Self-Promote and Succeed Chapter 14: The Power of Podcast Promotions

Chapter 14 the power of Podcast Promotions Podcasts used to be something you could do in your comfy pajamas in any room of your house. Nobody could see you so you didn't have to be camera ready. Those days are gone since the majority of podcast interviews now include video, podcasts have also become incredibly mainstream. Many celebrities have their own podcast, and a podcast exists for literally every niche these days. That means there's going to be a podcast or a hundred that covers the topics of your book, as well as another hundred that are interested in you because of your own personal story. You have an eager audience out there waiting for you, but you need to get the attention of the hosts. I know you're asking, do podcasts sell books? Well, some do. I've definitely bought books after hearing about them on podcasts, so I know it's possible. But personally, having done more than 100 podcast interviews and including many to promote one of my books, I can tell you that I haven't ever seen a podcast episode drop and have a massive immediate impact on sales. Nonetheless, I still think podcast interviews are well worth doing if you have any other goal other than to sell books, here's why. 1. It's marketing for your book, your brand, and your business, and the majority of podcasts record remotely so you can do it at home. There's been at least five podcasts I can think of that sent clients to book launchers, even if I can't be sure they sold books. A new client is far more valuable to me than a book sale. 2. It gives you a lot of feedback and practice in mastering how you tell your story, share your message, and gauge response to your tips. You can see patterns in what hosts ask, when they get excited, or what makes them laugh. Doing this effectively is what led Robert Bell to uncover the winning topic for his ted global ideas talk. 3. The long shelf life of a podcast with links back to your book and website pays off over time. Often people discover a podcast, decide they love it, and then listen to the entire backlist. 4. Niche podcasts can be a goldmine because they tend to have really engaged listeners. They'll buy anything the host recommends, and the host may even promote whatever else you're doing outside of the book. If it's a fit for the audience, that can lead to a lot of incredible opportunities beyond a book sale. A Unfortunately, identifying these podcasts in advance isn't super easy, but when you hit one, you'll know it. Ali Fallon's podcast Find you'd Voice with Alison Fallon has been one of those for me with Book Launchers and self publish and succeed. She and I really connected and she sent a lot of her clients to work with us. In addition, we've had several people join our Book Launchers service after hearing that interview. I don't know if it sold books, but it created a personal connection to someone who shares a lot of the same values and was a very profitable interview for the business. 5 Connecting with a podcaster helps you build relationships Take advantage of the minutes before and after your interview to connect with the podcast host. Ask them about their projects and goals. Podcasts are a door to finding speaking opportunities, consulting gigs, new clients, new friends, and more leads. If you can be a great guest, create cool and memorable talking points and put out a clear call to action for listeners to connect with you, then you will have the opportunity to sell books and potentially build a valuable and profitable relationship over time. Remember, podcast hosts talk to a lot of people so they could become a great referral source for you as a speaker, business person or author. How to decide which podcasts to pitch? Be forewarned and forearmed. There are some terrible interviewers out there. The majority are decent, but there are a handful who are stiff and limit the interview to prepared questions. You can mostly avoid those by listening to one of their episodes first. Even with screening, a bad interview can still happen. Podcasts are produced by people and people have bad days. Do your best. Remember, it's a privilege to have any audience. Most interviewers love what they do though. They make you feel at ease and do a great job of promoting you and you can feel their connection to the audience. How how do you target the most popular podcasts? Some data exists on downloads, but the podcast distribution systems are so fragmented it can be hard to identify the real listener base. Try looking at comments, social media engagement and rankings on specific platforms to give you a sense. Now let's talk about how you find and book a podcast. One way is through services like Podmatch, which is set up like a dating service for podcasts and potential podcast guests. You pay a fee to sign up and then you set up a profile page with your bio, photo and topics. From there you can search for possible matches or host can find you on what they search. Both guests and hosts are vetted by PodMatch. You can even schedule on PodMatch's platform. It's a great option to find new podcast opportunities and develop strong relationships with hosts. Full service agencies like Interview Connections and Interview Valet also connect hosts with experts or when working with a full service company like Book launchers you can get pitched to multiple podcasts. Once you actually have a podcast appearance booked, what should you do to make your participation a success? How to Prepare for a Podcast Interview Once upon a time, I used to prepare for every podcast interview. I'd listen to an episode or two before the interview. This was awesome for Rapport because I could comment on past episodes. I knew the format and and I was prepared for oddball questions. It always set the interview off on the right foot when I was able to say what I liked about the show. Eventually my schedule made that impossible. I've also done hundreds of interviews, so I am very confident and comfortable that I can deliver. That doesn't mean you should do what I do though. Especially if you are new to interviews. Even with experience, it can go wrong. There are a few times when a host was very unhappy I hadn't listened to their show beforehand. I a couple of times I was not warned about a curveball question that the host asked on every episode. If I'd listened, I would have become familiar with signature questions some hosts ask all their guests. It can be something out of left field like tell your 10 year old self about the biggest mistake you've made and why they should still make that mistake. If you were to start a business today with only $100, what would you do? Or the worst one what's something about you that nobody knows? You need answers for these curveballs so you don't get totally thrown off. That's why preparation makes a difference. As part of your preparation, put the host name, the podcast name, the topic of the call, what they call their audience, Team Flynn bosses, Fire nation, et cetera on a note card and put it in front of you. There may come a time when you forget these details in the middle of the interview, and having them handy will save you from making an embarrassing mistake. You can also write your new sound bites on a card so you