Originally published in June 2020.
If you’re new here or you found my work via Google because I can write a results-oriented headline, welcome! I’m Shani Silver, Brooklyn-based writer and host of A Single Serving Podcast. My podcast launched in April of 2019 and right now I’m averaging about 20K downloads per month. I’m not bragging, because quite frankly I’d like this number to be much higher by now, I’m simply giving you this information as proof that I do have some idea of what I’m doing. Some.
I started a podcast because I listened to other podcasts and the most frequent and persistent thought in my head was, “I can do this shit.” And thus, A Single Serving Podcast was born. I believe single women deserve content that’s not about dating. And when you think about it, there really isn’t much else. It’s mostly, “how to be better at dating,” “the best apps for dating,” “how to survive dating on the apps we suggested to you because even if they’re the ‘best’ they’re still a nightmare no human being should ever have to endure,” you get it. We need more, we need content that reminds us we’re living valid single lives with meaning and purpose in addition to just “finding a man.” We have things like careers and travel and homes and friends and dogs and I think this time in our lives is a lovely gift we should enjoy rather than spending it laser-focused on swiping swiping swiping swiping swiping swiping swiping swiping so that maybe we can find a partner. Anyway I have guests on my podcast every week.
If you’re thinking of starting a podcast, start a podcast. I love podcasting as a medium, I think it’s delightful to have entertainment that is for just your ears and not your ears and your eyes because I don’t have to sit on my ass while I listen to podcasts and that is nice. Also it reminds me of radio which I find to be just as romantic as newspapers without the unfortunate result of ink all over my hands. There’s a lot of how-to advice out there and I hope you’re finding it helpful, what follows here is advice specifically for bringing guests onto your podcast. While I’m sometimes jealous of pods with two best friends just shooting the shit and having a great time every week, there is really something delightful in getting to meet so many new people, especially as a single woman who used to never meet anybody. This is nice. Here we go:
A Reason
You need to have a reason to have this guest on your podcast. There should be purpose to it. “She’s just cool” is an amazing notion and all, but when you know your reason for having her on your podcast, that reason becomes areas of discussion that will guide the episode via a thoughtful and thorough list of interview questions that you’ve written in advance. Yes, you need to write your interviews in advance. Obviously unexpected questions and tangents come up, and they can be incredible additions to your discussions, but you want the solid scaffolding of an interview outline ready to help you keep the conversation moving forward, and keep it interesting.
There are wonderful things that come from two people just having a conversation in front of microphones, but there are also a lot of pointless chats that aren’t really giving listeners anything. You never want a listener to ask themselves, “why am I listening to this?” What are you and this guest going to give your listeners together? What will listeners know or feel after this episode that they didn't before? How will you keep them engaged throughout? Know why you want to invite this guest specifically on your podcast specifically, and I think you’ll find the discussion topics will flow pretty freely from there.
Connection
Cold-emailing guests to be on your podcast is absolutely your option. I’ve done it a bunch. You’re welcome to reach out to anyone you like! However, in my experience, some connection, even if it’s as simple as a tweet, will lead to better content. Two people who don’t know each other and have never heard of each other before now talking into microphones can feel very sterile, very quickly. To avoid any coldness coming through in the episode, I’ll often have a quick 20-minute chat with guests I’ve reached out to a week or two prior to their recording, to get to know them a bit and to also discuss with them everything they’re excited to talk through in the episode. This sets a foundation of familiarity and hopefully helps both you and your guest look forward to what’s to come.
There are exceptions here, of course. I’ve had guests I don’t know at all on my podcast and we’ve turned into actual IRL friends. I’ve also had conversations I haven’t really enjoyed because I didn’t prepare myself or my guest enough prior. And either way, my listeners heard it. Personally, I like sharing conversations full of warmth, where you can tell two people are enjoying speaking to one another. The way you get there is by having some kind of connection between you and your guest. This is why I follow and engage with people I look up to on social media to get to know them a bit before I reach out.
