Why Being a Podcast Guest Beats Traditional Marketing Tactics with Spencer Carpenter

Being a podcast guest is a unique opportunity to build rapport with a new audience and get publicity for your brand. But it only works if you put the listening audience first and provide value for them. Our guest will tell you more about it!

Meet Spencer Carpenter. Spencer is the Founder of Outlier Audio, a full-service podcast booking agency representing talented entrepreneurs, business professionals, and more. Before starting his own company, Spencer worked for over 15 years in the music industry on both sides of talent representation. But then COVID happened in 2020, and Spencer had to adjust. And that’s how the idea for Outlier Audio was born. He decided to pivot to the podcasting space and help struggling entrepreneurs make their name online through podcast appearances.

Spencer believes that podcasts are a great medium for building rapport and growing a business. That’s why he is passionately helping entrepreneurs get the most out of their guest appearances.

In this episode of the Think Business with Tyler podcast, we talk about what it takes to be a good podcast guest, finding your unique value proposition, why podcasts are a great way to find new audiences, and why it’s vital not to be salesy.

If you want to hear how you can make a great impact as a podcast guest, make sure you tune into this episode to find out what Spencer has to say.

Guest-At-A-Glance

💡 Name: Spencer Carpenter

💡 What he does: He’s the Founder of Outlier Audio.

💡 Noteworthy: Since 2020, Spencer has booked 800+ interviews that have garnered millions of listens for over 150 talented entrepreneurs, business professionals, and investors.

💡 Key Quote: “If you get paid to do anything, you know more about a subject than other people. And if you’re willing to give that information away for free, people are willing to listen, and it can really benefit them, and that’ll return itself to you in many ways down the road.”

💡 Where to find Spencer: LinkedIn

Key Insights

If you’re a subject expert, then you have what it takes to be a podcast guest. Despite what you may think, you don’t necessarily have to be the expert of all experts to be a guest on a podcast. You just need to have the knowledge and the passion for what you do. Then, all you need to do is send your pitches to the right people. Spencer explains, “If somebody pays you to do something that means you have knowledge in whatever that area is beyond the average person. If you’ve read three books on any given subject, you know more than like 90% of the population on that subject probably that’s never read any books. And so while I’m not necessarily suggesting someone that doesn’t know what they’re talking about go out and try and pitch themselves on subjects they’re not qualified for, anybody with a profession can go and be a subject matter expert on a podcast.”

Find your unique value proposition. When pitching to be a podcast guest, you should always start with your unique value proposition. So, take your time to do thorough podcast research before you make your move. Above all, make sure you understand how you can contribute to the listeners. Spencer says, “What I think any person really needs to focus on if they want to be on podcasts is, what is my unique value proposition? What is it I’m providing to the host that hasn’t already been covered? And so again, it’s not always a matter of having some brand new strategy, groundbreaking, knowledge in your industry. It’s just like, what can you do that hasn’t already been said on the host, or how can you repackage it?”

Podcasts are a great way to build rapport with your audience. Being a podcast guest is an ideal way to create genuine connections, not just with the host, but with your audience too. According to Spencer, this medium works well because it’s a no-pitch-scenario. He explains, “Interview is a no-pitch scenario. And so because it’s not disruptive marking, people are volunteering to come listen to the interview. They don’t have their guard up, and they’re just kind of listening, and the 25 to 45 minutes that people are spending on interviews is building rapport with the listener. And then, while the lead to you might have been but to them, it was really hot.”

Podcasts are effective for lead generation because they’re not salesy. When you’re a podcast guest, you get a unique chance to connect with your audience on a deeper level. In this scenario, they’re more open to hearing what you have to say because podcasts are not salesy. Spener explains, “That’s what’s special about this medium is that it’s not salesy, at least it’s not supposed to be, and I think people, especially someone that are used to jumping into sales is just remember that the no pitch scenario is what gets this growing. If a show has four people that are selling themselves on it, people are going to stop listening to that show. The reason shows are able to grow is because the listener isn’t feeling threatened by the guest. They’re just being able to gather that information, and if they’re able to gather that information, it’s a rapport building.”

Top Quotes

“I’ve done all these things in music as a way to support the talent and push them further. And it’s no different here. I’m just supporting a different type of talent.”

“I look at every new connection as an opportunity to fill in another client, but I also look at every client as an opportunity to make a new connection.”

“The results of podcasts are unquantifiable until they’re quantifiable. And what I mean by that is unless you set up a link or something that can be tracked within the podcast, you’re not going to know if a lead came unless they told you they heard you on the podcast.”

“This is not just an interview, this is a meeting we’re getting to know each other and build rapport, and it’s something that we can both utilize down the road.”

“If you’re running ads on Facebook, it’s disruptive. You need to get them on your website, you need to get them to convert you. Then, all these things. Whereas with the podcast, it’s all voluntary, and it’s rapport building.”

“This is just a one-on-one conversation with you and me. So there’s nothing to be nervous about you, even if you’re an introvert. You’re not speaking to a thousand people. You’re speaking to one, and just a thousand people are going to hear it.”

“This is not about the guest or the host. It’s about providing value to the listener.”

Links

Outlier Audio Website