have them for easy reference. If an interviewer sends you a list of questions in advance, don't script out your answers. Review them and think about key points you'll make. But your real goal is to create a connection with your host, and you're only going to do that if you're engaging in an organic conversation and enjoying a natural back and forth flow. Also, just a heads up that you should stay familiar with your book. It seems funny to say that because you wrote it and probably re read it half a dozen times or more, but believe me, you can start to forget some of the things you wrote. I've been caught off guard by a few really well prepared hosts who say on page 83 you reference a story that really changed your approach. Can you tell me more about that? And I'm frantically pulling up my book and trying to recall what I was talking about. Preparation makes a difference whether you're experienced or not, and it's essential for your first interviews. If you ever find yourself feeling as if podcasts aren't getting results, come back to this, because it could be that you're not bringing enough attention and effort into every interview or which leads us beautifully into how to make the most of every interview, whether it's your first or your 50th. How to make the most of your podcast interview Often when an author has done a dozen podcasts but feels nothing has happened as a result, it is because they are missing the mark somewhere. Let's make sure you aren't. It's important to make the most of every opportunity that comes to you. So Here are my five best tips for making the most of podcast interviews. 1. Stay value focused, not sales focused. Seed your book in the conversation only when it makes sense to bring it up. Good interviewers will be sure to do that for you, so you don't need to do it at all yourself. Ideally, you can just focus on having a valuable conversation. If you give your best, people will ask to do business with you. Some will buy your book, while others invite you to speak or connect with you. 2. Set your intention at the start that this will be the best interview yet. You can ask the podcast host if they're promoting anything or if they'd like to bring something that's important to them into the conversation because you can help them do that. These things can go a long way in creating synergy in your interview that lets both of you shine. Podcast hosts talk to a lot of people. If you reach out to them as partners, they will be much more likely to remember you, refer you, and even do business with you. Making it the best interview yet may not sell books, though it might, but it will make you memorable. 3. Create a clear call to action. Your host is likely to ask, where can people connect with you and buy your book? Give them a single link to a website that's your download. For example, you can go to booklaunchers.com 7 Steps to Download the 7 Steps to Write and Publish a Book that will Sell. Let them know they will get your contact info and links to buy your book that way too. This way, you're driving them to your site to get your freebie and join your email list. You can build a relationship with them and invite them to buy your book afterwards. You can even go the extra mile and create a special freebie that you are only giving away on podcast interviews. You can close the interview with I have an amazing checklist that will give you the steps and resources to do everything we discussed today and your insert audience name can go to the link and get this extra special thing I'm just doing for you guys. 4. Turn one into many at the end of a podcast that you've crushed, the podcaster is likely to say hey, how can I help you? This is your opportunity to say amazing. Yes, thank you. If you know another podcaster whose audience I'd be a good fit for, I'd love it if you would connect us. One podcast can lead to many, many more when you consistently do this and stay top of mind by sending a thank you or a follow up email after the interview. If someone is a really great connection or did something special for you, send something by mail. If you establish a good working relationship, it's also possible that you may get invited back again and again until you become a regular. This happened with On Talking Wealth. I've been on that show at least six times and they've interviewed more than a dozen of our authors. They have now turned all the podcast interviews into an online TV show too. It's quite exciting to develop these kind of relationships, so my message to you is keep in touch and say thank you. 5. Share your episode far and wide. Once it becomes available, post the link on your website, your social media and more. Some hosts make this easier to do than others, but either way, this is an opportunity to reciprocate and build credibility. Other hosts considering you for their show will see this too, and it's always appreciated. Some hosts, like Jeffrey Feldberg of the Deep Wealth Podcast, will even offer you the raw interview to repurpose. Jeffrey told me that our episode was co created and we're both owners of the interview, so I can use it for whatever I want to. For instance, I can turn it into social media content or excerpts for YouTube. If you still struggle with what to put in your email newsletter, struggle no more. You have a lot of content that you can share when you're doing podcast interviews. As I mentioned before, my interview on the podcast Unnoticed Entrepreneur became a chapter in a book that was eventually picked up by Capstone, an imprint of John Wiley and Sons. How fun is that? All I did was show up for an interview and sign a waiver and now I'm in another book Many podcasts can have a big impact on your business, brand and overall book momentum. It's important to understand how podcasts can help, so now you know. Don't overlook these opportunities. Remember Martha Tettenborn Land A documentary from a podcast interview and podcast interviews led Robert Bell to a TED Global Ideas Talk Podcasts are a wonderfully easy way to connect with new readers. Get your name out there, increase the links going back to your website, which is always useful, and practice both your interview skills and talking about your book. Another great place to talk about your book is live and in person at bookstores. In the next chapter, I I'll tell you what every self published author needs to know about selling your book on bookstore shelves and putting on live events at stores. 1. Podcast interviews are a great way to hone your message, build your brand and meet interesting people. 2. Research podcasts before you pitch them, it's wise to listen to a couple of episodes to make sure your message will be a fit. 3. Prepare for your podcast interview by listening to at least one episode and making note of the host name, podcast name, and their community name before you get on the podcast. Also, if you have a specific topic you're going to cover, writing down some bullet points is a good idea too. 4. Be camera ready because most podcasts are now recorded on video. 5. Leverage your podcast interview into new opportunities by teaming up with the host to make it the best podcast interview ever. Ask for more interviews and podcast contact at the end of your interview. Send a thank you note later.