Forget Guest Posting. Here’s Why Guest Podcasting is King.

You’ve probably heard the benefits of guest posting so many times you could rattle them off right now.

Guest posting can bring you increased exposure.

It can help build backlinks.

You can gain new trust with your audience.

Your content will reach a new group of individuals.

The list goes on and on.

But guest posting isn’t always the best way to expand your reach or improve your authority.

While it’s a powerful tool, sometimes it just misses the mark.

If you already have a solid blog strategy, guest blogging will only diversify your reach so much.

You’re creating new content, but it’s still just more of the same.

To truly expand your reach, you want to dip into new content forms – such as podcasting.

Appearing as a guest on another individual’s podcast can bring serious benefits to your marketing.

Let’s take a look at a few reasons why you should consider bringing guest podcasting into your content marketing mix.

1. You’ll reach an entirely new, engaged audience

One of the biggest reasons marketers choose to create a guest blogging strategy is to expand their audience and reach new potential customers.

You can get your name, insights, and information in front of an audience loyal to the site you’re posting on.

However, when creating guest blog posts, you’re still only targeting one group of people – those who like blog posts.

Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys reading.

To reach them, you need to create new forms of content.

Appearing as a guest on a podcast not only puts you in front of a loyal group of followers, it also opens the door on a whole new set of individuals who prefer to listen to their content.

About 4 in 10 Americans are tuning into podcasts.

This growing industry may be occurring for a number of reasons.

First, more and more users are turning to smart speakers for entertainment.

In fact, 30% of smart speaker owners said that they are using their speaker to replace time with their TV.

This tells us that more individuals are tuning into audio content in place of visual.

Customers are also more likely to come back to podcasts on their own.

In traditional blogging and web content, it isn’t likely that a customer will come back to your site to check on new content without some prompting.

However, many podcasts listeners are likely to tune in when they know a new show is available.

Some podcasts have even developed a cult-like following.

Take a look at the My Favorite Murder podcast, for example.

Their Facebook page alone has gained almost 200,000 likes.

On this page, listeners can discuss episodes, ideas, and share links for more information.

When guesting on a podcast with this kind of audience, the conversation doesn’t end when the show is over.

Associating your name with a podcast that is well loved within its community can also dramatically improve your brand’s awareness and credibility.

The benefits are similar to when you guest post.

First, your host will typically talk about your appearance on their social platforms.

While doing pre-show marketing, this can build some anticipation on who you are and what you’ll have to talk about.

Here’s an example from Pod Save America.

This update does a couple of things.

First, because this is a live recording of one of their podcasts, Pod Save America is using their guest as a marketing tool to sell more tickets.

However, alerting followers who maybe aren’t in the Las Vegas area of who the show’s guest is can get people excited.

Anyone interested in hearing what Jacky Rosen has to say can tune in.

You may even be able to get your host to share some of your content to help their listeners better understand why they should tune in.

Once the show airs, your host may continue to promote the recording through their social media.

If they have a unique account just for their podcast, this can increase your exposure.

Here’s an example from the podcast Live Over Exist and its host Alisha Nicole.

The Live Over Exist account has just a few hundred followers, meaning that one post could only reach so far.

But Alisha’s account has over 8,400 followers – dramatically increasing the number of individuals the content gets in front of.

While the posts are exactly the same, they’re going out to two potentially different audiences.

This gives you even more brand exposure, helping to improve your awareness.

As they continue to push their audience back to this post, they will associate your name, content, and brand with the show.

Being featured on a podcast can also help increase your backlinks.

Podcasts are typically located in a number of places.

First, the host may have their own unique website for their podcast. This is one place where you can secure a backlink.

Check out how Think Creative Collective displays their “Strategy Hour” podcast guests.

Not only does their guest Katie get a link to her website, but she also has an image, bio, and links to her social accounts.

Second, your host may feature their podcast on other streaming sites, such as Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

This may be able to secure you a backlink.

Guesting on a podcast at the right time can also help you sell books, promote a product, or even talk about a podcast or webinar of your own.

However, you should always discuss this with the host beforehand.

In most cases, they’ll want to help you out.

But you don’t want to go on their show and turn it into a sales pitch.

Instead, you can find ways to work with your host to ensure your messaging sounds natural and timely – while still making it clear you have something to sell.

2. You can improve trust, credibility, and relationships

Getting a guest post slot is great – especially if it’s on a high-traffic website.

