Are you thinking you might like to be a podcast guest someday? Maybe you’ve been a podcast guest and you’re thinking, Hey, I want more of that. Or maybe you’re looking for alternative ways to market your business, but you’re not set on starting your own show. Today’s episode is for you. Actually, it’s for you even if you do have your own show. Because let me just tell you, I’ve been a podcast guest many times and it’s always been a super great way to connect not only with the host more, but also connect with an audience outside of yours. It is such a privilege and it is also such a great way to market your business.
I would love to tell you how I found Dustin and invited him on this podcast, but it actually comes up in this interview because it is part of his podcast guesting strategy. So for me, it was just super fun to watch his strategy in action and the way it was so natural (and yup, it works!).
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Table of Contents
Who is Dustin Riechmann?
Dustin Riechmann is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of 7-Figure Leap. He specializes in helping mission-driven experts build 7-figure brands by telling their story. And a big part of how we do that is through podcast guesting.
Do you want to start by telling the story of how we connected and I invited you to be a podcast guest?
I was on a different podcast called Digital Marketing Therapy with a really cool host named Sami. One of the things we do after being on a show is systematize the process, often with the help of a virtual assistant. When I’m on a show that feels like a great fit, we look at the guest list to identify people we should connect with—whether as a client, a referral partner, or someone with a platform like their own podcast.
That’s exactly how we met! I connected with you on LinkedIn and sent a request saying, “Hey Kara, you were on Sami’s podcast, and so was I. It’d be awesome if we connected.” Your immediate response was, “I just checked out what you do, and I think it’d be super useful for my audience. Would you like to be on my show?”
And here we are. It’s a bit meta, but that’s exactly how we met.
Can You Share the 5 P’s of Profitable Podcast Guesting?
Absolutely! So first off, what do I mean by podcast guesting? A lot of people hear “podcasting” and immediately think they need to start or host their own podcast. And while that’s great, it’s not the only option. For example, I have my own podcast, 7-Figure Leap, but I only launched it this year—after three years of exclusively being a podcast guest.
Podcast guesting is essentially being a guest on someone else’s show as an expert, sharing what you love to teach. Through that, a portion of their audience might want to learn more about you, engage with your services, or explore what you offer. That’s what podcast guesting is all about.
The way we help entrepreneurs succeed with this is through our 5 P Framework.
- Purpose: This is the most crucial step, and it’s often overlooked. It’s about answering, “Why do I want to be a podcast guest in the first place?” What’s your purpose? Are you trying to achieve specific business goals, build relationships, or hit certain KPIs? Defining your purpose sets the foundation.
- Plan: Once you know your purpose, the next step is planning—identifying the shows you want to be on. This means finding the podcasts that align with your message and would be a great connection to their audience.
- Pitch: The third step is pitching yourself to those shows. This can take many forms, as Kara and I already touched on earlier. Often, it’s a direct message to the host, saying, “Here’s how I can serve your audience. I’d love to share, teach, and provide value.” The pitch is essentially your ask to be on their show.
- Perform: Once you’re invited, it’s about showing up and delivering as a guest. This includes being prepared, introducing yourself effectively, sharing engaging stories, and presenting a strong call to action. Being a great guest ensures the experience is impactful for both the host and their audience.
- Profit: This is what sets us apart from others in the podcasting space. Our focus is on helping entrepreneurs use podcast guesting to drive real results: generating leads, increasing sales, and boosting revenue. Profit is all about leveraging these opportunities to grow your business.
By following these five steps, you can turn podcast guesting into a powerful strategy for reaching your goals.
There’s a lot of pressure to do more in the online space. But being a podcast guest is actually a great opportunity, wouldn’t you agree?
Yeah, intention’s the right word. I always say, I’ve had the chance to speak on some stages, and what’s been fun about that is when I come off the stage, there are usually two types of people who come up to me.
The first group is like what Kara just described: “I’ve done some podcast guesting. I haven’t really been super intentional about it—it’s not a strategy or a system—but I get clients every time I do it. It’s really good, and it’s also fun. Can you help me turn this into a system?”
