TJ Walker contrasts podcasts with traditional radio, arguing podcasts better reach niche, global audiences, retain episodes indefinitely, and enable deeper conversations and relationship-building with hosts and listeners. He cites Tim Ferriss’s example (selling more books via a podcast appearance than on the Today show) and gives practical advice: accept podcast invitations unless unrelated to your work.
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At first blush, being a guest on a podcast seems no different than being a guest on a radio program. Talk radio show, don't be deceived. It's actually very different. Most radio shows have a broader audience. It's more of a general public. Of course, there are exceptions. The gardening show in your local AM talk radio station may have people who are just interested in gardening in your community. So it's not to knock traditional radio, but the beauty of podcasts is you can really reach people throughout the whole world who share a particular concern with your niche, your industry, your area of specialty. The famed author Tim Ferriss of the Four Hour Workweek has famously said he sold more books going on one podcast than he has being on the Today show, which at the time was the number one rated broadcast show in the United States with millions and millions of viewers viewers. So if you have a particular book subject matter niche, and it's in alignment with a podcast, and the podcast is popular, you may be far better off than being on a much more famous traditional broadcast program. Here's my number one piece of advice with podcast. Just do it. If you get invited to be on a podcast, just do it. Don't ask the host of the producer to send you all their ratings information or how many downloads they have, and all this other stuff, all these screens. Now, you may want to listen to one or two, but the main thing is just do it. Because the beauty of a podcast is you can really reach specialized audiences and they may come back to you. They may find you a week later, a year later, three years later, because many people keep their podcast forever. And once it's up, it's there. So it's a more specialized format and it allows you to go much deeper. Now, I do say for a podcast, it's okay to go deeper than your three main message points, because quite often the podcast, it can be about forming relationship with just one audience member. Sometimes it's about forming a deeper relationship just with that host. The host may reach out to you, not even knowing why exactly. But once you talk in detail, you figure out that you and the host have so much in common, so much of an overlap that you become partners. Perhaps you do an online course together, perhaps you do another joint venture or do another podcast together. So that's the beauty. You can really go in depth and you can make stronger connections with audience members, with host producers of the show. So my recommendation, just say yes to any podcast request, unless it's just on a topic that's totally unrelated to anything you care about.
