1 00:00:01,380 --> 00:00:03,180 Morgan Franklin: Have you ever heard that saying that all 2 00:00:03,180 --> 00:00:07,380 politics are local? Well, I have a new saying for you, and that 3 00:00:07,380 --> 00:00:10,890 saying is, all podcasting is local. If you know anything 4 00:00:10,890 --> 00:00:14,670 about my backstory in podcasting, in spring of 2021 I 5 00:00:14,670 --> 00:00:18,630 launched my first podcast. It was a local, community based 6 00:00:18,630 --> 00:00:23,580 podcast in my hometown in Tennessee, I had no idea what I 7 00:00:23,580 --> 00:00:27,270 was doing, other than we had to make this thing work. And since 8 00:00:27,270 --> 00:00:32,100 2021 I've had politicians, reality TV stars, CEOs, 9 00:00:32,100 --> 00:00:35,670 journalists, influencers, inventors and a long list of 10 00:00:35,670 --> 00:00:39,720 incredible guests that I had no business coming on my podcast. 11 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:44,790 And in this episode, I'm gonna tell you how I did it. Hello and 12 00:00:44,790 --> 00:00:47,940 welcome to podcast for profit. My name is Morgan Franklin. I'm 13 00:00:47,940 --> 00:00:52,320 a Podcast Producer, strategist and educator. This podcast will 14 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:56,250 help you create and grow a podcast that cuts through the 15 00:00:56,250 --> 00:00:59,850 noise of social media and speaks directly to your target 16 00:00:59,850 --> 00:01:03,930 audience. If you're ready to create a podcast that will align 17 00:01:03,930 --> 00:01:07,290 you with the experts in your industry, position yourself as a 18 00:01:07,290 --> 00:01:11,040 trusted leader and create another source of revenue for 19 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:14,010 your business, you're in the right place. I'll talk about 20 00:01:14,010 --> 00:01:16,170 this a little bit more throughout the episode, but in 21 00:01:16,170 --> 00:01:20,730 conjunction with this episode, I have launched my podcast pitch 22 00:01:20,730 --> 00:01:24,750 template. I swore that I would never, ever, ever sell this 23 00:01:24,750 --> 00:01:27,720 template because it is simply too good and I wanted to keep it 24 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,870 for myself. But this is the template that I have been using 25 00:01:30,870 --> 00:01:36,180 and perfecting and turning cold outreach into guests for years, 26 00:01:36,390 --> 00:01:40,170 and I know it is going to change your podcast. You can shop the 27 00:01:40,170 --> 00:01:43,650 template in the link, in the episode description. For a 28 00:01:43,650 --> 00:01:46,380 little bit of context of this story, I'm not really a huge 29 00:01:46,380 --> 00:01:51,270 bachelor or bachelorette fan in general. I just don't really 30 00:01:51,270 --> 00:01:54,300 like reality TV that much. I don't know why, because I'm 31 00:01:54,300 --> 00:01:58,080 exactly the kind of yappy girls night loving 30 year old that 32 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,890 would normally love this kind of TV, but yeah, I could just never 33 00:02:01,890 --> 00:02:05,610 really get into it. However, as I said, the girls night loving 34 00:02:05,610 --> 00:02:09,480 gal I am, my roommate at the time, was a full fledged card 35 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:13,590 carrying member of bachelor nation. Every Monday night there 36 00:02:13,590 --> 00:02:18,300 was a gaggle of girls with pizza and wine and fuzzy socks ready 37 00:02:18,300 --> 00:02:23,100 to watch the drama unfold. And because I'm no party pooper, and 38 00:02:23,100 --> 00:02:26,040 if there's fun to be had, especially if it's at my house, 39 00:02:26,070 --> 00:02:30,420 I'm gonna be having it. So here I come every Monday night to 40 00:02:30,420 --> 00:02:34,920 join the unholy trinity of group dates, Chris Harrison and those 41 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:38,550 rose Boone ears that mysteriously stick onto fabric. 