Morgan Franklin: You know, for someone with a solo podcast, I
have a lot of opinions on podcast guests, one of them
being that the right guest is going to make you a lot more
money than most sponsorships or advertisers ever will. I produce
several interview style podcasts, and there's one thing
that I know for sure, nothing creates the opportunity for
networking and building connections quite like hosting
interviews on your own podcast, just being the producer in the
room, I've watched hundreds of professional and personal
connections formed during recordings, connections and
relationships that have gone on to make a lot of money. In this
episode, we're going to talk about how to create a valuable
connection with your guest, how to turn that one time
collaboration into an ongoing partnership, and what it takes
to position your podcast as a coveted marketing and outreach
opportunity. Hello and welcome to podcast for profit. My name
is Morgan Franklin. I'm a Podcast Producer, strategist and
educator. This podcast will help you create and grow a podcast
that cuts through the noise of social media and speaks directly
to your target audience. If you're ready to create a podcast
that will align you with the experts in your industry,
position yourself as a trusted leader and create another source
of revenue for your business. You're in the right place. Do
you want to know the secret to making a valuable connection?
It's being a valuable connection. And I know that
sounds like the inside of a fortune cookie, but in the past
10 years, I've started two multi, six figure businesses,
and you want to know how I did it. You want to know how I get
almost every client I pursue or that shows interest in me. I
give them my time, I give them my knowledge. I give them my
attention, and most importantly, I give them the most valuable
information I can every single time. Have you ever heard that
phrase, it takes a friend to be a friend. That's one of my
favorite sayings, and I think about it all the time because it
has so many different meanings. Yes, you have to be a friend to
have a friend, but you also have to give if you want to be given
to, you have to show your commitment. To get commitment,
you have to make an investment to be invested in that's why I
give myself so fully at every opportunity I have. If I'm
taking the time to do something, I'm gonna put all my cards on
the table. I'm gonna do everything that I can. And when
you host someone on your podcast, you want to be the most
valuable, attentive, investing person that you can be. You want
to show this person that you are grateful to have them, and that
not only that, but you want to help them. This is where I think
so many podcasters and people overall are just kind of getting
it wrong. They get an incredible guest, maybe even someone they'd
love to work with. And you start rubbing your hands together like
a fly at a barbecue, and you lose sight of the mission,
because your energy changes from being so grateful and excited to
have this person on your podcast to what can I get out of this?
How can I close this deal? How can I make sure that I'm getting
the most out of this person's audience? And people can sense
that, and let's just say that you did just invite someone on
your podcast with the intention of doing business with them in
the future. That is so exciting, right? Like this is a new
opportunity for you, but you have to stay calm. We have to
stay in that energy of true abundance and not wanting or
needing anything. So if you do want to work with this person,
you are not following up with information about your product
or your business or your mastermind and trying to sell
them. You are following up with maybe a free audit from your
team, or saying, Hey, I just launched this product. I would
love to send it out to you if it would help you. Or hey, I've got
two tickets to a gala next weekend, and I would love to
host you. It was great to meet you. You are moving in the
energy of I have everything I could ever want and need, but
we're friends now, and I sincerely want to help you out.
That is the energy I'm trying to bring you. Know that? Mean,
that's like the energy that I bring to the function. That's
me. That's the energy I want to bring to the function. Thank you
for investing in me and my podcast with your time and your
effort. Now, how can I invest in you that alone will change the
game for you, that will change the relationship you have with
your guests? Now, will every guest become a client? No, no,
of course not, but you don't need every guest to become a
client. You don't want every guest to become a client. Plant
the seeds of goodwill, and I promise abundance will grow some
of the best clients I have and the most treasured professional
relationship. I've made in the past decade have been from
meeting someone at the studio, recording a podcast and doing
something for free for them, trying to give them some value,
giving them my best and really not expecting anything in return
from them. And just think about this for a minute, when you give
someone an incredible experience for free. What do you think
they'll expect from you when they're actually paying money?
Just think about that. And next time that you're like, oh my
gosh, I don't have time to do this. I don't want to do this,
but you're faced with a really incredible opportunity, or the
door is slightly open, and you think, wow, I could really, I
could do something for this person. Think about that. Think
about what will this person think I would give them if they
were paying when I gave this to them for free? Now all this is
great, and I know that we just can't wait to work for free for
people, but let's talk about how we're gonna get this amazing
guest and future client to come on the show. Because if you're
shooting high, and I hope you are, you might feel kind of
intimidated to invite someone on your show that you actually want
to work with. And honestly, some of the best advice I've ever
gotten business is, if you're sending out a pitch to somebody
and you don't feel a little bit anxious to press in, you
probably aren't aiming high enough. So the first thing is,
you need to have an exact reason why you want them to come on
your show. How is it going to benefit them and your audience?
People want to be flattered, of course, but they also want to
know why they're the person for the job, so to speak. I condense
this down into what your podcast is about why you want them and
what you think the audience will gain from them coming on the
show. Like I said, a little bit of flattery, a little bit of
telling them why you think they are the best person to do this
and also why you want them. Specifically turning a guest
into a client. Really starts with that first interaction.
It's how you approach them. Are you being professional? Are you
being concise? Are you attaching a media kit of your podcast with
its previous guests and accomplishments? Are you telling
them I have these exact recording dates and times? Are
you offering to do a pre interview with them to get to
know them a little bit more and try to find out some things that
they haven't talked about on other podcasts? And by the way,
if you still need a media kit or you want to refresh the one that
you have, I have the perfect Canva template linked for you in
the episode description. You have to think about these
interactions and how you're addressing the guest. How
quickly are you replying back to their messages? Are you engaging
with them? Are you showing them the attention that you showed
from start to finish, because I think a good guest experience, a
guest experience that will result in a valuable connection
is a thoughtful invitation with information about the podcast, a
pre interview, customized questions, a follow up with
details about the recording and asking if they want to change
any of the Questions, a well managed recording and meeting,
and finally, just following up with the links to their podcast,
let them know how they can listen to their podcast, and
also some promotional materials for them to share the episode.
Like that is really the least that we can do. And I want to go
back for just a minute talking about the actual meeting and the
podcast recording most of the time. This is where the magic
happens. This is where you're going to make or break this
deal. First, if it's a virtual meeting, get on 15 minutes early
and make sure you've read through the questions at least
once. And if it's an in person, get there, I'd say an hour
early. Make sure all your equipment is set up properly.
You know everything that you need, and again, that you've
read through your questions at least once when the guest comes
in, take a few minutes to chit chat, get to know them, ask them
about their day, talk to them about the podcast recording. In
my mind, as a producer, there is nothing worse than just having
to go straight into the recording. So make sure you're
giving your guest that time. Most people aren't going on the
late night circuit. Okay? They're gonna be nervous, or at
least they're gonna feel a little tense. So take some time
to talk with them. Let them know how much you edit the show, if
you edit the show, and what they can expect throughout this
recording. Clarity is kindness. And finally, when it's over, no
matter what. And I mean this, if you don't hear anything else
from this whole episode, listen to this compliment them on what
an incredible job they did at the end of that podcast, maybe
they stumbled through the whole thing and they could hardly put
a sentence together. I don't care. Take a minute and let them
know that they did an amazing job and you appreciate them for
coming in and recording with you today. That is the absolute bare
minimum that we can do for our guests after that, depending on
how much time you have, you can chat or let them know when the
episode is going to be coming out, if you have any idea, and
then also that you'll follow up with some links so that they can
listen to it and share it. Sometimes. I also like to ask a
guest, like if they have any connections or know anybody that
they'd recommend to. Come on the show. Usually great guests have
great people in their network as well that would be a great guest
for your show. So don't let them run off without asking, like,
Hey, do you have anyone else that you think would be good for
the show? But don't just sign off or hurry them off. Make sure
that from the beginning to the end of this recording experience
they feel special and that they feel valuable, and that they
know that you appreciate them taking their time and effort to
come on your podcast. Because honestly, that's a really big
deal, and most of the time they're not getting paid,
they're not getting anything for it. So let them know, Hey, I
appreciate you. And then, of course, when you're sending out
the links and your podcast episode has been released, start
planting those seeds. Like I said, Give from your heart. Let
them know. Hey, I am here to help you. Let me know if you
need anything. Hey, I have this product I'd like you to try or,
Hey, would you like us to do an audit for you? If they like you,
this is gonna all happen so easily and naturally. You guys
know it's just like making a friend. It's any kind of
connection that you have. This is the exact same thing. But if
it feels forced or unwelcome, I'd honestly just let it go. I'd
probably just send the links to the podcast. And sometimes you
just don't click with people. You know, you're not going to
click with every single guest that you have, and that is okay,
so don't push it. I would make this customized to each person,
because it just takes a second, but you will know when you have
made a connection through your podcast that is going to be a
long time connection. One other thing, personally, I like to
send a handwritten card after I have someone on one of my
podcasts. Normally, I'm doing batch recordings, so I'll be in
the studio recording three to five interviews back to back,
and when I get home that night, I'll go ahead and write the
Thank You card so it's fresh on my mind, and I can actually
remember something about that person in the interview.
