Why podcast guest cross-promotion as a growth strategy is a fairytale
episode
Podmastery: podcasting insights and advice for indie creators
9 min
1 speaker
7 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Why do podcast guests rarely share or promote the episodes they appear on?
I know. We want your podcast. We'll never share your podcast. No chance we'll share your podcast so fucking
Alright, let me save you some time with your next guest episode. Because your podcast guest is not gonna share your episode. I'm gonna tell you that right now. They're not gonna post any clips, they're not gonna tag you back on social media, and they're absolutely not gonna write their own caption on your content. You're gonna have to do all of that yourself for an episode that, if we're being completely honest, honest probably benefits them more than it benefits you. Don't worry, I'll say more.
Don't share your podcast Yeah. We'll never share your podcast. No chance we'll share your podcast.
What does Dominic’s experience reveal about the guest‑sharing problem?
So
So f So
Welcome along to Podmastery Podcasting Insights, the podcast for indie creators that helps you get more from your podcasting efforts on your journey towards attaining Podmastery. The idea that having guests on a podcast episode is a growth strategy is one of the most enduring myths in podcasting. I mean, the pitch sounds almost elegant. Interview someone with an audience, they then share the episode, their followers discover you, everyone wins. Simple, logical, and almost entirely fictional. Let's start with the sharing problem, because this is where most people fall down first. Got a case in point on this. Last week I got a voicemail on my other podcast, B2B. B2B Podcasting Insights from Listener Dominic.
He runs a B2B podcast up in Norwich.
Hi Neil. Quick question every time I have a guest on.
How does the incentive structure of podcast guests create a broken cross‑promotion model?
I share the episode everywhere I can. But they never seemed to return the favour. I've tried sending them the link. I've tried tagging them on LinkedIn. I've sent a follow up message with the clip ready to go. And none of it works, it all feels a bit one sided. Is there something that I should be doing differently or is this just how guests are? Cheers, Dominic.
Dominic's doing everything right on paper. Every time he has a guest on, he shares the episode absolutely everywhere. He sends them the link, he tags them on LinkedIn and Facebook and X and all the other places. He even puts together a clip that highlights them and sends it over to them ready to post. He doesn't even feature in those clips himself. And guess what? He gets absolutely nothing for those efforts.
Why does a guest’s audience often not translate into new listeners for the host?
The guest literally ghosts him, ignores him, pretends he doesn't exist. Now Dominic wants to know if he's doing something wrong, and that's what he asked on the episode last week. You can go and listen to it for yourself. Podnos.co.uk forward slash B2BPI. It's the latest episode on there. But the TLDR of all this is that I said to Dominic, Dominic buddy, it's not you. But it's also not really them. It's the problem with the very incentive structure, which is broken by design. Think about it from the guests' perspective. Now they showed up to do the recording, they did that with you, and it went fine. And they've got their own content to post, their own newsletter to write, their own algorithm to manage.
And so your episode that went fine is just one more item added onto their content. Content marketing to-do list, and is the one item that they think benefits you significantly more than it benefits them. So the clip Dominic sent to his guest requires a little bit of effort to repost, even though it highlights them, makes them look like some kind of social media god, at least from Dominic's point of view. As for the tag on social media, now they have to engage or they look
When does cross‑promotion actually work between a host and a guest?
The follow-up message that Dominic has been sending, now they feel a bit guilty. He's essentially sent them homework unpaid with an implied deadline. And people do not tend to rush to complete unpaid homework with implied deadlines. Funny that, and if you call them out on it, they tend to feel a bit ashamed. But here's the deeper problem, and this is the one that none of the podcast gurus ever talk about or acknowledge. Because it's an inconvenient truth. Even when a guest does share, who are you, as the host, actually reaching? Their audience. It's people who already follow them, who already have a podcast queue that looks a bit like a Netflix watch list that they're never going to get through anyway.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
Why do podcast guests rarely share or promote the episodes they appear on?
0:00–1:30
2
What does Dominic’s experience reveal about the guest‑sharing problem?
1:30–2:54
3
How does the incentive structure of podcast guests create a broken cross‑promotion model?
2:54–3:50
4
Why does a guest’s audience often not translate into new listeners for the host?
3:50–5:10
5
When does cross‑promotion actually work between a host and a guest?
5:10–6:25
6
What should podcasters focus on instead of expecting guests to share episodes?
6:25–7:43
7
How can indie podcasters improve episode content to attract listeners without relying on guest promotion?
7:43–9:35
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Podmastery: podcasting insights and advice for indie creators
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