Useful Podcast Guesting Strategy to Help Grow Your Business: 4 Mistakes to Avoid -7

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:02

Did you know that in 2024, 47% of US adults listened to a podcast in the last month? That is a considerable amount. It is also triple what it was ten years ago. Podcasting continues to grow. You may be aware of how amazing podcasting is because after all, you are listening to a podcast. But have you thought about the benefits it might bring to your business and how it fits into your business strategy? We're here to talk about podcast guesting, which is an incredible place to start. Or if you already have a podcast, it's an excellent way to even build that up. So we're gonna start about dipping your toe into the water. Think about some of the common mistakes you may need to avoid, and what the benefits are, and how to really start the process if you are interested in podcast guesting.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:48

I'm glad you made time for this today. Welcome to Authenticity Amplified, your resource for attracting and connecting to your ideal client. The go to podcast for entrepreneurs on the go to grow their business. I'm your host, Shawna Rodrigues, podcast strategist and the founder of the solopreneur sisterhood. I'm here to bring community the entrepreneurial journey and learn alongside you as we tap into knowledge and insights from experts to help you grow your business. I know how much effort you put into your business, and this is useful and practical information coming straight to you wherever you are, whenever you have the time to listen. As you know, I own a podcast network. So you would think that my primary goal would be to talk you into having your own podcast.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:01:39

And I am very passionate about getting more women into podcasting. 37 by 20 seven is kind of the mission around here because only 27% of podcasts were hosted by women when I started my podcast network, which is shocking to me. So I do want more women's voices in podcasting and hosting podcasts. That is the big goal. However, I've noticed that the entry into podcasting isn't giving you courses for you to figure out how to do it on your own. I still think that coming to the network, having us coach you, having us walk you through the entire process to launch your podcast and do the production for you is the best way to have success in podcasting. I really do. The first step really is guesting on podcast.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:26

And part of that is because of how it helps you refine your message, build your audience, because part of that is borrowing audiences. And it helps you to learn how to contribute and connect to your ideal clients and customers. So that first step is podcast guesting, and that's why that is the initial stage of the work that I do and support. And then along the line, once you're making the level, once you're getting to those six and ten k months consistently, and you're ready to have a podcast be part of the bigger marketing part of your business and way of attracting and connecting to clients and having them really get to know you, because that is the ultimate goal, then we'll look into you having your own podcast. But podcast guesting is a beautiful way to start and a beautiful way for you to really hone your message and really have that clarity and get out there and make those connections in your industry and be able to learn how to serve and connect your clients in this beautiful way that if you saw our first episode with Jan Ditchfield, that conversation really was about how you are we're purpose driven. People that are listening to this podcast that are here are because we're purpose driven, and we have things to offer. And guesting on podcast is a great way to show what you are giving and offer that information and connect and get to know your clients and future clients to have them get to know you and have that purpose and that value kind of go out into the world. So that's why our conversation starts with podcast guesting because it is a great way for you to connect to your client and to be able to build up your audience and start building that.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:04:07

So that is why it's a game changer, and that is why we start with this. Podcasts take time to build and to build up audiences. And we can do some great things to start to get you connected, but you're most successful when you already have a list, when you already have people that are wanting to get to know you and wanting to learn more about you and wanting to spend the time investing and listening to you speak and listen to your podcast. There's some great discoverability. We do a lot of great stuff with that on our network, but when you're doing podcast guesting, you have the advantage of being able to show your expertise, connect with potential clients and customers, and have established audiences for folks who've already built up their podcast, who already have people that are listening, who want to gain from what you have to say and what you have to share. So if you've been listening to this podcast, you've got to hear from some amazing guests who came on to this podcast in order to connect with you and to be able to share their expertise. And so when you're in a place, and I love this, I definitely am a fan of rising tides lift all boats. Right? So I definitely want you to succeed as solopreneur.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:05:21

