How to Best Get Booked as a Podcast Guest - BM317

[00:00:00] Susan Friedmann: Welcome to Book Marketing Mentors, the weekly podcast where you learn proven strategies, tools, ideas, and tips from the masters. Every week I introduce you to a marketing master, who will share their expertise to help you market and sell more books. 

Today my special guest is Kay Suthar. Kay is CEO of the Make Your Mark podcast agency and the host of the Uncensored Society podcast. When live events got shut down during the pandemic, Kay started to seek out guest interviews on podcasts. After countless rejections, it forced her to craft an approach that landed her a hundred interviews in 60 days. 

By diving into the deep end of the podcasting world, Kay noticed many people didn't know how to get booked as a guest on the podcast, nor did they know how to craft an irresistible call-to-action at the end of their interview, which meant they were leaving big money on the table. 

And that's why she created her Make Your Mark podcasting agency. A fellow Brit all the way from London, Kay, what an absolute pleasure it is to welcome you to the show, and thank you for being this week's guest expert and mentor!

[00:01:20] Kay Suthar: Oh my goodness, thank you for having me! I'm so excited to be here and share so many nuggets that people need to know, especially your audience.

[00:01:27] Susan Friedmann: That is exactly why I have got you here. Because delving deep into this podcasting world, which has, as we know, taken off now and it's becoming more and more popular. And so many of my authors, Kay, want to know how to be a guest on a podcast? So let's tap into your expertise. What are some specific steps that they need to take in order to get onto a show?

[00:02:02] Kay Suthar: The very first thing is really knowing who your target market is. Now, the reason why that's so important is that whatever it is that you have to say to educate people, to coach, teach them, you want to make sure you're speaking to the right target audience. Now, you don't want to be speaking about food when you're going onto a podcast that, maybe, talks about the mechanics of a car. Right, that makes no sense. 

So you want to really niche down and make sure you know and you're already clear as to who your target market is and then research different podcasts. Research them and find out what kind of audience they have, and also listen to a couple of their episodes, okay? You'll get a clearer picture on whether this is a podcast that you want to be a guest on. 

Also, just some, a little hint here, something that people actually miss, an awesome trick. Find out and listen to, or have a look or research whether there's already been an episode recorded and released that talks on a similar subject or topic that you want to talk about. Now, you're probably thinking why would you want to do that? "If they already interviewed somebody else, they're never going to interview me on the podcast." Wrong!

If they have interviewed someone who talks about a similar topic as you, guess what? You're their target market, right? That you are the person that they want on their podcast, 'cause their audience- That's what they're listening to! But the trick is here. You want to listen to that particular episode and you want to see whether you have a different perspective to bring to the audience. 

You already know that this podcast wants someone like you as a guest on there, but see if you can bring a different perspective, a new idea, a new way of thinking, right? That is something different than what your audience or their audience already heard about. That is going to intrigue the podcast host and they're going to say, "Yes, yes, yes!”, straight away.

[00:04:07] Susan Friedmann: Oh, we want them to be saying "Yes, yes, yes!" happily. And you're absolutely right, Kay, 'cause you're not the first person that I've had on this show to talk about podcasting, but everybody brings something different to the table. You've got your expertise. I've had other experts who've talked about their expertise. Yes, so it's that package. Now I'm going to rewind the movie a little bit here and say, you talked about research. How does an author or anybody who's listening go about researching podcasts?

[00:04:44] Kay Suthar: Right. Another tip here is that a lot of podcasters actually promote onto main social media platforms. And that is LinkedIn and Twitter. If you go into the top of the search bar and just put in "podcasts" or "podcasters" or "podcasting", any of that sort, you have a list of different podcasts that actually come up, right? 

Now, this is where we can first start off, where you can go onto the social media and see if there are any podcasts on there that you want to guest on and reach out to them straight on social media. The other platform that a lot of podcasters use, and I can actually give you a link to this that you can put into your show notes, later on, is the platform called Matchmaker. This is not a dating site, let me just be very clear. 

