I can understand the misconception. It sounds simple: find an expert, get them on the phone and then ask them questions. There’s no need for you to do a thing! Is there?

Well, turns out that getting good content from that expert is far harder than anyone expects. Sure, they know their stuff, but can they deliver it well? Can they stay on-topic, tell a good story, and avoid the waffle? Can you steer them away from the standard, rehearsed sales pitches or background stories? Can you get something different, something dramatic, something funny, or something… just… interesting?

That’s what this article is about – preparing for and running a good podcast interview. If you’re serious about your content, you want to set yourself up to record the best material you possibly can. At the end of the day, it’s still down to the interviewee, but there’s a LOT you can do to increase the chances that they’ll deliver.

And in a world of interview show after interview show after interview show…. you have to do something to stand out. So, let’s jump in.

1. Yes, You Do Have to Prepare…

Rule one – don’t swan into the (virtual) interview room without having done your research. I’ve heard people say:

“Oh, I don’t prepare for an interview because I want to be in the same situation as my listener, asking the basic questions.”

Lazy. Plain bone idle, and finding an excuse for it.

At the elite end of podcasting, there are a select few (Marc Maron!) who can get away with this, but they’ve done literally hundreds of interviews in the past, and they’ve developed the skills to pull it off.

I also suspect that, of the successful podcasters who claim “I don’t prepare”, it’s often bluster, and there’s a lot of groundwork being done before a record button is pushed.

Given that you’re reading this post, it’s unlikely that you’re averse to preparing for your podcast interviews. But a good first step is to accept that it’s a non-negotiable part of running your podcast, and move on from the “why” to the “how”…

2. Pick Guests Based on Their Unique Approach

Firstly, don’t just grab anyone off the street. When you’re starting out and desperate to get people on your show, you might be tempted to grab anyone with your topic in their bio.

“Well, I do a marketing show, and this dude has marketing in his job title. Sold!”

That makes for repetition, repetition, repetition… Snore, snore, snore.

The trouble is, there’s always a bank of ‘common wisdom’ in every industry, and after two or three ‘average’ people in the industry, you’ll start to hear the same stuff, over and over.

Instead, don’t search for people; search for ideas. Read blogs. Read books. Trawl social. You’ll be doing this anyway, if you’re good at what you do.

Learn to spot a unique idea, and hone in on that. That’s what your show is going to be about. Not the person themselves. Let’s be honest, your listeners don’t care about them, they just care about the benefits. So, make sure you know exactly what unique idea your guest is bringing to the show.

How to Showcase Expert Guests Without Sacrificing Your Authority

Read article called: How to Showcase Expert Guests Without Sacrificing Your Authority

3. A Good Bio Cuts Ten Minutes of ‘Same Old…’ or ‘WTF?’

Here’s one I got from Michael O’Neal from the Solopreneur Hour. Spend 15 minutes looking up the following:

• Social media handles
• Their standard background: listen to the first ten minutes of another podcast they’ve done, or check their ‘About Page’.
• Their current ‘product push’ – a quick check on social usually reveals what they’re selling right now, from a service to a charity.

The aim is to craft a bio for them in your own voice, which skips the usual first 10 minutes of “Can you tell the listeners what you do?”

If they’re a guest worth their salt, they’ve been asked that a dozen times before, and there’s a good chance many of your listeners have heard it. Cue the skip button…

Even if they haven’t been interviewed, people’s backgrounds are so long and varied that you’re as likely to get a random childhood story (the WTF?!) as something actually relevant to your audience.

Instead, you know your audience, so pick out the elements that are most relevant, build credibility, and build curiosity. That’s how you get people to stick around.

4. A Good Bio Cuts the Sales Pitch & Builds Reciprocity

Here’s the best part of doing the prep: If you deliver a great bio that tells people what they do, what their services or products are, and how you can get in touch with them, the guests will say to themselves, “Wow, she’s done my job for me! And she’s told everyone about my stuff! Well, I wanna give them something back.”

You’ve taken the pressure off. They don’t have to lever their brand, or their service, or their product into the interview. So they start to relax, and skip the standard sales pitch, or the rehearsed lines.

They also start to feel like they owe you. If you do something for them, the rule of reciprocity says that they’ll want to do something for you. That means getting their game face on and making an effort.

You’d be surprised how many podcast interviewees just turn up to a show and give the same old, same old… But if you surprise them, help them right away, you’re likely to get more.

5. Prepare a Gentle… and Fun!… Opening

This is via Call Fussman, the master of interviews: find something fun they’re into and start with that.

If your guest mentioned on social that they’ve been out surfing last week, ask how it went. If they talk about playing the trumpet on their About Page, ask how they got started.

Beginning with something fun, something informal, simply lightens the guests’ heart! It’s something they won’t often be asked about, and something they’ll enjoy discussing. They’ll lighten up, become happier, be more postive towards you, and all of that makes for a better interview to come afterward.

6. Prepare the Big Idea ‘Back and Forth’

I mentioned finding that ‘unique idea’ earlier. This is what powers your actual content preparation.

You won’t necessarily want to plan the whole interview, start to finish. It’s best to leave a bit of flexibility to delve into any unexpected, relevant and interesting reveals. But, you do want to prepare the ‘big event’ – that’s the unique idea itself.

The reason for this is that with any unique idea, it’s likely something that the guest has refined over time, and it’s likely to be something quite big. So, if you just say: “Well, tell me about…. “ then the guest will launch off into a 10-minute monologue. Not great to start with.

Then, add to that the fact that this is often quite undirected, not necessarily very well planned, and your listeners can easily get lost.

Instead, ask the guest in advance for a bullet-point breakdown of the ‘big idea’ and exchange an email or two with them about how you’ll guide them through it.

“So, I think my listeners will respond to hearing about this bit first, then this bit, so why don’t you tell that first part, and then I’ll ask you this to prompt the second part.”

That means you’re avoiding a big long monologue, and you’re providing some structure to the idea.

You don’t have to do this for the whole thing, just for the crux of the show, or any other particularly important things you want to cover.

7. Ask for Stories

A very simple but hugely effective tip. Ask the guest in advance if they have any stories that they know people find interesting or entertaining. This gives you a prompt to ask about them and ensures they’re introduced naturally.

8. Give Warning for Any ‘Thinkers’

The other thing to prepare the interviewee for is any ‘on the spot’ thinkers. These are questions like, “What’s your favourite book,” or “What would you tell someone just starting out in this business?”

These are quite high-pressure questions, even if they don’t seem so. ‘Favourite’ things define us, and we want to make sure we give a good one. So, it can lead to an awkward pause, some stuttering, or simply a pretty average answer.

And ‘best advice’ questions often spark ‘same old’ advice, as above. If the guest doesn’t have time to think, they’ll often just trot out the common knowledge of their industry.

“How do you grow your audience in Podcasting?”

“Do you know what Bob, the best thing you can do is to be yourself!”

Zzzzzzzzzzz

Give them these short answer questions in advance though, and interviewees will skip past the first few obvious answers and come up with their own unique slant. That makes for a far better show.

9. Ask Them: What Would Make This a Home Run for You?

Credit to Mr Tim Ferriss, who suggested that this question be asked ahead of every interview.

What would make this a home run for you?

This is worthwhile for a bunch of reasons. First, it goes back to the reciprocity above. If you give, then your interviewee will give in return.

Second, as Tim says, he wants every interview to be the best of its kind—to be the interviewee’s favourite of all time. Because, guess what happens then? They share it!

Next time the interviewee is asked, “Oh, you’ve been interviewed. Where can I listen?” you want them to share your interview. Or, if they’re asked for more on their backstory, make your show the best place to find it.

If you can make your interview their favourite interview, then not only does it make for great content, but it makes for content that they’ll share forever.

Any Other Tips on Becoming a Great Interviewer?

If you follow the advice above, you’re already way ahead of the hundreds of other interview shows in your niche. And it makes a difference, trust me. Listeners have more and more choice, now, and they’re less and less tolerant of ‘average’ content.

Make the effort, and your audience will reward you through engagement, sharing, and much more.

Next, let’s look into how to run the interview itself. You’ve done the prep, now it’s time to capture the material, and there are a bunch of things you can do to make sure that goes as well as it possibly can.

• How to Record Podcast Interviews Remotely
• Great Podcast Interview Questions
• How to Showcase Expert Guests Without Sacrificing Your Authority

Need More Help With Podcast Interview Prep?

In The Podcraft Academy, we have an in-depth course on delivering great podcast interviews that builds on the essentials I’ve covered today. You’ll also find classes, help, and support on the equipment, software, and tools to make your show sound great, and our growth and monetisation courses can help you take things to the next level, too!

Interviews are a big part of podcasting – and for good reason.

They break up the potential monotony of one voice talking for too long, they add expertise and gravitas to your episode, and it’s a chance to tap into your interviewee’s own following – a tale of two audiences!

You’ll want to get the most out of your interviewee and maximise their contribution to your cause. That boils down to the conversation you have, and the questions you ask. No pressure.

Here’s what we’ve covered already in our podcast interviews mini-series;

• How to Prepare for a Podcast Interview
• Best Call Recording Apps for Remote Recording
• Best Equipment for Recording Face-To-Face Interviews

Now it’s down to what you should be asking them! That’s what we’ll cover here. The best podcast interview questions!

There are three parts to this.

First, we’ll discuss how to formulate podcast interview questions focused on your topic and the interviewee. After all, every good interview should be mostly tailored to the person you’re interviewing.

Second, we’ll look at the types of more general podcast interview questions you can use to dig deep and get some interesting, unexpected responses. Bear in mind that some questions will be more relevant to your show than others. Please use responsibly!

And third, we’ll take a look at some frequently asked questions around asking great podcast interview questions. That’s a bit meta, isn’t it?

Alright, let’s start at the core, though – your podcast topic – and – your guest’s contribution to it.

Core Podcast Interview Questions Around The Episode Topic

• Tell me about your topic and angle.
• Why is it so important?
• What are the common myths?

The classic introduction to the topic and the conversation on the whole. You can start by asking for their elevator pitch, which they probably have down to a tee. Or, you can go the extra mile in preparation and make sure you get something really unique. We’ve written here about how to prepare for an interview, so you’re not going in cold, here.

The common myths part is also good because people like to debunk any false negativity around things they’re passionate about. Give them that opportunity, and they’ll feel good and start to enjoy themselves.

“So, you’re a Vegan Baking Specialist – isn’t it really hard to bake without eggs?”

“Not at all! There are a number of alternatives you can use, from mashed banana to flax seeds. And not only do they bind the mix really well, but I often find that…”

Engage them. Push their buttons.

Another way of doing so is by asking a seemingly negative question: Why Do People Fail?