And when you're in a place that you want to connect with one of the amazing people we've had, like Jan Ditchfield, our first episode. Right? Her boot camp was fabulous. She has so much to offer. And if that's what you're at and that's what you need, she has what you need, and I'm more than happy to introduce you to her and connect you to that resource. And it's great for her to come on to this podcast to be able to have more folks that she's connecting with. They get to know her, and they can come over and get to know her more and utilize her services and have her as a resource. So her guessing is her way of connecting and finding more folks, and then she has that lead magnet that breeds you in. Right? The same with us having the conversation with Judith Faye.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:06:01

Right? She's incredible. Her book is gonna be fabulous. You learned about that from this podcast, and her being a guest in our podcast was her way of getting out more information and sharing about that. You also get to learn about her services and what she does for businesses. And so you're at the place in your business you're ready for that. You're going to know her and remember her and connect with her. So you coming on to podcasts, just the same as these amazing guests have come on here, is your way of getting to know them and getting to connect and finding more people that will connect with you and what you're offering and what you're giving. So that's why you go on podcast is because you get to meet new groups of people that are already connected to somebody.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:06:42

So what podcast you go on, who the audience are and how that connects to what you're doing is key. So important when doing that. So that's one of the most important pieces that we'll talk about a little bit more. You get the credibility with association that you were chosen to be on the podcast, but more so there are some strategic networking opportunities. Right? I have enjoyed Jan and Judy. We're gonna use those two as examples For some time, like, I connected with them, found them, and have been dying to have longer conversations with them. Them coming on my podcast was that opportunity. For them, that was opportunity to get to know me more and have longer conversations with me as well.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:07:22

So you can also use podcast guesting as this great networking opportunity to get to know more people in your field, to serve some real people and do similar work, and that opens the door for other collaborations and other ways of working together and getting to know each other and having resources for each other for not only your clients, but for other future work you do. So it was an excellent one for networking as well. So one of the podcasts on the Authentic Connections podcast network is Author Express. One reason we have Author Express is because you may not know this about me, that I'm a an internationally best selling published author. And that one on the back burner, when my creativity start pouring into podcasting, because this this takes a little bit of work, right, to have also podcast and how to launch podcast and do all this work. When that went on the back burner, that meant that I still wanted to support other authors and continue that networking and those connections. Right? One of the things you get besides audiences and connecting. Right? That's a great thing.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:08:22

That's why authors love to be on podcasts, is you also get what's called backlinks. So when you go on a podcast, when somebody comes onto my podcast, they have their links, their website, their links to their books, like what you put into the show notes for the podcast you go on goes out to all those places. Anyone in our network, we're on more than 30 plus platforms. So besides just being on the website for the network when you're with a network and for the podcast, because all of our podcasts have websites as well, you're also in 30 to 40 additional platforms in multiple countries that add that backlinks to the go back to your website, that go back to the add that credibility to your website, to whatever you're trying to direct people to, to your lead magnet, to something your your sales page, to whatever you're trying to get people directed to, to your Instagram page, to wherever you're sending people. So that search engine optimization, that SEO that it adds to you is also very worthwhile. So the guest scene, like, it has, like, multiple levels. And so wherever you're at in your business and trying to build, it has those benefits that it does. So podcast guest scene is a very valuable investment of your time to build up your web presence, to build up your speaking abilities and your practice of doing that for refining your ability to speak about what you do and what your value is, and to show that you're purpose driven and how you connect to your clients to make those networking opportunities and to further what you're doing.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:09:59

So it's a game changer. It really, really is. It's very important if I haven't already convinced you. So let's go into those common mistakes that you should really avoid when you're looking to guess on podcast. And I will talk about this more further on, but I'm actually doing a training because, again, we can't just pack this into a single podcast episode. So I'm actually doing a four part training that we'll do over the course of a week, and it will be recorded so you'll have it. You can go back to it and revisit it so that you can get everything you need to feel confident in going forward with doing this. We'll give you very concrete stuff here.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:10:34

So if you're someone who just needs a taste of it to do it, that's great. If you want more supports, don't worry. We've got you. So take notes of all of this, and if you want more, don't worry. We got you. So the common mistakes that I want you to avoid and be aware of, because we want you to be successful with this, is pitching without research. I have more than one podcast. I get so many pitches.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:10:57