A lot of people say, "Oh my God, that sounds like a dating site." It's not! It's the site that podcasters that are looking for guests to have a podcast, and also guests that are looking for podcasts to be a guest on, right? That was a bit of a mouthful. But anyone that's interested in being a guest and has a podcast, they promote on this particular platform. Which is great, because they've probably got thousands of podcasts that are there screaming and saying, "We need guests just like you!" 

That's a perfect place for you to go through, to take a look at, and see if there's any podcast that shouts out to you, that fits with you. And the great thing about this platform is that you can add different filters. So, if you're in a health and well-being, if you're in business, if you're in education, personal development, whatever it is, they've got filters, so you can click on them, filter out and you'll have hundreds, maybe thousands of different podcasts that might fit you. 

But you don't want to do just that. You just don't want to pick them and then start applying. You want to do further research. You want to, like I said before, listen to a couple of those episodes. Now, the reason why this is important... This has come across when I've interviewed people on my podcast. And I've said to them, you know, "Have you actually listened to the podcast?" And they're like, "No." 

At that point it makes you look pretty bad that you're applying to be on a podcast, but you haven't listened to a single episode. That might put people off, especially if the host asks for a pre-screening call, before they even say yes to you, right? 'Cause sometimes, they want to actually get to know you, who you are, find what your personality is like. 'Cause sometimes, if the personalities don't fit, then that might not be a good fit either. 

If you are having a pre-screening, please, please, please, do listen to a couple of these episodes, so you know what you're going into. That you're sure that this is the right podcast for you. And, please, if you haven't listened to any of the episodes, do not lie, do not say that you have when you haven't. Because when I've asked them, "What takeaways have you found at these particular episodes?", "Or which episode have you listened to?", guess what? It's silence. 

And you don't want to be caught in that kind of situation where the host is thinking, "Oh my God, if they're lying to me at this point, what else are they going to be lying about?" So please, please, please, listen to those episodes and if you haven't, go ahead and do so before you actually become a guest.

[00:08:08] Susan Friedmann: That's fantastic. And that site I was not aware of, that's an excellent one, and definitely will put that in the show notes. What is it? Matchmaker.com or what is-

[00:08:18] Kay Suthar: Matchmaker.fm.

[00:08:20] Susan Friedmann: .fm, okay. I'll put that in the show notes. I will not embarrass you and ask you what takeaway you had from a previous podcast of mine, so...

[00:08:31] Kay Suthar: [laughs]

[00:08:33] Susan Friedmann: But I know you, you've done your due diligence and you're a pro. You talked about niches, which, you know, you're talking my language. I always talk about niches and, you know, targeting the right audience, knowing the right audience, speaking to the right audience. 

I love the fact that you said that on this Matchmaker and then on Linkedin, you can search in your niche for the topic that you're interested in or the target audience you're interested in. Anything more that you want to say about that I know that that's such a key to finding the right and matching yourself up with the right podcast.

[00:09:18] Kay Suthar: Well, once you know your niche, don't be afraid to ask the podcaster themselves questions. Like, where are most of your listeners based, right? 'Cause if you're targeting, say, for example, the US and most of the target market is in Asia, maybe you want to kind of rethink and be like, "Okay, maybe this is not the one for me." Or if you're targeting females only and most of their audience are males, again, you might want to rethink that. 

But don't be scared to actually reach out to the host themselves and ask them these questions. They'll actually appreciate and respect you a lot more because you're doing your due diligence, rather than just sending a mass email to a bunch of people. And the podcast hosts will actually respect that so much more. Yeah, go ahead and ask them questions to make sure it is a good fit for you.

[00:10:08] Susan Friedmann: I think that's a really interesting point too, it's the location. Because you can't assume that everybody is in the US. I know I've got listenership around the world. I look to try and make everything we talk about as global as possible but, obviously, most of my listeners are in the US and Canada, so there is this tendency to be more North American biased, maybe. 

One of the things that I wanted to ask you more about is, which I've read in your little introduction here, is that you landed a hundred interviews in 60 days. Obviously, people are saying, "Okay, how did she do that?" I'm going to ask you that question - how did you do that?

