What kind of results are you getting from your podcast interviews? If you’re not getting great results yet then the problem is rarely the size of the shows. In today’s episode we talk about 8 reasons your podcast interviews may not be working for you.
Key Takeaways
- Poor audio quality can negatively impact your interview, so using an external microphone and wearing headphones can improve sound quality. It is also important to avoid echo in the room and turn off any disruptive sounds from devices, fans, or air conditioning.
- Being unprepared can affect the quality of your interview. You should know the platform that the host is using, be confident about the topics you are discussing, and avoid showing up unprepared with a script.
- Over-preparation can also be detrimental to your interview. While it’s useful to prepare beforehand, it’s important not to show up with a script, as it may sound unnatural and disengage the audience.
- Stories are important in engaging listeners and building emotional connections, as stories make information more memorable and relatable.
- Instead of being a pushy salesperson, focus on adding value to your interview by sharing your knowledge, experiences, and expertise, to grow your brand.
- Poor rapport with hosts. Use the hosts name and engage with them during your conversation.
- Not being enthusiastic or sounding enthusiastic about the topics you’re talking about.
- Not being a guest on the right shows. Periodically evaluate which podcasts are the most successful for you and go on more of these kinds of shows.
- Not having a call-to-action that’s resonating with listeners. You may need to experiment.
Quote
The problem is rarely the number of listeners of the podcast
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Transcript
We're here to support you on your journey, bringing you actionable tips for each episode. Now, let's. Hello and welcome to episode 72 of the Best Guest. I hope that your week is going well so far on this week's episode. I thought it might be useful to talk about eight reasons your podcast interviews may not be working for you.
good is your sound quality? [:You can get a Blue Yeti or a dynamic microphone. Audio Technica have a good range. Well, I'm using a Rode mic right now, which I really. But not to get into mics. It doesn't matter too much, as long as it's an external microphone, the microphone that's in your computer just isn't good enough quality. Also, make sure that you're wearing headphones.
This stops the sound leaking out, muddying the recording. So always pop your headphones on and take some time to make sure that. Mic technique is good. It can be easy, and I do it sometimes, but if you get too close to the microphone, you want to be about spread your palm out and you want to be about hand away from your microphone and you are not talking straight onto it.
e before you are actually on [:Another thing you don't want happening when you're on an interview is all your devices pinging, so make sure that this sounds turned off. Same with fan heaters or air conditioning. Close the windows, close the doors. And if you live in a busy household like I do, you are probably gonna want to put a recording in progress.
or video. Obviously, if it's [:I've spoken to people who've been taken off guard, shown up with wet hair before, or wearing really scruffy clothes that they wouldn't have chosen otherwise. You also want to feel confident about the topics that you're going to talk about. When you know you've got an interview coming up, make sure you read around your topics so that they're fresh.
It can be really helpful to write them out if that's how you process information. Come up with a few statistics to share and some stories. Number three, now this is the. Your podcast interviews may not be working. If you over-prepare. Sometimes hosts will give you advanced questions and it can be tempting, especially if you are nervous to write them out.
sound really scripted and it [:Number four, are you sharing stories? It's really great to share facts and some statistics as they do add credibility to what you're talking about. But don't forget the importance of stories. When you know what you're going to talk about, think through some stories that you could use to illustrate your point.
It will really build that emotional connection. Make the listeners stick around longer in stories, lower our defenses, and they enable us to teach principles in a much more engaging way than just sharing list of bullet points. One of our clients works in the health field and he's got this one great story.
e can remember. Number five, [:It's a real turnoff to listen to a podcast where someone is just selling their products and services. In fact, if you turn up doing that, your interview may not even make it live. I spoke to one host who said she wouldn't publish an interview when somebody showed up and just sold, sold. Yes, of course you're going on podcast interviews because you want to grow your brand.
You want to grow your business. You're gonna have to be more subtle. Your job on an interview is to make listeners want to take the next step with you, such as signing up for your newsletter, visiting your website, joining a Facebook group, and you do that by giving a really good interview so that they want to connect with you.
you are much more likely to [:That's a mouthful. Poor rapport . To ensure a conversation flows naturally, you do need to build some rapport with the. For some interviews, you'll get a pre-interview, which is usually around 15 minutes, and this is where you can check that you are a good fit. You're on the same page, and I announce some topics that you want to talk about on the podcast, so this can help when you show up to do your actual interview because you've got some familiarity with each other.
ou usually can if you listen [:But you can always ask for clarification during your pre-chat, that little time period before the host hits record. And this will help to build rapport during your interview. If you're not good at remembering, I know sometimes it's like you can go totally blank. Uh, write the host's name on a Post-it and just pop up on your monitor in front of you, and that'll also prompt you to use it.
Focus on engaging with the host as much as possible in the same way that you would if you were just having a one-on-one conversation with someone. Try to remember, it's not a job interview. You are not being tested. It's a convers. Another thing that you might find it helpful to do is to listen to a couple of episodes before you speak with the host and reference something that you heard and that you liked during your interview.
out for you is, is if you're [:And it's not really gonna be much fun for you either. So only add topics to your one sheet that you are enthusiastic to talk about. Now, it's not always that straightforward because nerves can make us come across as a bit flat or even worse, they can take away our ability to express ourselves as we'd like.
So if you are not a naturally effervescent person, One tip you could try is to pop on some upbeat music before your interview and move around a bit, get everything flowing, and that might help you come across as a bit more enthusiastic. Another resemble guest interviews may not be working for you, is if you're not appearing on the right shows.
ea to do a little evaluation [:The final reason for today of why podcast interviews might not be working out as you'd like is your call to action might not be quite right. So have a look at what you are using when the host says, where can listeners go to connect with you? Where are you sending them? It should just be to one place, because that can get confusing if you start saying, oh, go to my Facebook page, connect with me on LinkedIn.
I mean, yes, you can say all that, but it's best if they just have one place to remember, such as your website. If you create a welcome page on your website, that's all the better, and then you can put everything they need on that one place. And then also experiment with what you are offering on that. Do you have a download or do you have a webinar?
couple of call to actions to [:Visit www.victoriabennion.com to pick a free podcast guesting strategy session with one of our team. Using the information you provide when you book, we'll get to know you and your business better so you get the most value from your strategy call. You will come away from this 30 minute session with huge value.
We'll share our top tips for being a podcast guest and up to five suggestions of perfect fit podcasts you can approach. Thank you so much for listening to the best guest podcast today. I'll talk to you again in the next episode.
