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(By Robert Wilson) When you think about inviting guests for your show, it’s tempting to reach out to friends or family. They will most likely say yes. But that doesn’t mean they’re qualified. Let’s discuss where to look for real guests and how to invite them.
How to choose experts? The main rule is to call those who are very interesting to you. It can be a brand representative, a project author, a blogger, or maybe just some strong expert. The first time you start a podcast, your guest audience will also matter because it’s a way to find your first listeners. Then, when you have a constant audience, your task is to interest the audience, give them great content. Therefore, start mixing media guests and guests who are not very famous but with whom you can better reveal a specific topic.
How to find expert contacts? There are different ways to do so via e-mail, social media, and mutual acquaintances. All means are suitable here. You can write on Instagram, especially if the guest is actively using it. If he has a favorite messenger, contacts are usually listed there.
Of course, there’s aways Google. Last year I found freelance medical writers by using a freelance platform like Kolabtree. In general, look for absolutely all communication methods. If these are some super-media guests, it’s better to contact them through mutual acquaintances or through guests you’ve already had.
What should you write in an invitation to experts? It’s great if you have a template. It might say, «Hi, my name is (your name), I_’m the author of the podcast «(title).» I would like to invite you to my podcast.»_ Then briefly tell guests what the podcast is about, who were your guests before, and what you would like to talk about with the guest.
Experts can look at the proposed topics and immediately say whether they are interested in talking about them at all or not. Perhaps they will suggest a topic that is worth touching on. And at the end of the letter, there should always be a link to the podcast.
How do you come up with great questions? Your task is to ask questions that are, first of all, enjoyable to you, and so that these questions are with an individual approach. If a person has already told us about his creative path many times, you should not ask him again. You can always turn the question around based on what you already know about a person. So we immediately let the guest know that we have studied information about him, and he is located on the podcast and the interviewer after that.
Be yourself when communicating with guests. Do not try to pretend to be a connoisseur. The listener immediately feels the difference between episodes without a guest and with a guest. Remember that your guests are human. Even if they are very famous, they are still human. Show them from the human side. This is the most exciting.
Robert Wilson is a part-time podcaster. He plans and prepares episode topics and interview questions. He can be reached at robert.wilsson1@gmail.com