Pitch a Podcast Interview
The Get-it-Done Guy podcast is owned by Macmillan publishing company as part of the Quick and Dirty Tips network. The episodes have tight editorial guidelines: they are 5-7 minutes, written in an expert voice from “the Get-it-Done Guy” (me), and must contain 1-3 actionable tips that listeners can use immediately. When you pitch a guest, please give a sample tip so I have some idea of how unique the guest’s content is, and how specific the tips are.
The way interviews work is that I will interview a guest and create a separate interview page for that guest. The Get-it-Done Guy episode itself may include audio taken from that interview, or it may contain tips from that interview, plus the Get-it-Done Guy explaining who originated the tips, and recommending that listeners download the full interview from a separate landing page. The landing page contains links to the full interview, the Get-it-Done Guy episode, books/products created by the guest, and anything else we both agree to put there.
The expectation is that we will both promote the separate landing page to our respective audiences.
Sample landing pages:
Sample tips
A tip has a specific action someone can take, coupled with a specific result that action will lead to. The action must be specific enough to be visualized.
The ability of a guest to offer unique, unusual, actionable tips will be one of my major deciding factors in booking a guest.
| Tip | Not a tip |
|---|---|
| If you put a marble statue of Michaelangelo’s David next to your desk, and everyone in your office will think you’re cultured and will adopt your ideas when you present them. | Show everyone you’re cultured to get them to take you seriously. How do you show you’re cultured? What does “take you seriously” actually mean? |
| Smile every time your boss uses a word beginning with the letter Q and they’ll give you a promotion and a new car. | Be nice to your boss. Nice, how? And what does being nice result in? |
| Use a bold font and drop shadows on your resume and you’ll get the interview every time. And sparkles. Lots of sparkles. | Format your resume nicely to get the job. The listener may have no idea what “nicely” means. |