But guest posting isn’t that exciting for your audience.

While you may be thrilled to be featured on a new website, your audience, business partners, or competition may not see it as that big of a deal.

This is because uploading a blog post to a website is pretty low risk.

Website owners can upload as many guest posts as they want.

But when it comes to podcasting, there’s much more competition to get featured.

Whether you’re coming on to talk about your brand or you’re providing an expert opinion, there was something in you that made the host want to have you on their show.

This kind of reaffirmation can improve trust and credibility with your audience – and give you something to brag about on your website.

Becoming a guest on a podcast can also help humanize you.

If you’re not used to appearing in videos or other audio forms of content, it can be challenging for your customers to put a name or face to your company.

Here are a few tips from Cracker Jack Marketing to keep in mind when trying to humanize your brand.

Just talking about your brand – rather than writing about it – can help your audience become more familiar with who you are.

As they get to know your personality, they can create stronger connections with you.

This can improve their relationship with your brand, potentially turning them into long-term customers.

Becoming a guest on a podcast can also create a stronger relationship with your host.

Unlike guest blogging, being a guest on a podcast forces you to have an actual conversation with your host.

While you might exchange a few emails with your guest post host, they don’t really get to know you.

Guest podcasting, on the other hand, encourages an in-depth dialogue that might last anywhere from 30 minutes to even an hour and a half.

In fact, the average podcast length is a little over 40 minutes.

This can allow you to establish a business relationship with your host.

You can open up new doors for future guest posting or podcasting opportunities, or even collaborate on bigger partnerships together, like a webinar or course.

3. You only need to put in minimal effort

When you’re a guest on a podcast, all you need to do is show up.

Sure, you’ll need to put a bit of planning into what you’re going to say or talk about, but you don’t need to worry about marketing, promotion, or listeners.

That’s all left to the host.

To make things even easier, you and your host will probably discuss what you’ll cover during your show time.

Your host might even tell you their questions early on or ask if you have any points you’d like to cover.

This allows you to come fully prepared, making your appearance a breeze.

When you’re a podcast guest, you also don’t need to worry about purchasing podcast equipment like microphones or editing software.

You’re also not responsible for hosting or production fees – which can become seriously expensive.

This is how Jeff Large at Come Alive Creative breaks down podcast expenses:

• $100 – $300/hour for consultation and training
• $10-50/month for membership sites
• $500 – $1000/month for weekly episode editing
• $1/minute for transcriptions

This brings the total to between $1200 and $4000 per month just to run your podcast.

And this is before any kind of marketing!

While there are some ways you can create a podcast on a budget, cutting corners may end up hurting you in the end.

But when you’re a guest, you don’t need to worry about these costs.

You just have to show up or call in for your segment.

Compared to a blog post, podcasting is a great way to get your name out there when you don’t have a lot of time to invest.

Writing blog posts or creating videos and infographics take a lot of time, editing, designing, and researching.

The commitment is even greater if you’re not naturally quick at producing those items.

However, with a podcast, you’re just there to talk.

Better yet, you’re there to talk about things you’re already an expert in.

You don’t need to worry about learning something new or teaching your audience how to do something.

Instead, you’re there to give your opinion and share your own thoughts.

Take this example of guest Nanine Nyman McCool sharing her experience on a podcast.

Nanine isn’t showing up on the Pantsuit Nation podcast to teach listeners something new or to try and persuade them one way or another.

Instead, she was featured as a guest to talk about a video and experience she captured at an event.

This allows for minimal preparation before appearing.

You’re also splitting your time with the host and their regular schedule.

While it will depend on the structure of the show you appear on, you may actually only be on-air for a few minutes.

Still, you can gain all the benefits of guest podcasting – from the promotion to the backlinks.

It will also be the host’s job to ensure the show is up to standards with their listeners.

You want to be a great guest and provide valuable insights, but the host isn’t likely to cut your entire segment if they don’t believe it is valuable.

Unfortunately, if you deliver a guest blog post they don’t like, they may shoot you away.

Appearing as a guest on a podcast is great for the entrepreneur always on the go looking to expand their reach or audience.

4. You’ll have loads of great, high-quality content at the end of your show

The podcast itself is a great form of content.

But podcasts are still a growing industry.

In fact, only 9% of respondents said they wanted to see more podcast content in the future.

But this doesn’t mean podcasting is a waste of time.

