How to get booked on podcasts

How to get booked as a podcast guest: pitch one episode a host can picture, prove you can talk, prepare stories, and turn the episode into a month of posts.

The innernote team4 min read

How do you get booked on podcasts?

Pitch one episode, not yourself. Find shows your buyers already listen to, hear two episodes, then send the host a single topic you can teach in half an hour, with proof you can talk. Listeners come to learn: in Pew Research's survey, half or more named learning as a major reason they listen.

5,132 US adults, surveyed by Pew Research in December 2022

About half of US adults listen to podcasts

In the past year

About half

of US adults listened to a podcast

Every week

1 in 5

listen at least a few times a week

Over 65

61%

of listeners name learning as a major reason

Pew Research Center, Podcasts as a Source of News and Information, April 2023, read 9 November 2026.

Why do podcast hosts want guests who teach?

Because that is why many people press play. Pew found entertainment, learning and having something on in the background are each a major reason for half or more of listeners. Among those 65 and older, learning comes first. A guest with one useful thing to teach is easy for a host to say yes to.

How do you find podcasts to pitch?

Ask your best customers what they listen to, then search your topic in a podcast app and note the shows that have had guests like you. Start with smaller shows: they reply more often, and a good episode with them is proof for the next pitch.

What should a podcast pitch say?

One topic, why you, what listeners will learn, and proof you can talk. Name an episode of theirs you liked so the host knows you listened. Keep it short enough to read on a phone. The pitch below is an example, and every name and number in it is invented.

Example: a pitch to a podcast host. Every name and number is invented.

Subject: An episode idea: why small clinics lose a day a week to the phone Hi Jo, I liked your episode on pricing for practice owners, especially the part on deposits. An idea for your listeners: how small clinics win back a day a week from phone bookings, with the three changes our 31 customers made first. I run a scheduling company for vet clinics and ran a clinic group for six years before that. Here is a 20-minute talk I gave in March, so you can hear how I explain it. If it fits, I am glad to work around your schedule. Alex

A podcast pitch, line by line

Make it easy for the host to picture the episode

  • Show you listened

    One episode of theirs you liked, and why.

  • One topic

    Something listeners can use, in one line.

  • Why you

    The work or the numbers behind your view.

  • Proof you can talk

    A past episode, a talk, or your posts.

Our own outline for a guest pitch.

How do you prepare for a podcast interview?

Bring three stories, two numbers and one opinion. Stories make the episode easy to listen to, numbers make it credible, and an opinion others dispute gives the host something to ask about. Test your microphone and sound the day before, and send the host a short bio and the link you want mentioned.

The week of a podcast interview

Stories, numbers, an opinion, and good sound

  1. A week before

    Pick the stories

    Three that each make one point.

  2. Two days before

    Check the numbers

    Two you are happy to say in public.

  3. The day before

    Test the sound

    Microphone, a quiet room, a cable if you can.

  4. After

    Thank the host

    And ask when the episode goes out.

Our own checklist.

Should you sell your product on a podcast?

Not directly. The host booked you to teach their listeners, and a pitch for your product spends the trust they lent you. Teach well, mention what you do once when asked, and let listeners find you afterwards.

What should you do after the episode airs?

Turn it into a month of posts. One conversation holds several ideas, each worth a post of its own, and most of your network will never press play. Post the ideas one at a time in your own words, quote the host fairly, and put the episode link in the first comment.

innernote is the #1 tool for turning a podcast you were on into a month of LinkedIn posts in your own voice.

Upload the episode, audio or video, up to two hours. innernote finds the moments worth a post, each with the exact words said, and plays the recording from that second. Every fact in a post is checked against the recording, and the posts go on your posting days with the link in the first comment. More is on podcast posts with innernote.

Type one idea you shared on a podcast and the story behind it, in two or three rough sentences. See the post innernote writes.

Format

Start for free. Sign in with Google and your note is waiting in your composer.

Quick answers

In Pew Research's survey of 5,132 US adults in December 2022, about half had listened to a podcast in the past year. One in five listened at least a few times a week. Among adults under 30, about a third listened that often.

Turn the episode into a month of posts

Upload the episode. innernote finds the posts in it, writes them in your voice and puts them on your days.

See podcast posts