And it was amusing when I first started podcasting even that I was in a training about it and somebody who's very well known, they were a headliner for this conference that I was at, and it happened to be in a workshop they were doing, and it was so amusing that they were talking about how they pay, and I was shocked to learn how much folks pay to get on podcast. I was asked enough and coached enough people around this that has led to me having this workshop for y'all that they were paying between 3,000 and $12,000 to be able to be put on podcast. And so they would pay these PR firms, and I would get reached out to from PR firms and largely ignore them. And so I started this conversation in this presentation about, like, why I ignore PR firms and why that doesn't work. And this pitching without researching or knowing your audience, which feels to me like it would be so basic. Right? So I literally it's like I get put on a mailing list for some of these firms, and their clients are who I feel for. They're paying because I didn't realize they're paying, like, 3 to $12,000, right, to be pitched to these podcasts. And, basically, they just have a mailing list, and it's not personalized for me.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:12:12

They know nothing about my podcast. They just have, like, email addresses that they've scraped from somewhere or that they paid for, and they send to all of them. This is like, this is do you want them, like, sign up to have them? And they're relying totally on the street cred of who they're pitching is what they're relying on. And I'm trying to think if that's ever worked. I'm not sure that it has. So that's a pitching without research. That's just like throwing spaghetti at a wall, which apparently I like that analogy. Right? Instead of actually taking the time to figure out which audiences you resonate with.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:12:50

Right? Because your business, what you do, who you're looking to connect with is important. You want this to be good use of your time as well. So you want podcasts that actually have the same audience as you do, that are in aligned because you want the people listening to resonate with you and for this to be important. So having that research piece of having that alignment, and that's where this is the success is. Right? Because pitching with that research means you're not gonna connect to the right podcast and they're not gonna be like, yeah, I wanna have you on because they're not gonna see the value that you're going to add. Because, like, most of them don't even, like, say which podcast because I have more than one. So I had to guess, like, which podcast do you wanna be on? Well, if you can't even tell me which one you wanna be on, then I probably don't wanna have you on any of them. And they do follow-up, but follow-up doesn't do any good when you're not being specific or researching or whatever else.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:13:40

Right? So that's the first common mistake, and that's made by people that are making some good money and taking good money from folks to do that. Right? The second mistake is not having a focus of what you're trying to get out of the experience. Right? So there's this balance, like, you're trying to give to the audience, to the podcast. You wanna value add. Right? But you wanna make sure that you're trying to get something out of it as well and how you're going to get that out of it. So if you just go on and talk and I made I'd made this mistake when I was first asked to be on podcast, I'd be like, sure. I'll be on this podcast. I'm like, oh, I don't know how this relates to my work, how this is am I just getting my name out there? Like, what am I doing? So I didn't have a focus for what I was trying to get out of it.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:14:24

And that's a big mistake that I made, and it meant that there was, like, I took a break from being on podcast. And even though I loved doing it, it was good experience. And maybe my focus was my intention was that I was getting more speaking experience, then that would be well worth it. But you need to your intention is for it and make sure you're meeting that attention, which we go into depth in that in the training because that's a very important piece of that and defining that and figuring that out for you because it's unique for all of us. The other big mistake, and this happens when we have guests for people in our network all the time, is having poor audio quality. A lot of folks think that if I just show up and I just have my laptop and I show up, it's just like a Zoom call, and it's not. You don't have to have the best mic, but you have to have a mic, and you're best served by having headphones for the audio quality. And that might depend on their studio setup and what they have as well and their editor and such, but you wanna show up and have the best presentation, so you send the best.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:15:24

And I've done trainings for my author friends and for authors around this, and it does make such a big difference because you want to sound good. And you want to understand if it's video or if it's audio only before you go in there. So that's important too. The other mistake people make is just focusing on self promotion. And there's been episodes that we've been reticent to actually put out for podcasts in my network because it was so focused on that person. And there's people that we haven't had on our podcast because it was so clear that they were so focused on self promotion because the value add needs to be there. So those are the biggest mistakes that folks end up making when they're wanting to be on podcasts or are guests on podcasts. So those are the biggest ones to avoid.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:16:06