“What’s the most common reason for people failing or giving up? Why do writers put their pens down and walk away?”

“Uh… well, obviously, it’s a very competitive market. I think a lot of the time they give up because they’re not getting their work reviewed by the right people. They might have been doing it for two years, but have no real idea of how far they’ve come, or even if they’ve improved at all!”

Like the example above, your guest might be taken aback slightly, but hopefully, it’ll spur them into giving you some great answers. Not only will they know the main reason, they’ll have advice to help people overcome it.

Slightly less antagonistic is this conciliatory cutey;

“What are some specific roadblocks to watch out for?”

“Don’t give in too soon. The breakthrough might just be around the corner. Most of your competition today will give up further down the line. You can be the one to succeed because you believed in yourself and stuck at it.”

Much more helpful and sounds less like make-or-break than the “One Reason People Fail” question.

Okay, so sticking with positivity, how about something to help people get started?

“What support and resources are available?”

Your guest will undoubtedly have some great contacts and be able to point people towards online communities, FAQs, walkthrough guides, and more.

Core Podcast Interview Questions About Your Guest

Let’s focus on the guests themselves now, because people love to hear things in context.

“Believe in yourself and never give up!” is all well and good, but people often can’t see that it applies to them until they hear a story about it happening to someone else.

• Which hurdles did you personally face, and how did you overcome them?
• Was it obvious, or did you stumble upon the answer(s)?
• How did you get started? Talk me through it.
• What compelled you to become a screenwriter?

“Well, I came from a working class background. I didn’t have a lot of money to spend, but it’s amazing how you make do with what you have. I saved up to go to night school, and…”

Super Podcast Interview Questions: Producing a Unique Interview

You’ve covered the basics by now, the usual questions around the topic and your interviewee’s relevance to it. But how do you really set your interview with that person apart from the rest?

Let’s look at some questions that might be considered unusual, out of the box, or from left field.

The purpose of these lines of enquiry isn’t necessarily to get raw information. They’re more about stimulating your guest into giving your podcast something unique.

The famed American TV show Inside the Actor’s Studio does this to great effect by asking famous actors and performers such questions, including the following;

• What is your favourite word?
• What sound or noise do you love?
• What is your favourite curse word?
• What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
• If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

As you can see, they have almost no relevance to any specific films the actors appeared in; they are simply there to inspire the guests to say something memorable and evocative.

Some Specific Super Podcast Interview Question Examples

On a scale of one to 10, how weird are you?

CEOs are known to ask this one. Just imagine the kooky and varied responses you’ll get from people!

Expect them to be taken by surprise for a moment. Give them time and encouragement to think, and they’ll soon flood you with tales of dipping sandwiches into coffee,  and how they always – always – wear purple underwear ever since they were a kid. They’ll be glad to tell you.

What are you NOT Very Good at?

They’ve spent so long talking about themselves by now that maybe they’re feeling like a bit of a blowhard. They might be glad of the chance to show their humility.

If someone’s listening to the podcast and thinking, “Wow that person’s really good. They know their stuff,” the listener might actually feel intimidated and discouraged. A little anecdote from the guest about how hopeless they are at golf or DIY might just help the listener remember that we ALL have strengths and weaknesses.

Tell me something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

This is a cleverly complex little teaser. Will they decry global warming as a myth? Declare the existence of ghosts? Predict that soccer will eventually be the top sport in the USA? (You never know).

This question puts the guest somewhat on the spot, but their answer is entirely up to them. Hope for something crazy!

Room, desk and car – which do you clean first?

Clearly, there’s no right or wrong answer here, but the answer will tell you something about the person, like how much they value leisure time and how they prioritise certain tasks.

Even if they struggle to prioritize one task over another, this will show you how important their tasks are to them.

Best Podcast Interview Questions: FAQ

So far, we’ve covered core questions about your topic and your guest and thrown in some fun “generic” stuff, too.

Now it’s time to answer some frequently asked questions around… well, asking questions.

Should I Send Questions in Advance to My Podcast Guests?

I’d argue that sending at least some questions to your interviewee in advance is a good idea. It can help to settle nerves, and often produces better answers.

This is particularly important if you plan to include a few of the ‘super questions’ above, which can sometimes surprise people.

It’s easy to think: “Well, I’d quite like an unrehearsed answer,” but, as you’d imagine, unrehearsed tends to be a bit hit and miss. It depends on how quick and agile the interviewee feels that particular day. Some more experienced interviewees can think on their feet, but specific questions may still benefit from an advanced warning.

Asking About Favourites: Books, Films, Software, etc

As we covered in the section above, asking your guests, “What’s your favourite book?” out of the blue will have them scrambling for an answer. They don’t want to give their genuine answer (The Gruffalo), but blurting out Meditations by Marcus Aurelius sounds too cliched and forced.

So it’s good practice to give your podcast guest a heads-up about this type of question in advance. When arranging the chat, just let them know that you will ask them for their top three movies, tools, or pet peeves. This will lead to much better answers and, crucially, much better content for your target audience.

You can even automate this to make your life easier. Here, I show you how I use Book Like a Boss to send preparation and reminder emails that do just that.

How Much Time Should Their Answers Take?

This is one of podcasting’s many “piece of string” scenarios. An answer should take as long as it needs to, but no longer. “What time did you go to bed?” will be quicker to answer than “Tell us about your childhood”.

Podcasting is a great medium for long, in-depth answers because there’s no official time limit. That said, if you or your guest start to bore your listener, they will switch off.

If you want to keep answers shorter and prevent guests from rambling, then much of this is down to the question. The “tell us about your childhood” question could, in theory, take weeks to answer. Instead, you might want to focus and hone in on certain aspects.

“What’s your favourite childhood memory?”

“Your best friend broke your nose when you were 12 – how did that happen?”

“Your parents moved around a lot when you were young – did that make it difficult for you to fit in?”

These are more specific to a particular aspect of their childhood, and the idea is to focus on something that will be interesting and relevant to your own audience.

Of course, if your guest does go off on a meandering tangent, don’t hesitate to step in and re-focus them with a relevant follow-up question.

Asking for Career or Life Advice

We’ve all heard the saying, “Do what I say, not what I do.” But if you’re asking an industry role model for actionable advice on how to get where they are, it’s better to take the opposite approach.

When people are asked to give advice, they will often come up with something clever-sounding but random. “Get up at five” or “Have seven cups of green tea a day” might sound like some amazing secret life hack, but will either of them help you become the next CEO of IBM?

Instead, you want to really get into the nuts and bolts of their journey, from where they started, to where they are now. This is where you and your listener can draw the real gold from.

How Do I Have a Natural-Sounding Conversation With My Guest?

The key here is in that word: “conversation”.

Some podcast hosts act like game show hosts, armed with their list of questions and a determination to batter through them at all costs.

A lot of podcast interview gold is found in follow-up questions, so actually listen to what your interviewee is saying. This should be a given, but it’s amazing how many podcasters seem to be focusing all their attention on their next written question.

Guest – “… so yeah, that’s when I realised I’d accidentally turned my microwave into a time machine.”

Host – “Uh huh. And what’s your favourite WordPress plugin?”

A natural conversation is a two-way exercise in curiosity and attention. Podcast interviews shouldn’t be like a Q&A session, unless that’s the type of format you’re intentionally going for.

Remember – Your Content Always Starts With Your Audience

If you’re unsure about asking a particular podcast interview question, put yourself in your listener’s shoes (earbuds). This helps if you have a podcast avatar, but it will be just as easy as long as you have a well-defined topic.

You and your guest might have a shared love for red wine. But if they’re on your business startup podcast to offer tax advice, then it might not be worth the metaphorical trip into the vineyard.

Of course, you can ask a few not-quite-on-topic personal questions towards the end, once the value has been served up. If your guest has really engaged, helped, and entertained your listener, then they’ll start to want to know a little more about them.

Here’s your reading list as you continue your quest to become a world-class interview podcaster…

• How to Prepare for a Podcast Interview
• Best Call Recording Apps for Remote Recording
• How to Find Podcast Interview Guests

Best Podcast Interview Questions: Next Steps

In The Podcraft Academy, you’ll find our Delivering Great Interviews course, along with a ton of other classes, resources, and downloadable checklists. We also run weekly live Q&A sessions there, so you’ll always have the help, motivation, and accountability to keep getting behind the mic – and to keep asking those brilliant podcast questions!

This is because listeners with niche interests will specifically come to podcasts to hear experts discuss subjects that don’t get much air time in the mainstream.

But there are well over 4 million podcasts available right now. So even if your podcast is about the history of shipping containers or the best types of chocolate to deep fry, you still need to put the work in to establish yourself as an expert worth tuning into.

Part of the process of building your authority in your podcast subject is (somewhat ironically) inviting guest experts to interview on your show. It’s something that listeners look for in a podcast, and (again, somewhat contradictorily) helps them trust you more.

When you interview fellow experts, you’re using your platform to provide a fuller, more balanced understanding of the subject, rather than suggesting you know it all. Listeners appreciate and respect that.

But the tricky thing with running a lot of interviews on your podcast is that they naturally shine the light of topic authority on your guest for that episode, not you.

Of course, you want your guests to bring value to your audience. But can you do that whilst also building your own reputation as a thought leader in your space?

In short, yes you can.

We spoke to some podcasters to get some advice on how they walk that tightrope…

3 Podcasters On How They Retain Authority When Hosting Guest Experts

1. Gabe from Board Game Design Lab

Key takeaway: Don’t be scared to share your own knowledge. It’s about creating a balance and learning how to self-regulate your input.

Gabe has been building a strong game board design community through his podcast since 2016. He’s an expert in game board design himself, but his podcast is structured around hosting interviews with designers, publishers, and board game insiders on specific topics.

He spoke to us about a particular episode he recorded with Rob Daviau, which made him think a lot about finding the balance between sharing guest expertise and providing his own expert input, too. Here’s what he said:

“[Rob Daviau] is one of the best [game] designers in the industry. Something about that episode unlocked an idea in my mind; a new way of doing things where I wasn’t as hesitant to share my own side of things.

A lot of the earlier interviews were very conversational, but it was a lot of: I ask a question, maybe do a quick follow-up, and then on to the next question. Still organic, still conversational in nature. But something about this one episode gave me permission to share my own stories, my own examples, my own life; things that had happened and things I had noticed and seen and felt.

I don’t know if it was Rob (or maybe something I ate for lunch that day!) but it kind of opened up the realization that I can share my side of the story, too.

I have to be careful: people aren’t listening for me (especially in the early days), they’re listening for Rob. They’re listening for these experts, so I don’t want to overtake the conversation. I don’t want to talk too much, but I can also share my side.”

