🔬Speed pitching case study: Normal Curves
Learn how to land killer promo swaps regardless of your numbers
Lauren is here, bitches. ::spooky voice:: Welcome to the LAAAABORATORY for another CASE STUDDDDYYYYY. You can see the last one heeeeEEEeereee. ::spooky voice::
If you only have time for one thing:
Always remember QUALITY over QUANTITY. Take the time to really listen to every single show you contact!
⬇️Starting point
My background is in being a lover of podcasts, not someone in PR or marketing, and that comes into handy a LOT. My work is, sorry to be cheesy, my passion. This is why I think if you want to be good at growth you need to be a listener. You need to love it. I started my newsletter, Podcast the Newsletter, when I worked in book publishing. I just was hearing all this great stuff and I wanted to convert people into listeners so I had someone to talk to about the only thing I suddenly wanted to talk about.
On March 24, I wrote about Normal Curves, a show that I discovered via Podnews.
Regina and Kristi start off with an episode called “Who are we and what are we about” which is such a comfy intro to the two of them. By the time episode one hit I was like “here are my FRIENNNDS!!!” More podcasts should do this sort of thing. Listen to that if nothing else.
I couldn’t figure out how to get in touch with them, which was weird, but I wanted them to know how smart this was. I emailed them via their website thinking they would probably see it. I got a response.
Thanks for your note and your review of Normal Curves. We were so tickled by it! (Lines that made me laugh out loud: “Regina and Kristin are looking at scientific studies the way Biblical scholars look at the Bible.” and “By the time episode one hit I was like “here are my FRIENNNDS!!!”) It feels like you nailed the vibe that we were aiming for.
This is our first podcast, and we’re still finding our way. Right now we’re looking for ways to increase visibility and grow our audience. We were considering working with consultants that helped with our launch, but then we saw you and your team do marketing strategy through Tink and became intrigued. Your “podcast therapy” looks great, but we also wanted to explore more focused work. What’s the best way to chat about what options and packages you have available?
I met with them and we decided working together was a good fit. By this time I had converted several people from my team to the show, our love and respect for it were genuine. We understood the show in a way listeners do. Based on Regina and Kristen’s budget we settled up on speed pitching, which means they’d pay us by the hour to try to get them on podcasts to talk about Normal Curves.
Why I love this story:
I love Regina, Kristen, and Normal Curves and I love how we found each other
I love the way we approached each pitch
There are tactics here that can be applied to podcasts that haven’t launched yet, or even just authors and thought leaders who don’t have a podcast at all
🌟Gather info
Here’s what we knew up front:
Their goal was to have fun and increase visibility while teaching statistics and scientific research, as well as to make money
We’d be pitching both Regina and Kristen
Kirsten is a light podcast listener
They’ve been on a few shows
Regina has a cochlear implant.
Plus, we peppered them with questions about their favorite books, movies, and interests outside of science — that can always be a way in
🏹Make your list
The first thing I do when I’m list building is look up the show (or a comp if it’s small) on rephonic.com/graph, the free resource that never fails to dazzle me. This is a very hot take on the Tink team but watching it is way more fun than The Bear season 3. (I’m sorry I could not with that wedding table scene.) This site will, using Apple Podcast data, tell you the neighborhood or galaxy your show exists in, aka, where your listeners already are. Note: this is only where they already are!!! There are places they are not and you have to find them, too!
Here’s something weird I do: Player FM is a listening app but online they will offer up generous lists of niche shows. I just googled “best statistics podcasts Player FM” and look what I found. Notice that some are really off, but you will probably find some good stuff. I like that it tells you when the last episode aired, so you don’t waste your time reaching out to a podcast that hasn’t had an episode in 10 years.
I also look the show up on Podchaser, which I pay for, and that gives me tons of great lists and matches.
So does Listen Notes, which is free, but the list won’t be as helpful. (I still always use it.)
Then I do some light stalking. Have previous guests of these shows been on other shows? How do I widen this net?
Lastly, if the show is my vibe (this one obviously is) I’ll spend time scrolling through my own listening library to see if any of the shows I listen to and love are a good fit.
Remember I asked Regina and Kristen about other things they want to talk about. Does Regina want to talk about dating? Has Kristen seen a ghost? You need to search for those shows, too.