[00:10:50] Kay Suthar: The funny thing about this is when I first started to reach out to podcast hosts and I was reaching out to so many, guess what? I was getting a ton of rejection and even worse, people are like, "What's worse than getting rejected?" It's when you don't hear nothing at all, right? Tumbleweed. I'm thinking, what is going on here? 'Cause I know people are getting on podcasts, so what am I doing wrong? What do I need to change here? 

For a couple of months I tweaked and I changed and I kind of researched what other people are doing, I'd ask questions, and all of a sudden I realized what I was doing wrong. And the number one thing was my approach. My approach was completely wrong. And what I mean by that is when you approach the host, you want to be seen in a place of service. 

The number one mistake that people make is they're going to think, "Me, me, me, me. I need to promote this, I need to promote business, I need to put myself out there, I need a brand. It's all about me." No, it's not. It's everything to do with a host and the audience, okay? And once you come to a place of service and the host can see that you're there to serve them and their audience? That just changes the game completely. 

And so, if you're sending an email or message on social media, explain to them what kind of value, what kind of benefit you can bring to their audience that's really crucial. Once you've given them those pinpoints and explained to them what it is that you can bring, what golden nuggets, what kind of a-ha their audience will get, that's when they're going to stop and listen. Because don't forget, podcast hosts, they get so many applications a day. I know I do. 

Going through all of that, they want to see what sticks out the most. Which one are they going to put on the top of the pile? Or which one are they going to say, "Mhm, maybe not"? Right, and you want to be that person that sticks out and that they put on top of the pile. And the only way you can do that is by showing the hosts themselves what kind of value you can bring to their audience.

[00:13:05] Susan Friedmann: Now that's really important. And in fact, I was exactly going to ask that question. What is the approach that you would take? Should you be sending like one sheet, or is there a specific format in terms of the letter that you write? But I think you've outlined that by saying, "Highlight your value." What are the benefits that, say, your book or your message can offer? And it's not necessarily about the book and I've said this a million times. My listeners know this. And that is it's about rather the value that's embedded in your book. That's what your niche audience, your target audience wants to know more about. That's great stuff. 

I'm going to transition you now into talking about that irresistible call-to-action that so many people don't do well. And I'm going to be the first to put my hand up and say, I'm not sure that I do either. So take it away. Tell us how we should be doing that, what should we be doing?

[00:14:13] Kay Suthar: Another trick that a lot of people miss and there's a difference, first of all, I'll explain this. There's a difference when you're speaking just to talk and speaking to speak, to sell, right? Now, people don't like the word "sell". Oh my God, it's like a horrible word. Nobody likes doing it. But when you have a business and you're promoting, you're building authority, you're building your brand, that's what you're ultimately doing. 

You're building all of this, so you can sell more of your product, whether it's a book or a program, whatever it might be. And so you're going to get used to speaking to sell, okay? And what that means is no matter where you speak, whether it's on a podcast, whether it's on a stage, live, virtually, at the end of that talk you've got to have some sort of call to action. Because you've given a presentation. You know, people love it, people love the value, the information you're giving them. 

Leave them with something else, leave them intrigued, wanting more, wanting to connect with you. It's so important that you have the right leave magnet to leave them with. Now, that could be an ebook, it could be a cheat sheet, it could be whatever you want it to be, but leave them with something, Now, what this does is not only adds further value to your audience and them getting to know you a little bit more and what you're about, what kind of services that you provide. It also helps you to build your email list, right? 

And the great thing about a podcast is it's evergreen. Once it's out there, it's out there forever. It's not like an event where it just happens with a room full of people that you have in front of you and it's just, you know, whilst the event is working, whether it's for, you know, half a day, three days, two days, whatever it may be. It's out there in the world forever. Whoever searches for it, if they come across it, it's going to be there. 

You want to make sure that you have a lead magnet that not only gives value, but is something that they can get ahold of, whether it's a year down the line, or two years down the line. 'Cause, there's always going to be someone listening to that particular episode, especially if you're speaking to someone. If you go to a networking event and you say to them, "I've spoken on so and so podcast. Go and check it out, it's episode 103, whatever it may be. I will be answering all your questions that you're asking me right now by that particular topic in that episode."