Gabe – Board Game Design Lab

“It’s actually been a little bit of a challenge over the last several years because there are times when I interview someone that I am actually more of an expert on that specific topic than they are.

Maybe I’m not quite as close to it. Maybe it’s something that they’re really, focused on. But at the same time, maybe I have more experience, and I’ve done more and done differently. And so those conversations are always interesting and a lot of fun because it’s a lot of back and forth. It’s a lot of, “I did this”, “oh yeah, I tried that. It didn’t work out for me”, etc.

Sometimes people get annoyed by that. Like, “Gabe, you’re talking too much”. Sometimes I do, and I realize that, and I have to kind of reign that in in the moment. I’ll be like, “okay, I’ve shared one example, and that’s enough. Maybe I don’t need three. You kind of have to regulate that as you go.

As you become more of an authority, more of an expert, it’s harder to find guests who are bigger—especially on certain topics. But it’s a welcome challenge, right? That’s a good problem to have.“

2. Vicki from Bring Your Product Idea to Life

Key takeway: It’s not about who’s the bigger expert, but about using your platform to share knowledge and experiences.

Six years ago, Vicki Weinberg started her own business selling bamboo baby products on Amazon. After spending hours researching how to do it, and realising all the resources only catered to businesses ten times her size, she decided to start a podcast to support other small businesses like hers in launching their products.

She spoke to us about the importance of sharing other businesses’ stories and experiences through her podcast:

“I definitely have a lot of knowledge in certain areas, and there are things I’m an expert in, but I’m not an expert in everything. And also my experience of starting my own business will be very different to somebody else’s.

Vicki – Bring Your Product Idea to Life

I really want to speak to as many people as possible to get different experiences; people from different backgrounds. You find people approach things differently. How they structure their businesses are different. I genuinely am fascinated by people, by why they do what they do, and how they do it. For me, that’s really interesting. Hopefully, it’s interesting to guests as well.

The more people I feature, the more likely I feel it is that people will hear an episode that resonates with them. Whether it’s because the person is also a single mother, or they’re of a certain age or ethnicity or whatever it is, or they’ve gone from one background to another. Or even if it’s just hearing that this person had never run a business before and now they’re doing it.

I just want to give as many people a voice as possible and hope that it means that my audience has a better chance of connecting with them.

I’ve got my views and my experiences, but somebody else’s experiences – even if someone is running another business selling baby products on Amazon – their experience could be so different to mine.

I’m always genuinely interested in asking questions and seeing what my guests have to say. If they perhaps present a problem they’ve had and they don’t know the solution, and I feel like I can add something, I will. But often with those episodes, if I do interject, it’ll be more to back up what they’re saying, because I really want the guests to be the star of those episodes.“

3. Andrea at Mindful Marketing Podcast

Key takeaway: Invite guests who think or do things differently to you

Andréa Jones has been running the Mindful Marketing Podcast (previously the Savvy Social Podcast) for six years. Each episode, she invites a new expert guest on the show to discuss ways to rip up the marketing playbook and do things differently.

She spoke to us about how she looks outside of marketing and goes super-niche with her guest choice so she can remain the marketing expert for her podcast.

“I’ve come up with a flow for the interview over the years that allows for me to still be in that ‘expert spot’. I hesitate to interview other marketers because they tend to be the most combative about what they think social media should be.

Andrea – Mindful Marketing Podcast

And so I usually frame the questions like, “Here’s what I know to be true, but here’s what I also observed you doing. Can you talk about why that works for you or why that doesn’t?”

If their answer is something I wasn’t expecting, I’ll say, “Oh, interesting, because in my experience….”. Or if it’s something I was expecting, I will say things like, “That’s exactly what I was expecting you to say – I’m glad you highlighted that because…” and insert my thoughts here.

I have the same questions for every guest. We don’t always answer all of them, but they always touch on the topics that I want to talk about. Things like social media content creation, social media boundaries, how are you measuring results on social media analytics, and then how are you applying trends and current events.

Because I always have questions around those buckets, I know how to guide the conversation so that it’s my show. I’m still in the expert seat.”

You can hear Andrea, Gabe and Vicki share their stories in full on this episode of Podcraft: Email List & Social Media Strategies to Build a Podcast Community

And if you’re keen for more tips on perfecting your podcast interview strategy, Colin has written a guide on how to prepare for the best podcast interview you’ve ever recorded!

As it happens, yes! 13 of them, in fact…

In this article, I want to lay out a range of things you can do to make sure your podcast appearance is unforgettable. Interviews are an opportunity, and so many people waste them, falling into a sea of mediocre content. Instead, let’s grab the opportunity, go on that show, and deliver one of the best interviews they’ve ever heard!

Interested? Let’s take a look at how to be a great podcast interviewee.

And remember, if you’re back in the interviewer chair, you can read up on:

• How to prepare for a great interview
• Some of the best interview questions around

How to Be a Great Podcast Interviewee: LEVEL 1

Firstly, let’s run through the low-hanging fruits and quick wins that’ll make sure you’re nailing the basics.

Turn Up… Podcast Guest Tip #1

This is as basic as it gets. And yet… I’ve lost count of the number of interviews I’ve been stood up for.

Inexplicably, those no-shows include situations where the interviewee has chased me for the chance to come on my show. They’ve spent time arranging the appointment. I’ve spent time researching it, preparing for it.

And yet, they still don’t show.

If you want to get more interviews in future – if you want to keep a decent reputation in the industry – then just show up. Every time.

Something came up? If it’s genuinely important, then fair enough. Life happens. But put it into your process to get people’s contact details so you can send them a quick message, at least. Don’t leave folk hanging on the other end of a call.

Interviewee Action

• Set up a process for every interview: get contact details, and set reminders so it’s impossible to forget.
• Take it seriously: this is people’s time, including YOUR OWN! Don’t book it if you don’t value it, and treat it as such.

Get Some Decent Gear: Podcast Guest Tip #2

Content is king, sure, but no one wants to listen to half an hour of crappy quality audio. Bad vocals make you sound amateur. They don’t make the best use of the time you’re investing in this interview. If you’re hunched over your laptop, barking into a crappy internal mic, it shows, and your amazing insights are lost in a sea of strained, distorted voice.

Even the ‘interview standard’ iPhone headset is pretty poor in most situations. They pick up background noise and rub against your jumper when you move. You can do better, and make sure you come across in the best light to this new audience.

Interviewee Action

This is an easy fix.

• Get yourself a decent quality USB microphone, like the Samson Q2U (standard budget) or a Rode Podcaster (high budget).
• Team that with a good mic stand, like the Rode PSA-1.

Set the pair up so your mic is always ready on your most-used desk. Great quality audio, easily accessed. Done.

Be in a Good Location: Podcast Guest Tip #3

This is the final basic pre-flight check. WHERE you record.

Some podcasters choose to record in public environments and make background ambience work for them. However, as the podcast guest, this isn’t a decision you want to make on behalf of the show you’re guesting on. So avoid public places with sounds outside of your control as much as possible.

Next, choose the softest room you can. A glass-walled, tile-floored office is about as bad as it gets for reverb and echo. Look for carpets, sofas and curtains. Any room with a bit of… cosiness. This is why people genuinely record inside their wardrobes or under duvets.

In an ideal world, you’ll have a regular spot, which is always set up, and which is treated in at least a basic way. For example, your home office, with some sound tiles stuck up on either side of your desk.

Interviewee Action

• Ideal world: Create your ‘home recording studio’. Install your mic, and put up a few soft items around your desk to treat the area.
• Real-world: Find a private place you can use as your go-to interview spot. Make sure it’s as ‘soft’ and as silent as possible.

For more help optimising the sound of your room, check out our full guide on how to create a silent home studio.

Clarify on Video or Audio: Podcast Guest Tip #4

In years gone by, podcast interviews would almost always be audio-only. But many remote recording software platforms record video now, by default, and that means some podcasters will record the video, too.

How they use that video (if at all) can range from full video episodes to short social media clips. But it has implications for you as the guest because you might have the best-sounding location, but it wouldn’t work at all for being on camera (under the duvet, anyone?).

So, clarify with the podcast host as early as possible. Ask them if they are going to record the video as well as the audio. If they plan to do video, you’ll have some extra visual considerations for your environment, from lighting to backdrops. Our video podcast guide has some advice on this front, if it’s a whole new dimension for you.

If you really don’t want to record on video, for whatever reason, then it’s handy to have this conversation as soon as possible. The podcast host may agree to record the audio only, or, you might both decide that the episode isn’t a good fit at this moment in time.

Interviewee Action

• Ask the podcast host if they plan to record video as well as audio, and how they plan to use it
• If video, make additional preparations for lighting, backdrop, and personal appearance on the day.

Avoid the Ubiquitous Background: Podcast Guest Tip #5

To the content, then!

The one thing you can be 90% sure of, is that, on any given podcast interview, you’ll be asked about your origin story.

“How to get to where you are now?”

Whether this is a good thing is a different question. You can read how to run a good podcast interview for my thoughts on that, but spoiler: in most cases, it’s not a great listener experience!

So, take a bit of ownership over the content and rehearse this. You should have a good 1 to 2-minute‘ origin story’, which is general to any audience. Keep it short, and know that intro well. More often than not, it’s your first impression, and you know what folks say about that…

What’s in this intro? In a general sense, it should tell a story, show your expertise and set the scene, but not go into too much depth at this stage. That’s the interviewer’s job: to know her audience and to go deep on the parts they know their audience will enjoy.

Your job is to establish credibility (your subject experience and successes), to establish a rapport (the personal story, your values, perhaps some failures) and to signpost some interesting things to delve into later.

If you can, when you go on a podcast, you’ll tailor the story a little for that particular audience. Find out their specific interests, and emphasise the parts of your story.

For example, I worked in a university for five years in my late 20s and early 30s. That’s of near-zero interest to most hardcore tech founders, but it’s of huge interest to educational podcasters. I speak to both audiences, so I need to tailor the story a little, each time. On tech shows, I won’t miss out my education experience entirely, but it’ll just be a short bullet in the larger story.

Interviewee Action

• Write it out. Spend an hour writing 200 or 300 words that summarise your ‘origin story’. You don’t need to say it word for word, on any given show, but having it written down helps you refine what you’ll say in future.

Go Short, and Give Options: Podcast Guest Tip #6

Brevity goes way beyond just your origin story. It’s important the whole way through your interview.

The power of podcasting is the conversation. It’s the dynamic back and forth. So, make sure you treat it like that, rather than a monologue.

The trouble is, the latter is far too common. Many interviewees get on a show, and they want to teach as much as possible. So, they’ll get into a subject, and they’ll just keep going…

Firstly, when I listen to an interview like this, where someone speaks for five minutes at a time, solo, it just sends me to sleep. Where’s the chemistry? The banter?