42 00:02:38,790 --> 00:02:42,150 As I was told every single season before this season 43 00:02:42,150 --> 00:02:47,880 promised to be the most dramatic and insane and unbelievable, yet 44 00:02:48,150 --> 00:02:51,870 you are just not going to believe what happens. This has 45 00:02:51,870 --> 00:02:55,920 never happened in the history of bachelor nation. I promise that 46 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:58,920 I'm not going to make you listen to the entire breakdown of the 47 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:01,830 one season that I watched all the way through, but just know 48 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:06,900 that I was as invested as any other red blooded American 49 00:03:06,900 --> 00:03:10,050 suburban mom, and I still reminisce with my former 50 00:03:10,050 --> 00:03:14,580 roommate about how this might have actually been the craziest 51 00:03:14,580 --> 00:03:20,190 thing to ever happen in bachelor nation. This was in 2019 and 52 00:03:20,190 --> 00:03:23,970 spoiler alert, and if you might not remember, but a lot happened 53 00:03:23,970 --> 00:03:29,580 between 2019 and 2021 and during this time of me becoming a 54 00:03:29,580 --> 00:03:33,150 Podcast Producer and completely turning my life upside down, 55 00:03:33,300 --> 00:03:38,670 someone else was also turning their entire life upside down. 56 00:03:38,850 --> 00:03:43,230 The villain of that season of The Bachelor that I watched with 57 00:03:43,230 --> 00:03:49,740 my roommate. Yes, Not only had he moved on from the show, he 58 00:03:49,740 --> 00:03:57,030 had moved to my home town. Crazy. I know I had no idea. 59 00:03:57,150 --> 00:04:00,720 It's those crazy glitch in the Matrix, things that happen like 60 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:04,590 this that make me question if we do live in a simulation or not, 61 00:04:04,590 --> 00:04:09,810 because, like, tell me why this reality TV star that even I knew 62 00:04:09,810 --> 00:04:14,730 about was moving to hokey poke Tennessee. And of course, the 63 00:04:14,730 --> 00:04:19,440 answer is because my hometown is also the hometown of CrossFit 64 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:23,760 champion Rich Froning, but it's still pretty crazy. Right on The 65 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:29,250 Bachelorette, this guy was chewed up and spit out. He was 66 00:04:29,250 --> 00:04:34,110 maybe the most hated person to ever come out of the show. And 67 00:04:34,110 --> 00:04:38,430 you know what? Maybe he was that thing that had never happened in 68 00:04:38,430 --> 00:04:43,230 the history of bachelor nation. So my wheels are turning. It's 69 00:04:43,230 --> 00:04:46,170 spring of 2022, by this point, and I've been producing this 70 00:04:46,170 --> 00:04:50,730 podcast for about a year. We're doing well. We're getting some 71 00:04:50,730 --> 00:04:53,460 important people from around town. People are starting to 72 00:04:53,460 --> 00:04:56,190 listen to episodes without me personally begging them to 73 00:04:56,190 --> 00:04:58,800 listen. And yeah, overall, things are going pretty well, 74 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,100 right? But. Once the information comes out that this guy has 75 00:05:02,100 --> 00:05:07,590 moved to town, I am all over it. I know we have to have him on 76 00:05:07,590 --> 00:05:11,280 the podcast, but how are we going to get him on the podcast? 77 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,370 More importantly, how are we going to get him to talk about 78 00:05:14,370 --> 00:05:18,030 the bachelorette on the podcast? Because it's pretty clear that 79 00:05:18,030 --> 00:05:21,780 he's moving on. And you know, that's understandably so. So 80 00:05:21,780 --> 00:05:24,630 let's get into how we make this happen. The first thing that 81 00:05:24,630 --> 00:05:27,030 you're going to have to do when you want to invite somebody that 82 00:05:27,030 --> 00:05:31,320 is out of your league onto your podcast, which, by the way, I 83 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,790 hope that this is what you are always doing. There is no reason 84 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:39,330 that you are staying in your comfort zone and inviting boring 85 00:05:39,330 --> 00:05:43,800 guests. And if you are Stop it, if you are schedule a 86 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,830 consultation with me, and I'm going to help you move past it, 87 00:05:46,830 --> 00:05:52,020 because step one is research. Do your research. What are they 88 00:05:52,020 --> 00:05:54,660 doing? What is the person doing that you want to have on your 89 00:05:54,660 --> 00:05:59,700 podcast? What are they promoting? What direction does 90 00:05:59,700 --> 00:06:04,350 it seem like their brand is going in, and how can you help 91 00:06:04,350 --> 00:06:09,030 them to go in that direction even more effectively? And let 92 00:06:09,030 --> 00:06:11,670 me just remind you, this