5 Ways To Ruin A Podcast Pitch

Are You Making These Costly Mistakes?

I’ve pitched 163 shows and landed 70 of them (so far).

That’s a 42.94% pitch-to-booking rate.

Compare that to the average 15% that is the industry average for cold pitch-to-booking rates, I’m doing pretty good.

And before I forget to mention it, over 25 of these interviews were on top ranked global shows.

So I might know a thing or two about pitching…

Which is why I’m about to tell you exactly how to do the exact opposite of what I did, and instead tell you how to absolutely ruin a podcast pitch.

Why?

“It’s remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.” — Charlie Munger

Because as Charlie puts it (just in different terms), you will get further by avoiding the common pitfalls that other people have made and continue to make.

This is called inversion thinking.

Inversion thinking is a mental approach where instead of focusing solely on how to achieve a desired outcome, one considers the opposite perspective by looking at what could potentially prevent the desired outcome or cause the undesired outcome.

It’s like playing devil’s advocate with oneself to see if the plan has any flaws or if there are any potential roadblocks that could impede success.

By examining the potential obstacles, one can then work backwards and create a plan of action that addresses those challenges or avoids them altogether and improves the chances of achieving the desired outcome.

So if I can make it painfully obvious on what will screw up your chances of landing a show, you’ll then be able to create a better approach, one that works.

So with that said, let’s get to it.

1. Start The Pitch With “Hello, My Name Is...”

As someone who has gotten many pitches myself for my shows, I can confidently assure you that you will get rejected with this approach:

“Hey Adrian, my name is John Rudolf and I’m a peak performance coach with over 15 years experience working with top level athletes.

I think I would be a great fit for your show because ____.”

Of course I changed the name, but this is the exact word-for-word intro to a pitch I received to be on my old show, Human Being Unleashed.

And so many others use this exact intro to a pitch. Everytime I see this I immediately close the email and delete it.

Why? Because I don’t care about you.

I don’t mean that in a “savage” way, I mean that in a “this is the way the world works” way. When I am reading something my subconscious thought is, “How is this going to make my life better?”

And it’s the same for everybody else.

Nobody cares about you, especially in marketing, (and pitching is marketing), so don’t start the pitch talking about yourself.

Instead, open the pitch talking about them.

Think about it like this:

The average attention span is eight seconds when reading or watching a video, so you have eight seconds to win.

My goal is to open the pitch with the first few lines that get me another eight seconds, and then I use those to win me another, and another.

An easy way to catch people’s attention and keep it for a few seconds is to say their name.

It’s their favorite word, and once you mention it they will be more engaged with the pitch.

Your goal is connect here, not boast about yourself.

2. Make Your Pitch Longer Than 250–300 Words

Another thing I can tell you from talking to hundreds of other podcasts host, is that NOBODY wants to read an essay when reviewing your pitch.

No matter how amazing you are, not many podcast host will give you the time of day, even if they have a small show.

The reason I say this is because there are tons of softwares that help podcast hosts find guests, so they receive more than enough pitches, which makes it harder to stand out.

The shorter and more to the point you can be, the better.

My personal pitching strategy is simple.

I send a short email (usually 100–110 words) and use that email to get them to take one action: click the link to a video, which is my real pitch.

I have very high conversions because of my video and what I say in it.

I share my exact scripts and email templates inside of my course here, but if you’re going to take anything from here let it be this:

Video pitches win more. Always.

Use your email to get them to click a video, and keep the video less than 3 minutes.

3. Send A Copy & Pasted Pitch

Want to quickly destroy your chances of getting booked?

Then follow this process:

• Write up a pitch
• Copy that pitch
• Paste that pitch
• Blast it out to many different shows

It’s that easy.

The quickest way to not get booked is by not being personalized at all and instead coming off like spam.

Here’s an email I got the other day, you can just smell the copy and paste.

“Dear Adrian,

I hope this email finds you well. My name is Jen, and I am reaching out to you because I think I could make a great guest on your show. I am an expert in energy healing, and I have 5 years of experience in working with entrepreneurs to create business breakthroughs.

I believe that my unique perspective and insights would be valuable to your listeners, and I would love the opportunity to share my knowledge with them.

I have attached a brief bio and a list of potential topics that I could discuss on your show. Please let me know if you are interested in having me as a guest, and I would be happy to provide any additional information that you may need.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,
Jen”

Look at that.

She didn’t even mention the name of my podcast or refer to any episodes.

Clearly, Jen hasn’t taken the time to get to know me.

You want to be on my show? Don’t be like Jen.

4. Make A Mistake And Don’t Own Up To It

This is an interesting one. But one time I was making my weekly pitches, and I accidentally forgot to change the “Dear [Name]” part.

I still had the name from the last pitch.

Now I know I just said don’t copy and paste your pitches, but I don’t send the same pitch to everybody.

The email copy is different, I adjust the parts where I mention their name, business name, their particular offer, their niche customer and the specific topic and angle I want to take for their show.

There are times when I accidentally forget the name, and during those times I immediately own up to it.

Believe it or not, this “owning up to it” has gotten me booked.

This one host told me that my follow up email which read,

“Oops, I meant to say Debra.

Clearly you’re not a dude name Greg, and clearly I haven’t had my coffee today. Sorry for that rookie mistake.

I look forward to your response.

-Adrian”

She said that it made me seem more human and made her laugh, so she felt even more inclined to write back.

So if you end up making a mistake in your pitch, which can happen, then immediately own up to it.

A tip I couldn’t ignore.

5. Be Annoying With Follow Up

There has been times that I came around to an old pitch that I thought would be good for my show, but when I looked at the trail of messages they sent me I was completely turned off.

I mean the follow ups were annoying, not personal and way too frequent.

Hint: If somebody doesn’t reply, don’t send an email a week for 12 weeks straight saying things like “Just checking in” or “Bumping this up”

This is annoying and will change someones perspective about you, and not in the best of ways. This doesn’t mean don’t follow up, I actually recommend it.

But don’t do it too frequently and don’t be a creep. I send two follow ups, one 5 days apart, and another 10 days apart and if they don’t respond then I leave it at that.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, if you’re looking to pitch your podcast to hosts successfully, you need to avoid certain common mistakes that could sabotage your efforts.

One mental approach that works well is inversion thinking. By examining the potential obstacles that could prevent you from achieving your desired outcome, you can create a plan of action that addresses those challenges or avoids them altogether.

Three significant mistakes to avoid include starting your pitch with “Hello, my name is,” making your pitch longer than 250–300 words, and sending a copy-pasted pitch.

Instead, focus on talking about the host and their audience, keep your pitch short and to the point, and personalize your outreach to increase your chances of success.

Remember that the competition is fierce, and your pitch needs to stand out in a crowded market. With this list, you’ll be well on your way to crafting the perfect pitch and landing a spot on your dream podcast.

And if you want to see the three step framework I use to get booked on more than 10 podcasts a month (without paying for PR) then click here.