Secondly, this assumes that you know exactly what the listener wants to hear. But, who probably knows better? The show host!

I’ve written about how interviewers, the host of the show, should take more control over interview content. But, interviewees can help by keeping things shorter, by signposting other interesting topics, and by letting the host guide them on where to go deeper.

This includes asking them a question before you just jump in!

“So, yeah, that’s how a Facebook ad works! Do you think it’s worth digging into how to set one up here, or should we get on to the bits I think make it most effective, like Re-targeting or custom audiences?”

Help the host by giving summaries and suggesting pathways, but let them guide you to the areas they know will have the biggest impact on their audience.

Interviewee Action

• When you answer a question, keep it shorter. Don’t feel the need to fully explain every little thing. Instead, summarise, signpost, and then ask the host: Which do you think we should get into first? This or that?

Offer Obvious Takeaways & Homework: Podcast Guest Tip #7

Honestly, you’ve no idea how easy it is to stand out by doing this one simple thing: give the listener 1 or 2 really concrete, practical ideas to take away and change their practice.

Or, even better, give them 1 or 2 concrete, practical things to go away and DO, right now.

This doesn’t mean sending them to your mailing list or your lead magnet. That comes after, if you really want to. This is something that takes what you’ve taught in the rest of the show, and makes it WORK.

Think homework. You’ve just taught a class. What can the student do next to solidify that learning in their minds? To transform it from theory into practice.

“Here’s what I want you to do, right after this show. Get into your Facebook ads account and click on custom audiences. Then, watch the video I’ll send over to Greg to put in the show notes. That shows you exactly how to set up your first one. Think about what we said earlier on your beachhead market – a really specific set of people that’ll validate your product. Spend a week and $20 targeting them. Then check the stats, see how successful it was, and iterate from there. That’s when you get into the review plan we talked about.”

See how specific that is? It’ll take just 20 minutes to do, and give the listener a real, practical outcome. Include something like that in your next interview, and just watch how your engagement with that audience soars.

As a bonus, this helps the show host too. Practical tasks, including good resources, draw listeners to the show notes and the website as a whole. That increases listener engagement with the hosts’ content, their email list and much more. There’s not a podcaster in the world that won’t thank you for that!

Interviewee Action

• Start collating a list of ‘homework’ tasks that you can set the listener on future podcast interviews. Best task will vary per show, per audience, per topic, but if you have that bank there, you can draw from it on the fly.
• Tell the host about this ahead of time and check what tasks might suit best.
• Give the host some resources that they can include in the shownotes that’ll help the listener complete the task.

How to Be a Great Podcast Interviewee – LEVEL 2

Time to go beyond the basics. Just a little extra work and you can stand out, head and shoulders above the standard podcast interview.

Have Unique Answers to the ‘Standard’ Ten: Podcast Guest Tip #8

You know at least some of these are coming, so why not prepare? I have a document with good answers to all of the ‘standard’ questions I’ve heard over the years.

Sure, you could answer these on the fly, but the point here is to stand out, isn’t it? No one wants to hear another interview where the recommended book is “Start With Why”, or the one bit of advice is “just take it easy, realise things are going to be okay.”

Take the time to think through the questions below and come up with some unique answers. Think about your background, your uncommon beliefs (another common question, funnily enough!) and craft your answers accordingly, so they’re uniquely you.

I keep this updated, casting my eye over the existing questions every few months. I also add new questions to it all the time, after being asked them on a show, or hearing them on another interview.

• What’s your favourite book?
• What’s your favourite quote?
• What do people get wrong?
• What’s been your biggest challenge?
• What was your biggest mistake?
• What one bit of advice would you give your younger self?
• What should they do first?
• Any final words for our listener?

Interviewee Action

• Spend 30 minutes each week adding a unique answer or two to your list. Keep it updated as you come across new ones.

Research the Interviewer: Podcast Guest Tip #9

Everyone knows that it’s good practice to research your interviewee, but what about the other way around?

It’s easy to be invited onto a podcast and turn up with little more than a general idea of the show’s name and topic. You know your stuff, after all – you’ve crafted your general answers above, so you’ll fly through it, right?

Well, maybe, but think how much more natural and useful an interview sounds when you can refer back to the host’s work. Remember, you’re speaking to the listener, really, and they’re big fans of this show. They know and like the host, so you’ll build instant kinship if you show you do the same. They’ll identify with you far more.

On top of that, answering questions in a context that they understand makes for much better teaching.

For example, I go on the Tim Ferriss show, and Tim starts firing questions at me, one of which might be: “How do you make money from a podcast these days?” I could refer back to the fact that his model is sponsorship and lay out to the listener how much you can make from that. Then, I could refer back to his experiment with a listener-supported model – it doesn’t work for him, but it does for many others. So, that could be a nice deep conversation on the pros and cons, or who it might work for. I could mention books as a great way to monetise a show, using his ‘Tools of Titans‘ as an example.

When you can use the host’s ecosystem, the host’s world, as examples in your answers, then it makes way more sense to the listener. That means they learn more and get more success as a result, which makes for far more success for you.

Interviewee Action

• Spend 10 minutes looking at the host’s website and social media. Get an idea of the work they’ve done, the products and services they sell, and the value they offer to their audience.

Offer Some Practical Tools: Podcast Guest Tip #10

You’re a big-picture thinker, I know… It’s not about the tools or the tech, I know, I know. It all changes so fast, yea, yea…

But, all of that doesn’t change the fact that a big proportion of every audience just loves a gadget, a tool, a tactic, a framework. People go crazy for solid, tangible things to go away and use right away. So, take your big picture and put some practical tools around it.

Sure, qualify it with the fact that the tools don’t really matter, but give it to them anyway.

If you can put something in their hands that’s useful, something time-saving, something the listener grows to love, then that makes you memorable.

Interviewee Action

• Start collating a list of tools, resources and gadgets that serve your audience.
• For each interview, pick out 2 or 3 that you think are most relevant to that audience.

Have a Spectacular Ending: Podcast Guest Tip #11

The finale is almost as important as the first impression. More so, perhaps.

This is your chance to take the most important step of the entire conversation and underline it.

So many podcast interviews offer great content, but leave the listener hanging on where to get started. So, think about this well ahead of time. What do you want this audience to do, right away, after they finish listening?

Make sure it serves them, first and foremost. This is your chance to create a legion of new fans. If you’ve followed all the steps above, then you’re already unique and memorable. Now, you make yourself a legend by giving the listener some instant success.

So, what part of the conversation can they put into action right away, and win a bit of success?

For me, it’s often the gear. This is what new podcasters tend to struggle with the most. The amount of anxiety that arises when looking through lists and lists of microphones is amazing. So, at the end of any ‘how to start a podcast’ interview, I’ll give them these steps:

• Theory: You have permission to keep it super simple. It’s the best choice at this stage to help you launch a great show and make it easy to run!
• Action: So, get out there and buy a Samson Q2U, right now. Plug it right into your computer and hit record.

End with a bang, and leave the listener in no doubt as to what they should do next.

Interviewee Action

• Pick out 2 or 3 tools, tactics and frameworks to give to the audience, during the interview. Have a toolbag of these resources for all the different audiences you speak to.

How to Be a Great Podcast Interviewee: LEVEL 3

Alright, now we’re ready to step up and play at the highest level of podcast interviewee-ship!

Feed the Interviewer Some Good Questions: Podcast Guest Tip #12

Here’s the secret sauce. This is the thing that 99% of interviewees DON’T do, but it creates some of the best interviews around.

Tell the interviewer what to ask you.

It’s so simple it’s almost laughable, but it works like a charm. Don’t expect the interviewer to dig out the golden nuggets all by themselves. Instead, feed them some prompts so that you get to give them your best stuff, and make the biggest impact.

How does this work? Well, think about the audience you’re speaking to. Make a judgement on what’s likely to make the biggest impact on them. Then, plan out a 5 to 10-minute segment on that. You know the content, so all you need are the questions. And this goes to the interviewer. Here’s how I usually couch it:

“Hello, Mrs Interviewer, I wanted to let you know, I think my approach to ‘Content Stacking‘ will have a huge impact on your audience because of reasons X, Y and Z. How about we spend 10 or 15 minutes going through how I create blog posts, videos and podcasts in just one process in way less time? If you’re up for that, here’s a set of questions that I’ve seen work well. It means we can have a good chat about it without having me drone on for too long on my own!”

1. I see you do a lot of blog posts that have videos and podcasts attached – what’s your thinking behind that?

2. Great, so what are the first steps in planning out one of these ‘stacked’ posts?”

You’ll find, as long as you’re humble, and it’s just a suggestion to improve the content, that interviewers will love this. Any decent podcast host will see that it can make for a great, solid segment that is nice and conversational. The alternative tends to be a big long monologue, interviewee only, which gets boring very, very quickly.

Interviewee Action

• Start building your toolbox of ‘segments’ and a set of questions that nicely guide you through them. Then, start sending relevant suggestions before future interviews.

Ask the Interviewer a Question or Two: Podcast Guest Tip #13

Let’s finish up with how you treat an interview. By which I mean, don’t treat it like an interview. Instead, remember it’s a conversation! So, keep your replies brief, and ask some questions of your own.

Questions make you more interesting, more dynamic, and they make your content better because you can take much more guidance from the host of the show.

For example, instead of diving right through 15 minutes of how to record and edit a podcast, I could ask: “Do you think your listeners would be interested in a few tips on how to make podcast editing quicker?”

Imagine the difference when she responds: “Do you know what, our listeners are mostly small businesses, so I think they’d be outsourcing that. Do you have any tips on working with a podcast producer instead?”

You then get to give the listener the content they’re really interested in, instead of just assuming.

The final benefit here is that you show you’re a human! You’re actually engaging with the host of the show, this person that the listener has grown to like over time. And what happens then? They like YOU more, too!

Interviewee Action

• Be interested! Stop speaking for 5 or 10 minutes at a time, and shouldering the host aside. Instead, speak short and concisely, get the host involved, ask their opinion and encourage them to guide you.

Ready to Deliver a Great Podcast Interview?

I hope these podcast guest tips have given you a few ideas on how to make your next interview a whole lot better.

Don’t feel like you have to do it all at once. Try a few parts of level 1 to start with, and then add things in as you get the practice in. Even just a little bit of prep, like I said, puts you miles ahead of the majority.

If you’re raring to go, but don’t have any podcast guest appearances lined up just yet, then be sure to check out how to get booked as a guest on a podcast.

And if you like guesting on podcasts, why not think about running your own? We have a free step-by-step ‘how to start’ guide that’ll walk you through every single step.

Successful podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience and The Tim Ferris Show have only increased the format’s popularity. So much so that almost every niche imaginable has multiple long-form interview shows catering to their community.

Herein lies the problem. Because the industry is full of interview-based shows, differentiating yourself from everyone else isn’t easy. You can’t exactly ask your guests to be ‘more interesting!’ So, you’ll have to find more creative ways to level up as a host.

What’s wrong with regular interview podcasts?

Nothing! They’re great. Making an interview podcast is an excellent place to start, especially since the barrier to entry is so low. 

Some of the benefits include:

• They are quick and easy to create
• You can leverage the expertise of your guests to generate good podcast topics
• Editing and post-production can be simple, especially with tools like Alitu

But, since this format is somewhat easy to produce, competition is high. Within a few short years, the ‘quality bar,’ as Ben Thomson refers to it, has been set.

Okay, so you understand that you need to do better, and you need to find that special something to take your podcast production to the next level. But what does ‘next level’ sound like, and how do you get there?

“What is important to note, though, is that while quality is relatively binary, the number of ways to be focused — that is, the number of niches in the world — are effectively infinite; success, in other words, is about delivering superior quality in your niche — the former is defined by the latter.”

Ben Thomson, Stratechery Newsletter

What is Narrated Interview Podcasting?

Narrated interview podcasting is where you take your everyday interview and turn it into an immersive experience. So, rather than publishing an interview in full, an episode is made up of cutaways, scripted inserts, music, and sound design. 

This type of production allows podcasters to tell a story in a non-linear way, which keeps listeners tuned in from start to finish. 

For many, companies like NPR, Wondery, Gimlet Media, and the BBC have set the gold standard in narrative storytelling. And shows like How I Built This and Without Fail are prime examples of how a narrated podcast can take listeners on an audio journey by using creative editing. 

If this sounds like something you’d love to do but don’t quite have time or skill set for, a dedicated podcast production service can help simplify the process.

Given the success of these types of shows, narrative podcasts are a fantastic way to engage audiences. But why should you put in the effort?

The Benefits of Narrative Style interview Podcasts

Narrative Interview Podcasts Hit All the Right Emotional Buttons

Recent studies have shown that stories can trigger a deep emotional response. When our brains hear a good story, oxytocin (aka “The love” hormone) is released, causing us to feel empathy, trust, and a sense of bonding. 

As these feelings flood our bodies, we naturally start to become invested in the narrative- causing us to want to stick around or take action. 

You Have More Quality Control

The standard interview podcast format makes it hard to guarantee consistent quality across all your episodes. This is often due to the recording process being a one-take deal. You sit down, record the conversation within a predefined time frame, and that’s your entire episode – warts and all. 

If you’re not “on form,” the conversation is boring, or there is zero chemistry between you and your guest, listeners are more likely to drop off. 

Investing in the narrated interview format gives you so much more control of the final result. 

Knowing that you will edit, refine and tweak the conversation later will encourage a more free-flowing interview. You can both take your time, ‘um,’ and ‘ah,’ restart thoughts, backtrack and redo answers to your heart’s desire- because only the best stuff will make the final cut.

Simple Tips To Take Your Interviews From Standard To Outstanding

If you are looking to make your interviews binge-worthy, the narrative format can create a listener experience unlike any other.

Yes, it can be labour-intensive, slightly more expensive, and more complicated to produce than a standard interview. But it’s worth the effort. Here are some simple tips to help you start creating a more listener-friendly experience.  

Map out your edits. You want to condense the interview down to the best parts. If your interview is 60 minutes long, can you whittle it down to just 25 minutes? Listen to the recording in full. Make notes along with the timestamps of where you want to make significant edits and/or include narration. From there, you can easily map out the entire episode structure, which will simplify editing later on.

Do the hard work for the listener. If a question can be easily Googled, either don’t ask it or cut it out and narrate the answer instead. Do the research upfront and respect your listener’s time by only airing the parts of the conversation that you can’t find elsewhere.

Record narrations in one sitting. It’s incredible how our voices change throughout the day. Before you record your narrations, do a vocal warm-up exercise and record everything all at once. That way, your vocal tone will be consistent throughout the episode.

Create narrative signposts – Don’t let the audience get lost. Your narrated segments should act as a guide for your listeners. Adding in carefully scripted narration can signpost key turning points within the story. Use these moments to break down and answer questions, recap segments, add valuable thoughts or information before moving onto other topics.

Reset and re-engage your listeners – Sadly, people have short attention spans. So as producers, we want to reset our audience’s focus every 2-3 minutes to keep them engaged. Thoughtful narration, sound design transitions, or background music says to the listener, “Hey, pay attention, this bit’s important.” Break up those lengthy conversations!

Music holds a lot of power- Just like a movie soundtrack, well-chosen music can help amplify your narrative. Try to weave appropriate music and sound throughout your podcast episodes to highlight key points or take your listener on a journey. There are multiple places to find and use royalty-free music, as well as free-to-use music.

If you’re a brand looking to create this style of show, then working with a narrative podcast service could be the way to go for the best results.

10 Steps to Creating an Effective Narrated Interview Podcast

We know that every podcast is unique, and different podcasts use different production methods. But, here are some simple steps that could help take your podcast to the next level.

1. Plan Your Interview: Planning your questions is essential as they will help keep you on track. Try to ask open-ended questions that will go beyond a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. You want to encourage your guests to tell an anecdote.
2. Record your interview: The quality of your recording is important, so take your time to think about how and where you will record your show. Could you hire a recording studio? Are you going to be on location? Is recording online or over the phone your only option? Whatever your choice is, ensure you understand how your gear and software works and that it’s functioning correctly beforehand. 
3. Transcribe your full interview: Get your unedited audio transcribed in full using a program such as Descript, ExpressScribe, or a transcription service such as Rev. Here’s our full guide to audio transcription.
4. Edit the interview in written form first: Use the transcripts as a guide. Look for portions of dialogue that can be removed, edited, or switched around. This method is perfect for mapping out where to place music, narration, or additional recordings.
5. Write your narration scripts: Once you’ve decided how you want to edit the audio, look for points within the narrative that you can address or make a comment on. Can you answer a question or recap for your audience? Remember, these segments help tie the story together. Avoid using unauthentic sounding, pre-made intros, and outros. Instead, use this as the perfect opportunity to create a custom intro hook and thoughtful outro.
6. Record your narration: It’s time to get back on the mic and record the scripts you’ve written. As mentioned before, your voice changes throughout the day. Do a vocal warm-up to get those pipes nice and relaxed. Record everything in one sitting if you can, including your customized intro and outro!
7. Pull your tape into your editor: Let’s put this audio puzzle together! Using your pre-made plan, start lining up the narration, intro, and outro with the pre-recorded interview. 
8. Add sound design: Sound design is what will make your show pop! For narrated podcasts, music, recordings, and sounds can be a fantastic tool in setting the mood and enhancing the story. Use carefully timed sound effects, music, and recordings to help enhance the listener experience.
9. Mix it: With so many more elements than a standard interview, your dialogue, narration, and sound design will need to be carefully combined. Spend some time learning how to equalize, compress, apply noise reduction, and treat your audio for the best results. Your hard work deserves it. 
10. Review Your Show: Once you have your entire episode pieced together, you want to take the time to listen to the whole thing- from beginning to end. (EditPoint is a great app for this stage! – ed) You’ll quickly get a feeling for how the story flows and whether any elements need to be altered. Get someone outside the production process to take a listen. An unbiased listener will be able to tell you what is and isn’t working. Once you’re happy with the result, it’s time to publish!

Summary: Creating Narrative Podcasts

Creating narrative podcasts is more challenging than simply recording an interview and uploading it. But by focusing on a more immersive form of storytelling, your show will offer something unique for listeners. By putting in the extra effort you’ll stand out from the crowd, with an all-encompassing experience rather than just another interview show in your niche.

Next Steps: Resources!

• Lower Street’s narrative podcast service
• Our full guide on how and where to edit your podcast
• How to create highly produced podcasts (Season 9 of Podcraft)
• How to run a business podcast that stands out

There’s a lot to cover when it comes to podcast interviews, because there are so many possible scenarios. With that in mind, we wanted to create an ‘Ultimate Guide’ resource, to help you find the info and help you’re looking for, as quickly as possible.

This guide can act as a go-to each time you’re stuck on anything podcast interview-related, so be sure to bookmark it for future reference, too.

How to Record Podcast Interviews

To kick things off, one of the biggest hurdles new podcasters face is the tech.

Before asking the question, “how do I record a podcast interview?”, we need to establish where you’re actually going to be having these conversations. Will you be meeting your guests face-to-face in a studio, park, or cafe? Or, will you be chatting to them online?

How to Record Podcast Interviews Online

We’ll start with the online aspect, because it’s the most common. Recording podcast interviews remotely gives you access to a global guest pool. It means both participants can record from the comfort and convenience of their own homes, too.

In podcasting’s early years, remote recording was traditionally synonymous with low-quality audio. However, these days, there are many great online call recorder tools on the market.

Of course, many podcasters still use Zoom and Skype to good effect. You’ll find our guides on how to do so, linked to here.

If you and your guest have the right audio equipment and a bit of skill, consider doing a double-ender recording. With this setup, you’ll each record your own ends of the conversation independently of each other. Then, you sync them together in the production phase. A great piece of kit for doing double-ender recordings is the Samson Q2U.

Your audio quality will hinge a lot on your equipment, as well as the room you’re recording in. For help and advice on this front, check out our best podcast microphones roundup. Also, check out our guide to optimal-sounding environments.

This highlights one of the biggest barriers to recording great-sounding podcast interviews online. You’re at the mercy of your guest’s gear, environment, and internet connection. Be sure to share our guide on how to be a great podcast interviewee with your guests, prior to your recording session.

How to Record Face-to-Face Podcast Interviews

The alternative option to recording podcast interviews online, is to get together face-to-face.

There’s always a trade-off. This time, we’ll swap convenience for the increased level of engagement that comes with talking to someone in-person.

With face-to-face podcast interviews, you now fully control all the gear being used, too. No more despair at your guest’s echo chamber dining room, or terrible mic.

To an extent, you control your recording environment now too. Although, if you’re trying to have the conversation in public, or outdoors, then there can still be challenges to overcome.

Recording Out on Location

What’s the best equipment for recording face-to-face podcast interviews whilst out on location? Well, that all depends on your budget, and the amount of gear you’re prepared to lug around with you.

Here’s our guide on simple setups for recording in-person, on-location podcast interviews. Two of the simplest setups are using the Rode Smartlav+ mics into your phone, or running 2 lav mics into a budget recorder like the Zoom H1.

We also have a full series dedicated to recording professional face-to-face podcast interviews. In this series, we discuss which recorder to use, why the Shure SM58 might be the best mic option for you, and the other bits and pieces you’ll need for your on-the-go interview kit.

