I get about 5 podcast pitches a week in my inbox of entrepreneurs {or their agents} trying to get them on my show, "The Visible Entrepeneur".

 

I actually got one this morning. And I'm going to show it to you not because of trying to embarrass anyone at all, but because this is the best way for you to learn. 

 

So this one is from Jordan's podcast agent, pitching her for my show.

 

 

See if you can actually take note of a few before continuing to read.

 

Ready?

 

 

This is a big no-no for any type of publicity submission. Editors, journalists, anyone in the media will rarely even open an email with an attachment or inserted photo.

 

A lot of people don't know this! I know I didn't until I co-authored Publicity Jumpstart with my amazing publicist friend Kristin Marquet!

 

 

We'll talk about what to do to fix this a little further down in this blog.

 

 

When you're trying to get the attention amongst hundreds {or even thousands} of emails, you need to do everything in your power to stand out.

 

There's no reason at all why I should feel intrigued to open this. And that's actually a huge disadvantage to Jessica because she could so easily have a unique spin to her marketing pitches. I'll show you more on that later.

 

 

My students know that they better be able to explain what they do in one sentence. And not a run-on sentence either!

 

We have such a small window to capture someone's attention - and pretty much the smallest window with a pitch email.

 

This email wasted 5 sentences on explaining who Jessica is, which is about 4 sentences too long.

 

 

Did you notice that there isn't even a word about why Jessica would be a good fit for my show? Or why they liked my show in the first place?

 

That unfortunately tells me that my podcast was in a long line of names that this agent sent this pitch to.

 

It's such a disservice to her client - because even just one sentence about my show would have warmed me up a little bit.

 

 

 

What could she speak on that would really help my listeners? I have no idea. And that isn't a good thing!

 

If you can only remember one thing from me, it would be that...

 

 

That's your job. So not making it clear to a podcast host about exactly how you can help their audience is a big no no.

 

 

 

We have a very small window to set ourselves apart. So when a podcast pitch does not contain a generous action, I move on.

 

Because that tells me this is an interviewee {or agent} that will not share the episode, will not support the show. They'll just add it to a list of "featured on" logos in their roster and I'll never hear from them again.

 

 

 

And, now that I've told you, it probably sticks out like a sore thumb! Don't worry, this is a process you have to learn -- so don't beat yourself up if you've made these mistakes.

 

 

 

And this actually doesn't have to take up a ton of time.

 

If you do the work on yourself first, that's about 80% of the job. The rest is researching your desired podcast and follow up. 

 

 

 

 

It's easy to go on and on about yourself, but it isn't effective for any visibility or publicity strategy.

 

 

For example, 

Michelle Lewis is a Visibility Expert who specializes in helping established entrepreneurs skyrocket their visibility, launch their unique show strategy and start landing press for their brand through Hollywood techniques found in her programs and membership The Visibility Lounge. She is host of “The Visible Entrepreneur” podcast and facebook group and has been featured on Entrepreneur On Fire, The Huffington Post, Medium, Buzzfeed and Small Biz Trends. 

That is a pretty action-packed mini bio!

It clearly explains who I am, how I help my students and what accreditation's I have to my name. It obviously don't have to be this long if you don't have a lot of features yet, but it's a good example you can work from.

 

#2. Figure out your two main talking points.

 

You are not, cannot and will not be good at everything :)

What I mean by that is, when you're pitching for a podcast, you need to focus on one or two things that make you different.

That will intrigue a host to interview you.

So, for example, a mindset coach would probably think about pitching themselves to talk about mindset.

That won't book you.

There are a million people who can talk about mindset.

But what you could do is dig into two specific aspects around the mindset topic that no one else is talking about.

• The 5 minute morning mindset practice of the 20 top earners in the world
• How to utilize the rapid-imaging technique to hit your goals 10x faster than your competition

Can you tell I love this topic?!

But, in all seriousness, those two pitches would get read. And probably booked.

See what I mean?

 

#3. Give an example.

 

Link, do not insert, your work.

Putting in a hyperlink that leads to your press page is all you need to do. And you can do that in your mini bio or when you're signing off.

We already talked about attachments being a no-no, so remember to always hyperlink.

I don't have the space today to talk about press pages, but if you're ready to build yours now, you can grab the Press Page Template here.

 

#4. Show interest in their show.

 

Why on earth should you be on their show? Well, you've got to prove why.

And a huge part of that is letting them know why you relate to and resonate with their show.

Listen to at least one full episode and glance through their latest season.

Who is their target audience? How can you support that audience?

What is an episode that you really liked?

Let the host {or booker} know in the email. This will establish a good relationship that isn't all about you and what you can get by being on the show.

 

#5. A generous action.

 

This is the perfect way to sign off your pitch. Give something that costs your time.

Whether it's a 5 star review, a blog comment, a testimonial...wherever you feel led.

A simple gesture like this goes miles and miles when it comes to podcasting relationships.

It shows a booker you can be trusted, that you are generous and that you will {as weird as the correlation is} promote their show.

We always want our true nature to shine through our pitches, so do everything you can to be generous.