Then there’s the second group: “I’m really good at getting on shows. I’ve been on a hundred of them. It’s fun—I’m a natural at it.” And I’ll say, “That’s awesome. What business results have you gotten?” And they’ll say, “Oh, I haven’t gotten any clients.”
That’s the dichotomy we often see. In both cases, something in their Five Ps—one or more steps—isn’t quite right, and that’s where we help them fix it.
To your point, Kara, just being intentional makes such a difference. You don’t actually need to be on a lot of shows if you’re on the right shows with the right message.
What are the first steps someone should take if they are thinking about making podcast guesting an intentional marketing strategy?
Yeah, this will depend, of course, on someone’s experience, but I think one of the common issues that comes up is something you alluded to—imposter syndrome or the “Am I ready for this?” mentality.
A lot of times, when we work with people who haven’t done many interviews, there’s a fear factor, even for those who regularly speak on stages and aren’t necessarily shy. I’m very introverted myself, but this happens even with extroverts. Doing an interview feels different because there’s a lack of control. It’s a conversation, and someone is going to ask you questions. The thought of, “What if they ask me something I don’t know how to answer?” can be really intimidating.
If that’s what someone is fearful of, I always recommend starting with really easy shows. Maybe a friend has a podcast, or maybe there’s a show that isn’t exactly in your market but is looking for guests. There are plenty of shows actively seeking guests. Just get in some practice and get used to being in the “hot seat” and answering questions.
If even that feels intimidating or you don’t know where to start, just do a mock interview with a friend. Ask them to play the role of a host, and you can be yourself, answering their questions. That live practice—getting behind a microphone and imagining a future audience—can help overcome stage fright.
It’s kind of ironic, but I’ve worked with both beginners and highly established thought leaders. Some of these people write books, speak on stages, and are big names in their industries. Yet even they sometimes hesitate. I’ll tell them, “Send that pitch in. You’ve got a great story.” And they’ll say, “I can’t. What if they say no?” I remind them, “That’s the whole point—getting the chance.” Then they’ll say, “But what if they say yes? Then I have to be interviewed, and what if I mess up?” My response is always, “Let’s practice. Let’s do a mock interview.”
We help them prepare so they can approach it with confidence and deliver a strong interview, no matter their level of experience.
Do you think it’s easier to get guest opportunities when you have a podcast?
I’ll answer this a little differently. Ideally, the ultimate entrepreneurial marketing strategy would be to have both—a podcast of your own and guest appearances. However, I think most people default to the idea that they have to start their own podcast, which is where we started this conversation. While starting your own podcast has its benefits, it’s a big commitment. It requires consistency and an investment of time, money, and energy.
Being a guest, on the other hand, is much easier. In fact, I’m pretty passionate about the idea that you should be a guest first. Here’s why: guesting helps you clarify your messaging, figure out what people actually want to hear from you, and refine the hooks in your story. Once you’ve done that and have clarity about the topics you love to discuss, then you can start your own podcast. At that point, you’ll be ready to stay in your zone of genius.
Guesting offers plenty of benefits—like generating leads, building authority, and connecting with audiences—and it also sets you up for success if you eventually decide to launch your own podcast. The data shows that most podcasts never make it past 10 episodes. This phenomenon, often called “pod fade,” happens because while starting a podcast sounds exciting at first, people quickly realize it’s a lot of work. You have to consistently show up, deliver solo content or organize guests, and keep up with production demands. It’s a big lift.
That said, once you have a podcast, it can open up even more guesting opportunities. Being part of the podcasting community helps you build relationships, which can lead to more invitations. But it’s important to know that you don’t need to host your own podcast to be a successful guest.
For example, I spent three years guesting on around 80 different podcasts for two brands, growing both to seven figures, without having a podcast of my own. Only after that did I launch my own podcast as the next step in my journey. Guesting was the foundation—it was never about starting with a podcast of my own.
How do you prepare to be a guest and give value? And then, what do you do afterward to make the most of the opportunity?
