask in a niche-specific community. Obviously, this one is going to take more vetting and homework. Say your brand is decluttering, and you run a decluttering business. I want you to find a declutter group on Facebook. You go in there and say, “I’m looking specifically for ________.” 

You don’t just want to have a bunch of other declutter coaches on your podcast because that’s what you do. Find someone who has a different specialty and doesn’t teach the same stuff as you. That might mean they talk about a new special strategy to declutter the garage or teach how to declutter in another area of your person’s life, like decluttering their marriage or communication. There are all kinds of cool sub-niches! 

When you go into that Facebook group and ask if they know anyone who would be a fantastic guest for your podcast, you don’t want to leave it open-ended. You want to tell them specifically what you want them to teach and the one thing you’re looking for. 
Beware, you’ll get a lot of feedback in a Facebook group because, as I said earlier, everyone wants visibility. Everybody knows that being on a podcast is the new advertising, so they all want to be on a podcast. And you definitely don’t want to take anyone and everyone on your podcast, so you’ll need to do some homework. Once you have some recommendations, you want to go vet them.

How to vet podcast guests?

Nobody should ever go on your show without you vetting them beforehand. Since vetting potential podcast guests is so important, how do we do it? To vet someone for your show, you need to hear how they speak. This may look like listening to them on YouTube, their podcast (if they have one), or reels or stories on their socials. You want to ensure the message they are portraying and the way they are saying it will be a good fit for you. 

I’ve had people in my podcast journey who sounded like a great fit and came highly recommended, but something about them – the way they taught, their values, or something- wasn’t aligned. So I saved myself from finding that out the hard way by doing some homework first.

The second thing you want to look for in the vetting process is there the possibility of a podcast swap or collaboration. So if the person you are pitching has their own podcast, YouTube channel, or a huge social following, you can say, “Hey, I have this opportunity for you. Would you be interested in doing a podcast swap with me? Would you be open to collaborating with me? I could come on your YouTube channel, and you could come on my podcast.” You know, shoot straight. 
If you’re feeling nervous or unsure about how to authentically pitch yourself, we have an entire module on that in Podcast to Profit. I have a very special guest who comes on and teaches, as well as templates and all the amazing things to show you how to get big yeses when you’re looking at these podcast guests – both for them to come on your show and for you to go on theirs.

3. Go inward

The third way to find amazing guests is to go inward and look through your own clients and students (you can also ask them for recommendations). My top downloaded guest episodes are always all of you, my students! Particularly the people who’ve had the biggest breakthroughs going through Podcast Pro University or Podcast to Profit. I bring you guys on the show, and people love it because it shows them what is possible. It’s one thing to hear me say, “starting a podcast is the answer; it’s super possible for you to get off social and still grow your business.” People hear that and say, “Okay, cool, maybe that works for you, but not me.” 

So it’s so important to showcase how you’re helping people. So if you have a course or clients, have them on your podcast, and if you don’t, in Podcast to Profit, I’m going to teach you how to get clients and students you can bring onto your show.

Also, on going inward, who can you ask for referrals in your network? Think about who you know who has a podcast in a totally unrelated space and ask them, “Hey, who do you know that might add value to my declutter podcast?”

My top 3 podcast interview hacks

So now you should have a whole plethora of ideas of who you want to have on your podcast; let’s move on to the hacks and how to make the interview go as well as possible.

1. Leave breathing room

Some of my coolest friendships in the industry, mastermind opportunities, and even free coaching have come from slowing down long enough to truly connect with someone. I know we’re so busy, we’ve got lives, pick up and drop off, and we have a lot to do. I understand that. But, my first interview hack is to leave breathing room, to leave room to mingle. I know we’re busy, but the beauty comes in these moments of deeper connection. 

I always leave a buffer of 10 minutes before and after the interview just to get to know my podcast guests. In the beginning, it’s a little bit of small talk, but in the end, some kind of magic happens from hearing a person’s entire life. It’s like, whoah, man! I resonate with what you said here, or I, too, struggle with this; tell me more. That has come up so often in my interviews, leading to such beautiful collaborations and connections. You want to leave this breathing room to connect.

2. Outcome-focused questions

My second hack is to provide outcome-focused questions to your guest. This is important because unless you are Joe Rogan, no one wants to listen to you jibber on for an hour or more with people. It’s just not going to work until you’re a really, really big fancy podcaster. You can prove me wrong. However, I’m here to let you know that while having guests is great, you still need to keep your episodes tactical, digestible, and ideally under 35 minutes. Maybe 40 minutes if you’re on a fantastic roll with someone. But you want to keep your guest on track. So we’ve begun providing outcome-focused questions beforehand so they know the end result we are looking for.  

We say something like, “this is the outcome we’re really hoping for today, and these are the four questions that will get us there.” These really help the guest, especially if the guest is like me and loves to chat! I find if I’m provided with questions like this, knowing the end result they want from me, it’s very simple for me to stay on track. So we’ve been providing these, and it’s been great at keeping the interviews streamlined and cutting out the fluff.

3. The ask

 The third interview hack I have for you is the ask. What is the worst that can happen if you really connect with someone and you say, “Hey, I know you have a YouTube channel or a podcast as well, I don’t know if you’d be open to it, but I had this idea as you were talking, what if I came on and taught about _______? You don’t have to say yes right now. Think about it and get back to me.” 
If that freaks you out, and you’re like, absolutely not! Pop it into the thank you email that you send your guests after the interview. I’m always asking because why not?! What’s the worst that can happen? If someone says no to me, oh well! Just ask. I also have another blog on this topic which you can check out here.

Want to learn more about podcast interviews and getting great podcast guests?

If you’ve loved today’s blog and are ready to get personalized help on getting your podcast to the next level, I’d love for you to prayerfully consider jumping on the waitlist for my 90-day group coaching course, Podcast to Profit. In this course, I help you create more income and impact by optimizing your podcast for your audience. There is no one-size-fits-all for podcasting, and we help you go on a deep-dive optimization journey with the long game in mind. We help you develop a unique plan to grow, scale, and monetize your podcast for more impact and income. I strategize with you, give you all the tools, and ensure that you implement properly based on your person, business, and dreams using the time you have to pour into it.  

For more details, come check out Podcast to Profit. 

So there you have my top tips for getting amazing podcast guests and three never heard before hacks for acing podcast interviews. Interviews are a fantastic way to grow your audience and reach. They allow you access to new listeners and provide amazing value to your current audience. While they can be daunting initially, you just have to get out there and start. Because, what’s the worst that will happen? But the best can and will be amazing!

I pray this blesses you!

Xo,

Stef

P.S. Also, listen to podcast episode 568 for the full training on 3 Ways to Find Amazing Podcast Guests + 3 Interview Hacks!

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