Carl Richards shows you how to stop being invisible and start getting booked on the right shows, strategically.
GROWTH PILLAR: Marketing & Branding
WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Coaches & Consultants / Leaders building authority
WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A clear guesting strategy, a smarter pitch approach, and a calendar plan that turns podcast appearances into real business results.
Most people don't have an expertise problem. They have a visibility problem. Carl Richards of Podcast Solutions Made Simple has spent years solving exactly that — helping business owners get booked on the right podcasts, in front of the right audiences, at the right time.
In this episode of Knack 4 Business, Carl breaks down why podcast guesting works, what's changed in the industry, and how a strategic approach beats volume every time. With 465 million active podcast listeners worldwide and a global industry worth $5–6 billion, the opportunity is real. But only if you show up with a plan.
Carl covers how to position yourself as a guest, craft a personalized pitch that hosts actually respond to, build a calendar strategy that creates consistent visibility, and turn one conversation into referrals, partnerships, and sales. He shares real client results and a framework any business owner can start using this week.
This is not a conversation about luck. It's about strategy.
Topics Covered:
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Carl (00:05)
I'm so honored to be able to share with you about how you can fill your calendar with podcast guesting opportunities for an entire year if you want. Here's what we're going to jump into today over the next 20 minutes
Why does podcast guesting work and where to start? What has changed in the podcasting space and how you can take full advantage of it? How to get booked on shows strategically? Why strategy beats out volume and quota? And a valuable resource to share with you at the end of the day today. So one of the questions I get asked on a regular basis is,
What's the status of the podcast world while there are about 4.5 million podcasts worldwide only about 450,000 of them There's this thing called pod fade not going to get into that today, but safe to say it's it's a reviving industry It's a growing industry There are new shows launching all the time as we see an erosion with conventional media We see news magazine type shows launching in the podcasting space. We see shows like
Bernie show the Knack for Business podcast that is bringing business owners on the show to share their little blurb about what they do. Wayne Pratt wants to do a podcast called Business is Funny. That just might happen sooner than later. But there's many different reasons why somebody might be wanting to either do a podcast or be on a podcast. And today, of course, we're talking about the guesting side of things. Here's the one thing that we need to be aware of. Sorry, a couple of things. There's new shows launching.
all the time. As a matter of fact, we've launched four shows. We're launching four shows since January. Now, that's not like it's a magnanimous number, but that's on average of about one per month. So that's a good steady cadence for just our agency launching podcasts on a regular basis. So here's the thing. New hosts, guess what they need? They need guests, if that's what their show is aimed at having. And then of course it's guests, good hosts. So
Carl (01:53)
that need
Carl (01:56)
Let's talk about the podcast audience platform. There are about 465 million active listeners in the podcasting space. if you're thinking about your business, your brand, your credibility and wondering, this podcast thing actually work, especially as a guest? Does it work as a guest? Well, ask yourself, would you like to get your message in front of potentially,
465 million listeners, but there's probably a good chunk of them who are likely your ideal client. Podcast listeners are highly engaged audiences. As a matter of fact, if the content sneaks in at the right length, we know that audiences will stick around for about 93 % of the audiences will stick around if your podcast or your guesting appearance is around that.
that 30-minute mark. We also know that they buy stuff. That's why it's becoming a bit, I believe we're up to, I'm losing track, it's because it's growing so exponentially. But the podcast industry itself is probably somewhere around five to $6 billion. It might even be higher than that based on the most recent stats. And here's the thing, audiences trust hosts and they trust the guests. So if you have a product or you have a service that is viable and you want to get it in front of audiences,
then podcast guesting does make sense, makes a lot of sense. IMO, in my opinion. So why become a podcast guest? Well, here's the thing. We know that one of the reasons why, we figured it out, why folks want to be on podcasts is not just for fun. Yes, is it fun? Can it be fun? Sure. But if you're doing it for business, it's likely you've reached a point in your business where there's something that you're missing, something that you're figuring out that you need to do.
For some people, it's write a book. For others, and this is usually what a business coach will tell us because we do partner with business coaches, because when somebody goes to a business coach or a consultant, it's because it's time to shift something in their business to go to the next level. So it's time to write a book. It's time to go on a speaking tour, start a podcast, be a guest on podcasts, and basically build that authority. And maybe it goes beyond that to promote books and programs, et cetera.
A lot of times, of course, to generate leads. Now, do you get direct leads from a podcast? You can. Certainly, there's a way to go about doing that. There's a strategic way to do it to get people into your funnel. But yes, you can generate leads from a podcast. It expands your reach because it's going beyond your network. You're talking in somebody else's network. And if you're on a show like Bernie's, know, Bernie has a fairly expansive network, not to mention a show that's been around
Four years now, Bernie, math is hard on him, I'm losing track. And I don't even know how many episodes or how many downloads he's getting, but it's also a great way to create partnerships and it can lead to sales. It can lead to sales, okay? If you have positioned your podcast, guesting opportunity the right way. Here's the problem, there are tons of people with all of this expertise and what are we doing? We're doing the things that everyone has said we need to do. We need to be on social media. We need to occasionally send an email to people, okay?