Because, as you know, when you're doing four to eight
interviews per month per podcast, it's easy to forget the
details of each guest and each recording. So after you've had a
day where you did batch recording. If you do it that
way, just go ahead, find their addresses, write your thank you
notes. And honestly, sometimes I wait until their episode airs to
send the message, just because I want to have that one last touch
point with them. They say, on average, it takes 12
interactions with your average customer to make a sale. So if
you knock out six of those 12 with your future client during
the podcast interview process, I think that you've done a great
job. I know you've heard that saying your network is your net
worth. And yes, it's cliche, but you hear it so much because it's
true. And this is where the real money making and podcasting
happens. We're meeting a guest, we're hitting it off with them.
We're talking about what we do, and they say, Wow, I was just
talking with a colleague or with someone at a conference or with
my wife about this. M, we need you, and it really is that easy.
There's not really a reason to get hard selling involved. It's
just educating and representing yourself to the right audience
like always, and when you think about it, if you have an
industry specific podcast, this is the perfect place to do it. I
know that I've talked about this before, but one of my podcasts
is about long term care and how to pay for senior care in the
United States. Through this podcast, my host, who runs a
long term care agency has been able to make connections and
talk to people all over the United States that has connected
him with more people to get funding, to find clients, to
meet politicians making policies about his industry. It is
insane, and that's the power of having a podcast that's targeted
correctly to your objectives, and working in tandem with your
brand and your marketing and your outreach. Now, before we
wrap it up, let's work on making a few goals together, because we
can talk about networking and creating relationships with our
guests and how we're just gonna make stacks of cash from this
podcast, but if we don't have goals, we are never gonna get
there. So the first thing that I want you to do is find five
guests that are in your industry or niche that you would love to
have on your podcast. Now, these should be kind of unattainable.
They should be the kind of people that you would be
starstruck if they came on your show. I want you to find their
email or find their team's email, reach out to them, pitch
them, and just see what happens. You know, this is a big ask, but
I promise you crazier things happen every day. I want you to
just pitch five people who you would absolutely love to come on
your show, but they're kind of a pie in the sky. GUEST Next, I
want you to research five guests that could lead to a business
opportunity for you. Send those people a pitch, ask them to come
on your show. Do your research. Find people that really could
work for you and your business, not just somebody that you know,
not just the first person that popped up. Do some real research
to say, okay, these are five people who. So I would really
like to be connected with professionally. And then for all
10 of these guests, I want you to have another list that's a
plan of action for when they say yes, this should include at
least one way you plan to bring value to them or their business
through the recording process. So everything that we talked
about one topic that you can explore that would be new
information to their audience, so maybe something that they
don't talk about all the time, or something new, or something
that you find interesting, that they haven't already talked
about on every single podcast. And then finally, how you plan
to nurture this guest experience from the moment they respond to
sending that thank you note. Having the right guests on your
podcast is going to help you build a community and network
that is unmatched by any other social media or in person
networking strategies, because you're not only building a
relationship with this guest, you're building a relationship
with their audience and reinforcing the relationship
with your own this is how you succeed in podcasting, and it's
how you succeed in business. Just remember, we're all looking
for community. We're all looking for where we fit in and where we
can make a difference. So be the one to take the first step, be
the one that reaches out, be the one that gives without expecting
anything in return. Plant those seeds, and as always, I can't
wait to listen to your podcast. Hey, thank you so much for
joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed the podcast and
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