First, the art of preparing for an interview is being thoughtful about what you’re offering to the audience. You want to serve in a way that makes the audience happy, makes the host look good, and aligns with your own brand. For example, you invited me on because I had a specific topic—profitable podcast guesting—that you knew would resonate with your listeners. So, in essence, my preparation for this interview started with being clear about what I love to teach and talk about.
For anyone out there thinking about this, clarity is the first step. If you’re a Pinterest expert, for example, and want to talk about that, you need to be clear about what you’re teaching and how it connects to your main service or framework.
More tactically, once someone invites you on their show, preparation looks a bit different. If you’re new or feeling nervous, I recommend listening to three full episodes to really get a sense of the host’s style. Look them up on LinkedIn or other platforms to get to know them better.
If you’re doing this more regularly, though, you can streamline your prep. I usually listen to the two most recent episodes—one of which should be an interview—and focus on the first five minutes and the last five minutes. This gives you insight into how the host introduces guests and what their closing format is like. For example, do they always ask a specific question at the end, like your favorite business book? You don’t want surprises. Listening to these segments usually gives you all the preparation you need without taking too much time.
You’ll also want to prepare stories to share during the interview and have a clear call to action ready. Those are the basics of being prepared.
After the Interview
Follow-up is just as important. When Sami, our mutual connection, sent me the link to my published interview, that triggered our standard operating procedure for follow-up. Here’s what I do:
- Leave a Review: I immediately go to the podcast platform on my phone and leave a five-star review with a short comment. Something simple, like, “Sami is an incredible host. I really enjoyed our conversation and was honored to be a guest.” Almost no one takes the time to leave reviews, so this really makes an impression and helps the host.
- Share on Social Media: As long as I feel like I did a good job, I share the interview on my main social channel, which for me is LinkedIn. I write a post about my experience and include a link to the episode.
- Send a Thank-You Note: I send a personal thank-you message to the host. For example, “Sami, thank you so much for having me on your show. I really enjoyed talking about [specific topic]. I’ve left a five-star review and shared the episode on LinkedIn. It was truly an honor to be a guest.”
Doing these three simple things puts you in the top 5%, maybe even the top 1%, of podcast guests. It helps the host remember you in a positive light. When someone asks them for guest recommendations, they’re likely to say, “Oh, Dustin was great—he followed up, shared the episode, and left a review.”
Of course, delivering value during the interview is essential—that’s table stakes. But going the extra mile with thoughtful follow-up can really set you apart and strengthen the relationship with the host.
An advanced tip for podcast guesting
That’s really the minimum. But in our program, we often go more advanced with this kind of strategy. Here’s an advanced tip: after you’ve done about 10 interviews, one or two of them are likely to stand out. You’ll think, “Wow, I really resonated with that host,” or “I feel like I should be their client—or they should be mine.” You might even get feedback from their audience, like emails saying how much value they got from the interview.
When you find that kind of resonance, it’s worth following up with the host to explore further opportunities. For example, you could say, “Hey Kara, since our episode went live, I’ve had three people reach out to ask about our services. It seems like it really resonated. Is there a way we can collaborate further?”
This could lead to things like hosting a workshop together, doing a live training for their audience, or finding other ways to deepen the connection. It’s about going deeper with the top hosts—not necessarily the hosts with the biggest audience, but the ones where you and their audience really clicked. Those relationships often yield the best long-term value.
I want to backtrack a little bit to when you were talking about the pitch. How many topics do you think someone should have in their arsenal? Do you think they should have one thing or a few options?
Yeah, it probably depends on the stage of business you’re at. For most people, I recommend having one go-to topic and then tailoring it to fit the audience of each show. When we talk about pitching, the way you promote yourself to a host should come across very differently from the generic cold pitches we all see. You know the ones: “Hey, [First Name],” with mismatched fonts and awkward phrasing, followed by, “Can I be on your show?” Those don’t work.
