Story-Driven Outreach for Podcasters and Guests
Create Stellar Outreach that gets you 2x or more quality guests that turn into qualified leads.
When I first started my podcast, The Entrepreneur Ethos Podcast some 200 episodes ago, I had a big problem.
How do I get guests?
Even worse was how to get the right types of guests.
You see, I wanted to use my podcast as a way to have conversations that would lead to more business for my company, JSY PR & Marketing.
Well, full disclosure, I had no idea when I started that’s what I wanted to do but all those episodes seemed to always lead to the guest saying then asking.
“That was fun. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Help me? Hmmm. I’d never thought about that.
The Hardest Part About Getting (the Right) Guests
I had a faint idea that having a podcast was a great way to do business development. Some of the podcasts I have been on as a guest usually asked what I did and what challenges I faced but I guess I never fully connected the dots.
I had originally started because I was sick of blogging and figured it was easier.
It’s not.
The mistakes I made during the first 100 episodes could fill volumes. In fact, I had not even figured out the whole “podcasting as biz dev” until after my first 100 interviews.
Those first hundred guests were not targeted or researched or even vetted. I outreached to whomever I found interesting and whomever contacted me.
While it was not the best biz dev decision, it was the best show decision.
The reason?
Consistency Builds Credibility
If you want qualified guests to actually reach out to you, then you need to build a consistent podcast that demonstrates you’re in it for the right reasons.
You heard me right.
The secret to getting qualified guests on your show is by building either an entertaining, inspiring, or educational podcast (or a combination of those) that gives back to the community you want to target consistently.
Simple yet so hard to do.
What do I mean by consist?
At least one show a week for a year.
If you can’t commit to that, then you’ll never build a show that people want to be on and frankly, you don’t need this course.
This course will help you build a great show but if you’re not committed to that level of consistency, you’re not only wasting your time but your guests' time.
If you are committed to that, then the ripple effect is you’ll get the guests you want.
Those guests, over time, will turn into qualified leads for your business.
Quality Show = Quality Guests = Qualified Leads
I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t this a course about how to get quests for my podcast?
Yes, it is.
Then why are you talking about putting out a quality show, consistently, for a year.
What happens if I’m just staring out.
Story-Driven Outreach will still work.
What happens if I need the leads now?
Story-Driven Outreach can still help.
The cold hard fact is that building value takes time but you already knew that.
My guess is that you already have a successful business and want to build a consistent pipeline of quality leads.
Bravo. Your Podcast can achieve that.
Is There a Way to Fast Track This?
Not if you don’t already have a quality show.
Let me rephrase that.
The table stakes for getting quality guests on your podcast is having a show worth being on.
You need to answer the question:
What does my guest get out of this?
If your answer to that is not clear, concise, and compelling, you’re going to not get the guests you want.
Notice I said nothing about what you get.
The biggest mistake and why most host outreach does not work, is because hosts don’t tell a compelling story about the value they give a guest. It seems simple yet you see this time and time again — especially shows with hosts that are lead gen focused.
First rule of Outreach Club is to first and foremost add value to the guest.
The second rule?
See rule one.
Amplify Your Show with Outreach
Outreach is at the heart of being a successful podcast host and creating a podcast that people want to listen to.
The main tool for outreach is the tried and true cold email. It’s one of the most effective means to get guests on your show.
The challenge most people have with outreach is that they don’t spend the time to actually understand what they are pitching and who they are pitching to.
I’m essence, they don’t spend the time up front to understand what the heck they are even pitching.
Sure, you can buy all sorts of books and courses with templates and subject lines for cold emails, LinkedIn messages, etc. but most won’t give you the results you want.
Why you may ask? The answer is simple.
In order to get stellar results, you need to have a stellar story.
Full stop. End of story.
Without a stellar story, that you believe in your heart and soul, your emails, DM’s, or personal conversations will fall flat.
It’s the proverbial Garbage in = Garbage Out.
That’s why I created Story-Driven Outreach for Podcasters so that I can teach you how to craft your story so that you get the guest you want on your show.
Story-Driven Outreach for Podcasters is About Telling Your Story
I have been helping people tell their stories for the better part of 25 years, across countless startups and through my PR & Marketing firm. I’m also the host of The Entrepreneur Ethos podcast, which is approaching 200 episodes.