Recording at Home or in the Studio

If you bring guests into your home recording or personal studio environment, you won’t need things to be portable.

Many new podcasters wonder if they can simply record with 2 USB mics into their computer. Whilst this is possible, it isn’t recommended. Find out why, in the article I’ve linked to there.

So, what are some of the best options for recording face-to-face interviews in your home? If you’d like to record into your computer, the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB audio interface is excellent. You can plug 2 mics into that, and run them directly into a programme like Audacity or Adobe Audition.

If you don’t want to be bound to a computer, then there’s a plethora of great options. Check out the Zoom H5, Zoom H6, and Rodecaster Pro. These are all really high-end bits of kit. They’ll give you options to plug in plenty more mics, if you have more than 1 guest.

If you’re on a tight budget though, there’s nothing to stop you using one of the simple setups recommended in the on-location section. You’ll still get good audio with these, providing you do a bit of work to optimise your recording environment.

Recording Engaging Conversations

Paying attention to your equipment and environment can make your audio sound good – but that’s only half the battle.

Firstly, you can’t invite just anyone onto your show, expecting them to deliver great insights and value. Here’s why growth through networking is important for running a quality interview podcast. Also, here’s how to find the best podcast guests.

It won’t hurt to send our guide on how to be a great podcast interviewee with your future guests, either. That’s full of practical actionable tips geared toward helping interviewees sound their best.

In our guide on How to Prepare for a Podcast Interview, you’ll learn all about how to capture the best possible content from your conversations.

Here are some great podcast interview questions you can throw into the mix now and then. These can go a long way to keeping your episodes unique, lively, and fresh.

And we have an entire course dedicated to the art of the interview over at Podcraft Academy. Check out Interview Like a Pro for a comprehensive walkthrough of everything you need to know about podcast interviews.

Editing & Producing Podcast Interviews

Editing and producing interviews is really no different than editing any other type of podcast episode. The same principles apply. You’ll want to polish up the audio, cut out mistakes or tangents, and process it so that the volume is consistent.

The slight difference is that you’ll potentially be working with more tracks. Call recording software these days tends to record each participant on their own audio track. Most digital recorders will do this too, for those who’re recording in-person. The point is though, they need to be synced together before you start the chopping and cutting work.

With the right editing tool, this process isn’t as complicated as it might sound. When it comes to editing and production software there’s no shortage of options out there. We have a dedicated roundup of the best editing software on the market right now. Dive in there to explore your options.

For ease, though, here are our 3 top picks that cover most bases.

• For a completely free option, go with Audacity.
• For the simplest possible option, go with Alitu.
• For the most powerful and flexible option, go with Adobe Audition.

Scheduling

In the early days of your podcast, tech and content will feel like the 2 biggest barriers. But an ongoing hassle for podcasters running interview shows is that of scheduling.

Doing interviews means you’re relying on others to agree to a specific date and time (and actually turn up, too!). If you try and figure this out via various email back-and-forths, it can become a real headache for all involved.

Check out our review of scheduling tool Book Like a Boss, which will help you automate all of this. If you want to save time and avoid stress, use a dedicated scheduling tool to organise your podcast interviews.

Growing Your Show Through Podcast Interviews

One theory behind why interviews are good for podcast growth, is that each guest will share his or her episode with their own audience.

Many podcasters just assume this will happen automatically. But there’s more you can do to encourage guests to share your podcast with their audience. You might even treat them to some swag via the excellent GuestBoxLove service.

A lot of it also comes down to how well the guest has felt the conversation has gone. Again, use our guides on how to prepare for a podcast interview, and how to be a great podcast interviewee, to make sure you’re capturing the best possible content.

If you run an interview show, you might consider partnering with an event or conference in your niche. Not only will this help you record a lot of high-quality content, it’ll give your podcast a lot of extra exposure, too.

You might even fancy sitting on the other side of the (often hypothetical) desk, and being the guest, rather than the interviewer. Here’s how to get booked as a guest on other podcasts, which can help you reach new listeners, and grow your audience.

Summary: Podcast Interviews

So there we have our whirlwind tour of the podcast interview-scape. There should be enough tips and resources here to keep you well on-track towards that inevitable $100 million deal with Spotify.

Alright, maybe that won’t happen. But, putting a bit of thought, time and effort into your interviews will give you a big advantage over most other interview podcasts out there in your niche.

It doesn’t start and end with the interviews, though. You need to have the overall aims and intentions for your podcast mapped out, too. If you’re at the very beginning, check out our step-by-step guide on how to start a podcast, which will help you to lay out the foundations.

I’d also recommend you check out How to Choose a Unique Podcast Topic. This will help you make sure you’re serving up something that’s a far cry from “just another interview show”.

Need More Help?

As I’ve mentioned already, there’s a dedicated podcast interview course inside Podcraft Academy. In there you’ll also find courses on everything from editing to promotion and beyond. There’s downloadable resources and checklists, too. And, we run weekly live Q&A sessions, so you always get the help and advice you need to keep you moving forwards!

Every podcaster wants to interview industry leaders. 

The reasons why are obvious. They’re the people who will deliver the deepest insights, tell the most captivating stories, and draw the greatest number of new listeners. 

This isn’t exactly a secret, which is why the most famous people in your industry are also the most difficult interviews to land. 

You could try the classic method: Spend a lot of time crafting a pitch, sending it to them on social media, and then following up again, and again, and again. That might work after a few years. 

Or you could work a little smarter and partner with an organization that can connect you to a lot of the brightest minds in your industry.

Yep, I’m talking about conferences. 

Think about it. Conferences are the one place where a significant number of thought leaders in any given industry will congregate at the same time. 

Even better, conferences need all the publicity they can get — a problem you as a podcaster and content creator can help them solve. 

In this post, I’ll share how you can reach out to the right conferences, establish media partnerships, and ultimately, interview lots of top tier guests in just a couple of days. 

By the way, none of this is theoretical. I’ve seen this strategy work on multiple occasions for podcasters and creatives whom I’ve worked with. So let’s dive in…

Step 1. Creating a Partnership 

There’s a conference for almost any interest these days. 

For example, there are multiple events for true crime fans. That might not surprise you, because there are tons of true crime podcasts. But did you know there’s a true crime cruise? It’s true. It’s called Crimecruise. 

The point is, the world has reached the point of peak conferences, and that’s a good thing. The more conferences there are, the harder it is to generate buzz for each respective event. 

This is where you come in. 

If you have a decent-sized audience (it doesn’t have to be massive by any means) you can establish media partnerships with conferences. In this arrangement, you’ll create content for the event by interviewing speakers (and perhaps some attendees) in exchange for tickets. 

In most cases, conferences love this kind offer. Why? Because you’ll be creating valuable content the organizers can offer to their audience. And because you’ll be marketing the conference to your listeners, who could become future attendees.

Here’s how to strike up a partnership. 

Find a conference that aligns with your audience. Then email someone in marketing and ask who’s in charge of partnerships. 

Once you get connected to the right person, pitch them on how you can help their conference produce great content that their audience will love. 

In the same email, include your media kit, if you have one. Mention the size of your audience and say you’ll zealously promote the content you create at the conference to all of your listeners. In exchange, you’d just like some tickets to the conference and a place to set up your equipment. 

This may sound far-fetched, but it’s really not. 

Conferences often have tickets to spare, and they desperately need to create buzz for their event. If you have a loyal listener base that overlaps with the conference’s target audience — even if it’s a modest one — you could be exactly who they want to partner with. 

You’ll want to start reaching out to conferences at least 3 months in advance, because there will probably be a lot of back and forth. 

Step 2. Scheduling the Interviews 

Once you get things squared away with the conference itself, it’s time to schedule interviews with some of the speakers. 

This process is now exponentially easier because you’re no longer a random podcast on from the internet. No, you’re now a podcast working with a conference that this person is speaking at, so it makes a metric ton of sense for them to be a guest on your show. 

Even with that ace up your sleeve, there’s still an art to scheduling these interviews. Remember, conferences are often very stressful for speakers. Beyond their actual presentation, they’re often required to do additional work, like meeting with small groups or VIPs.

So before you email any speakers, look at the schedule and see when they’re slotted to give their presentation and if there’s any other engagements they have to fulfil. 

The key here is to be flexible. Be flexible in your scheduling requests, and do everything in your power to work around their schedule. 

You also need to be flexible in the topics you’re going to cover. You should definitely suggest a topic that will be interesting to the conference’s audience, your audience, and your guests. 

But don’t be too rigid. Leave enough room for the show to flow like a conversation. In the end, the results will be better. 

Step 3. Setting Up and Recording 

Alright, it’s game time. Your interviews are scheduled. Now it’s time to go and set up. 

At the very least, you’ll want to have a table with two chairs to do your interviews. Ideally, the conference will have provided you with a booth or sitting area. 

You might have to get creative, but your goal is to have a welcoming area that’s clearly arranged to conduct podcast interviews. 

Another important factor to consider is ambient noise. In most cases, you’ll have to accept it as a fact of life. Being at a conference means there’s a low hum of hustle and bustle happening at all times. 

It doesn’t have to be a bad thing. If you spin it the right way in your introduction, it can even add a different type of energy to your show. You are, after all, on location. 

And finally, when you’re conducting the interviews, remember not to be too rigid in your approach. 

Yes, you want to talk about the topic you agreed on, but you always want to be a good host and make the experience welcoming for your guest. After all, these people have been in highly structured situations all day, so being able to kick back and have a free flowing conversation will feel like a much needed reprieve. 

Plus, people love to talk about their expertise, so your guests will naturally gravitate in that direction. You just have to be patient and let them get there. 

Partnering With Conferences: Summary

You may have heard marketers throw around the term growth hack. The words are used to describe tactics that provide exponential returns. 

You can probably guess that marketers are obsessed with finding and utilizing the newest hacks. The strategy I’ve just shared with you is a tried-and-true podcast growth hack. 

Sure, there are plenty of other ways to increase your listeners. You could get a super high quality microphone and enhance your audio quality. Or you could choose some great podcast music for your intro and transitions. 

Those things will work. But if you want to interview lots of high caliber guests in just a few days — which will probably have a significant impact on your audience growth — there’s just no substitute for partnering with conferences. 

This post was contributed by Zach Watson from Soundstripe, where you can find excellent podcast music for your show.

I was recently having a voice chat with some folks via Facebook Messenger and wondered if there was a way to download the audio files and play them. Turns out there is, but it’s hidden. Moreover, with a browser plug-ing and a few simple steps, you can download them labeled in order to easily compile in your audio editor.

