"I think our podcasts should be friends."
🤸♀️Podcast marketing: let's have some fun.🌈
Bonjour.
I have talked about finding your podcast friends and ways you can engage with them. Now I want to arm you with a good letter to send your new potential friends.
Tips:
A good pitch letter should take 15-20 minutes to write! (That doesn’t include time spent listening to the show.) Spend this time researching the host(s) and writing a heartfelt message. If you find yourself straining to write something heartfelt, you probably shouldn’t be emailing.
I always come up with a pitch letter that is slightly professional, it has information about the show and host and a list of bullet points the guest likes to talk about. If you are pitching yourself as a guest, this can be where you suggest the topics you’d like to cover. Cater these bullet points to the show—what format does the show follow, and how can your message fit into that?
I throw that into the email first, but write my personalized note at the top. This is where I introduce myself, explain what I’m trying to do, and why I’m making the match. “I loved your episode about ____ and it made me think of _____,” or “I know you have a segment on money, that’s something my client talks about a lot,” or if you’ve done your research, you can say “I noticed in Rephonic (or whatever) that we have a lot of audience overlap and I think we could both grow our audiences if we work together.”
You’re trying to get them to open the door so don’t be too specific or close-minded. It’s like you’re saying, “I think our podcasts should be friends.” If you leave it open, you might be able secure a partnership you never would have imagined. (I have booked my clients on panels just because I asked the producer what they had going on.)
Make sure your pitch is timely and relevant. Why should they book you now?
Keep it less than 300 words. Most people prefer around 100-200 words.
Pitching earlier in the week is preferable to later in the week.
Ask questions. “What are you working on?” “What do you have coming up?” “What do you wish you had more of in your editorial calendar?”
These letters work for growth both ways. Think about what you can offer the other person. For example, a show I am working on has a weekly mini-episode that plays voice memos from listeners and other people in the field. Do you have something of value like that you can offer the person you’re pitching? “I’d like to be on your show, and in return to be on mine.” It doesn’t have to be a guest swap, think about what you have of value that can be used as collateral.
The subject line should include the show’s name so it doesn’t look like an email blast. This takes extra time, but if you are personalizing each note (like you should be) it won’t be a big deal.
Follow up after a few weeks if you don’t hear back but keep it polite and don’t do it more than once, unless you have a new idea or news you need to share.
This week, I received a pitch for Podcast the Newsletter from Dan of The Industry that totally worked on me. I promised I’d show it off. (Thanks, Dan, for letting me share!)
Notice how it opens with “before I pitch.” He’s telling me what I’m about to get—a pitch—but first gets into a note about my newsletter, which he has read. Then he gets into the exciting part. I’m totally hooked, aren’t you? This is a nice email (longer than it needs to be, but I loved it.) Dan understands what I like to cover and has me convinced that this episode is something worth checking out. BTW here is the episode he was linking to.
Send me your own thoughts about podcast marketing. What works for you? Have you received or written a great pitch letter? I want to see it! lauren@tinkmedia.co.
LET’S SWAP
I am currently looking to swap for the podcasts How to Do the Pot, Me Becoming Mom, Our Body Politic, Chasin’ Birdies and PEOPLE Every Day. Fill out the form if you want to talk with me about a promo, newsletter, or social media swap.
Here are just a few other shows seeking to swap. Fill out the form to be considered—I’m getting a good library of shows who want to work together, and the more of you who sign up, the better the matches will be.
✨ 27 Club: Stories about musical icons who died at the age of 27.
✨ The Springfield Three: How did three women completely vanish without a trace?
✨ Future Hindsight: Racial injustice at the center of the climate crisis, mobilizing 3.5% of the population for change, and disruptive humanitarianism.
✨ Salad With a Side of Fries: Talking wellness and weight loss for real life, because most of us are going to drink, eat out, skip the grocery store and who wants a life without fries or dessert? Host Jenn Trepeck’s expertise as an optimal health coach, in practice for over a decade, along with experts in various modalities will clear up the myths, mis-information, bad science and marketing to reveal the truth of HOW TO EAT and HOW TO CHEAT!
lp