[00:16:45] Susan Friedmann: That's great stuff. Let's say, I'm saying to you, Kay, what's your take, what's your irresistible call to action?

[00:16:53] Kay Suthar: Oh, my irresistible call to action, just for your audience here, is called, "Get booked on podcasts.com" Now, this is a guideline that takes you on three major steps on how to actually get booked on podcasts. What you should be doing, what you shouldn't be doing.

Now, what happens here is not only will it give you the steps on what you need to do to prep during your interview and afterward, 'cause guess what, guys? The process doesn't finish there. Just because you recorded your episode, doesn't mean I said, "Forget about it," and go to the next. No, there's a whole other follow-up that you need to do and further questions you may want to ask on the podcast, right? I'll explain what you need to do there because guess what?

Podcasting isn't about just getting yourself out there, but it's also about building relationships. You want to build relationships with your podcast hosts, guess what? That podcast host, guarantee, knows other podcast hosts. And so, there's a specific way that you can actually three times your guest opportunity on the podcast if you start building relationships and start giving value to the audience first, before you put yourself first and, you know, put the other person in the forefront before going ahead and actually guesting on the podcast.

[00:18:14] Susan Friedmann: That sounds invaluable. Getting booked on podcasts.com. Fabulous that you picked up that URL because that's perfect. And then going through the steps, the dos, and the don'ts, you talked about a mistake earlier and our audience loves mistakes, so what else can you add to that bucket of mistakes that we should be avoiding?

[00:18:39] Kay Suthar: Right, the podcast is no audio no more, it has evolved so much. It is a video and sometimes it can even be a live stream, right, live stream on several different social media platforms. I remember the first time I did a live stream podcast. And I thought it was amazing. It was awesome 'cause you can actually see all these comments coming through and they're loving your content, and they want more of it and they're laughing and joking, all this stuff. 

And I was like, wow, the energy, it just boosts you up even more. And I was in my element, Susan. Then all of a sudden it happened. All of a sudden I got a knock on my door and it was my mom she goes to me, "Oh, just to let you know, I've done your laundry and put your underwear on your bed."

[00:19:26] Susan Friedmann: Oh my goodness.

[00:19:27] Kay Suthar: I was mortified. I wanted the ground to swallow me up. And I went silent for a little while, and then I could see all these comments coming through, going, "Oh my goodness, she's hilarious, was that her mom?" Right? And so, what I didn't expect to happen, right, was the fact everybody thought that was hilarious. 

And all of a sudden I started getting messages coming through, saying, "Wow, she is awesome, I want her on my podcast." 'Cause what happened there is - what I thought was a failure, was absolutely mortifying, it was embarrassing in all sorts, right? But it just showed that I'm human. And I was so much more relatable because something like that happened and all of a sudden more people wanted me on their podcast. 

And in fact, the host himself, he actually had a three-day summit and actually asked me to speak on that three-day summit just because of what had happened. What you think is a huge mistake, a huge failure, sometimes isn't, because you know what, the audience has a different perspective on you than you do for yourself.

[00:20:37] Susan Friedmann: That is hysterical. It really is. Now, does your mother have a role that every time she's going to come in, is she about to come in now and tell you that your laundry's done? It's on the bed?

[00:20:49] Kay Suthar: She doesn't have a role, but she is becoming famous through podcasts, let me tell you that. Everyone seems to know my mom or they know her voice at least.

[00:20:59] Susan Friedmann: That's so funny. Let's look at it in reverse and say how could you have avoided that scenario?

[00:21:06] Kay Suthar: Do you know what? I think, when it comes to live streaming, you can never be prepared. You can try to get everything organized, but live streaming you just can't. So, what I say to people is to learn to improvise. Be able to laugh at yourself. 