The nice thing about this method is that voice messages do not have to be recorded in real-time, so “interviews” can take place at the availability and convenience of both the guest and host. This means you could feasibly conduct an interview with guests in Australia, US and the UK without the need to be on a call together at the same time.

Stuff you need (the basics):

• A cellphone for each speaker in the interview
• The Facebook Messenger app
• A computer with a web browser

Other Stuff you need (to download in order):

• Chrome, Firefox or Opera browser
• DownloadThemAll! Plugin

The Process

The overall process is simple. Like most interview processes, we are going to record, download, and edit. However, there are some steps involved in the download portion in order to download the recorded files

1. Select your Mic & Hit Record.

Recording is simple. From the messenger app, simply press and hold the voice record button while speaking.

Keep in mind that the audio quality will only be as good as the audio quality from the microphone your phone uses and the background noise the interview is recorded in. I use a USB microphone with an OTG cable on my Android and record from my studio to get best results.

Other good mic options would be the RODE Smartlav +, and the Shure MV5.

2. Download the audio from Facebook’s mobile site in your browser

The tricky part about downloading the files you and your guests have recorded is that you can’t download them directly from the Facebook desktop site. Instead you have to open the mobile Facebook site in your browser by typing in the URL:

http://m.facebook.com

From there, click the Messages icon at the top (the voice balloon with the squiggly line), and navigate to your recorded conversation.

Click the menu (the three dots) on the right side of each audio player and click download to save the audio files to your disk drive.

3. Use the DownThemAll! plugin to grab all your files at once

If you use Firefox, Chrome or Opera, you can use a download manager plug-in to download all of your audio files at once and index them for easy arranging in your editor later. There are several download managers that will get the job done. I use DownloadThemAll! for this tutorial.

Once installed, navigate to your conversation tab. Click the DownloadThemAll! icon in the extension icons and select DownloadThemAll! (not OneClick!)

In the DownLoadThemAll! window, select the Media tab.

Messenger audio files are recorded using the phone’s native audio compression (MP4 for Android, AAC for iPhone). By filtering for these extensions we can quickly select all of the audio files in our conversation. In the Fast Filtering box type:

.mp4, .aac

All of your audio files should be checked. If not, you may need to check them manually.

To use a subfolder to hold your audio files, simply type the name of the folder in the Subfolder textbox. If the directory does not exist in your designated downloads folder, the plug-in will create one for you.

To index your files, the magic comes in creating a naming mask. In the Mask textbox type:

idx-name.ext

Click Download to begin downloading your files, indexed in the order they are recorded

4. Import them into your editing software to begin production

From here, open your audio files in your DAW and edit as usual. If you’re still unfamiliar with the production side of things, check out our Ultimate Guide to Podcast Editing.

Recording in Facebook Messenger: How Did It Go?

Here is a sample of the result of a test interview I did with voice actor Owen McCuen. Owen simply recorded using his phone. I used my Samson Go Mic with an OTG cable. Both of us recorded in our studio. Your results will vary with different microphones, phones and locations.

Overall, I was impressed with the results. The audio quality was excellent and the audio edited together fairly effortlessly. I do highly recommend that all speakers use a good microphone setup, but even when they do not, the results are better than I expected. There is some loss in audio due to compression, but it doesn’t seem detrimental to overall voice quality for an interview

Pros

• Allows the interviewer to think through questions in response to the interview for a more thoughtful, directed conversation.
• Overcomes barriers of timezones and work schedules by allowing conversations in spare time.

Cons

• Audio quality is only as good as the phone microphone and location background noise allows. Check out the Samson Go Mic, RODE Smartlav +, and the Shure MV5 for some good gear options.
• Responses from different locations may have different ambiences and noise levels.
• Audio is compressed to reduce storage and file size, which also reduces overall quality.

Need More Help?

Recording via Facebook Messenger is just one of many options out there for creating audio content.

If you’re able to get together with your guest/co-host in real-time, have a look at the various tools for recording a podcast online. There’s a lot of quality options on that front nowadays.

And, if you’d like some more tailored advice on recording your show, or on any other aspect of podcasting, check out Podcraft Academy. There, you’ll get access to all our courses, resources, checklists, community forums, and regular live Q&A sessions!

When you invite people to be a guest on your podcast, or they pitch you their ideas, it can be overwhelming to organize all the information about the guest, outreach process, podcast topics, etc.

In the beginning, you get in touch with only a few people. The more you grow and the more episodes you post, the more guests you reach out to. Some of them will say ‘No’, some will say ‘Write to me in two months again’, some will not reply for a long time. It’s so difficult to remember all of these.

I tried Excel, Evernote, Google Docs and several other kinds of customer relationship management software ( or CRM), but it still wasn’t productive and really effective.

While something like Excel can be a simple solution, I almost gave up when I started the Marketing for Creatives podcast, because managing the podcast guests and clients of my main business was crazy.

You don’t have to go through all these tests too. I’ll show you a more advanced and still easy way of tracking the data by using the HubSpot system. Free features will be more than enough for you.

It will take you about 1 hour to set up your account, but save you a ton of time in the future. Later, all you need to do is add the new contacts with the necessary information, and manage the stages of the interview process. It will look similar to this.

The setup process includes the next stages:

1. Create your profile
2. Add properties for collecting additional information about the contacts
3. Enter Deal properties for a podcast guest outreach
4. Creating a Pipeline for a podcast guest outreach
5. Customizing the profile and properties for the new deals and contacts
6. Customizing a contact page
7. Adding a new contact
8. Add a new podcast interview deal
9. Customizing a Deal page
10. Working with a Deal page to manage the interview process

I recommend doing all these steps at one time, as it may be a little complicated for non-tech people. But no worry, every step goes with the images. Get your coffee and let’s start.

Create your HubSpot profile

First, create your profile on HubSpot. Start with CRM Free. That’s not a free trial. It’s forever free, with unlimited users. Also, you can save up to one million contacts, companies, deals, and tasks. If you want more features for your business, you can upgrade anytime.

Fill your data.

Enter your website and company name.

After you register, check your email box and verify your email.

Complete the rest of the steps to start using CRM

Creating properties for collecting information about the contacts

HubSpot set the basics for you from the beginning. Before you start adding new contacts and deals, you’ll want to customize the profile. We’ll start with your contacts.

I prefer to keep some info about the person, so I can easily find it anytime. You can add there the same properties for the contact as shown below. Or feel free to pass on those that you don’t need, and add your own.

Go to Contacts tab. From the Customize menu, pick Edit Properties.

The Contact information section already has the main things you may need.

Add new properties to the Social media information section

You may want to add a few more properties to the Social media information section. I have properties for all the main social media networks, such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram there.

To add a new property, click Create a property.

Create your Label. An Internal name will be the same as the label, but you can modify it if you want. A Description is optional, but you can add some information that may help if you add an assistant to the system, and he or she will fill the people’s data for you.

In the Group pick ‘Social media information’ and the Field type is Single-line text.

I also want to note how many followers a person has on the network. Let’s add the new property for that. Click Create a Property again, and fill the new form. At the field type, pick Number.

If you want to edit any information later click Edit for the property you want to edit.

Here is the list of the properties I have for the Social media information tab.

Create properties for extra information about the person

If you want to add some further information about the person, then you can either add new properties to any of the current groups or create a new property group.

Let’s create the new group Additional Information.

As it’s empty, we need to create new properties there.

Your network is your net worth. Your goal is to organize the main information about people that you think may be useful for you in the future so you won’t need to go search the internet all the time. There is no need to fill all the fields for each person you will add: put what you think is valuable for you.

Here is the list of properties I have:

Blog topics section shows me what the person writes about. As I focus on business and marketing for creative entrepreneurs and small business owners, I’m interested in working with people who share content such as:

• Business/Entrepreneurship
• Social Media Marketing
• Blogging
• Productivity

I would also like to know if the person focuses particularly on creative entrepreneurs and small businesses, which are exactly my audience or on women entrepreneurs, which also resonates with me.

As I believe in collaboration these points not only show me what topics can be interesting to my audience if I invite them for the interview, but also tells me in which areas I can bring value to the person and his/her community.

For this property, pick Field type, Multiple checkboxes, and add all labels you need.

Think about them as the tags that will help you to quickly find the right group of people. Later, you can filter your contacts with specific topics from this list. When you have a lot of contacts, it’s very convenient.

It’s also useful to know how you engaged, and on what projects you worked with the person. I label it Connection Points. It’s kind of your relationship history.

As with some people I’ve engaged for a few years, it’s always good to remember how, so when you get to their radar once in a while you can refer to the situations.

When you work on several projects at one time, it’s good to note what deal is in the progress right now with your prospect.

Let’s create a new property Deal in Progress. It’s more effective to not overwhelm people and have only one deal at one time. For this property, choose Dropdown select, and add labels for the projects you usually working on.

It’s practical to add some notes about what Social Presence the person has. One of the easiest ways to connect with the person is to get familiar with their content, and refer to it in the email.

If they have a book – read it. If they are speakers, then more likely they have their videos on YouTube – watch them. Also, speakers are often good podcast guests, as they got used to talking and sharing their experience.

Here are some checkboxes you can add:

As a podcaster, one day you will want to be a guest on other podcasts too. It’s good for marketing your own podcast. Furthermore, it’s always easier to get in touch with people who host a podcast.

If the influencer has a podcast, or you want to get connected to any podcast hosts, you can start building the relationship by leaving a review for their podcast, listen to their episodes and send them some notes, questions, or just a grateful email.

Create the property for the podcast data.

The properties above cover most things you may need, but there are times you may want to add some extra notes. I have two more fields: Specialization and Extra Notes.

In Specialization, I put what exactly topics person talks about. For example, they write about business, but their specialization is how to build a personal brand. You can often find it in Summary of their LinkedIn profile.

Add anything else you want in the Extra Notes. I often write there who the person was introduced by, at what conference we met, or on which online conference I found him/her, etc. The form settings will be the same as above.

Filed type for both sections is Multi-line text.

Feel free to add any other properties, or use only a few from listed above.

Create Deal Properties

Deal Properties help you organize the podcast projects, making them easy to find and manage. Let’s create a few extra properties.

Go to the Deal properties tab.

Create a new group of properties specifically for the podcast guest outreach.

We’ll need three properties there for keeping the process organized.

Date of the first request is when you first time reached your guest. Sometimes it may take you a few months to reach an influential guest. You use the same field if someone reached you out for the interview.

Group is Podcast Request, and the Field type is Date Picker.

Date of the Interview and Publication Date are similar. Check the settings here

Create the Pipeline for the Podcast Interviews

Next step, go to the Sales tab of the right menu and click Deals. Your free account allows you to have one Pipeline.

You already have one created automatically. Click Edit to modify it.

