Expand Your Reach Through Podcast Appearances & Guest Contributions
One way to expand your reach is to get interviewed on podcasts and contribute content as a guest contributor to authority and popular sites within your niche. You can contribute in many ways, from being interviewed to doing joint webinars to writing blog posts just for their audience. Doing this is a great way to get known by your audience wherever they like getting their information.
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Identify Where Your Audience Gets Their Information
The best way to figure out where to guest post or to be interviewed on a podcast is your own audience. Find out where they like to get their information and what podcasts they listen to. This is where you want to be. You may as well make it easy by going where your audience already goes to get their info.
Create a Spreadsheet of Potential Opportunities
As you find the opportunities, keep a spreadsheet with the information you need to contact them to find out if you can contribute. Pay close attention to the person who runs the podcast or blog because you want to ensure that you appeal to them when you present your offer to be a guest contributor. Once you have published something, add the link to the spreadsheet.
Develop an Editable Message to Send
Create a template for the message you want to send to offer yourself up for interviewing about your niche and topic or other content you can create. Make sure the letter explains what’s in it for them and that you’re going to do all the work, so all they must do is interview you or let you create content for them. Use this as the start of your personalized letter to each site owner.
Note Your Cornerstone Content That Can Be Rewritten and Redesigned
Get ready to contribute content. Go over your cornerstone content so that you can remind yourself of your ideal audience and what they want and need from you. Figure out which segment of your audience goes to that information source, and using that cornerstone content as your guide, create new content for your guest contributions.
Follow Up with Site Owners
After you’ve sent the first email, give them a few days to respond before following up. However, you do want to follow up and perhaps contact them in a new way if you have not heard back. Not everyone is good at checking their email, and no response does not mean no. Keep trying until you get an answer.
Deliver What You Promised
Once you get the offer, don’t let them down. The host is relying on you to show up at the allotted time to do your interview or to turn in your contribution by a specific deadline. Ensure that your contribution meets all their requirements and that you do what you promised to do. Plus a little more.
Promote the Content to Your Audience
Before, during, and after the content is published, be sure to tell your audience about what you are doing. This is a great way to generate buzz, user-generated content discussing the opportunity, and start up a discussion after the show based on what you said. The better you are at promoting the content, the more likely you are to be asked back.
Respond to Questions & Responses on Your Content
Once your content is published, people will respond to it. There may be entire discussions surrounding the podcast or contributed content that you need to be involved with. Check back often and set up alerts so that even if you get comments a year from now, you can remain responsive.
The more often you do this, the easier it will get. As you become more well-known, you will start getting more offers. Always ensure that the offer is from authority and that you can mention and link back to your website when you contribute content to anyone. Also, follow up so that you can engage with responders to your content contribution. Mostly, don’t get discouraged. It can take some time to start getting booked, but it’s more than worth it to keep asking.
