Guests not sharing their episodes is one of the biggest frustrations of running a podcast.
But is it the guest’s fault?
Not always.
In this episode of MicroFamous we dive into 3 key mistakes podcasters are making right now that keep guests from even wanting to share their episode. And of course, we talk about how to avoid those mistakes and create an episode that guests are excited to share.
Let’s jump in!
Mistake #1: We presented the guest in a way that adds nothing to their reputation or their level of influence.
This could be in how we introduce them, how we phrase their accomplishments, how we describe or promote their offer, or even the picture we use in the graphics we create. There are SO many opportunities to screw this up.
When my staff selects the headshot to use in our graphics, we’re always looking for what the GUEST has already chosen as their primary headshot, from places like their website or LinkedIn profile. If we can’t find something that is obviously their favorite, or all their stuff is low quality, we reach out to ask for a high-quality headshot.
Even something as simple as the wrong headshot can cause some folks to not share your episode.
It could even rise to the level of a flat-out screw up, as I mentioned in the case of the podcaster who featured me on an episode which was released last week. They got the name of my company wrong, even right in the graphic they wanted me to share.
I wanted to share their episode, I tried to share it, but I wasn’t comfortable sending people to their Show Notes page because of how badly they screwed it up. And I couldn’t even send folks to the episode using their graphic because even that was screwed up.
Stick around to the end for my best quick tip on how to present someone in a powerful way.
Mistake #2: We interview rather than having a conversation.
When you’ve been a guest on a bunch of podcasts, you want a conversation, not an interrogation. That’s why I refer to my guest episodes as conversation episodes, not interviews.
I try to drill it into all my client’s heads, These are not interviews. You are not an interviewer. You are an expert and influencer in your own right. No matter how big the guest is, this is a dialogue between two experts who each have their own perspective and value to bring to the episode.
Remember to be thoughtful and respectful of your guest. I’m not talking going overboard and playing devil’s advocate, trying to create Gotcha moments or running roughshod over them with your own opinions. We’re talking about a real conversation between two experts who each have well thought out opinions on an interesting topic that is super important to a group of people. That’s why people show up for business podcasts.
Plus you get a nice bonus, since treating a guest episode as a conversation between two experts also puts you on a more even playing field and boosts your level of influence with your own audience. There’s something about your audience hearing you have a smart, thoughtful conversation with someone they respect. It raises their level of respect for you. I’ve experienced that with my journey, and it’s an incredible thing to feel.
Mistake #3: We covered the same topics they share on every other podcast, we failed to draw anything unique and compelling out of them. Some podcasters ask roughly the same questions every time, and in the right setting that can work.
But many big name guests have been on a bunch of podcasts and have shared on their signature topic many, many times. It’s critical to draw something out of them that they haven’t shared before.
You can do this with well-researched questions, like Tim Ferris.
You can do this by going down rabbit trails, chasing whatever sticks out to you in the moment. Christopher Lochhead Follow Your Different is a good example of this style.
You can also do this by listening carefully for the most compelling, interesting, surprising idea and then digging into it.
That’s my favorite approach for myself because I’m good at identifying when I’m on the trail of something that is counterintuitive or counter-cultural. I’ve had this happen to me when a conversation on an episode happened to go into how I’ve built my business to accommodate the autoimmune issues I’ve dealt with since my teens.
I even said yes to a relatively small podcast that was way out of my industry because they wanted to talk about my background as a homeschooled pastor’s kid. So there’s a lot of ways to encourage a guest to share something they rarely show on other podcasts, and that gives them a compelling reason to share their episode of your podcast.
So let’s sum up a bit and then I’ll share my tip for presenting the guest in a powerful and compelling way.
My favorite way to incentivize a guest to share their episode is to deliver a great conversation that;
- They genuinely enjoyed…
- Presented them in a way that builds their influence and enhances their reputation….
- Chased some interesting new ideas or even produced some new insights for themselves on their own beliefs or opinions…
- Gave them an opportunity to share something they rarely talk about
That’s why I’m excited about a new podcast I’ve been working on behind the scenes. It’s called One Book That Changed My Life. Virtually every expert, coach, consultant or thought leader I know is a voracious reader, either of physical books or audiobooks. And all of them have some favorite book, often a hidden gem or an overlooked classic, that changed their life.
In each episode, the guest brings a book that changed their life in some way, and we dig into a couple big ideas from the book, how they put those ideas into action, and how those putting those ideas into action changed their life.
So the conversations I’m having on this podcast are completely different from anything they’ve done before. The guests are loving it and are already asking, “Hey is the podcast launched yet cause I want to share this with people who need to read this book!” These are some of the most fun, interesting and unique conversations I’ve ever had. Hands down. It’s been really, really amazing and I’m super excited to launch the show in December.
Now as promised, here’s my quick tip on presenting a guest in a powerful way. I’ll sometimes ask a guest, “Is there something I can say when I introduce you that you can’t say about yourself? Some sort of accolade or accomplishment that would sound super douchey if you mentioned it yourself?”
Usually I’ll get responses like, “I was on the Silicon Valley 40 under 40, or I’m in the top 1% of sales in my industry or we hit the INC5000 Fastest Growing Companies” and so forth. So I can hit those bullet points in my introduction rather than them having to say it.
Then I can let them rephrase and shorten it by asking, “So when you run into an ideal client, how do you tell them what you do?”
That sets the stage for them to explain exactly what they do and sell right now for the perfect person, without having to give a ton of background that might cause the audience to tune out.
So there you have it!
Avoid these 3 mistakes and you’ll go from guests not sharing their episode to guests reaching out wondering WHEN they can share the episode!