You can change the name of the pipeline there if you want. These are all steps of the process that were created by HubSpot:

Change the stage names as shown below. Then, for updating the stage properties click Edit Properties. We’ll start from the Interview Request stage.

Scroll to the Podcast Requests group in the left list and check Date of the First Request and save the property.

Then edit property for the Interview Scheduled stage. Check Date of the Interview.

For Scheduled for a Blog stage, set Publication Date property.

Also, set properties for Closed Won – Closed Won Reason and for Closed Lost – Closed Lost Reason.

Check that you have all these stages with the right properties:

When you finish, click Save to save the pipeline settings.

Customize the properties you want to fill when you create a new deal

When you create the Deal for each person for your podcast interview, it’s good to have certain fields that you fill right away.

On the top of the same setting page, click Manage to set the properties your team sees when creating deals.

Choose Start from scratch.

Remove all preset categories. From the left menu pick those that we created for the Podcast Request group and save the settings.

Customize the properties you want to fill when you create a new contact

Every time you add the new contact you need to fill out the form. While we have a lot of properties in the system, let’s pick those that you want to fill most of the time.

Go to Contacts & Companies tab and click Manage for the Set the properties your team sees when creating contacts.

Choose Start from scratch.

There will be the required properties at the top and below optional. Pick from the left column those that you want to fill in the beginning when you add the new contacts. You also can make them optional or required by marking the checkbox on the right. I leave all the fields optional.

Customize a contact page

Next, go back to the Contacts page of HubSpot. Click Customize, then Edit Columns.

On the left side, you see all the properties you have. On the right side those that shown on the contact page. Pick those that you want to see right away, then drag and drop in the more convenient order.

I would suggest having at least Email, Website URL, Deal in Progress. The rest is up to you.

How to Add a New Podcast Guest Contact

Now let’s add your first contact. Click Create Contact.

You need to add an email and the name.

Go to the site or the person who you want to reach. On their website’s About page, you more likely will find the name of the owner if the site’s named differently.

There’s usually a contact form on the site, but I prefer to send a direct email. My two favorite extensions for Google Chrome are Hunter and Ninja Outreach. Most of the time, you’ll find an email of the website owner, or closest assistant with them.

Fill out the data you know in the HubSpot form.

After you create the contact you will have all the data that you collect in one place. You can add any notes and activities there.

Let’s modify About section, to have all the main information about the person that you want to see right away.

Scroll down and click View All Properties.

The next page shows you all the properties and data that you have for the person.

To display the necessary information about the contact on the main page in the About section, choose Set default properties.

Then, pick the properties you want to see on the main page from the left column and drag and drop the order of the fields on the right side. Click Save.

When you have done that, click Back to contact record link at the top to go back to the contact page.

How to Add a New Podcast Interview Deal to the Contact

Now we finally will bring together everything we set up before. On the person’s main page scroll down to the Deal section and click Create deal.

Write the deal name as the name of the person and potential title of the interview.

Pick the Pipeline ‘Podcast Interview’. Then, the date when you reached the person for the first time.

Set the Deal stage to the current step of the outreach. In my case, it’s the Interview Requests.

I recommend filling this form right away, when you send a request to the person. There is no need to fill the rest of the fields if you don’t know them yet.

After you create the deal, you will see the deal page. At the top, there is the name of the person and the title and the stages of the interview. For now, it’s on the first stage Interview Requests.

How to customize a Deal page

Let’s customize the left menu of the Deal page. Go to the View all properties of About section.

On the opened page, click Set default properties.

From the left menu pick all properties that you want to see on the main page of the deal.

Remove all unnecessary properties left from the About section so you will have only next fields left.

Go back to the deal record. Now on the left side, you will see right away all the interview process details.

How to Work with a Deal page for the Podcast Interview Process

In the middle section, you will track all the information about the podcast interview process. Notes option is for the basic data related to the interview.

In the Email tab, you can connect your email service. I prefer to use Log activity for that. Pick how you contacted the person.

Here will be very helpful to set up the date when you sent the request and create a follow-up reminder. This is where HubSpot will take your assistant role. When you mark the checkbox, it will send you an email reminder to follow up on the tasks you note there.

There is often the question: how many times to follow up and how often? When I do any outreach I’m ready to send at least three emails. If I’m very interested in the guest, I’ll send more.

Someone said one day, “I’ll try to reach so many times till they say No.”

I would add to that also that No means only Not right now. Circumstances on his/her or your side can be changed and the person can say Yes another day. Even if you hear No, but still would like to have a project with the person you can try again in a few months or when you feel you can have a better chance.

This follow-up function is very helpful when the person tells you to reach out again in a few months.

I set the task to follow up in 5 business days.

Every time I send a follow up I create the new Log activity to track the process.

You can also manually create a task. Pick the date when you need it done and create a task to send you an email about it.

On the schedule tab, you can create a task Interview, set the date there and sync with Google Calendar.

All your activities for the deal will be listed below.

How to manage each step of the interview process

When you get to the next stage of the interview process mark it on your timeline. Click on the stage Interview Scheduled.

It will show you the pop-up message asking to pick the date of the interview (remember we set that in the Deal settings?).

There is another way to visually manage the stages. Go to the Deals tab.

Choose the Board style. Now you will see all the same stages where you can drag and drop the person’s card to any parts.

Follow Up Later stage is for those prospects that told you to follow up in a month or after a certain event. They may be busy with a conference or writing a book at the moment you reached out to them. Create the task for that person in his deal card that HubSpot sends you an email reminding you about that.

When you move the card between the stages there, it will also show you the pop-up messages for the previously set steps. For example, if you move it to the Scheduled for a Blog step you’ll be asked to pick the Publication date.

Track the Results of the Interview

After we created our Pipeline of the interview process in the beginning, we got two stages Closed Won and Closed Lost. When you move the deal card to any of those places type the result.

Track the reasons why your proposal got rejected.

To go back to the deal itself, just click on the title of the deal and you will see your information organized in one place.

Remember to change the status of the contact on her/his contact page every time you work on the deal with the prospect.

Conclusion

If you follow the steps I’ve outlined in this guide, the whole process of adding new contacts and following the podcast guest’s outreach process will be easy.

To make it even easier you can add your assistant as a team member to the system and delegate part or all the organizing work to then. Here are the instructions:

How to add users to your HubSpot account.

When you have more contacts, it will be easy to search for the information based on the properties we created in the beginning. Here is how to use HubSpot filters:

How to create saved filters

A Slew of New Features for Filtering in HubSpot

The last, but not least, here is how you can export any data from your database:

How do I export my contact, company, and deal records in the CRM?

Having all this information to manage podcast guests is an excellent start. You won’t get Elon Musk mixed up with Jeff Bezos, or vice versa. It definitely helps you avoid some mistakes, though not all. Our guide to Podcast Interviews: Everything You Need to Know can help you with recording, editing, producing, and most importantly, preparing the interview itself. For more intensive information about all aspects of podcasting, join us at Podcraft Academy. Our podcasting courses, resources and tools, and weekly live Q&A sessions can help you with any aspect of podcasting that keeps you awake at night. Join us!

Today’s method is for PC Only, and uses a piece of software from VB-Audio called Voicemeeter

What is Voicemeeter?

VB-Audio refers to Voicemeeter as a virtual mixing board.  And it is.  But it’s much more.  Voicemeter acts as a virtual audio cable, digital patch bay and really gives the user control over multiple audio cards by combining them into one interface.  In my own applications, I use Voicemeeter to control multiple monitors and microphones in three to four applications at once.

Which version do I need?

While you can do a lot more in terms of configuration using Voicemeeter Banana, for most configurations, the standard version of Voicemeeter work just fine and are simpler to use.  I’ll be using the Standard version for this tutorial.

Configuration

The Voicemeeter interface contains three sections and a robust options menu.  The Main Screen features two multi-channel hardware inputs (1 & 2), a multi-channel virtual input and a hardware out featuring two main outputs (A1 & A2) and a virtual main output (B)

Step 1: Hardware Out

In the Hardware Out section, click the arrow below the A1.  Select the appropriate audio card.  I’m using a Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 in this example.  If available, select the ASIO (this stands for Audio Stream Input/Output) version of your particular audio interface.

Step 2: Hardware Input 1

When using the ASIO driver, The first Hardware Input will automatically set to ASIO Input (1+2).  For WDM, KS and MME configurations, you will need to set your hardware input manually.  Simply click the arrow below the 1 in the Hardware Input section and select the same device driver selected in Hardware Out.  If you are using a separate hardware for your microphone, select the device that supports your microphone. Ensure virtual bus B is selected to send the microphone to the virtual mains.

Step 3: Virtual Input

Ensure virtual bus A is selected to send audio from the DAW and Skype to your monitors.

Step 4: Set Sample Rate

Click Menu > System Settings/Options. In the options window, set you preferred main sample rate to match whatever sample rate you intend to record in your DAW.  Typically, either 44100 or 48000 will do for most purposes. More information on podcast sample rates.

Step 5: Skype Audio Options

In Skype, navigate to your audio options menu. Set your microphone and speakers to the Voicemeeter virtual driver as shown in the image.

Step 6: DAW Audio Options

In your DAW, navigate to your audio options menu. Set your audio driver to the Voicemeeter virtual driver,  as shown in the image.  Use the ASIO drivers if they are available.

Local Recording

At this point you are configured to do local recording to your DAW while conversing via Skype.  This configuration will record your end only, and not the conversation from Skype.  This is ideal for voice actors who need to record only their own lines, and interviewees who only need to record their side of the conversation.

Step 7: Virtual Input [OPTIONAL]

In order to record the audio from Skype, simply enable Bus B in the Virtual Input Section to send the audio from Skype to the DAW for recording.  This will allow you to record a single mono containing both your Skype call and your voice.

Step 8: Record to Separate Tracks [OPTIONAL]

To record the audio from Skype on a separate track, pan the audio from the virtual input to the right. This will allow you to record a two separate mono tracks.  The first track, set to record Input 1, will record the microphone information.  The second track, set to record Input 2 will record the audio from Skype.

Note: Playback in this configuration will be completely panned to the right ear. Return pan to normal by double-clicking on the red dot for normal listening when recording is complete.

Take Aways

I have worked with a number of virtual audio cables and virtual mixers, including ASIO4ALL.  While there are more elegant solutions for recording interviews, if you are attempting to record an interview via Skype, Voicemeeter is the simplest solution I have come by.

Voicemeeter Banana opens your options up even more as it gives you multiple virtual inputs and outputs, eliminating the need for panning to record a separate track.  That comes, however, at the cost of a slightly more complicated and potentially confusing interface.

There are many more tools, apps, and ways to record your podcast online too though. It’s all about finding what works best for you, your co-hosts, and your guests.