So if you can avoid those, you're doing pretty good. And keep that in mind because that's something you wanna be want to be aware of. So the essential first steps, you wanna make sure that you define who your audience is, which you possibly have already done in your business, but you really wanna be sure of this because that's the first step in knowing which podcast you want to be on, is knowing who you're speaking to and wanting to make sure that you're finding the podcast that share that audience so that you'll be on those podcasts and be connecting with your audience. So that's the very first step is defining who your audience is so that you're connecting with them on those podcasts. You also want your, like, one sentence expertise statement that you can say when pitching to them and to be able to articulate and maybe not that exact way, but in a way on those shows is kind of your elevator pitch. Right? Wendy White, she's gonna be a guest coming up. She is amazing at this. I totally value her.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:17:04

So I'm so glad she's gonna be on the podcast so you can learn more from her. But, basically, for me and this might be hard for those of us that are multi passionate and do multiple things because as you've heard or know. Right? I have a podcast network. I help with guesting opportunities. And my thing is that I help to expand purpose driven businesses through the power of podcasting. And so that means that I can help launch podcasts, and I can also help with guessing on podcasts. And then I also have a solopreneur sisterhood that has this underlying piece. So this is a valuable thing for you to recognize, like, what is your one sentence that kind of brings that together.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:17:40

So the other thing, like I said, I mentioned in the past segment with the mistakes, you need to have equipment. And the one piece of equipment, if you only get one piece of equipment, you need a computer, obviously, but you need to have a mic. And the most affordable mic, do not get a Yeti, which is funny because I have other people I respect who still recommend them, do not get a Yeti. It's not. We'll go into detail on that in the workshops to better explain why that's not the best. For time today, we're just gonna say get the Samsung q two u. I'll just tell you which one to get. If you want more details on why, we cover that in the workshop as an entry level mic.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:18:19

That was the mic that I used for my first podcast used for a long time. I obviously have upgraded to a more expensive mic now that I have more podcasts. I've been doing this longer, whatever else, but that is a great entry mic that's, like I think it's like closer to $80. Like, it's not even that expensive. You can get it on Amazon. It's not that complicated. We'll go into more depth about why that's important in the four part training series on podcast testing, but you need to, at the very minimum, have a mic. We can talk about what we can build on that, but very minimum, get a good mic because you want to sound good and you want to not have the other sounds from your home and other places to be interfering with that.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:18:56

The other quick win I'm going to give you to take note of is if you're researching podcasts in Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you're doing yourself a disservice. Those are not robust search engines for podcasts. You could type in the exact name of a podcast and not find it if they don't want you to find it, basically. Spotify also has, like, a gazillion podcasts that are no longer in existence or that are only on their platform, or they have a low barrier of entry, which has ups and downs and positives and negatives for that, but also means that they have the largest platform, but they have the most stuff to kind of sort through. And Apple has this higher gate of what they decide you to let through, and so you see fewer things and you only see the most popular and the shows are gonna be harder to get on. So Spotify, you see too much. Apple Podcasts, you don't see enough, and it makes it very hard to research podcasts to be on. We get into a lot more tools and resources in the training, but your quick win resource is listen notes.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:20:01

Listen notes. It's a website, and you can actually search by topic and you actually find out a podcast like what their rankings are, and it is a great place to start. And so I would definitely recommend starting with listen notes to be able to help you research podcasts and get a better more information, better sense of podcast, and a more well rounded view of podcasts that are actually active and more information on them when you search for them. So I would definitely look at that and I'll put a link in the show notes to listen notes. So that's your quick win. If you're going to research a podcast, because we said that was important, to look at listen notes as your tool for that. So try that to start with. So there's so much more that we could go into.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:20:40

However, we are mindful of time, and so we're just going to recap those key points. So be aware. We did a great job of talking about why it's a game changer. So knowing that there's the benefits of the long term content benefits of the fact that you get the backlinks and it increases your presence on the web and adds to your search engine optimization SEO. It definitely helps you to be borrowing other audiences as you're getting yourself more established. It is also great for networking opportunity. And so I think that that's like some of the basic reasons for podcasting and it stays. Podcasts like those is an ongoing living, breathing resource to bring people to you.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:21:22

