DARE TO SHARE.

This is a guest post from Lou Hamilton who is an artist, author of

Brave New Girl-How to Be Fearless, FEAR LESS, and her latest internationally best-selling book Dare to Share

A guide to telling your story, giving value and gaining visibility by guesting on podcasts. Lou Is the host of Brave New Girl podcast and the founder of Silk Studios the Podcast Guest Agency. 

The power of podcast guesting. 

The power of your voice to positively impact lives across the globe cannot be underestimated. At no other time in the history of the world has it been possible to broadcast your values, thoughts, beliefs, skills, experiences and challenges in an intimate conversation had from your spare bedroom and see its effects ripple across the world. This is what podcasts allow you to do. With such an equitable and accessible platform at your disposal, how can you maximise the beneficial impact of sharing your knowledge, ideas and dreams?

Learn to become a podcast guest with a nuanced story to tell – a story with epic themes covering topics that can be mission-matched with a wide variety of podcasts. Telling your life story or your business journey in this way will get your message out there, build your brand, sell your wares, expand your audience and make the world a better place.

Not only will you be bringing attention to whatever it is you’re promoting – your book, service, product, expertise or campaign – you will be impacting the lives of others through the power of your voice. Podcasters need stories like yours to fill their airwaves. There are upwards of two million podcasts1 with listeners who are waiting to be inspired by your particular slant on life.

I believe that podcasting has the potential to be an art form, with creative content that captures people’s interest and imagination. As with any art form – writing, filmmaking, music, art, poetry – there is a craft behind it: a structure to learn, a methodical practice, an artistry and a mastery. As a podcast guest, you can bring all of that to the mic – you just have to learn and implement the simple process.

1 Daniel J Lewis, Podcast Industry Insights, www.podcastindustryinsights. com/apple-podcasts-statistics, accessed June 2021

Who are you? 

You might be a business founder, an author, a creative, a campaigner, a charity leader, an idealist, an activist, an entrepreneur or an ‘imagineer’. You have experienced the ups and downs of life, overcome challenges and adversity, learned lessons along the way, persevered, triumphed and now have a vision for the future. 

Podcasters want to hear from you because you have a unique story to share. If you tell it with passion and pitch the right themes and topics to relevant shows in a way that they can’t resist, you’ll nail it. Podcast guesting is for you if you want to increase the reach of your own podcast; have a story, brand, book, message, expertise or vision to share; or want to use your voice for good.

Before you can be a guest on your first podcast, you need to have clarity about what your story is. Think about where you can shine your light: who needs to hear you and where will you find them? Then you need to show that you come bearing gifts of leadership, compassion, courage and generosity of spirit that will enrich hearts, minds and souls. You will need to get over any fear and take up space on air.

What’s the pitching process? 

Just determine which elements of your personal experience to draw on; tap into your expertise, refine your message and share your brand or story in a way that best serves your audience. They want to be intrigued, inspired, encouraged, enlightened and entertained, and you can do all of that by taking the time to prepare. 

You will become an interesting guest across multiple podcasts, by telling a nuanced and varied story underscored by powerful themes and topics, relevant to different shows.  Researching, pitching and landing the right podcasts is the next step, which is made easier by apps like Podcast Hawk. Then once you’ve got the gig, make sure you understand how to give a professional performance with value for the listeners, whilst remembering to spread the trail afterwards so people know how to become followers, clients and customers. In this way you will connect with a wider global community, make a difference in others’ lives and attract new audiences into your world. 

• Make notes on your overarching story and how it relates to your brand or business

• Write a list of the various themes and topics that you can talk on

• Research podcasts, listen to them, understand their DNA, before pitching.

• Pitch to the podcast host saying why you like it and which episode resonated with you

• In your pitch email include a brief outline about why you would be a relevant guest, and what topics you could talk on that their listeners would gain value from

• Include a media one-sheet with links to socials and podcasts that you have guested on

• Be performance ready, record in a quiet place, with good wifi, headphones on and no distractions

• Have a free gift or landing page for the host to send listeners to.

• When the episode airs be sure to spread the word across all your socials and to yrou email list

• Rinse and repeat

If you are going DIY on podcast guesting then Dare to Share will take you through the whole process. If you would rather be represented, please reach out to Lou at silk-studios.