PodBeta | Guest Management Best Practices
For most of us podcasters, our shows are a way that we can chat with incredible people and share their stories. Most people have long-form interview shows and manage booking guests for those shows.
Even if you have more of a narrated storytelling show, my guess is that you still book people to be on your show.
Most people I know don’t have a solid process for this and things get lost in the cracks.
Here are some of the best practices I’ve learned over the years of podcasting:
1️⃣ have a tracking system. This doesn’t have to be an Excel spreadsheet but for me it is. I have one place where I track outreach, who I’m reaching out to, their answer, their interview date, etc. You need a central place to keep track of all of your guest booking efforts. Why? Because having disparate emails here and DMs there will not help you keep things organized and running smoothly.
2️⃣ communicate expectations from the very beginning. In any outreach you do, be explicit with what you’re asking of your guest. Need them to do a pre-interview conversation? How long does that usually take? Why do they need to do that? Want them to post on their socials once the episode is live? How many times? What social platforms?
3️⃣ always reach out to more folks than you think you need. Do you need three interviews for the next month? Reach out to 6 people. The fact is that people are busy and not everyone will get back to you when you need them to!
4️⃣ be persistent. People have a lot going on. You should be reaching out at least 3 times before you count them as a no-go. I can’t tell you how many times folks have said to me “thank you so much for the nudge, I’ve been super busy.” If you believe in your show and your purpose, you should have no problem reaching out multiple times to get a great guest on. I usually give at least 5 business days in between outreaches.