is where brand clarity and 93 00:06:11,670 --> 00:06:16,170 direction on your own podcast really comes into play, because 94 00:06:16,170 --> 00:06:19,950 it's very hard to make a promise to a guest on how you're going 95 00:06:19,950 --> 00:06:23,310 to help them with their image, or help their branding, or help 96 00:06:23,310 --> 00:06:27,180 them rebrand by being on your show when you don't even know 97 00:06:27,210 --> 00:06:31,770 what your own show is trying to accomplish. Know why you want 98 00:06:31,770 --> 00:06:34,920 them to be on your show and what you're going to tell them 99 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:40,560 specifically about why you want them to come on the show and why 100 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:44,040 you like them, why you think that they are the person to come 101 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:47,940 on and talk about this. Because let me tell you, flattery works. 102 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,630 Compliments work, and I think that they are so often 103 00:06:51,660 --> 00:06:56,400 overlooked. Give someone a compliment, tell them genuinely 104 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:00,930 why you want them to come on your podcast. The second thing 105 00:07:00,930 --> 00:07:04,560 is, you have to look the part. This is where the podcast pitch 106 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,100 template I was talking about earlier comes in. But I send 107 00:07:08,130 --> 00:07:12,750 every guest a beautifully designed, curated PDF that looks 108 00:07:12,750 --> 00:07:16,200 like a million bucks. It looks like you're working with the 109 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:20,190 most high end professional podcast out there, and that is 110 00:07:20,190 --> 00:07:22,950 what I want them to think. That's what I want them to know. 111 00:07:23,130 --> 00:07:26,610 It answers the questions before they have the time to ask them, 112 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,330 and if you do it right, it's gonna seal the deal for you. 113 00:07:31,290 --> 00:07:34,260 Okay, so getting back to the story. So I know about this guy, 114 00:07:34,380 --> 00:07:38,070 I want him on my podcast. I'm doing my research. I find out 115 00:07:38,070 --> 00:07:43,410 why he came to my hometown, what the rebrand from reality TV is 116 00:07:43,410 --> 00:07:46,950 really looking like for him, and I craft a pitch that is so 117 00:07:46,950 --> 00:07:50,610 beautiful that is for him, where we say, hey, we can help you 118 00:07:50,610 --> 00:07:54,390 accomplish all of the things, and we would love to have you on 119 00:07:54,390 --> 00:07:58,260 the podcast. And I'm not lying to you when I tell you, this was 120 00:07:58,260 --> 00:08:01,860 one of the fastest responses that I have ever got from a 121 00:08:01,860 --> 00:08:05,550 guest pitch before I was I was on top of the world. I was so 122 00:08:05,550 --> 00:08:08,940 impressed. He told me that he would love to come on the show. 123 00:08:09,180 --> 00:08:11,460 Now I wish that I could tell you this is where the story ends, 124 00:08:11,490 --> 00:08:15,030 but really, this is just where I get started, because this is not 125 00:08:15,030 --> 00:08:18,000 where the story ends. And something that I'm going to 126 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,420 personally warn you about is that the higher up on the totem 127 00:08:21,420 --> 00:08:25,980 pole you go with booking people, the more gatekeepers and 128 00:08:26,010 --> 00:08:30,390 appointments people you are going to have to work with. The 129 00:08:30,390 --> 00:08:34,530 first exchange for this podcast interview happened in April. It 130 00:08:34,530 --> 00:08:38,760 took until July to get him on the podcast. It also took about 131 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:43,230 half a dozen unanswered emails, a voicemail, and finally, asking 132 00:08:43,230 --> 00:08:46,020 a friend of a friend of a friend if he could remind him about the 133 00:08:46,020 --> 00:08:49,560 podcast. And I do want to say for the record, if anyone has 134 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:54,330 pieced together who this is, he was an incredibly kind person. 