The Podcast Discoveries Series Introduction

Into a time when the trust in the viability of our systems, communication, media, governance and civil society is teetering, come a wave of talkers commandeering the airwaves on their own terms…podcasters.

Tens of thousands of vocal on-air talents have turned on microphones, and launched discussions, commentaries, dramatizations, recreations and jokes, on every subject imaginable, in an effort to deliver more knowledge, and entertainment, to more people than ever before.

And a significant part of their effort includes engaging with guest speakers who can illuminate issues, clarify points, and heighten the conversation.

But after the ‘big’ names and their marquee guests rotate amongst themselves in a Top 100 popularity bubble, an estimated 1,000,000 or so lesser known names seek to be recognized in the conversation with the insights and ideas they have to offer.

As an aspiring entrepreneur, how do you become a guest on a podcast to help get the word out as an entrepreneur, what should you listen for, what are the challenges, and how do you as a listener take advantage of the total million of podcasts to learn as much as you can as an aspiring entrepreneur.

Given the wide-open field, and domination of the .01% at the top of the charts, how does a potential host looking for content; a potential guest with something to say, and a potential listener desperate for diverse voices, find the ‘rest’ of the podcasts within the podcast world?

This six-part podcast series is all about helping you find out so you can participate fully in the podcasting opportunity.

From all sides of the microphone – as a host, guest and listener – I began an effort to find among the 99.9% of podcasters who are speaking about entrepreneurship, online business, and success.

This is the introduction to a 6 part series on all things podcast guesting or podguesting as people call it – plus a bonus as a podcast listener – plus another top secret bonus, I’ll tell you about in later episodes.

The original plan was to find podcasters who were interested in the message of my latest book Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide to Getting Started with an Online Business. To find these hosts, I researched deep into the public podcast directories, Google pages, and recommendations to learn who was out there, how they could be contacted, and whether they were willing to open up their airwaves to me and my message.

The result exceeded my expectations.

Not only did I earn the opportunity to guest on dozens of awesome podcasts, but also I learned more than I could have known about the current state of the podcast industry.

I have attended podcast conferences, and spoken to many podcasters, but I have never heard the facts I learned when I ended up researching 1, 117 podcasts in search of an interview.

And given the piles of details collected in my inadvertent research project, I decided to tell the entire story in this 6-part series which has also been posted as a series of blogs on my website, and lots more I’ll tell you about.

If you are interested in participating in podcasting, I recommend you stick with me from this introduction through to the end of the series. But of course you can also jump around and begin wherever you want to learn more about this fast-rising and ever-changing medium.

Comment or reach out with your questions and let me know where you stand, and how you feel, about the real story behind podcasting today.

The Method

So first where did my information come from…

For background, this inadvertent project began when I set a goal to be interviewed on 50 podcasts as part of a virtual promotional tour for my new book Recast. 

What I did not know then is that I would have to research more than 1,000 podcasts to find the 50 who have said ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ so far.

On purpose, 100% of the podcasters I approached, I had never heard of before.  The podcasters I have heard of are some of the biggest names in the business.  I immediately put them on my dream list to be approached one day in the future.

I considered my most realistic opportunity to be interviewed would be with rising podcasters who were speaking to the audience I wanted to reach.

But before I explain the details of how I found them, here is the high level summary of my results from May to August 2020:

I researched 1, 117 podcasts (research is defined below)

About two-thirds were not relevant to my topic (as defined by me, see below for details)

319 were sent an interview request (either an e-mail or communication through their own form, or later on a referral)

Of those who were sent an interview request, 25 % replied – that’s double the rate quoted in most how-to articles.

Of those who replied:

About half said Yes and those interviews have taken place or have been scheduled.  The rest have not yet been scheduled.

30 % said maybe (usually for scheduling reasons)

The rest said an outright No

So let me say upfront, if you are considering paying a service to get you a couple of interviews a month, or if you hear people saying it’s so difficult…stick with this series and I’ll take you through it.

Over the next five episodes, I’m going to explain what this all means.  How can you use podcasting to help grow your business, and develop your message?  Why is it a good idea?  What can you do with the interviews?  How can you monetize your podcast appearances?

And then as a listener, as an aspiring entrepreneur, how can you go beyond the top 100 to find podcasts that are right for you?  How can you use these interview research methods to your advantage?  And where do you find the best podcasts for you?

This deep dive in to this one industry is all about providing you with the information you need to be successful.