But a lot of those platforms, especially social media, who's done something on Facebook lately and had all of your people who are in your network respond, connect, like, and share? Everyone.
No one? Okay. If one person has done that, good for you. Because I have never, ever, ever, ever had how many people in my Facebook or LinkedIn, I'd say 5,000 on LinkedIn and about 3,000 on Facebook. Never had them all take me up on any of my office or anything that I've been talking about. Okay. So we don't have an expertise problem. We have a visibility challenge. And that's one of the things that podcast guesting can solve because one interview, one interview can lead to the introductions.
that you need to shift your business forward. And it might not be directly from the audience. The introduction that you're looking for might come from the host. After the conversation you have with the host, you can say, hey, Bernie, you know a lot of people. I know you know a lot of people. Do you know anybody who could use a podcast or who's looking to start a podcast? And Bernie would probably say, likely he would say yes. I hope he would say yes. And if not, he would say, hang on a sec.
Let me look up a few things and then he would probably still within a couple of days have a couple of introductions. So it can definitely lead to that. It can lead to referrals. It can lead to invitations to attend events. It can lead to invitations to speak at events. That's also on the list is speaking. And as I said, it can lead to sales as well. But the sales don't come from you being a guest on the show. They come later as people are funneling into what you do. We have a bit of a supply problem. Many people want to be guests.
A lot of people say, yes, I love this guesting thing. And they just haphazardly set up a, you know, a pod match profile or a matchmaker profile, or they do a lot of people using chat GPT now searching for the podcast that they think they want to be on, put out a cold outreach to them, and then wait and wonder why they're not getting much response. Well, there is a strategy to getting on the shows that are going to have the most impact to where it is that you want. Okay.
There's also a demand problem. Podcasts, hosts need, they need great conversations, they need expert insights, and they need relevant stories. So, hosts are, guests are saying, well, there's a lot of shows, I'd love to be on a show. Hosts are saying, well, I'd love great conversations, I need expert insights, I need relevant stories. Where are all the guests? How can we get them in the chair that we want? Well, it is because we need to approach it.
Strategically, if you look at this picture here, there's the host on one side and the guest on the other. And right in the middle of that is this thing called strategy. And that's what we want to focus on today is the strategic approach to getting on the shows that are going to be of impact to you. Guesting is not random. Guesting should not be treated as something at random. Random guessing creates random results. Who likes to wake up in the morning and know that their results they're going to get from that day are totally random?
Not too many people do. many people, there's no guarantees in life, of course. Think back six years ago when we were going through a pandemic and if you woke up March, whatever the day it was, you probably didn't realize the world was going to be shut down for the better part of a couple of years. But in your business, there are enough things that we do in our business between networking, CRMs, virtual coffees, sales calls, all of those things that get us not random.
results, right, or spraying and praying type results. So what is the strategy behind doing this? Well, let's look at this a step further. Strategy beats volume. 10 strategic interviews beat 100 random ones. So if you were strategically getting on shows, and my team is really good at doing this, by the way, finding the shows that are going to have the most impact for you, you have a better chance of getting that visibility, that credibility, and ultimately getting the know, like, and trust factor that is going to lead to...
more clients and more people in your pipeline.
So strategic guessing requires positioning. Who are you? Who are you? I sit in networking meetings, and I hear people introduce themselves. Not this group. This group was perfect. I hear people introduce themselves, and they can't introduce themselves. You really need to know what it is that you are doing when you are pitching, when you are soliciting or pitching a host to be on their show. Who is it your target? Who is it that you want to target? Who are your clients?
What's your client avatar? The other thing that's very important as a guesting strategy is to listen. And I didn't realize how important this was until I started being a guest myself. I did it the opposite. I became a podcast host before I became a podcast guest. And I thought, well, that's the way you do it. It's actually easier if you do it the other way around. What I didn't realize was that podcast being a very good and sought after podcast guest requires you to listen to the shows that you want to be on.
especially the ones that you are pitching to be on. So very important. And then what's your call to action or what I like to think of as your call to value. A lot of folks when they're starting to implement a podcast guesting approach, they'll just drop in their email or their website. Well, guess what? People will likely not interact with you through just saying, yeah, thanks. It was great being on your show, Bernie. For anyone who's interested.
Just visit my website, a lot of great resources there or drop me an email. Who has ever done that when they heard that on a podcast? If you did, good for you. I'd love to find out more about how that's working for you because I've never heard anyone literally take that kind of action from that. We want something a little bit more tangible. Let's talk about positioning for a minute. Clear topics. What are the things that you can talk about on a podcast?
