How to Be a Standout Podcast Guest & Build Your Brand

Are you looking to elevate your brand and make a lasting impression as a podcast guest and subject matter expert?

Look no further!

We’ve gathered five essential tips to help you learn how to be a podcast guest and become a standout one that boosts your brand.

These tips will elevate your interviewee skills and leave a lasting impact on your audience and influential podcast hosts. We’ve got you covered, from being informative and educational to showcasing your humility, wit, and intelligence.

My approachable and good-natured writing style will guide you through the process. So get ready to up-level your entry into the world as a valued podcast guest and inspire others with our enthusiastic and inspiring tips. Trust me, your brand will thank you for it!

Introduction

Want to boost your brand and make a lasting impression as a podcast guest?

Photo by George Milton

Discover the growing popularity of podcasts and their potential for personal branding.

The rising popularity of podcasts in recent years is undeniable. They offer a unique platform for individuals to share their stories, expertise, and insights with a broad audience.

This surge in podcasting can be attributed to its accessibility and intimate, conversational nature, which allows listeners to dive deep into various topics.

Podcasts cover every subject imaginable, from business, technology, and health to culture, entertainment, and personal development. This versatility makes them an excellent vehicle for personal branding and building brand awareness.

By participating as a guest on podcasts relevant to your area of expertise or interest, you can showcase your knowledge, personality, and values to a potentially global audience. This exposure can significantly elevate your brand’s visibility, subject matter expertise, and credibility.

Podcasting is Exploding as a Venue for Building Brand Awareness

As the landscape of podcasts continues to expand, with thousands of new shows launching yearly, standing out as a podcast guest has never been more crucial.

The proliferation of podcasts across genres and platforms means that audiences have overwhelming choices. In this context, merely appearing on a podcast might not be enough to impact your brand significantly.

It requires a strategic approach to ensure your participation reaches and resonates with your intended audience.

Here are five essential tips to help you become a standout podcast guest, become a recognized subject matter expert, and boost your brand:

#1 Tip for Becoming a Standout Podcast Guest

Photo by George Milton

Prepare Thoroughly:

While spontaneity can add life to an interview, preparation is key to effectively communicating your message.

Before the interview, take the time to understand the podcast’s audience, format, and tone. Listen to a few episodes to get a feel for the host’s interviewing style and prepare accordingly.

Tailor your messages and stories to align with the podcast’s listenership’s interests and needs. This preparation will make you a more engaging guest and enable you to deliver value in a way that genuinely connects with the audience.

Share Unique Insights and Stories:

What sets you apart as a subject matter expert is your unique perspective and experiences. also significant business differentiators in building your brand.

Share insights and stories that listeners can’t find anywhere else., offering a fresh take or nuanced understanding of familiar concepts. This could involve discussing case studies, personal anecdotes, or hard-learned lessons, illuminating your points engagingly and memorably.

By providing content that is both informative and relatable, you help build a strong connection with listeners, encouraging them to see you as a trusted and insightful figure in your field and subject matter expert.

Photo by George Milton

Be well-prepared and engaging during the interview. Communicate your key messages effectively while offering a dynamic listening experience.

Rehearsed answers and prepared anecdotes allow you to navigate the conversation smoothly, even when unexpected questions or a surprising turn arise. This level of preparation demonstrates professionalism and respect for the audience’s time, ensuring they gain valuable insights.

Anticipate common questions and have concise, compelling answers ready. Include relevant anecdotes to add depth to your responses and make them more memorable for your listeners. Preparing in this manner shows that you respect the listeners and the host by valuing their time and attention, and it also helps cement your status as a thought leader in your field.

Leverage the Episode After It Airs: The work doesn’t end once the recording stops. Promoting the episode through your channels, thanking the host publicly, and engaging with any discussion it sparks are all vital steps to maximizing your appearance’s impact. Highlight key moments or quotes from the episode on your social media, write a blog post reflecting on the experience, or even send a newsletter to your audience about it.

Photo by George Milton

Engage with the Host and Audience: Interaction shouldn’t be limited to the interview.

Engaging with the podcast host before and after the recording can foster a more meaningful connection, leading to a more relaxed and natural conversation.

Preparing a value-driven and relevant takeaway (or lead magnet)  is a key strategic way to build your list and continue engagement with interested listeners.