135 00:08:54,330 --> 00:08:57,510 He actually found out that the host of this podcast had some 136 00:08:57,510 --> 00:09:00,750 family that lived in Ukraine, and he was wearing a support 137 00:09:00,750 --> 00:09:04,680 Ukraine t shirt to the interview, he seemed like a very 138 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:08,190 personable and thoughtful man, and he recently, actually just 139 00:09:08,190 --> 00:09:11,640 got married and had his first child, and he still lives in my 140 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:14,940 hometown, and I just could not be happier for his family. So if 141 00:09:14,940 --> 00:09:17,940 you do know who it is, I think that things turned out okay. 142 00:09:18,420 --> 00:09:21,090 Another thing that I want to mention is And speaking of 143 00:09:21,090 --> 00:09:25,350 reality TV stars, around the same time, we got to interview 144 00:09:25,350 --> 00:09:30,030 the winner of the voice for season 17, and he told me after 145 00:09:30,030 --> 00:09:33,660 the recording that the questions were the most thoughtful and 146 00:09:33,660 --> 00:09:36,780 well researched questions that he had ever had. And I mean, 147 00:09:36,780 --> 00:09:40,110 this man had just came from being on Kelly Clarkson's show 148 00:09:40,110 --> 00:09:43,710 the day before, you better be writing the best questions that 149 00:09:43,710 --> 00:09:46,410 these people have ever seen. Because another thing that is 150 00:09:46,410 --> 00:09:49,410 going to happen is their people are going to press you. They're 151 00:09:49,410 --> 00:09:52,440 going to say, okay, okay, well, maybe send over a list of 152 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:54,930 questions. And basically, we'll think about it. We'll think if 153 00:09:54,930 --> 00:09:57,570 we want to give you an appointment, and that's when you 154 00:09:57,570 --> 00:10:01,110 better have the questions that they have never. Answered on air 155 00:10:01,110 --> 00:10:06,210 before, and is that going to take work? Yes, is it going to 156 00:10:06,210 --> 00:10:12,900 take time? Yes, you have no idea how many interviews, podcasts, 157 00:10:12,930 --> 00:10:16,950 articles that I've read from people so that I can have unique 158 00:10:16,950 --> 00:10:20,700 questions that they have never been asked before, but I will 159 00:10:20,700 --> 00:10:25,110 say almost every single guest that I have on any of my shows 160 00:10:25,110 --> 00:10:30,210 always says, Oh my gosh, I've never got questions like this 161 00:10:30,210 --> 00:10:34,740 before. So put in the effort. Because you know, if that fan 162 00:10:34,770 --> 00:10:39,510 who has no idea who you are is coming to listen to this episode 163 00:10:39,630 --> 00:10:43,920 and you're asking them the same crap that everyone else is that 164 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:49,260 is an instant skip versus them falling in love with you. The 165 00:10:49,260 --> 00:10:53,040 old saying is, they come for the guest, but they stay for the 166 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:59,340 host, so leave them something to stay with. Another thing is, and 167 00:10:59,340 --> 00:11:02,310 I know that you're gonna be so excited, especially if you 168 00:11:02,310 --> 00:11:05,730 booked a guest that could be a really big deal for your 169 00:11:05,730 --> 00:11:11,130 podcast, you have to limit the amount that you are talking 170 00:11:11,130 --> 00:11:15,810 about yourself again. People came for the guest. They did not 171 00:11:15,810 --> 00:11:20,310 come for you. The best thing that you can do is focus on 172 00:11:20,310 --> 00:11:24,780 giving the best experience to that guest and their fans, with 173 00:11:24,810 --> 00:11:29,520 the hope that you pick up a few listeners from their audience. 174 00:11:30,810 --> 00:11:33,240 Going back to the gatekeepers for just a minute, though, the 175 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:37,440 more important somebody is, oftentimes, the more gatekeepers 176 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,440 that you're going to have to go through to get to them, the more 177 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:42,480 that they're going to give you the runaround on booking the 178 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:47,190 dates and when the person is available and XYZ. Keep going, 179 00:11:47,220 --> 00:11:51,750 keep emailing. We just had a senator on this same podcast, 180 00:11:51,750 --> 00:11:56,850 and it took me from July to November to get this recording. 