As we covered before, more and more individuals are becoming familiar with podcasting.

In fact, that number is projected to continue to climb in the next few years – increasing to 112 million by 2021.

But a podcast can become much more than a podcast.

You can also make so much more out of your appearance – even if you were only on air for a few moments.

Once a show is done, your host will typically want to share the content with their audience.

This most commonly is done in the form of podcast replays online.

However, they may also share a transcript of the video for individuals who would rather read or skim the contents.

Here’s an example of a full podcast transcript from ProBlogger.

Podcast listeners can either follow along or skim through to see if the information is relevant to them – similar to a blog post.

They may even choose to write a blog post related to the topics you talked about.

Others may share overviews of your conversation with timestamps.

Check out how Jason Calacanis, host of “This Week in Startups” does this on his personal blog.

Rather than just giving away all the content in a blog post or transcript, Jason points out key moments throughout the podcast that listeners can refer to.

This brings the attention back to the podcast while still appealing to individuals who may not want to listen to the entire show.

This is also a great way to pull quotes that you can then share on social or your website.

Some podcast hosts will even turn their podcast shows into YouTube videos, making it more accessible and easier to share online.

The Femtrepreneur Show takes live recordings of their podcasts to share as YouTube videos.

Participants can then share this video right on their social platforms, getting more engagement and attracting new audiences.

Going back to our graph of most desired content in the future, videos was number one.

By turning your podcast into a video, you can knock out two forms of content in one go.

Any kind of content your host creates can provide you with great materials for sharing on your own website or social platform.

Adding each of these pieces into your marketing mix can allow you to promote content without needing to actually create it yourself.

But you don’t have to be limited to only the content they’re creating.

If you find that your host is missing some content opportunities, you shouldn’t hesitate to reach out and see if you can produce something new.

When creating your own content, think of how you might want to present the conversation you’ve had.

This might be in the form of quotes on social media or a list of takeaways on your blog.

You can also dive a bit deeper to create a video or infographic about the topics you’ve covered.

When you’re pulling information directly from the podcast conversation, you can produce a high-quality, shareable piece of content without needing to do too much additional research.

You can also get your content shared with your host and their various social platforms – again, expanding your reach and helping you get in front of new audience members.

5. Your listeners are more likely to stay engaged until the end

With blog posts, infographics, or even videos, we frequently see that customers are leaving the content before they reach the end.

They skim – and they can miss out on some major points when they do this.

Not only that, but it can hurt your chances of making a strong first impression.

If a visitor only skims through the headers of your blog post, they’re not learning enough about you to stay engaged.

They’ll forget about you as soon as they leave the page.

But when it comes to podcasts, this isn’t exactly true.

In fact, 86% of podcast listeners make it to the end or almost to the end of each podcast episode.

Let’s think about why podcast listeners might be more likely to finish a podcast than a traditional reader.

First, podcasters are typically multitasking.

From this same study, we see that podcast listeners are mostly tuning in while at home or in the car.

Whether they’re driving to work or they’re cleaning the house, this additional action means they’re engaged in something else as they’re listening.

They’re busy, so they don’t have time to scroll.

This isn’t true when they’re online.

If they’re browsing the web, scrolling through their social media, or checking their inbox, there is always another piece of content waiting for them to finish.

This kind of anxiety might push them on to the next thing.

The inability to skim may also keep them on the podcast for the entire time.

Podcasts are similar to a movie where blog posts are like a book.

In a book, if you want to know what happens, you can flip to the last page and see how it ends.

A movie, however, is much more complicated.

Movie watchers – and podcast listeners – need to stick around to see how things pan out.

Sure, they may skip around and fast-forward here and there, but without any textual clues to know where they are in the program, it’s much more complicated.

When you have your audience engaged for the entire duration of the program, you can get deeper into your ideas.

This can improve your authority and help you prove to listeners that you know what you’re talking about.

Conclusion

Sure, guest posting should still be an important part of your marketing strategy.

But if you’re only focusing on how you can use blog posts to expand your audience, there are only so many new customers you can attract.

By expanding your reach into the world of podcasting, you can reach new individuals and dip into a new form of content.

Interviewing on another’s podcast is an easy, cheap, and effective way to expand your audience and generate new leads.

So, why aren’t you doing it?

How has guest podcasting helped you improve your marketing?

About the Author: Neil Patel is the cofounder of Neil Patel Digital.

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