Additionally, promoting the episode through your social media channels and interacting with listeners who comment can extend the reach of your episode and reinforce your expertise and approachability.

This engagement amplifies your message and strengthens your relationship with the podcast’s community, increasing the likelihood of being invited back or recommended to other podcasts.

Photo by Ann H

Don’t Ramble! Objective: Keep your answers focused and concise.

Keeping your answers focused and concise is crucial to maintaining the attention and interest of both the host and the audience.

When asked a question, aim to deliver your response in a structured manner that directly addresses the query. Avoid diverging into unrelated topics or over-elaborating on points that could dilute the impact of your message. This requires a balance of being thorough and informative while also being mindful not to overwhelm listeners with too much information at once.

It can be helpful to practice articulating key points succinctly ahead of time, perhaps even with a timer, to hone your ability to convey essential information within a specific timeframe. This practice not only aids in delivering more precise, more compelling answers but also helps manage the overall pacing of the conversation, ensuring that there’s time to cover a range of topics without the discussion feeling rushed or dragged out.

Furthermore, staying focused allows for a deeper exploration of the subject matter when appropriate.

If a particular question opens the door to a specialized area of expertise where you can provide significant value, being concise elsewhere gives you the flexibility to dive deeper without running out of allotted time.

Tip: Practice delivering your answers within a specific time limit to avoid rambling.

Stay on topic and avoid going off on tangents.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood

Enrich Your Answers with Stories and Examples: Incorporating relevant stories or examples into your answers can significantly enhance their impact and memorability. While it’s important to remain concise, a well-placed anecdote or a brief case study can vividly illustrate your points, making complex concepts more accessible and engaging for the audience.

This technique not only helps hold the listener’s attention but also demonstrates your expertise and experience in a relatable way.

When preparing for the podcast, consider the key messages you wish to convey and identify any personal experiences, historical events, or hypothetical scenarios that could effectively underscore these points. However, it’s crucial to ensure that these anecdotes are directly relevant to the question at hand and contribute meaningfully to the discussion rather than serving as a diversion.

Anticipate Follow-Up Questions: One way to ensure a dynamic and enriching conversation is to anticipate the host’s potential follow-up questions. This preparation allows you to think through more comprehensive answers and consider different dimensions of the topic that the initial question might not cover.

Be aware that many podcast hosts will ask you to provide them with questions for you. The more you can make their job easier, the better the experience can be.

Photo by George Milton

Leverage High-Quality Equipment:

Sound quality can significantly affect the listener’s experience.

Using a good microphone and ensuring you are in a quiet, echo-free environment can substantially improve audio quality, making it easier for listeners to stay engaged and comprehend your points.

Investing in a high-quality microphone and headphones for monitoring is advisable to ensure clarity and avoid any potential technical issues during the recording.

This enhances the sound quality and shows your professionalism and respect for the audience’s listening experience. Testing your equipment before the podcast begins can prevent many common audio problems, helping to maintain a smooth and professional flow throughout the session.

Additionally, familiarizing yourself with the recording software or platform can improve the session’s efficiency. Knowing how to quickly mute your microphone when not speaking or troubleshooting minor issues can help keep interruptions to a minimum.

Tip: Not only do you want to invest in a good microphone, but you also want to learn proper microphone techniques, such as speaking directly into the mic and avoiding background noise.to maximize clarity.

Proper mic positioning is also crucial. Keeping the microphone at a consistent distance from your mouth can help maintain stable sound levels, reducing the chances of fluctuating audio that might distract listeners or detract from the content being delivered.

Moreover, using pop filters can be beneficial in filtering out harsh plosive sounds, making your speech clearer and more pleasant to listen to.

Another aspect of using a good mic technique involves controlling your environment. This includes minimizing background noise by choosing a quiet recording space and perhaps even using sound-absorbing materials to dampen echo, which can degrade sound quality. Being mindful of these details ensures that your voice comes through clearly and is free of distracting noises that could hinder listener comprehension and enjoyment.

In addition to focusing on technical aspects of sound quality, the importance of vocal delivery itself cannot be overstated. Variances in tone, pace, and volume can greatly affect the dynamic of the conversation and the audience’s engagement level. For instance, varying pitch and speed can help emphasize key points and maintain interest.

