How to Write a Podcast Guest Pitch That Gets Attention

As a budding designer, you may wonder how to get architectural clients. If you’ve taken some time to research online marketing for architects and interior designers, you might have seen that being a guest on a relevant podcast can be a great promotional tool and one that helps you build authority and visibility as well.

That may be true, but getting onto a podcast is a process in and of itself. You need to develop a pitch, and that pitch itself needs to stand out from the many others the podcast’s host is bound to receive. With that in mind, below is a detailed guide to researching podcasts, putting together a powerful pitch, and dreaming up topics that will resonate with a larger audience.

Making a One Sheet

Much like an infographic, a one sheet is a concise summary of the value you offer to a podcast host, and it is something you should attach to every pitch you send out! If a host skims your one sheet, they should be able to tell whether you’re a good fit for their podcast in seconds; if you need some inspiration, Pinterest has plenty of great examples.

How you put together your one sheet is up to you, but it should be artfully designed. If you’re wondering how to assemble your one sheet, Canva and other design applications make it quick and easy.

Regardless, your one sheet should include the following elements:

Your Name and Headshot

It might seem odd to include a headshot — podcast listeners don’t see you, after all — but people connect with faces, and if a host sees your picture, they’re more likely to see you as a real person, not just another pitch.

Your Bio

Keep your one sheet’s bio straight and to the point. You’ll want to include your achievements and qualifications, but you don’t need to include your whole life story. The goal is to include information that will appeal to your target audience.

As an extra tip, write your bio in the third person so the host can read it aloud to introduce you to the show.

Your Contact Info, Website, and Social Media Profiles

Including these details makes it easy for an interested host to contact you and makes it easier for them to do a little digging around to see if you’re a good fit. Make sure you include your email, your website, and links to all of your social profiles. If you use Calendly or a similar app to schedule your meetings, you can include a meeting link here as well.

Suggested Interview Questions

Suggested interview questions make it easier for hosts to see how you might fit in with their podcasts. If you know a given host has a focus on sustainability, for instance, you could include suggested questions that center around the intersection of sustainability and architecture. If the host does, in fact, accept you, they’ll probably appreciate the fact that you’ve given them a head start!

Suggested Topics

In a similar (albeit more general) vein, you can list several topics that you’re qualified to speak on. Just ensure that your suggested topics have at least some overlap with the focus of the podcast you’re pitching to.

Crafting Your Pitch

It may be tempting to draft a generic pitch you can send to everyone, but if you take the time to craft personalized pitches, you’ll probably see better results.

With that said, here’s what your pitches should include:

• A lead-in that indicates you’re familiar with the podcast
• A specific, meaningful request (something more than “I’d like to be a guest”)
• A mention of your credibility
• A sentence mentioning how you’ll share the episode

It’s easier to get the hang of drafting a pitch by looking at an example:

Writing and sending pitches can be nerve-racking, but it’s like riding a bike: The more you do it, the easier it gets!

How to Research and Approach Podcasters

If you’re already an avid podcast listener, you might already have an idea of who you want to pitch to, but even if you aren’t, you can easily get started by checking out Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Both platforms let you search by category so you can find and narrow down your potential options.

That said, don’t just pick a design-related podcast and make your pitch; make sure you listen to enough of it to get a feel for the topics covered and the general tone of the show. Once you’ve chosen some promising ones, find the host’s contact information, and then send your pitch, and don’t forget to attach your one sheet, too!

Choosing Topics That Resonate

Picking the right topic when you’re a podcast guest is a balancing act, but more specifically, any topic you choose needs to fit these criteria:

• It’s an area where you have experience and a unique perspective
• It fits with the general focus of the podcast
• It’s something the podcast’s listener base will care about

For example, suppose that you want to be a guest on an interior design podcast. The podcast is focused on upscale boutique designs, and the listener base is mostly wealthy, middle-aged homeowners. If you want to pitch to the show, you wouldn’t want to include “designing your space on a shoestring budget.” For most of the audience, money is no object, so they wouldn’t find the topic useful or interesting.

Take your time here: If all you have to offer are generic, low-effort topics, the host may think you’re too unoriginal to have on the show. At the same time, if you send topics without researching the podcast first, you might send something that’s completely at odds with the podcast itself, which can offend the host to the point where they might not be willing to work with you in the future.

Promoting the Episode

If you land the guest spot, it’s a good idea to tell the host that you’ll promote the episode you’re set to appear on. Your audience will benefit from your expertise, and they also might find a new favorite podcast. At the same time, the host will appreciate the extra exposure, and it might make them more willing to work with you in the future.

Furthermore, if you’ve been wondering how to get interior design clients, making sure the podcast reaches as many people as possible is a good way to do it. Spread the news of your podcast episode far and wide, linking to it via social media posts and on your website, and make sure you lead in with an enticing introduction.

You also might consider creating a blog post that includes a transcript of the podcast. Some of your audience members might prefer reading over listening, and it’s possible you’ll garner website traffic if you include a transcript, as people searching for you, the host, or the podcast topic itself might find your site.

Need Help With Marketing?

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If you’ve been running your own architecture marketing campaign on top of running your business, you’ve probably found that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with both. We understand the specifics of marketing for architects and designers, so we can come up with campaigns that really get you results. Get in touch with us today to see what we can do for you!