How to Make Your Podcast Guests Feel Welcome (and Less Nervous!)
Content provided by Samantha Smith, copywriter and content marketing strategist.
She is based in Atlanta, Georgia
I’m going to be completely honest - agreeing to guest on a podcast was scary! I'm used to being behind the scenes, but in the end, knowing I could positively impact others helped me decide to punch through that comfort zone. As a show notes copywriter here at The Podcast Space, I was aware of what happens in front of the mic, but it definitely felt different to experience it firsthand.
And it was 100% worth it. You can listen to the episode here, where Nikki Rausch coaches me on how to streamline my sales process.
You’ll learn when it’s smart to send a proposal, and when you should go for the close!
From my viewpoint as an initially nervous guest, here are 5 ways you can make a guest feel excited and special which in turn makes them more committed to sharing the podcast:
Have a contact person
In my case, the host has an awesome assistant, Melissa, and she handled all the communication and any questions I might have had. I didn't end up having any questions because of the awesome communication!
Let your guest know exactly what you need from them
Melissa let me know well in advance that she needed a bio + headshot before we recorded. I sent it over to her by email a couple days ahead of time, so there was no rush for either of us.
Chat with them for a few minutes before hitting record
This was so valuable. It helped me calm down and realize the episode was simply a chat. I focused on talking to her, and didn't think about the future audience.
Small talk is a great way to break the ice, especially if you haven’t met your guest before. She explained the podcast agenda and made sure I was ready before she started the recording.
Reach out again a few days before it’s published
I do wish I had asked ahead of time when it would be published but they gave me a couple of days heads up and shared ready-to-go promo assets.
The ask was simple: accept a collaboration request for the post on Instagram (making it super simple, I didn’t have to do an extra post).
Adding it to my stories a couple of times was a no-brainer for me, as well as posting it on LinkedIn.
Thank them for their time
After the episode aired, the host sent me a private message thank you message, and it meant a lot! Since we had already finished promoting the episode on social media, it was a great way to close out the process.
Whenever you have a guest on your show, making them feel welcome is a win-win. A win for you because they’ll tell more people about your podcast, and a win for them because of it being such a pleasant experience!
About Samantha Smith
As a copywriter and content marketing specialist, Samantha’s passion is helping service entrepreneurs maximize their impact and business growth through dynamic digital content marketing.
Samantha has also helped our team take our business to the next level through her expert content creation, so go ahead and visit her website.