One last thing…do you find yourself slurring some words or getting tongue-tied like I have? If so, I have found it helpful to practice articulating my speech before I get on my podcast.

What Are Articulation Activities or Speech Therapies for?

Articulation activities are exercises or tasks designed to help individuals improve their speech and pronunciation, particularly in terms of producing specific speech sounds accurately. These activities are often used in speech therapy, language development programs, or by educators to address difficulties with articulation, phonological disorders, or speech sound disorders.

Check out this entire blog post I found: Speak Clearly: 15 Fun And Effective Articulation Activities For All Ages

Here’s another great resource for better speech and articulation.

Photo by George Milton

Choose a Good Recording Environment

Deciding on an ideal recording environment is crucial for conducting a quality audio interview or podcast.

One of the primary considerations should be finding an acoustically conducive space to recording, meaning it should have minimal echo and reverb.

This can often be achieved in smaller, carpeted rooms with plenty of soft furnishings that absorb sound rather than allowing it to bounce around. Additionally, being in a controlled environment where external sounds are minimized is essential. This might mean recording when ambient noise levels are at their lowest or utilizing a space naturally insulated from sound, such as a studio designed specifically for recording purposes.

If you are a dog lover like I am, having your pet anywhere nearby while you are being interviewed is a mistake. As someone who has interviewed podcast guests, I can tell you that it’s inconsiderate to think that editing out dogs barking or interfering is not a major inconvenience. Honor your podcast host’s time and editing resources.

Attention should also be paid to the equipment setup within this environment. Ensuring necessary cables are neatly organized and out of the way can prevent accidental noise during the recording session.

Experimenting with different microphone and seating arrangements to find the best acoustical setup for your specific space may also be beneficial. This proactive approach to managing your recording environment can drastically improve the final audio quality of your content.

Another factor to consider is the psychological comfort of the recording environment. A space that promotes relaxation and focus can help the speaker deliver their message more effectively.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska

Maintaining a positive attitude throughout the recording process is crucial for delivering content that resonates with listeners. A speaker’s demeanor can deeply influence the tone of the conversation and, by extension, listener engagement. Enthusiasm and genuine interest in the topic or conversation can be contagious, encouraging listeners to stay engaged and invested in the material being discussed. Therefore, speakers must approach their recording sessions with optimism and a readiness to engage meaningfully.

Active listening is another critical component of a successful audio interview or podcast. When participants listen closely to each other, it facilitates a more dynamic and interactive conversation and signals respect and interest in the other person’s viewpoints. This level of engagement can enhance the quality of the conversation, making it more informative and enjoyable for both the speakers and the audience. Additionally, active listening can help in navigating the flow of the discussion and in identifying moments to delve deeper into a topic or to steer the conversation in a new direction based on the interests of the audience.

Photo by Tracy Le Blanc

*Promoting the episode on your platforms is a strategic move for extending the reach of your content. By leveraging personal or professional social media profiles, websites, or newsletters, speakers can tap into their existing networks to boost listenership.

Be a gracious, win-win podcast guest. Appreciate the time and effort that goes into producing and promoting a podcast.

*As a podcaster, a lifelong marketer, business owner, and a digital marketing professional, I am far more likely to book a podcast guest with a significant social and email following.  This will be critical if you want to know how to get on a podcast as a guest. Be sure to emphasize this in your podcast guest application.

If you look for podcasts looking for guests on PodcastGuests.com, their application includes this information and prompts you for the most frequently asked questions the host would want to know. 

In conclusion, becoming a standout podcast guest involves meticulous preparation and an engaged, proactive approach during and after the recording process.

To recap, the five essential tips are:

1. Prepare Thoroughly: Research the podcast, its audience, and the topics to be discussed. Prepare concise, insightful points to contribute meaningfully to the conversation.
2. Be Engaging During the Interview. Communicate your key messages effectively while offering a dynamic listening experience.
3. Don’t Ramble! Keep your answers focused and concise.
4. Technical Setup: Prioritize a high-quality audio setup. Invest in a good microphone, ensure a quiet, echo-free space, and consider soundproofing solutions if necessary.
5. Psychological Comfort: Choose a recording environment that promotes relaxation and focus. A comfortable space helps you deliver your message more effectively.

BONUS Tips:

• Promote the Episode: Use your platforms to share the episode.