You’ve just recorded an episode with a guest who has a huge following. You might not know exactly why they agreed to be on your show in the first place, but you’re absolutely sure that this is the big break you’ve been waiting for.
You take your time lovingly preparing a selection of social content for them to use in their promotion of your episode before sending it over with an effusive thanks for coming on the show.
You can probably guess what happens next…
Chances are, they don’t share the episode. And chances are this riles you.
“How could anyone be so callous as to come on my show and then not even mention it once it goes live?” you think.
“Don’t they know how much time I put into creating all that additional content for them to use to help promote it? Don’t they know this was supposed to be my big break??”
Of course, it’s not just about this guest. It’s about aaaaaaaall the past guests who have never shared, especially those who looked you in the (virtual) eye after your interview ended and said “I’ll be happy to share this everywhere when it goes live,” and then failed to live up to that promise.
It causes you to stew, then fume, then rage as it eats away at you from the inside. It causes you to begin questioning the basic goodness of humanity and the foundation of the society in which we all exist.
But before you start sending your past guests cut-out-magazine-letter notes with thinly veiled threats, stop and think about this.
It is not your guest’s job to grow your show.
Your Podcast Guest’s Role
The only reason you should be inviting guests on is because they have something valuable to share with your audience.
Of course, there are secondary benefits to having guests on, like a chance to start a genuine relationship with them and the chance that they might just share the episode with their audience, but these are added bonuses. Gravy.
If they’ve come on and delivered something worthwhile to your audience, they’ve held up their end of the bargain and you should be ecstatic about the chance to share their insight and perspective with your audience.
Besides, it’s rare that the audiences of your guests are actually aligned with the topic of your show. In all likelihood, the vast majority of their audience could care less about your topic.
I’ve seen it happen time and time again where a guest with a large following will share an episode they were on, and while there may be a bump in downloads for that episode, the following week the numbers are back to normal, exactly where they were before the guest shared.
It’s essential to understand that a guest’s value is in what they bring to your audience, not the audience they bring to you.
Your guest’s job is to bring the insight, knowledge, and perspective. It’s your job to market it.
Every Sunday I send out an exclusive article on how to use podcasting to build an audience and grow your business.
No opt-in, no freebie no bribe. But hopefully a new perspective, encouragement, and maybe even some occasional wisdom. It’s something I’m proud to create and I’d be honoured to share it with you.
Jeremy travels full-time, loves long-distance cycle touring, and will always look back on the day he finally saved up enough money to buy the Millennium Falcon Lego set as one of his proudest achievements. He believes that the way to grow sustainable businesses is by leading with heart, vulnerability, and helping your people be and become their best selves.
- Why Wouldn’t They Just Google It? - March 14, 2021
- Before You Can Market Your Podcast, You Need To Create A Marketable Podcast - March 11, 2021
- Podcast Promotion & Marketing Are Different (Here’s How to Use Each Effectively) - March 10, 2021