And so when that situation happened, I'll just turn around to the audience and go, "And guys, that's my mom, she's always the star of the show!" Right? You've got to be able to laugh and giggle at that and just move forward. But that is a key thing when it comes to live, whether it is on the podcast, or live on the stage, is being able to improvise because you can never be prepared that nothing's going to happen. 

Something is bound to happen if it's not. If it's not my mother, then it might be the doorbell. If it's not the doorbell, then it might be the neighbor deciding to do some construction. You can hear like, hammering away or something. There might always be something. Just learn to improvise.

[00:22:05] Susan Friedmann: Now, I actually have got a sign that I put on my front door because- It says, do not ring or knock because there's recording going on at the moment, in session. It does stop people, however, I have a feeling that my cleaning lady can't read that sign because she inevitably knocks on my office door to ask me whether it's okay for her to be here.

[00:22:32] Kay Suthar: Oh wow! Ironic!

[00:22:36] Susan Friedmann: It is. But you're right, you have to just roll with the punches and just let it happen and improvise, laugh at it. And yes, it's embarrassing, and look, it might be the best thing that happened to you. If she hadn't come in, would you have been seen in that same light and people might not have taken as much notice of you as they did? But you definitely stood out in their minds and they probably used that, maybe, to tell stories that hey, this even happened to a pro!

[00:23:10] Kay Suthar: Yeah, right, exactly! But this is a thing, right? So, when you make mistakes, when you have failures, it's just another story to add to your script. No matter what it is that you teach or talk about, it's just like you said, people like to hear about failures or mistakes and it's just another one to add. 

It's another one to show people what kind of humor you have, what kind of personality you have. 'Cause people are able to relate to mistakes, 'cause if it hasn't happened to them, they probably know someone that it has happened to. And it just makes you seem as a human being. And you don't need to be perfect. That's not the point. You don't want to be perfect at all, 'cause if you are perfect, then less people are going to be able to relate to you.

[00:23:55] Susan Friedmann: Absolutely. This is a time where I'm going to say, tell us more about you, your services, and how our listeners can get a hold of you, because they're probably chomping at the bit, wanting to know. 'Cause you're such a pro and you know so much about this and they want a bit of what you've got.

[00:24:17] Kay Suthar: Awesome! My website that I want to mention is makeyourmarkagency.com. Now, what I do is not only get people booked on podcasts, but I help people launch their own podcasts as well. And if you're someone that doesn't want to know about editing, how to create show notes, do graphics, promotion, all of that good stuff, then, guess what? We take away all of that headache from you and we take on that burden ourselves and help you produce an awesome podcast. 

So you can just concentrate on what you need to do and just create content. And we will take care of the rest. If you want to know more about getting booked on podcasts or launch your podcast, then please contact me by going to the website makeyourmarkagency.com and reach out to me there. All my social media platforms are there. And also you can send in an email too.

[00:25:08] Susan Friedmann: I'll put that link in the show notes as well as the matchmaker.fm one as well, which I think is a dynamite resource, so thank you for that. And Kay, if you were to leave our listeners with a golden nugget, what would that be?

[00:25:24] Kay Suthar: I would say, if you have a business, maybe you've got a product, a service, or a course to bring awareness to, then you not only need to get booked on podcasts, but you need to start your own podcast too. 'Cause what that does, it helps your brand build authority and, basically, you're creating your own platform where people, they can't back away from actually listening to you, you're there. 

Make sure that not only are you getting booked on podcasts but you're thinking about creating your own podcast too, 'cause there are people out there that need to hear the value that you share with people. And by you not doing that, I've got to say, you're being selfish. Share what you have to teach people on different platforms, as many different platforms as possible.

[00:26:09] Susan Friedmann: I think that's so true. Yes, I mean, you're being selfish if you're not sharing. I love those words of wisdom. Thank you. And thank you so much for sharing all the wisdom that you have. Listeners, you probably going to want to listen to this over again and just really take away those incredible nuggets that Kay has shared with us here. Thank you. 

And thank you all for taking time out of your precious day to listen to this interview. And I sincerely hope that it sparked some ideas you can use to sell more books. Here's wishing you much book and author marketing success!

Here's how to find out more about Kay's services