181 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:01,530 Keep going, keep messaging. And eventually, most of the time, if 182 00:12:01,530 --> 00:12:06,210 they think it's a value, it is going to happen. But how do you 183 00:12:06,210 --> 00:12:10,050 make sure it's of value? How can you guarantee that this guest 184 00:12:10,050 --> 00:12:14,430 being on your podcast will provide value for them? Well, 185 00:12:14,460 --> 00:12:19,680 you can't really, but what you can do is know your audience, 186 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:25,110 know who is listening to your podcast and why, and also, like 187 00:12:25,110 --> 00:12:30,000 I said earlier, all podcasting is local. Know your local 188 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:34,320 community or know your community in your industry, weak 189 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:39,300 connections are everything in life and in podcasting. Make 190 00:12:39,300 --> 00:12:41,580 sure that when you're talking to people, especially when you're 191 00:12:41,580 --> 00:12:45,300 networking with people in your industry, you're asking, Hey, do 192 00:12:45,300 --> 00:12:48,510 you know anyone that would be great for my podcast? I know 193 00:12:48,510 --> 00:12:52,320 that my host gets sick of me because I am just reminding them 194 00:12:52,350 --> 00:12:54,360 over and over and over, when you're finished with this 195 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:58,260 episode, don't let them walk out the door or sign off before you 196 00:12:58,260 --> 00:13:01,590 ask them, Do you know anyone else that would be good for this 197 00:13:01,590 --> 00:13:06,660 podcast, because great guests know great guests. So utilize 198 00:13:06,660 --> 00:13:10,980 your network. Make sure that the people around you know what kind 199 00:13:10,980 --> 00:13:14,790 of guests you're interested in, and let them know who you are 200 00:13:14,790 --> 00:13:21,180 looking for. Do your research, look the part. Then when the 201 00:13:21,180 --> 00:13:26,760 time comes, be the part. If you want to shop my podcast pitch 202 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:30,840 template, it will be in the episode description. This is the 203 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:35,670 exact template that I have sent to secure over 400 guests. And 204 00:13:35,670 --> 00:13:39,180 also I just want to say I have received a lot of podcast 205 00:13:39,180 --> 00:13:43,020 pitches as a producer, and I have never seen anything like 206 00:13:43,020 --> 00:13:47,520 this. One more thing before we go, I just want to give you the 207 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:52,110 permission to pursue the guests that you want to have on your 208 00:13:52,110 --> 00:13:56,910 show. I know that this can be really intimidating and make you 209 00:13:56,910 --> 00:14:02,370 question a lot of things about yourself and your podcast and 210 00:14:02,460 --> 00:14:08,100 whether you are worth having this kind of guest on. And I 211 00:14:08,100 --> 00:14:10,950 have been very, very fortunate to have people around me, both 212 00:14:10,950 --> 00:14:14,700 professionally and personally, that always encourage me and 213 00:14:14,700 --> 00:14:18,210 cheer me on and tell me that no matter how crazy it is, that 214 00:14:18,210 --> 00:14:22,200 just to go for it. And I want you to know that you are worthy, 215 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,620 and you are capable of doing anything and everything that you 216 00:14:25,620 --> 00:14:31,350 put your mind to, keep going, keep pursuing what you want, 217 00:14:31,830 --> 00:14:36,990 keep sending that follow up email, and as always, I can't 218 00:14:36,990 --> 00:14:41,490 wait to listen to your podcast. Hey, thank you so much for 219 00:14:41,490 --> 00:14:44,520 joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed the podcast and 220 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,070 you'd like to hear more episodes like this one, go ahead and 221 00:14:47,070 --> 00:14:50,070 subscribe to the show. New episodes air every Monday 222 00:14:50,070 --> 00:14:53,070 morning. And if you found this episode valuable and you want to 223 00:14:53,070 --> 00:14:55,950 help other business owners and podcasters, will you leave me a 224 00:14:55,950 --> 00:14:59,190 five star review. It helps the show rank higher in the charts 225 00:14:59,220 --> 00:15:02,610 and brings more. Entrepreneurs the information they need to 226 00:15:02,610 --> 00:15:04,980 start making money on their podcast.