🌟Craft your vision / story
This show is our favorite kind of show, indie and niche. But that means there aren’t tons of obvious matches. We can’t do a simple search for “statistical podcasts.” This is where Tink thrives, and you can too! Our idea was to find audience matches (where are Normal Curves listeners?) and figure out how we could pitch an episode that was a statistical spin on the thing those other shows were talking about.
💕Get pitching
To write a good pitch letter you have to
Have a vision for what the episode will be, keeping not what you need and want, but what the producer or host does, and
Be able to communicate that vision effectively.
Basically you need to…
🤠Put your producer hat on.
Can Kristen and Regina talk about something I know the host loves to talk about, bonus points if it’s with a twist?
Has it been a long time since the show I’m pitching has covered statistics?
Do I know the listeners of the show I’m pitching well enough to know that they will love something Kristen and Regina can talk about?
Is there a specific segment of the show that Kristen and Regina would shine one?
Is there something about Kristen and Regina specifically that the host/producer would love?
Can Kristen and Regina tie statistics to the subject of the show I’m pitching in ways that have never been connected before?
Does the show have a Patreon that might need content? Could Kristen and Regina offer something there?
Etc.
Sorry I know this totally sux but that means you have to actually listen to not just podcasts but that podcast, and each letter needs to be tailored specifically to that producer or host. (jk this part rules)
Tink rules for pitch letters:
Listen to the show you are pitching first
No blasts
No AI, be authentic
Be specific to prove you are being authentic
Spend at least 20 minutes writing each letter
FEWER SHOWS ON EVERY LIST, MORE TIME ON EACH LETTER
Hire a sensitivity reader if you need to
If you can, avoid making the letter a selfish ask. I think this is almost always possible. If someone interviews Kristen and Regina, could they do a promo for the episode or put it on their social media channels? Could the host of the show I am pitching record a segment for Normal Curves?
Don’t forget to follow up
😎Oh, one more thing.
If you want to interview Regina and Kristen, hit me up!
✨ More Magic
More Magic and Tink Desk come from Editor Wil 🦇 this week!
Loving this new season of The Conversationalist, especially right now. In their words: “At a time when the free press is under attack around the globe—as corporate media increasingly bows under pressure from authoritarian governments—I treasure the space we’ve created as a feminist, independent nonprofit for stories and conversations that matter.”
Another exciting new release: “If She Can Make It Here is a new podcast from Amplify Her® Foundation, that celebrates the bold and fearless women leading across New York City. The series features changemakers, like Ai-jen Poo and Reshma Saujani, who build pathways, shift narratives, and transform systems to advance gender equity.”
The legendary Tal Minear, who is my go-to crowdfunding consultant, is hosting a 3-hour workshop on crowdfunding! For $40, you’ll get a crash course from their wealth of knowledge and expertise — and half the proceeds go towards the legal funds for a member of the podcasting community in need. The event is on November 15 starting at 10am PST, and you’ll get a recording of it after.
The second edition of Good Tape is coming soon! This is the THREAT issue, and the cover will have THEE Nicole Byer, a triple threat at least. You can use promo code (TINK10), your readers will receive 10% off our new subscriptions or 10% off single purchases for The Threat Issue!
Fiction fans, are we so back? Between Lauren Shippen’s TWO THOUSAND AND LATE, Gabriel Urbina and Audacious Machine Creative’s The Harbingers, a return to The Truth (!!!), and the new Andas show catskull (more below!) it feels like we’re in a little bit of a renaissance right now. But we’ve also had a ton of new indie creators pop up in the last few years — what have some of your favorite indie fiction podcasts been recently?
🎧 From the Desk of Tink
Andas Productions, the award-winning team behind Temujin and Sayang, is back with two new shows that keep pushing the boundaries of bold, global storytelling.
In Comic Sans Season 4, hosts Myle Yan Tay and Nathaniel Mah make comics fun, thoughtful, and wildly accessible for beginners and lifelong fans alike. The show highlights comics from around the world with humor, heart, and fandom, bridging the gap between deep critique and genuine joy.
catskull, launching today, is a gritty Singaporean neo-noir thriller that follows a young vigilante whose search for justice turns into a dangerous reckoning with identity and power. Adapted from Myle Yan Tay’s award-winning novel and brought to life with immersive, cinematic sound design, catskull asks who pays the price when we take justice into our own hands.
Thank you for reading! I LOVE YOU ✨
—lp
LOVE this step-by-step advice Lauren! Especially: Have a vision for what the episode will be, keeping not what you need and want, but what the producer or host does. So often it's WIFM from the guest pitch, not WIFTP!