I would limit it to two or three. Five max, if you really think you need to go five, and I know on certain platforms you can go up to five. Your expertise, what is the expertise that you're bringing to the table? What is the clear path of your expertise that you're going to be able to showcase to the audience on that show? What is the value you're bringing? So in other words, it's not about you, it's not about the host, it's about the value you're bringing.
to the audience and what's that follow through? What's that call to action or that call to influence or that call to value that you're going to put through at the end? Targeting shows. Not every podcast is the right podcast. If you like gardening, great, go on the gardening show. But if your business is about, I don't know, coaching, the gardening show might not be the best one for you. Just saying, unless you really like gardening and you want to talk about that too.
I would say get on shows that are related to business, that are related to your topic so you have a better chance of getting in front of the audiences that are the most important. Relevant topics. Here's what I like to think about as a strategic outreach, relevant topics, a professional approach, a review of the show, personalizing your pitches. I'll talk about that very briefly because we found that when you personalize your pitch to the host, it goes a long way. We run a podcast agency.
podcast solutions remain simple. And we have discovered that, guess what? Hosts don't like to be pitched. And as a matter of fact, some hosts will throw that pitch in that recindical file on the floor if it were still paper. Though basically, it'll go to the spam or go to your junk mail, whatever it is. If you tailor that, though, to be a personalized pitch and you say something like, hey, Bernie was listening to your podcast. I love your conversation with Wayne Pratt.
What a character. I think I'd be a great guest on your show because of A, B, and C. Let's have a conversation about it. I have now personalized that pitch as opposed to, dear sir, I'm a great person. I should be on your show. Hear the difference? And you'd be surprised how many people do a blanket pitch like that and wonder why they don't get the results that they want. Make sure you share in that when you're pitching what you're bringing to the audience, whatever those key.
metrics or those key factors are that you're going to bring to the audience. And also don't hesitate to mention your free gift if you have one. Listening, when you listen, you build credibility with the host. So definitely, I've said it a couple of times already, listen to the show before you get on it. If you haven't heard the Knack 4 Business podcast, it's a great podcast. Bernie will drop the episodes that I was on. I'm just kidding. But it's here, it's a stellar podcast. There's a lot of variation of guests that he has had on.
And I know Bernie is, I don't know if he's always looking for guests, but if you're looking for an opportunity, there's one you could certainly chat with Bernie about that. But it's a great way to find out what the show's about. So give it a listen.
also listing means knowing the flow of the show, understanding what the needs of the audience are recalling past episodes and content. So when you're doing your pitch, you're going, okay. Yeah. can now relate to the fact, like I just did that. Hey, I loved your conversation with Wayne Pratt, Bernie. That was great. when I'm referring to that, it's, it's, you know, people say they don't care what you know, until they know that you care. Definitely in the podcast, a hosting space, they want to know that you're not, you're not just coming on the show because you know how to fog a mirror that you can provide value.
to their audience.
A community invitation. I quite often have invited people to my, when I've been a guest on podcasts, I'll invite them to relevant events that I'm hosting. They're time specific and date specific, but you know what? It shows that I have a community and that is attractive to the listener and it's also attractive to the host also. Okay? I'll even invite the host sometimes. Okay? And okay, your calendar strategy. You should probably have one.
I always say, you know, make it, make it an intention. Make a plan. Don't just randomly say, I want to be on podcasts this year. Figure out how many is it that you want to be on? You want to be on two conversations per month. And you notice how I called them conversations, not interviews. It's not an interview. It's not an interrogation. It should be, should be a conversation with the podcast host. that's 24 if you did two per month. Okay. It's a pretty decent, pretty decent cadence for that.
You could go weekly if you want. If you want to do that, by all means, 52 opportunities to speak in a year is definitely going to, I mean, I don't make guarantees, it would be pretty hard to think you wouldn't see any traction from 52 or even 26 actually podcast guesting appearances in a year. These are a couple of people who have, have worked with us.
⁓ EA Clark founder of pivot and edge. we helped them actually create content for w we didn't realize we were doing this at first. We thought we were just getting them on shows to elevate their credibility, but no, they wanted some content that they could put on their website. And we were very successful in helping them do that. Sue Schuster, business funding strategist helped her as well. She had a fairly new position in the company she was in. I'd really wanted to get some traction and.
once we got her on, and I think she spent six or eight months with us getting on about 20 shows or something like that. So really a good number of shows to move the needle for her. This pair is a dynamite pair. Brandon Moon and Rafael Pinho partners at T.D. Pine Advisors. We've helped them get on shows that, and it's interesting because they do two different roles in the same company. So pitching both of them at the same time and then also getting them on individual shows, certainly been a lot of fun doing that.
There's a couple of folks who we have served. Here's the thing. At the end of the day today, it's not who we have served up to date. It's how can we serve you? So if anything I've said has resonated with you today, and then I want to hear your questions, of course, feel free to click the QR code. It's not to buy anything it's a chance for you to book a strategy call with me. We can talk about your goals for podcasting or podcast guesting, whatever it is.
I'm always happy to have a conversation with you and explore how I can best serve you and help you achieve whatever your goals are for elevating your brand, your business, and give you the visibility you deserve. look, it's the same QR code. You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be