The approach we teach is much more thoughtful and engaging. It starts with genuinely taking an interest in the show and the host. If I’m sending an email pitch, for example, I’ll begin by flattering the host in a legitimate way—mentioning something valuable I found in an episode I listened to or something specific I admire about their work. Sometimes you can shortcut this process, like how you and I connected on LinkedIn, but generally, you want to build a warm and genuine introduction.
In the middle of the message, you include how you can add value to their audience. I like to present this in three or four bullet points. Each one is unique but focuses on the same overarching topic. For me, that’s podcast guesting. My bullets might be about how to get three new clients a month with podcast guesting or how to achieve an 80% acceptance rate when pitching podcasts. They’re all about podcast guesting but highlight different, curiosity-inducing aspects that make the host think, “Oh, I’d love to hear more about that.”
The beauty of this approach is that the bullet points are copywritten and carefully crafted, but they can also be reused. If I’m pitching 10 shows in the same market, I’ll use the same set of bullets but personalize the introduction for each host to ensure it feels warm and genuine. At the end of the email, I close with a clear call to action, like, “Are you interested in having me on your show?”
As you become more advanced, you might find that people start asking you about other topics, or the conversation naturally shifts to new areas. It’s fine to explore those over time. But when you’re starting out, you’ll have more success if you focus on one primary topic you want to be known for. For me, it’s podcast guesting—that’s my main topic.
That said, the way I deliver that topic is through a mastermind experience. Sometimes, I’ll be asked—or I’ll pitch myself—to speak on something adjacent, like how to run a great mastermind and why it’s essential for business success. So, while you’re not tied to a single topic forever, starting with one clear focus is key. It’s how you establish yourself and make a strong impression.
Can you share a little bit about how you optimized your profile so that when you reached out to me on Linkedin, it made it so easy to invite you on as a podcast guest?
On my LinkedIn, the very first thing under my name says “Profitable Podcast Guesting.” Here’s a quick tip: whenever you comment on LinkedIn, the first part of your headline—just a short excerpt—shows up with your comment. I’m not sure exactly what the character limit is, but that first line is really valuable real estate.
As Kara said, she was able to see that portion of my headline immediately, maybe even in the direct message I sent. She saw “Profitable Podcast Guesting” and thought, “Oh, I get what he does.” That clarity made an impression. It’s far more effective than just listing something vague like “Seven Figure Leap” or the name of my brand.
How do you measure the ROI of podcast guesting?
Yeah, so there’s definitely a short and long tail to this, to use a marketing term. When the podcast gets published, you should have a call to action. Typically, that’s going to be something like, “Come get my lead magnet,” or “Join my email list,” or whatever free thing you’re offering to give additional value to the audience.
If you’re really into the details and want to go deep—especially for bigger shows—you could create a custom page for each one so you always know where your leads are coming from. I don’t personally do that—it feels like overkill. I rely more on people saying, “Hey, I heard you on Kara’s show, and I’m reaching out for a call,” or whatever the case may be.
Attribution is always tough. Did they hear me on the podcast, see me on LinkedIn, or meet me at a conference? It’s probably all of the above. Which one actually made them decide to become a client? It’s hard to measure. But you can get a sense of this just by paying attention and always asking.
The first thing I ask when I get on a call is, “How did you hear about me?” And they’ll say something like, “I think I heard you on this one show, then I started following you on LinkedIn and joined your email newsletter.” So it’s usually a multi-step path. But there’s an immediate return of getting people on your email list, and that’s often where the sales process starts.
There’s also the long tail, or long-term value, that comes from this. The beautiful thing about podcasting is that as long as the podcast stays published, it’s like YouTube—it lives on indefinitely. People can search for your name or your topic and find you years later. Someone might find my episode on Kara’s podcast in 2024, but they could still listen to it in 2026 and get value from it.
Another benefit is backlinks. In the show notes—whether it’s on Apple, Spotify, or the host’s website—there’s likely a link to my website, SevenFigureLeap.com. For anyone who knows SEO, that’s a strong, legitimate backlink, which helps build authority over time and makes you more discoverable.
