I am about to say something utterly unprofound: sales and marketing are about relationship-building.
You know it. I know it. But, as Stephen R. Covey says, “Common sense isn’t always common practice.”
We obsess over marketing tactics and treat the relationships they’re supposed to enable like an afterthought. So you end up buying a course like Grow Your Brand by Podcast Guesting, doing the strategic work to get yourself booked on a podcast, and then…hoping listeners will fall in love with you and do the heavy lifting to stay in touch.
If you’re sold on podcast guesting as part of your marketing strategy, do these three things to increase the turn on your time investment: nurture the relationship, manage first impressions, and measure the impact.
Nurture the Relationship
At the end of the episode, the host will inevitably ask, “How can listeners stay in touch with you?” The default answer: Follow me on [insert social media platform here].
If our goal is relationship-building, this default answer makes the next step unclear. “Come hang out with me and hundreds of strangers” has a different feel than “Here’s a curated experience I designed with you in mind.”
Offer a next step that helps listeners get to know you while getting additional value for themselves.
The next step might be a lead magnet, like:
- A private podcast or a playlist of your own podcast episodes where you go deeper into the content/framework you talked about in the interview
- An assessment so people can place themselves in your framework
- A template that gives people a quick-win in implementing your best practices
- A reflective process, like a mini-challenge or set of journal questions, to shift their mindset
You can also invite people to sign up for your email newsletter. If that’s your preferred approach, have a nurture sequence in place that further introduces them to you and to some of your best work. I currently use the lead magnet strategy for Inner Workout and the nurture sequence strategy for my personal newsletter.
And if you simply must send people to social media, send them to a pinned post or a highlight with valuable explainer content.
Manage First Impressions
The beauty of podcast guesting is that it sends people your way. People who are looking at your website and content with fresh eyes. Use any confirmed podcast interview as an opportunity for you to do the same.
Read your website copy like you’ve never seen it before. Does it make sense to a newbie? Are there typos?
Navigate your website (on mobile too!) and click all the links. Is everything still working the way you thought it did?
Do a website speed test. We humans are impatient creatures. A slow website may end the relationship before it really begins.
Do what you can to make people’s first experience on your turf a good one.
Measure the Impact
Being a guest on podcasts is a top of funnel strategy. It introduces you to people who will one day buy something from you—if all goes well! To measure the effectiveness of podcast guesting, you’ve gotta see people’s movement through the funnel.
I’m not saying you need to pull a Zuckerberg and track your new friends across the internet. Try implementing these measures:
- UTM links: UTM links tell your web analytics platform how a user found your site. You could go broad and have a link for podcast referral traffic, or you could get specific and generate a link for each podcast where you’re a guest. The links take two seconds to make. Google has a free tool that integrates with bit.ly.
- Dedicated forms: You could make forms specifically for podcast listeners. If they subscribe to your newsletter or download a lead magnet via that form, auto-tag them as a podcast listener. Now you can observe how your new community members engage with your work.
- The question: If my other recommendations feel too techie, this is one you can definitely implement. Ask, “How did you hear about me?” Add the question to your contact form, intake questionnaire, or checkout page. Or ask it yourself during a consultation call. Easy peasy.
The point of any marketing strategy is to build relationships with both current and potential customers and clients. These three actions: nurture the relationship, manage first impressions, and measure the impact will help you make the most out of podcast guesting.
And if you’re wondering how to be a guest on podcasts, I made a course for you.
