Will podcast interviews help me to sell copies of my book?

One of the questions we’re asked regularly is will podcast interviews help me sell copies of my book. 

Honestly, it depends.  

I know, that’s a really helpful answer but it really does depend on a number of factors. However, if you lean into the strategy of being a podcast guest we’ve seen it work really well.  

Our client Dave McKeown, for example, noted an increase in book sales of The Self-Evolved Leader through being a guest on podcasts, along with an increase in consulting work and speaking engagements. He said,

“Over the last 12 months Victoria’s secured me over 50 interviews on well researched, applicable podcasts that have put me in front of the audiences I’ve wanted and that includes some huge names in my industry including The Ken Blanchard Podcast, Leadercast and the Elevate Podcast with Robert Glazer. As a result of that I’ve seen a direct impact, not just on the sales of my book but also in securing additional speaking and consulting work. Victoria is super easy to work with. She makes the whole process seamless and almost every podcaster that I’ve spoken with has said that she’s made their job easier too. So no matter what your goals as an author are, book in a time to talk with Victoria. You won’t regret it. ”

Goal-Setting

To see results like Dave’s you need to be clear about your goals for being a guest on podcasts.

Is your goal:

To sell copies of your book? 

Get more enrolments for your course? 

Get more speaking engagements?

Something else?

How will you see a ROI?

If you decide to work with an agency it’s not cheap (because we do all the work so all you have to do is show up.) How much is the price of your book? Maybe £20 or £30 (that’s between $24 and $37 USD) And what percentage do you keep of the book sales? 

If your book is the only thing you have for sale then bear in mind you’d need to sell a lot of copies of your book to see a return on your investment. 

However, if talking about your book on podcasts is part of a wider goal to increase your visibility or brand awareness or part of your marketing funnel, we’ve seen podcast interviews work really well.

Last year we booked CIA agent-turned-entrepreneur Rupal Patel as a guest on targeted podcasts as part of her marketing strategy to promote her new book  From CIA to CEO. 

Rupal Patel is an established speaker and business owner who offers different coaching packages on her website. When you visit her website you’re greeted by a pop up where you can sign up to receive her free lead magnet and join her list. 

Four months after her book was released, Rupal celebrated selling 7,000 copies of From CIA to CEO.

She said, “It was such a pleasure working with Victoria and her team. They have a great process in place, are really well-organized and responsive, and delivered consistently. Everything they do is professional and well thought-through, and I would happily use them again in the future. I recommend them highly.”

First Step

You need to think of your podcast interview as the beginning of your relationship with the listener. It’s the first touch point. Because a book isn’t a huge investment, some people will be ready to buy a copy as soon as they hear you.  But in general people need more touch points before they buy. It used to be seven but now it’s much higher, around 16. 

If you’re consistently showing up on podcasts the listener has several opportunities to hear you on different shows and get to know you, increasing those touch points.

It’s really important to have a good call to action at the end of the podcast. The call to action happens when the host asks you where listeners can go to connect with you. Your call to action will align with your goal for being a guest on podcasts.

Your call to action

Your call to action could be to buy your book or to download sample chapters. If this is the case send them to your website rather than to a bookseller such as Amazon so you can capture their information rather than passing it over to the bookseller so they can grow their platform.

If, as you work to sell copies of your book you’re also building your community, you’ll have an audience ready and waiting when you come to publish your next tome.

Last year we worked with Adam Robarts, author of Nineteen – 19 Insights Learned from a 19-Year-Old with Cancer, and booked him on podcasts as part of his marketing strategy. Adam’s goals were to sell copies of the book to raise money for the Teen Cancer Trust but also to engage in meaningful conversations about Life and Death.

As you can imagine the tone of these conversations was very different from business-focused shows and thus the call to action was often much softer. Adam’s call to action was the website for his book Nineteen. On the website, as well as a wealth of information about the book, Adam had a subscribe box where visitors could join the mailing list to receive two free chapters of the book.  On the site were also links to his social media accounts.

One of the shows we booked for Adam was Live Inspired. You can listen to the interview here. As well as getting the exposure to the listeners of the podcast, the episode was promoted inside the Live Inspired community which has a substantial following on social media – 121,000 followers on Facebook and 93,000 newsletter subscribers.  So as a guest on podcasts you will also get the exposure to the host’s wider community who may not listen to the show and this could be much larger than the listenership of the podcast itself.

Landing Page

Another great call to action is to send listeners to a dedicated landing page like this one created by Jeremy Enns. From there maybe they follow you on social media, download your lead magnet (which might be a couple of free chapters of your book or a workbook or checklist), they might tune in to your podcast.

From here they may decide to join your Facebook group, buy your book, buy your course or decide they want to work one to one with you. 

So it can be wise to view your podcast interview as the start of a beautiful relationship with a listener rather than a wham bam transaction.

Sales Cycle

It depends on your sales cycle, how long it will take for a listener to buy from you. For some industries it’s much quicker than others.  What our clients’ report is that when someone books a sales call with them after hearing them on a podcast it’s a much easier conversation.

Shatter That Content

You really can, and I’d argue should, make your podcast interviews work hard for you, especially if you find it hard to find the time to create content. 

Take your interview as your core piece of content and then repurpose it (or shatter it as I heard repurposing described on a podcast – and kind of loved) taking clips for your social media channels, transcribing it and creating blogs and content for your newsletters. Not only are you flooding your platforms with fresh content and increasing your visibility you’re also increasing these touch points.

So will podcast interviews help me to sell copies of my book?

Yes, podcast interviews really can help you to sell copies of your book. The great thing about podcast audiences is that they’re niche so you can hone in and speak to the right people. However,  if you’re planning to use an agency to book you on podcasts you want to think through your goals, where you’re going to send leads, how are you going to nurture them and how are you going to see a return on your investment. This is something we support our clients with but as you go into a podcast interview strategy, consider, What will success with this strategy look like for you?

How would one new client impact your business? 

What if you sold a couple of courses or landed a speaking engagement?  

Now we’re talking!