Why Podcast Guests Don’t ShareTheir Episodes
So – guests not sharing.
It’s frustrating. I get it.
You put a lot of research and effort into hosting an interesting and well-researched interview, turning that into a well-produced episode, promoting your show as a whole and even providing interesting and attractive swipe materials for them to use. (If you’re not doing any of the above, that’s your first step.)
So why isn’t anyone sharing?
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There are a lot of reasons, some you can control, and some you can’t. Let’s start with what you CAN control.
You can do real research, prepare thoroughly for your conversation, ask original and unique questions that haven’t been done absolutely to death, and generally help create something that is interesting, fresh and compelling with them.
You can make sure you provide lots of good quality, engaging and interesting swipe content like emails, graphics, videos, and social media copy.
You can tag them in posts, on social media platforms, so it’s easy to click to share.
You absolutely MUST do really good post-production so they sound like a million bucks, and mention to them specifically what you think is interesting and insightful about their interview.
You can also send personal messages in advance of and on launch day, and after release share any positive feedback you got with them.
We’ve also seen some interesting evidence (to be totally honest, it’s anecdata rather than hard science, but we’re becoming convinced it’s the case!) that people who are RARELY or NEVER on podcasts share a LOT more than people who do podcast interviews all the time – it’s exciting for them and they want to tell everyone!
You can and should do all of those things to encourage sharing – and really make a great impression on your guest, which is powerful for network building, but even when you do it all PERFECTLY – you’re still not always going to get the shares you want.
Because you can’t control what is happening on other people’s promotional calendars, and what someone decides is interesting and valuable for their own audience.
Woah, woah, woah, you may be saying right now. My content is interesting and fresh! I’m not a boring, boilerplate interviewer who just runs down the same list of questions they’ve been asked a zillion times!
Are you sure about that?
Really. Are you sure?
Here’s the thing. An expert is an expert for a reason. They TALK about their area of expertise. A lot. They might blog, or have a newsletter, or books, or their own podcast, or a YouTube channel, or a webinar series or literally any one (or more. Probably more.) of dozens of ways they communicate their message to their own audience. Why on earth would they share an interview that talks about the same things they’ve been publicly saying for YEARS already, to an audience that has heard it dozens of times, probably in formats or with an angle that is more aligned with their interests?
And to the point of their promotional calendar – experts and other entrepreneurs often have their calendars booked out months in advance for what they’re going to be sharing, talking about and promoting. A podcast interview they do for someone else’s show, geared towards a different kind of audience isn’t always going to make the cut.
It’s not personal, it’s priorities.
It’s important to keep having guests on your podcast in perspective.
What’s new and interesting to *your* audience could well be old news to *theirs*, so it makes no sense for them to share it, especially if they’re in the middle of a launch, or some other kind of promotion and it makes no sense to be upset about it. You got a great conversation with someone you can build a relationship with that you can deliver to the audience you are growing and nurturing. That’s amazing.
Expecting someone to give freely of their time to help you create content and THEN promote that content to people who may or may not be interested… that’s a bit much, ESPECIALLY if the expert you’re interviewing is further along in their business than you are, or who has an established audience that has certain expectations. It isn’t so much that there’s a hierarchy – but to be completely honest: sometimes you’re doing someone a favor by having them on your show. Sometimes it’s a totally equal exchange, and sometimes they’re doing YOU a favor. Moderate your expectations accordingly.
Having guests isn’t a marketing strategy. It’s a content generation strategy. (Sometimes it’s also a lead generation or networking strategy.) Do your research and hone your interview technique to make the most compelling audio possible. Produce to the highest level you can. Make it as easy as possible for people to share, by tagging them, by giving them swipe, and by letting them know when they’re live. But after that, let it go.
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