Relevance
Podcasts themselves should have some kind of a purpose. Unless you’re a famous person, it’s unlikely that people will just want to hear you speak into a microphone about anything that strikes your fancy for an hour once a week. So in booking guests that align with your podcast’s purpose, make sure you’re giving thought to the relevancy of what you’ll discuss in the context of what your audience has come to understand your podcast is “about.” Relevance by the way is a really broad term. Example: If your podcast is about working as a freelancer, the relevance of your guests extends through literally any industry in which someone can freelance. This is part of why having a podcast with clear direction and purpose is a good idea. That purpose anchor then lets you explore niches and topics outward from there that are relevant to your podcast, but addresses specific needs and groups within it. You can make exceptions to this, obviously, it’s your podcast. But I find that when I link the guests I reach out to with how what we’ll discuss is relevant to my audience and my podcast’s purpose, good content is the result.
Diversity
Speaking directly to anyone reading this who is white, as I write this on June 12th, 2020, I want you to know that this moment is not about searching “black people who are great podcast guests.” If you do that, and have a couple of black guests on your podcast this summer and then revert back to however you were booking guests before, you’re missing the point. Diversity in podcasting is a daily practice, it is a regular course of business, forever. And a lot of diversity in your podcast content will have to do with the content you yourself consume.
Who are you following on social media? Whose newsletters do you receive? What brands do you shop? What YouTube channels do you like? What podcasts are you subscribing to? You’re creating your own sphere of content. And in this sphere, you’ll come into contact with various people and brands. If your content sphere is diverse, so too will the people you’ll come into contact with. And sometimes, those people will instantly spark the idea in your mind to invite them onto your podcast. Don’t search for “diverse podcast guests” because of the events of summer 2020. Evaluate your own world, and your own content consumption, and make sure that is what’s diverse. The people you’ll come across as a result—literally forever—will therefore be more reflective of the allyship you want to fold into your podcast as a day-to-day priority.
Desire
I know I’ve put a lot of pressure on you as the host to take responsibility for making sure you’re bringing great guests on your podcast, but this one’s kind of on them. They have to want to be there. When they aren’t really interested in speaking with you, and they’re just doing it because their PR team said they should or you emailed them and they thought “sure, why not,” that’s not really enough, in my opinion. If you’ve paid attention to things like the reasons you want them on your podcast and the relevancy of what you’ll discuss with them, it’s likely that there’s really good potential for a great discussion. But at the end of the day, they have to want to be talking to you. As I mentioned above, having a pre-recording conversation with them (video chat strongly suggested) is one way to get a sense of how excited they are to do this, and if you’re sensing that they’re not, ask them what they want to talk about. Find out from them what’s important to communicate. Get their perspective why being on podcasts in the first place is even something they’re interested in, and this will help you build a connection to them, and draft an interview for them that will result in a great episode.
Preparedness
This one’s your job. The more prepared your guests are, the more productive the conversation will be. After you write your interview, put it in a full brief for your guests. Give them all the information they need so that they aren’t left with questions about you, your podcast, the logistics, the questions they’ll be asked—you want them to feel prepared and at ease. In addition to this just helping you with editing later by eliminating a significant amount of “ums,” this is simply the professional thing to do. If you are organized and prepared, you’ll help them feel confident in the conversation you’re about to have. It can also be really exciting for people to see the questions they’ll be asked. (Most people like talking about themselves, and in general, in my experience.) Helping your guests prepare also helps you prepare! In properly researching your guests to help you write a strong interview, you’re getting to know them further, and the more you know, the more in-depth questions you can ask that can lead to really engaging answers that your audience will appreciate hearing.
A lot of what makes a good podcast guest is a good host, and certainly a prepared one. You are a host in a literal sense. Put effort into the hospitality you extend to those you’re inviting into a space you’ve created. Research, prepare, and always consider for yourself what you’re giving to your listeners. The more you’re welcoming your guests into a space that’s well-prepared, inviting, and purposeful, the better the content that follows will be.
