Being a guest on a podcast allows you to market yourself as an authority in your field. You get to create value, tap into a new audience, expand your listenership, and even spread the word about your business.
With over 3.2 million podcasts on Spotify alone, you have an extensive array of options to choose from. So, how do you convince a podcast producer or host that you’re a great fit for their show?
In this guide, we’ll show you how to pitch a podcast so you get hosts to say YES to you. We’re also sharing a handy pitch template and a five-star tool that can help you create irresistible podcast pitches and improve your response rates.
How to pitch a podcast: A step-by-step guide
Follow these steps to pitch yourself as a guest for a podcast:
1. Choose the right podcast
Ideally, you should want to contribute to a podcast you already like and listen to. But it goes beyond that. You should also choose a podcast whose audience can benefit from your expertise, even as you benefit from your exposure to them.
Ask yourself:
- What are the objectives of the podcast?
- What does the host want to achieve?
- What is the audience demographic?
- What are the goals of the target audience?
- How can my expertise and ideas fit in?
- Will the target audience be interested in my content afterwards?
If you’re not a big podcast listener or don’t know where to start, Google, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iTunes all have a huge podcast directory. You can research the top podcasts in your niche by looking at the charts on these platforms.
2. Establish a relationship with the podcast host
Before you send out your perfect pitch, warm up the podcast host by engaging with them on social media. Follow their accounts and engage with posts you like, leaving sincere comments, where necessary. This puts you on the host’s radar. Often, if you match their ideal podcast guest profile, they might pitch you before you reach out to them!
3. Write your pitch
Use the following tips to create a pitch that resonates with the podcast host.
Write a straightforward subject line
People are busy, so tell the host upfront what your request is. Something as simple as “Potential Guest for [podcast name]” or “I’d love to be a guest on your podcast” will do.
Focus on their audience and not yourself
It’s tempting to make your pitch all about you, but it shouldn’t be. So, while a brief bio is certainly a must, be sure to link your expertise with the value you’ll provide for the podcast’s audience. Share why you’re the best person to offer this value to their listeners, including any data or social proof necessary.
Pay attention to detail
Show the host that you’re not some spammy sales outreach person emailing every podcast host they know by mentioning one or two specific things you enjoy about their podcast. If you loved a particular episode, tell them.
This way, the host will know that you’ve done your research and are genuinely interested in what their brand has to offer.
Use a template
Our final tip is to use a template. This is most useful if you spend a lot of time pitching yourself to podcasts or brands. You can create a template by yourself or make several using an AI writer. We recommend our very own AI writing tool: Jasper. In creating the podcast pitch template below, we used the Personalized Cold Emails template — one of Jasper's 52+ writing templates.
Jasper can produce multiple outputs at once. In the screenshot below, we requested 10 outputs, which Jasper delivered.
We chose the option below:
Hey FIRST_NAME,
I'm [your name]. I [share more about what you do and any impact your company has made or relevant social proof]. I would love to be a guest on your podcast! Your recent episode about [relevant topic] was really great and I'd love to share [your preferred podcast topic + how you can add value to their audience].
What are your thoughts? Would you like me to send you an outline so you can decide if this is something worth pursuing?
Hope all is well,
[YOUR NAME]
Jasper can provide templates customized to your brand and the podcast you’re pitching to when you input the details in the left column as seen in the screenshot.
4. Send a follow-up email
Your work doesn’t end after sending the pitch. Most podcast hosts have other jobs and responsibilities, so they might not respond to your pitch immediately. That doesn’t mean they’re not interested. Send a follow-up message.
If possible, add more value to your follow-up emails. If you’ve worked on a new product or started a relevant new project, include it. If you’ve also been featured on other podcasts, feel free to drop links to those features in the emails.
3 real-life pitch examples and why they worked
1. Casey Hill’s email to Startup Hype Man Podcast
Pitch type: Pitching your colleague to be a podcast guest
This pitch worked because the sender showed that he did his research. Casey suggested his CEO as a possible guest for the podcast, explaining why his expertise would suit the target audience. He also made a few pointed remarks about an episode he liked. Also, notice the direct subject line.
2. Mai-Kee Tsang’s pitch to The Copywriter Club
Pitch type: Pitching yourself to be a podcast guest
Mai-Kee understood the purpose of the podcast and offered value to the host on that basis. She also talked about the impact of the podcast on her business and their first personal contact. The best part? She saved the host time by outlining talking points in advance and because it’s not her first time, she even has the equipment for recording.
3. A personalized pitch to Stephan Spencer
Pitch type: Pitching yourself to be podcast guest without a topic in mind
This straightforward pitch was specific and offered value to the audience. The sender researched the show and showed why his expertise was the right fit, judging from previous episodes.
3 tools you need to pitch a podcast without stress
Pitching a podcast is no easy feat; there’s plenty of legwork involved. To save you time spent in researching and tracking follow-up emails, we’ve found three indispensable pitching tools.
1. PodSearch
This podcast directory allows you to find podcasts in almost every category. So, if you still can’t figure out which podcasts to pitch to, start here. Podsearch allows you to:
- Find new and emerging podcasts
- Listen to samples from the podcasts
- Browse through several podcasts across a wide range of categories
Pricing: Free to use
2. AI writing assistant (Jasper)
Jasper can be your number one writing partner. Our AI tool can help you create personalized podcast pitches that will land you that guest spot. With Jasper you get:
- 52+ writing templates for copywriting, email marketing, product descriptions and long-form content
- AI writing services available in over 20 languages
- A Bootcamp to learn how to make the most of the tool
And after your guest appearance, you can even use Jasper to summarize your podcast episode for repurposing, or offer up a podcast description to your hosts about your background.
Pricing: Starts at $29/month
3. Muck Rack
This free media database tool helps you schedule outreach emails and follow up on pitches. Now, no pitch will slip through the cracks. With Muck Rack, you can:
- Pitch a journalist as soon as you find them, using the bookmarklets tool
- Personalize each pitch, down to the email subject line with information from Muck Rack’s media database
- Measure and track your pitching activity
Pricing: Contact sales for pricing
Start pitching podcasts to grow your brand
Drafting podcast pitches can be intimidating. But with these tips, you’re well on your way to creating the right podcast pitch to grow your brand or business.
Jasper is the number one tool for AI marketing and AI copywriting. With over 52 templates for emails, long-form content, scripts, and product descriptions, it is designed to help you write any kind of content. Sign up with Jasper today to start telling great stories on podcasts.
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