

1. Invite guests with recent or upcoming publications

When an author releases a new book, or a band puts out a new album, their publicists will try to land them interviews to get their new project as much publicity as possible. These are typically with newspapers, tv shows, or radio stations, but more are looking to podcasts to spread the word.

You can see how podcasts like Freakonomics and Song Exploder use this strategy by skimming through their archives. Nearly all of their guests recently launched a new project and this provides something great to talk about.

If you don’t have publicists pitching your guests, you can reach out to people who just published a new book or album and ask them to be on your show. Chances are they are interested in the publicity and have already set aside time to promote their new book or album.

One of the best places to start is Amazon.

On Amazon you can head to Books and filter by Coming Soon and your podcast’s category. In this example, I’m filtering by travel in an attempt to spot some authors who might come on my fictional travel podcast. Once you’ve found a handful of authors you’d be interested in interviewing you can start emailing them to see if they’d be interested in your podcast.

The best part about this tactic is that there is a clear benefit to the person you're interviewing—they get in front of your audience to talk about they just released. While you, and your podcast listeners, get access to an expert in your field who is excited to be interviewed.

2. Cross-promote with other content creators

If there are already a handful of podcasts in your niche, shows that serve the same target audience, there are probably lots of other people creating similar types of content on other platforms. You can create valuable partnerships with the host of YouTube channels or popular blogs.

Let’s say you partner with a popular blogger who writes about European travel—the same topic as your podcast. By inviting her onto your podcast you’ll be gaining access to their blog readers who would probably love your podcast, while they will get access to your podcast listeners.

The best way to find popular blogs in your space is with a standard Google search. Start as specific as possible, and then broaden as necessary. From there you can read some of their posts and invite them onto your podcast.

Once you’ve found a few blogs, you should head over to the second largest search engine, YouTube. Search for your specific niche, then filter by Channel and relevance. Using my European Travel podcast idea, there are a handful of promising prospects right at the top.

Bonus Tip: This strategy works for other podcast hosts as well. Be guests on each others' podcasts to introduce yourself to a group of people you know would be interested in your content.

3. Meet potential guests in real life

Two of the themes throughout this list are to (1) provide real value to your guests, and (2) make a genuine connection with them. The best way to do this is to meet people in person—you can connect with them and better understand how you can provide real value to them before you make your pitch.

If you’re already plugged in with lots of the influencers in your space, then it will be easy for you to find ways to work together. But if you have a new podcast, or haven’t connected with many people yet, there are at least two ways you can start connecting with potential guests in real life: conferences and meetups.

Conferences

Conferences provide a lot of value because they bring people together who share a lot of the same goals and interests. You’ll have the chance to meet tons of other content creators and leaders in your space. Start by searching Google for “[your podcast topic] conference.”

There are lots of new podcasts on meditation and mindfulness, so in this example I’m searching for conferences to attend if I had a mindfulness podcast. Looks like a ton of great leads.

Bonus Tip: Ask a conference organizer to be a guest on your podcast. They often are looking for additional publicity for their conference and have contact information right on their conference websites. Plus, most of the largest conferences have a large social media presence that can help share your episode when it airs.

Meetups

If you don’t have the time or money to travel for a conference, consider searching for local Meetups in your area. The best place to start is at Meetup.com where you can find something related to your podcast.

Be sure to take business cards with your podcast name on them to share at the Meetup. Just be sure to talk to people before you give them your business card. Nobody likes being given a card before they’ve even shaken your hand. If you meet somebody that would be a great interview, invite them onto your podcast.

4. Connect with guests in online communities

Another way to find great guests is in online communities. These are both great sources for potential guests and new listeners. Two places to start are Facebook groups and Reddit.

Facebook Groups

You can find great Facebook groups by heading to Facebook search, and then filtering by Groups. This will allow you to search for a variety of search terms to find a group that matches your interest.

In this example, I’m trying to find a good Facebook Group for a Jacksonville Jaguars podcast. There are quite a few active groups that each have thousands of members. These will be great places to meet potential guests and promote your podcast.

Subreddits

Reddit is one of the best places for online communities on the web. You can find groups dedicated to every sports team, hobby, and even a great community of podcasters.

Reddit doesn’t have the best search capability, so start by searching in Google for “[your topic] reddit sub.” You should find at least a few great communities discussing your topic.

Start by signing up for a free account and joining the conversation before you start promoting your podcast. Reddit communities are notoriously skeptical of people just using the message boards to push their own products or services.

Once you’ve been on the board for a while, start by asking if any of the frequent posters would like to join your podcast. They can talk about something they are really interested in, while you get a really knowledgeable guest.

After you publish your episode, post a link on the subreddit you joined and thank the user who was a guest on your show.

5. Reach out via email or social media

Once you’ve built a list of potential guests you found via conferences, message boards, and Amazon, it’s time to start contacting them. The best thing to do is to start a spreadsheet with their name, email address, social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.), and where you found them.

Finding and Sending an Email

If you don’t already know their email, use this great post from Moz on how to find anybody's email address. Once you’ve built your email list into a spreadsheet, you need to start drafting emails asking them to be a guest on your podcast.

How to best ask for a podcast interview via email is a huge topic deserving of its own post. Podcast Motor has some tips on how to ask a guest for an interview, and this Medium post outlines how to get a busy person to respond to your email.