I could probably do an entire episode about creating a marketing flywheel, but in short, there are three main benefits:
- Immediate Leads: People who join your email list or reach out soon after the episode goes live.
- Long-Tail Leads: People who discover you later through searchable content or show notes.
- Relationships: This is the most valuable part. Relationships with the host and their audience often lead to referrals, collaborations, or new opportunities. For instance, I met Kara through Sammy’s podcast, and that connection has led to many others.
I always say that podcast guesting is like running a Facebook ad. You’ll get immediate results, but you’re also playing the lottery in a way. Every so often, one key relationship or opportunity will pop up and completely change your business trajectory. Every time you’re on a podcast, you’re building a relationship with the host and, ideally, with their listeners too. And you never know which one of those is going to be a “unicorn” that makes a huge difference. I’ve had a lot of those kinds of experiences over the past few years.
Especially as a B2B service provider, it really doesn’t take much to get an ROI, does it?
And if you set up a system the way we do, it can make the process so much easier. I won’t get into all the details, but when people work with us, by the end of our 90-day program, they’re not only experts in podcast guesting with their story and call to action dialed in, but they also have a virtual assistant handling all the legwork.
When you think about the ROI equation, there are two sides: the return and the investment. With this system, your time investment is minimal. It really just comes down to showing up for the interviews and doing the light prep work we discussed earlier. Once everything is dialed in, it doesn’t take a lot of effort on your part. You’re essentially just talking about what you love, which is something you’re already an expert in.
If you have help on the logistical side—someone to manage the research, pitching, and scheduling—this becomes an incredibly high-ROI activity because you’re not investing much of your own time.
For everyone that’s feeling so inspired to make this one of their goals for the next year, what are some of the biggest mistakes to avoid or biggest tips that you have as they go to make the most of the opportunity of podcast guesting?
I’d say the biggest mistakes people make with podcast guesting—and I’ve touched on this earlier—start with not doing it systematically. To be successful in marketing, including podcast guesting, you need to approach it consistently. Sure, you can dabble and test it out, but if you’re serious about it, set a clear goal. For example, commit to doing one podcast appearance a week for at least 90 days. That gives you three months of consistent effort to measure how it’s working. Over time, you’ll get much better at it, and it’ll become easier and more natural.
Consistency is key. A big mistake people make is doing one or two interviews, not following up, and then not even checking if the episodes were published. That’s a waste of time. But if you’re consistent, you can see great results—almost guaranteed—as long as you’re also doing it the right way.
That leads to my second point: doing it the right way means doing it intentionally. Have a strategy. Go back to that first P: purpose. Understand your business goals, identify your ideal client, and get clear on the transformation you provide. Know what stories you want to tell and what lessons you want to teach. If you need help, invest in coaching or join a group to get clarity on these points.
Intentionality and consistency might not sound like the most exciting advice, but they’re often the reasons people fail at podcast guesting—or marketing in general. The same mistakes people make in guesting apply to podcast hosting, too. Many people quit because they lack a system or a clear plan.
If you adopt the mindset of committing to a minimum effort over a set period, and you’re willing to invest in whatever education, coaching, or resources you need to do it well, you’ll succeed. But it’s not a free lunch. It does take effort.
How can listeners connect with you to learn more?
So, 7FigureLeap.com is our home base. You can book a call there if you want to get some insight into how this could work for you.
If you’re already familiar with this world and want to dive deeper, we have a free resource here that includes many of the tools we provide to our clients, such as pitch templates, a calculator to estimate how much revenue you could generate, and case studies showcasing people who’ve gone through our Five P process for profitable podcast guesting.
So, if you’re thinking, “I’m more than just curious—I want to dig in and learn how to do this myself,” 7FigureLeap.com/playbook is the place to start.
LINKS MENTIONED
- Learn more about Dustin at 7FigureLeap.com
- Follow Dustin on Linkedin
- Get Dustin’s FREE Podcast Profits Playbook
- Learn more about working with our marketing agency here
- Follow me on Instagram