And so even if a podcast is smaller now, it grows and that episode and that topic is still gonna be there available for folks to find you. And it's a longer form content. So very important podcast guesting. So those are the reasons why. And they went into the stuff to avoid, so don't pitch without knowing who you're pitching to and making it tailored to them. Take care of your audio quality because that's very important. Make sure that you know what you want to be saying and the why, why you're being on the podcast as a guest before you start doing it, and make sure that you have the value add, and it's not all about you when you're doing it. And the essential things to get started to know who your audience is so that you're connecting with that audience, that you know your expertise statement, that you've gotten that basic equipment, that mic that's gonna get it where you needed to go, and that you use to do your research or using listen notes because it is not overly screens like Apple Podcasts or overwhelming like Spotify is for searching for podcasts.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:22:23

So those are the main things we went over. So those are what we got you started on to give you in the right direction. I think those would be good things to get you going on that. We are also going to give a little bit extra for our folks that are subscribers on Apple Podcasts with our up close segment because we value you contributing to keep this podcast up and running for you. So that's so great that you're part of that. So because of that, we have this extra segment just for up close, and we're gonna get into that a little bit more. So we have more on once you get on the podcast, what you need to be doing during your interview to really make sure that it makes a difference for you. So we're gonna get into that interview portion on the up close piece with Apple Podcast.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:23:07

So if you aren't a subscriber, go subscribe on Apple Podcast, and you can get that extra bit of information that you can also find valuable. So hopefully, those are all some very valuable things that you guys can find. And, of course, we're gonna help you get past tech overwhelm with things like this early sign on bonus we're offering is a template for your one page, because you need to have a one a one page is very valuable. When you're looking to go on to podcast, it's very valuable to have that. So we're going to, give you a template for that as the early sign on bonus. We will also offer you more resources around finding podcasts to be on and and what that process looks like for you, templates for the outreach of podcasts, and just more concrete, actionable steps about how to get this process to clarify your message and what you're gonna talk about. And you're gonna get so much out of it. We also have two levels to keep it in your budget and to also make sure you get the level of support that you need when you're in it.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:24:01

There'll be q and a available. There'll be a community available to help you test things out and have that power of other folks giving you their feedback. And you walk away with a concrete plan on how to get, more podcasts and how to use that to level up your business in a very concrete way. So you'll know your why, what you're doing there, and what you're going to be getting out of it by the end of that training with us. So I'm excited and hope that you do consider doing that because it'd be great for you to be able to do that. So stick around if you're on Apple Podcasts up close so we can have that deeper conversation on what happens during the interview and how to make sure we're getting the most out of it. And I hope I get to see you for the four part training starting November 18. This is the first time we're operating this.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:24:42

So it's the lowest price it's ever going to be, and I'm excited to get to know you inside the podcast power complete roadmap on how to get some podcasts and grow your business. So you can join the wait list in the show notes, and that will make you eligible for the early sign on bonus. And you can also grab a freebie in the show notes. It's the five tips to shamelessly impress as a podcast guest, which even if you're not going to join the training, that will be very valuable for you. So remember, 80% of solopreneurs are small businesses. That does not mean you have to do this alone though. I'm gonna be here every week, and I hope you are too, because you don't have to do this alone. It's time to turn up your authentic voice and really make an impact on growing your business.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:25:27

Isn't there so much for us to learn on this entrepreneurial journey? Thanks for spending time with me here on the Authenticity Amplified podcast. It is a joy to grow together with you. If you're interested in learning more about the subscription on on Apple Podcasts so that you can get up close with our guests and gain additional insights and wisdom, as well as get your episodes two days earlier, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts. Subscribing is also a fabulous way to support this podcast so we can keep producing this valuable content. Don't forget to pass this along to someone you know who could benefit from one of the many nuggets of wisdom and value you gained from this conversation today. Until next time, remember, just because you are a solopreneur doesn't mean you have to do this alone. Keep being authentic, authentic to who you are, what you bring to the table and to this work, and the impact you will surely make. Until next time.