In the beginning, I had to do outreach to get my guests.
Now, 75% of my guests come from them outreaching to me.
Those almost 200 guests that made it on my show came from a pool of over 450 people that contacted me.
The common denominator among all those success stories was a clear, concise, and compelling story that was timely.
This applies to all aspects of Outreach methods – from emails, to LinkedIn, to MatchMaker.fm or to in-person networking.
Learn From My (Mistakes and) Successes
In this course, we’ll explore the art and craft of outreach so you can get the guests you want on your show.
We’ll go through the challenges and struggles of building good outreach as well as when it makes sense to outreach to someone. This will be an interactive course so be ready to write and share what you're working on and yourself.
You’ll Learn How to …
- Craft a Big Idea for your podcast
- Understand the structure of great outreach that gets results
- Create your own outreach for your show.
- Know when it’s the right time to do outreach + outreach cadence
- Using tools like Respona to automate your outreach and look up potential guests
- Supercharge Your Subject Lines for more conversations
- Using platforms like MatchMaker.fm or Podmatch.com to have guests outreach to you.
- BONUS: Use being a guest on other shows to build your credibility as a show to be on.
Who is This For
If you want to get more guests on your show that could turn into qualified leads, then this course is for you.
This is for all levels of podcaster but especially if you are using your show as a way to generate qualified leads for your business.
Everything we’ll go over is based on my own show, the clients I have helped, and being on many shows as well.
What People are Saying
In all honesty, this is the first time I’m doing this course specifically for podcasters and guests.
The basis for this course is a book I wrote called Story-Driven Outreach.
To date, it has 22, 5-star reviews on Amazon.
While the method applies to all sorts of outreach, it’s particularly powerful for Podcasters since it not only gives you a method that works for outreach but it helps you build a show where qualified guests actually reach out to you.
Some of the reviews are below.
Purpose Built for Podcasters by a Podcaster
Story-Driven Outreach for Podcasters is specifically catered to podcasters that want to use their podcast to get quality guests that lead to qualified leads.
I should know because I’m a host just like you who uses my podcast to find quality guests that could lead to qualified leads.
As a student, you’ll be in an environment where you can put into practice what you learn, in real-time, with real feedback so you can accelerate your outreach efforts.
One other thing we’re also going to do is talk about being a guest yourself. That’s a powerful way to get the word out about your show and also gets guests on your show.
Course Schedule
Over the 5-week course, we’ll be going through the methods outlined in Story-Driven Outreach in the following order:
- Getting Your Story Straight
- The Anatomy of Story-Driven Outreach
- Crafting Your Perfect Story-Driven Outreach
- Going Live with Story-Driven Outreach using Respona
- Live Creation and Refinement Lab + 30 Day Challenges.
Each session is 60 minutes long and will be recorded if you can’t make it. During each session there will be exercises to hone your outreach skills. All templates and worksheets will be available within the portal.
You’ll also be invited to a Slack group to get real time feedback and to answer any questions.
What’s Included
- eBook: Story-Driven Outreach
- Video: Getting Your Story Straight
- Video: The Anatomy of Story-Driven Outreach
- Video: Crafting Your Perfect Story-Driven Outreach
- Video: Going Live with Story-Driven Outreach using Respona
- Video: Live Creation and Refinement Lab + 30 Day Challenges
- Worksheet: Big Idea
- Worksheet: Subject Line Supercharger
- Worksheet: Outreach creator
- Community: Story-Driven Outreach Slack Group.
- BONUS eBook: 7 PR Secrets All Founders Should Know
- BONUS: Use being a guest on podcasts to promote your own podcast.
About Your Instructor
Powered by a steady dose of locally-crafted espresso, Jarie loves nothing more than to figure out how to explain complex things in clear and compelling ways. With 6 startups, 7.75 books, and 10 patents under his belt, Jarie’s experience runs the gamut of semiconductors through life sciences to nonprofits. When he’s not helping clients convert a concept to a viable strategy, Jarie can either be found with his blue belt on the Jiu-Jitsu mat, interviewing entrepreneurs on his podcast, or researching the latest in earthship construction techniques.