You’re a podcast host with a goal of getting your show in front of more listeners, so you know that growing your show means creating an outreach plan.
You’re confident you’ve got an engaging show, but you’re feeling stuck about who you should contact and what to say.
Luckily, we’ve simplified the process with three effective cold outreach email tips that you can keep using.
Plus, you’ll get three bonus tips to help you get ready before sending your first outreach message.
Before starting your outreach campaign
Before you start reaching out to people, it’s essential you take care of the following:
1. Copyright your podcast
It may feel tempting to promote your podcast from the get-go, but protecting your intellectual property is crucial to keeping your show up and running.
That’s why it’s vital to copyright your podcast show before starting a cold outreach campaign.
It’s also important to make sure that your podcast doesn’t infringe on the copyrights of any other content you use or reference in your show. Be sure to do your due diligence. Guarantee your content and sources are 100% authentic.
✨ Here’s a resource to help you navigate copyright registration for your podcast.
2. Know what types of pitches you want to send
Start by making a list of relevant topics and write a short blurb under each, summarizing what every theme would cover and why. Use these topics when reaching out to potential podcast interviewees and collaborators.
For instance, if your podcast focuses on music, would you like to feature more indie music artists on your show? If so, what kinds of topics and themes would you like to cover with them? Would you talk about newly released albums, the stories behind their lyrics, or something else?
✨ Get tips for finding the right podcasts and effectively pitching yourself as a guest here.
3. Make a list of potential brands, partners, and affiliates to reach out to
Now that you’ve got a list of themes and topics to cover, it’s time to make a list of brands, partners, and affiliates you’d like to reach out to.
The types of people you reach out to will depend on your podcast’s goals and niche. For instance, if you’d like to boost your gourmet salsa’s product sales, you might reach out to chefs that specialize in Latin cooking, restaurant owners, and grocery store product managers.
Here are some examples of other brands, partners, and affiliates you might reach out to:
Ecommerce brands
As Millennials shift to online shopping and online product reviews, podcast shows have become a trusted source of reviews and information.
As a podcast host, you might find success reaching out to ecommerce brands and offering to feature any products they have that are relevant to your niche and audience.
Thought leaders
Looking to inspire, motivate, and uplift your audience? Featuring authors, speakers, bloggers, influencers, and other thought leaders on the show may be just the boost your audience needs.
Industry leaders
Do you know of new startups making their marks? Are show-stopping industry leaders paving new paths to success? They could be great interviewees to feature on your show.
Now that you have the right tools to start your outreach campaign, let’s take a look at three expert tips you can use to boost your campaign’s success:
📧 Email high-quality leads
Outreach campaigns need high-quality leads to thrive.
Have you ever gotten an email that made you think, “why on Earth would someone send me this?” That kind of reaction only happens when someone sends an email to a poor lead.
On the flip side, have you ever gotten an email that had you continuously nodding your head in agreement, smiling from ear to ear, or interested in knowing more? That’s the mark of an email sent to a high-quality lead.
In other words, successful cold email outreach campaigns depend on high-quality leads.
To help distinguish between poor leads and quality leads, we recommend creating a checklist you can reference when you’re prospecting.
For instance, if you host a podcast about all things marketing, then your checklist might look like this:
High-quality Lead Checklist for Marketing Podcast Show
The brand or recipient you email needs to meet the following criteria:
- Be well-versed in marketing
- Own an ethically and socially responsible business
- Have an audience of 30,000 members or higher
- Offer an affiliate marketing program
- Offer products and/or services that are on-brand with our podcast show
🎬 Use a video to enhance your message
While strong written communication is pivotal to effective outreach campaigns, sometimes recipients need visual aids to capture their interest.
Depending on your niche, you may be able to get by with gifs, screenshots, graphics, or image collages to draw your recipient in. Some recipients will need a little extra sparkle to hook them in.
You can use a free tool like Loom to personalize your outreach message and showcase your winning personality!
Check out the video below on how to use Loom for your outreach campaigns:
If you have the budget, another option would be to hire a branded video production team to create a custom video about what you do that you can include in your message.
When shooting your video, keep it short and sweet by focusing on the seven W’s:
- Who you are
- What you do
- Why you do it
- Why you want the recipient involved
- What value exchange you and your recipient bring to the table
- What you want your recipient to do
- Where and how your recipient needs to show up to do what they need to do
✏️ Use customizable scripts
We can’t say enough about the power of customizable scripts. Customizable scripts aren’t just lifesavers when you’re feeling stuck about what to say. They’re also an effective way to streamline your communication approach. In other words, scripts help you save precious time, energy, and stress.
When creating scripts, focus on the lessons you’ve learned from your own trial-and-error outreach efforts in the past. Make sure to also weave in most of the seven W’s and any other value adds the recipient would appreciate.
Below are some examples for inspiration:
📣 Pitch: We’d like to feature your product
“Hey Sara, I’m Monique, an Author’s Coach from BookWorx Media. I help authors get laser-focused so they can go from pen to published in six months. I also host a podcast show where I feature best-selling authors like yourself. I’m reaching out because I’d love to feature your latest book on our show next month. In return for allowing us to feature your book, we’d like to send a purchase link to over 50,000 subscribers on our email list, encouraging them to buy a copy of your book. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please let me know which day and time you’re free to discuss details.”
Summary: We love your product + We’d like to feature your product on our show + This is what you’ll get in return.
📣 Pitch: We’d like to review your product
“Hi Mike, I’m Brenda from SkinClass Inc. We recently fell in love with your latest line of anti-aging products, and we’d like to review them on our podcast show. We have more than 100,000 listeners tune in to our skincare show each week. Our reviews are pretty straightforward. We start with a box reveal, then go over product features, cover a few pros and cons, and finally, explain how to use the products effectively. Is this something you’d be interested in?”
Summary: We’re interested in your product + This is why we’re interested in your product + This is how we’ll review your product.
📣 Pitch: We’d like you to share your expertise on our show
“Hi Brene,
Your latest Ted Talk on bravery moved us, and we’d like to hear more.
We’re Wright’s Content House, a media collective committed to producing life-changing thought leadership and personal development content. We’re picturing a fireside chat where we can start with a few questions and then hand you the mic for the rest of the show.
To get a better idea of what we’re imagining, our content manager has attached a mock outline to this email to get a better idea of what we’re imagining. If you’re on board, please email our coordinator Brandy to get set up. Her email address is right below.
Thanks so much,
Sarah.”
Summary: We’d like you to share your expertise + This is why + This is how we imagine you doing it + This is what you’ll get in return.
🎁 Wrapping it up
Congratulations! You now have everything you need to start successful cold email outreach campaigns.
Still feeling nervous? Check out these related resources on the RSS.com blog:
