Pitching a guest to a podcast
A pitch that names the episode it belongs in is read; a pitch that describes a person is not.
Pitch a segment, not a biography
Most pitches fail at the first line because they lead with who someone is rather than with what the episode would be about. A host does not have an opening for a person; they have an opening for a subject that fits between the two episodes on either side of it. A pitch that arrives already shaped as a subject saves the host the work of reshaping it, and that saving is the entire competitive advantage available to a pitch.
The shape is simple: the question the episode would answer, the reason that question is live now rather than last year, and the specific thing the proposed guest can say about it that someone else cannot. Three sentences. Anything longer is usually a sign that the first sentence has not been decided.
Listen to the show first, properly
The requirement to have listened is repeated so often that it has stopped meaning anything, so it is worth stating what listening is for. It is not so the pitch can flatter the host. It is so the pitch can be aimed at the format: how long segments run, whether the host works from a prepared list or from the last answer, whether guests are interviewed alone or in pairs, and what subjects the show has already covered and therefore will not cover again soon.
A pitch that proposes a subject the show handled four months ago is not rejected because it is a bad subject. It is rejected because it is a repeat, and the sender could have found that out.
What to include and what to leave out
- Include the proposed subject as a question, in the first line, before anything else.
- Include one sentence on why the guest is placed to answer it, with the relevant experience only.
- Include a link to something the guest has said or written on the subject, so the host can hear or read them before deciding.
- Leave out attachments, decks, logos and formatted signatures; they are stripped by most mail clients and they read as bulk.
- Leave out claimed audience figures and reach estimates for the guest; a host can see those and does not want them argued.
- Leave out any deadline that is yours rather than theirs.
Following up once
One follow-up after a fortnight, in the same thread, adding something rather than repeating the request, is normal and is not resented. A second follow-up converts a possible future yes into a settled no. The subject can always be pitched again in six months when it has moved on, and it will be a better pitch then because it will have moved on.
