Using podcasting as a collaborative tool can help you build relationships with your audience, especially when your content resonates with them. 

It’s important that your guests are able to have conversations that are relevant to your topic of choice and that they share their experiences and knowledge. 

Your podcast guests should share stories, provide educational content, or entertain, which will help you to connect with new people. 

The way your audience responds to your guests can give you a better understanding of what they like, dislike, and want to hear.

Great content also provides you with an opportunity to connect with potential partners, customers, and guests in a meaningful way. This also helps you to build trust and loyalty over time.

But in order to use podcasting as a collaborative tool, you need to know how to choose the right guests for your podcast. In this blog, we will discuss best practices for choosing and scheduling podcast guests in order to maximize the effectiveness of using podcasting as a collaborative tool. 

Identifying Potential Guests

The best way to identify potential guests is to think about the topics that your podcast covers and search for like-minded individuals you can interview. 

The experience and expertise of your guests should add value to the conversation and align with your brand or mission. 

You should also consider the type of audience they attract and if they’re likely to fit in with your existing audience. 

But bear in mind that it’s a two-way street! 

Your guest will also be considering the type of content you create and if the content you create together would be relevant to their own audience.

Guests will want to appear on your podcast if the content resonates with them and if they can see how it could help them expand their brand as well. 

To help you get started, you can look at creating a comprehensive list of potential guests by using tools like: 

• PodcastGuests.com 
• Podchaser or Podchaser Connect, which is newer and designed specifically to connect podcasters to experts 
• MatchMaker.fm 
• PodMatch 

But you can also reach out to people within your professional and personal networks who are interesting and have something of value to share that aligns with your topics. 

This could be friends, people you’ve worked with, met at a conference, or know through social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. 

You could also find podcast guests in Mastermind Communities, like:

• Mighty Networks 
• Tribe 
• Entrepreneur’s Organization 

Look for podcasts that are similar to yours and check out some of the guests that they’ve had. 

If there’s a guest that piques your interest and would do well on your podcast, then do some research on them to make sure they’d be a match for your audience. 

Another excellent way to find guests is to ask your audience to recommend a potential guest. That way, you know you’re interviewing people your listeners are interested in! 

You can also create a link on your website with a quick questionnaire to be completed by people who may want to participate. 

Crafting the Invitation

Once you’ve identified your ideal guests, start crafting an effective invitation email. 

The best way to do this is to be upfront about who you are, what your podcast is about, and why you think it would be great if they joined you for an episode. 

Give them some information on the topic you’d like to cover and how their experience and expertise would add value to the conversation. 

Try to mention something specific about their experience and expertise or about them personally that shows that you value their input. 

Also, make sure that you manage their expectations by showing them how being a guest will be mutually beneficial. 

Provide some information on who your typical audience is, how big your audience is, and how many listens or downloads you get per episode. 

You can also give them some insight on how you plan to promote the episode, as well as where you plan to share it i.e LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. 

Aside from that, let them know that you’ll also link back to their online resources, like their website or landing page. 

Also, let them know when you’d like to possibly record the episode. It’s a good idea to use a booking tool with a few different slots open, so that your guest can book a date and time that’s convenient for them. 

Make sure that your email has a signature with a link to your podcast channel or website. This will allow them to click through your content so they can see previous guests, and will give them an idea of what they have to look forward to. 

Once the Invitation Has Been Sent

Keep track of all the invitations you’ve sent to potential guests so that you can follow up with them, especially if you don’t hear back from them right away. 

One of the best ways to do this is to schedule your follow-up in your calendar for a few days after your initial email was sent. 

This way, you won’t forget to reach out and check up on the invitation. If they’re forgotten about it, they’ll be reminded. 

Preparing for the Podcast

Once your guest has accepted the invitation, schedule the podcast a few weeks in advance. 

It’s important that you have an effective communication plan in place, with regular check-ins with your guests before recording the episode. 

Make sure that you send over any questions or talking points that will be covered during the podcast, so the conversation can flow smoothly. 

This will also give your guest the opportunity to prepare so that they can confidently express their opinions, experiences, or expertise on the topic.

When you send your questions through to your guest, ask if they have anything in particular they want to cover. 

This will help you to ask more relevant questions and provide the maximum dose of value possible. 

You can also use social media to your advantage to create new questions, by looking at comments that have been made on previous podcasts, blog posts or on the potential guest’s Facebook page. 

Use these to come up with unique talking points that will allow your guest to clarify some of their ideas, strategies, or opinions. 

Executing the Podcast

Before your guests arrive to record the episode, test your equipment to make sure that it’s up and running properly. 

Make sure that you have contingency plans and failsafes in place in case something goes wrong! Don’t fall into the trap of thinking it’ll never happen to you. 

There’s nothing worse than sitting down for a scheduled interview only for it to be canceled due to something that could’ve been prevented. 

Write an interesting and exciting intro for your guest and thank them for taking the time to join you on the episode. 

Keep all your notes within arm’s reach so that you can refer to them while recording. This will help to keep the conversation flowing naturally. 

If it does deviate slightly, gently steer it back on course when you can, so that the episode doesn’t run too long. Remember, you can edit out unnecessary information later, but be mindful of your guest’s time. 

Wrapping Up

When you’ve launched the episode, don’t forget to send your guest a thank you message. Highlight how you appreciate their time and how you loved having them on your show. 

Remember to send them the link to the episode when it’s live so that they can include it on their social media. 

Make sure you thank them properly for their part in it and don’t just send them links to share! This could imply that you’re only interested in their audience and not their input. 

Conclusion

Choosing podcast guests may seem like a daunting task. 

But finding the right guests that align with your show and audience will pay off in the long run! 

Guests who provide interesting, engaging, and valuable content for your listeners are critical to your show’s growth. 

By using these tips and strategies when choosing podcast guests, you can create an engaging podcast that connects with your audience and adds value to conversations on a variety of topics. 

Choose your guests wisely, but have some fun with it as well!