How to Find the Best Podcasts to Help Grow Your Business

You don’t have to spend more than a few bucks to get started with guest podcasting for your business, but it does take an investment of time. The quality of the shows you appear on has a direct bearing on the return you see on that investment.

If you’re using podcasts to build your brand, the last thing you want is to get booked on a bunch of shows that you never should have appeared on to begin with.

So how can you recognize the good shows from the bad shows, before you get booked? And what can you do to make sure you only appear on ideal podcasts that will benefit your business and help you to grow your brand?

Ask these five critical questions before agreeing to be a guest on any podcast.

1) Do they have the right audience?

This is the most important question you can ask about a podcast. If you aren’t getting in front of the right people, nothing else will matter. Everything else about the podcast could be dead-center bull’s eye, 100 percent ideal — your efforts will still flop, because your audience isn’t there to hear you.

Notice: we aren’t asking how large the audience is, but who the audience is. Dig into listener metrics and make sure the show’s audience fits your ideal client profile (ICP). Here are some key stats to look for:

- Location. What countries or regions tune into the show? If you only do business in North America, don’t go on a podcast that draws its largest audience from India.
- Professions. Are you targeting entrepreneurs? Consultants? Sales professionals? Make sure the shows you’re considering are drawing those demographics.

Interests. Even if a podcast is drawing the right profession, listeners may have completely different pain points from the ones you want to address. Find out the kinds of topics that the show’s audience is interested in.

Other demographics. Depending on your business, you may also need to target listeners of a particular age, gender, education level, relationship status, or household income. If those are relevant to you, be sure to dig into those numbers as well. Don’t simply assume a show is for middle-aged women or early-career men.

You may have other audience insights that are relevant to your podcasting goals, but this list will get you 90 percent there.

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2) Do their brand and values align with ours?

Do your best to get onto podcasts that have a similar set of values and priorities to your own. This is important for a couple of reasons. First, you’ll have a much more positive podcasting experience. Your conversation with the host will be astronomically more dynamic and interesting, which makes for an exponentially better listening experience. If you’re in doubt, listen to Terry Gross’s Fresh Air interview with Gene Simmons of KISS.

Second, the podcast’s audience will share the same values as the podcast host. So if the host’s values align with yours, then you’ll be able to immediately connect with their audience as well. Like attracts like, both in dating and in business. Buyers like to do business with companies that share their values.

Does that mean you shouldn’t go on podcasts that aren’t tightly aligned with your values? There may be justification for going on those shows, but I recommend prioritizing the shows that align.

3) Is there a topic fit?

Even if the podcast audience fits your ideal customer profile and the podcast host is a great fit for you, the show itself may not be the best option for you. Read the show description and check the most recent episodes. Would the topics you want to talk about fit nicely among the show’s topics, or would they feel out of place?

Often a podcast will do a deep dive into a specific theme over several episodes, and then explore some other theme. So keep that in mind as you review recent episodes.

4) What are their episode metrics?

I’ve included this toward the bottom of the list for a reason. You don’t need a large audience to see great results from guest podcasting. If the stuff at the top of this list isn’t right, then it doesn’t matter how huge the podcast audience is — you won’t get the results you’re hoping for.

On the other hand, a small but niche audience that fits your ICP like a glove? That can be absolute gold. That kind of listenership is infinitely more valuable than a huge audience that’s kind of a fit for you.

You can go fishing in a huge lake that’s stocked full of carp, or you can go fishing in a pond with nothing but a small school of trout. Which would you choose?

That said, audience metrics still matter. It’s worth paying attention to these numbers as you’re choosing the podcasts you want to appear on:

- Listens per episode. This isn’t the most important metric, but if you have the choice of two equally ideal podcasts, pick the one with the largest audience.
- Social Reach. This gives you a feel for the brand amplification you can get from a podcast’s promotion of your episode. Like most of these metrics, it won’t give you a complete picture, but it will give you something to compare against other podcasts.

Reviews and ratings. Positive reviews and high rankings tell you something about the overall quality and popularity of the show. It goes without saying (but I’m saying it anyway) that you want to get onto the shows that have high scores in this area.

Frequency. Podcasts that publish every week will usually have a higher listenership and greater engagement than less frequent ones. And it’s a potential indicator of momentum and longevity — if they can maintain frequent episodes, they’re serious about podcasting and they have a system that’s working.
Episode downloads. I don’t really like using downloads as a metric, because they don’t show the whole picture. There will always be a percentage of listeners who don’t download episodes, and the percentage will vary depending on the podcast show, the genre, and the type of audience that the podcast has. But, if listens aren’t available, downloads are the next best thing as a general gauge.

5) Is the host a professional?

Meaning, does the host act like a professional? Most podcasters do a discovery call, or an exploratory call, before formally agreeing to host a guest. They want to check out the guest and see if they pass certain minimum requirements. For example:

Do they have something of value to offer the audience?
Can they hold a conversation, or will they only give one-word responses?
Do they only talk about themselves?
Are they just interested in selling?
Are they interesting?
Is there a good rapport between the host and the guest?

This is also your chance to vet the host. Just because someone has a podcast, that doesn’t mean they’re good at it. Use the discovery process to make sure the host has their act together and will make your guesting experience worthwhile. Ask:

Does the host come across as a professional, in general?
Are they organized, with a well-running process?
Do they seem to know what they’re doing and what they’re looking for?
Is there rapport between us? Do I like talking to this person?
Do they ask good questions?
Are they genuinely interested in me and my story?
Do they seem proficient with podcasting in general?
Are there any red flags or do I have any misgivings?

Also listen to a few of their podcasts and ask yourself:

How does the host treat their guests?
Is the conversation structured? Does the host ask good questions?
What’s the quality of the recording?

Trust your gut on this. If you aren’t comfortable with the host, it will come across in the podcast itself, and you won’t get the return on it that you’re hoping for.

How Can You Find All That Podcast Information?

Okay, so how do you actually do the research to get all of that information? After all, it’s not like you can just go to the podcast’s website and find audience and episode data posted there. Probably.

Thankfully, you can get almost all the information you need by using one of several podcast intelligence platforms available. The one I use is Rephonic, and I’m very happy with it. Rephonic is an affordable podcast research tool that gives you all of the information I’ve mentioned in this article (except vetting the host). Starting at just $99 per month, you can get a wealth of insight into nearly any public podcast in existence.

Alternatively, you can do a chunk of the work by going to the podcast and poking around. Read the show description, check out 10 or 12 of the most recent episode descriptions, and listen to a couple of episodes. You can even go to their social media pages and view their audience sizes. This will take a lot longer, but it can be done.

Make Podcast Vetting a Smoother Process

If you’re guest podcasting to grow your business, you’re investing in a marketing channel that can pay off really well. But it is an investment, and it takes work on the front end to make sure you’re appearing on the right podcasts that will give you the best possible ROI.

To make the process a bit smoother, I’ve created a handy podcast checklist to guide you through the podcast vetting activities.

Download the checklist and see if your current target podcasts pass the test!