Cold Emailing

3 tips to get featured on podcasts and reach more leads (+3 templates)

lemlist team
LAST UPDATED
July 29, 2024
READING TIME
7 min.

Over 50% of marketers use podcasts to reach their target audience.

Just imagine how many podcasts and listeners are out there, waiting to hear all about you.

Building podcast email templates and working on a solid podcast pitch will help you get featured on many popular shows.

Benefits of getting featured on podcasts

Podcasts represent a content channel that has the wind in its sails. Investing time in getting featured is a smart strategy for your business, but also for your personal brand.

Being a guest on a podcast will allow you to:

  • Raise awareness of your brand
  • Put your business under the spotlight
  • Connect with people and grow your network
  • Attract talented people to consider joining your team
  • Position as an expert in your industry

Podcasts can bring traffic to your website and a nice backlink as well.

Being connected with reputable websites within your industry is always a good idea.

Btw, if you want to know more, check out this in-depth article on how to get backlinks.

Ultimately, the main idea behind being featured is to grab attention and take advantage of the audience that other podcasts have captured.

Of course, you need to be able to bring value in return too.

It's known that podcast hosts are always looking for great guests, but you have to be interesting for their audience. And if you have strong distribution channels to help them promote their podcast... that sounds like a solid win-win deal to me.

Let's now see the process of how to create podcast email templates that bring results.

How to pitch a podcast

Now that we've seen the importance of joining a podcast, let's see how to proceed and pitch a podcast.

1. Build your list to be a guest on a podcast

First things first, keep in mind that relevance is key.

You should aim to contact relevant podcast hosts that have exposure to your target audience. It's always quality, never quantity.

Get featured on both big and small shows, because they both represent brand awareness, as long as the targeting is done accordingly.

Assess the relevant podcasts by simply typing "your industry + podcasts" on Google search.

You can also go directly on platforms such as iTunes or Spotify.

Enter your keywords in the search bar and check out the results.

Or, you can also use Listen Notes. This is a podcast search engine that will suggest podcasts according to specific keywords you enter.

Once you have a solid list, start to gather information.

Begin with classic info such as first names of hosts, names of podcasts, email addresses, etc.

Btw, we’ll leave you with the easiest ways to find someone's email address.

And then the true research and qualification begin. Understand their listeners, listen to some episodes, and spot important insights you can leverage in your cold email templates.

With this information, it's going to be much easier to come up with icebreakers and identify common ground with the host.

In any case, remember that it takes time to build REAL relationships.

Best outreach practitioners don't become the best when they send a campaign, but in the steps they spend preparing it.

2. Create the perfect podcast pitch

In order to make your pitch valuable, focus on building a relationship based on value first. You don’t want to go in blatantly asking for a favor without giving something in return.

We’ll leave you with some tips to follow to craft the perfect pitch.

Create a catchy subject line for your podcast email

The goal is to make people open and read your email. So you want to stand out and set the right expectations.

For example, avoid going for "Guillaume Moubeche on {{podcastName}}". Because, if your hosts don't know this name, they'll put your email in the bin.

Typically, hosts want to feature quality guests, so you want to play with FOMO and curiosity, for example:

"I have a story for you {{firstName}}".

If you need more help crafting cold email subject lines, we’ve got you covered.

Personalize the intro line of your podcast pitch

Human intro lines show you've done your homework and you know what you're doing.

Don't focus on yourself and write things such as...

  • "We've just raised $20M..."
  • "We're preparing a new recruiting campaign..."
  • "Your audience would be a perfect fit!"

Instead, focus on them first.

For example:

"Your idea of making the sales leader the person who crafts heros is the exact style we've implemented at lemlist.The advice that you give is really shaping sales teams and helping them stay ahead of the curve!"

As we mentioned earlier, by conducting thorough research you’ll be able to know exactly how to approach your leads with a more personalized approach.

Here are a few intro line examples from one of our campaigns that got a 92% open rate.

Don’t forget you can also create icebreakers automatically with lemlist.

Your podcast pitch

In your pitch, make sure to highlight what kind of value you bring to this collaboration.

Make the prospect of hosting you exciting and not just like "simply another guest".

Figure out how you can help them first and build leverage before presenting your pitch.

If we break the pitch down, there are a few things you can play with:

  • Outline the credibility and popularity of the guest you're pitching, demonstrating you are a follower.
  • Suggest some topics you could bring to the table, do the work instead of the host so they can just say, "Yes, let's book a slot"... but don't be too pushy
  • Showcase the strength of your distribution channels where you can promote the episode once done
  • Do something for them (e.g. leave a review on their iTunes page)

Once again, if you propose win-win situations, there are no losers in the negotiation.

Include follow-ups

Let's be clear. Just because you don’t get an answer to your first email, doesn’t mean you’ll never get featured on a podcast.

Sometimes, it's just a question of timing.

The podcast season is already fully booked, the host is in the middle of big business projects, or they simply forgot to reply.

There’s a myriad of possibilities.

Leave the subject line empty so all the emails on the thread have the same subject line and your leads can easily trace them back and recognize them. Additionally, consider going multichannel on your sequences!

If you need some sequence inspiration, we recommend checking this article on how to send follow-up after no response.

3. Continue to nurture relationships with podcast hosts

Don't be that person who just gets featured and disappears.

Connect with hosts on LinkedIn and other networks, and nurture the relationship. Continue to show interest and support them by engaging with their podcasts or on LinkedIn.

Why?

Because your network is your net worth. 😎

Podcast guest pitch templates that got us featured on 50+ podcasts

Now that you know how to get on a podcast, let's dive into some of our podcast pitch templates that worked really well.

1. Podcast pitch template with a 38% reply rate

This is an oldie but goldie.

This template is an actual screenshot of an email we sent to get featured in podcasts back in 2019.

podcast pitch template with a 38% reply rate

You can see how the subject line teases the host. Every host wants a good guest who can tell a good story to their audience.

Then he shot his icebreaker with the custom variable {{sentence}}.

He explains his journey with lemlist for 1.5 years and what the tool is for.

In the next paragraph, he suggests a story he would tell the audience, with a promise of transparency and actionable content. Furthermore, he lists a few ideas that could be interesting to put on the table.

Lastly, he finished with concrete social proof with an example of an episode he recorded with a well-known business podcast.

Why did it work?

Because he also told them that having a community of 2.5K salespeople is an additional exposure for the podcast to find new listeners and fans.

If you don't have a community, don't worry.

You can mention your newsletter, the number of subscribers you have on your YouTube channel, the reach you have on LinkedIn, etc.

In other words, you can mention any distribution channel that shows that you have an audience.

This campaign got an 84% open rate and a 38% reply rate.

2. Podcasts that got us in front of 100,000 listeners

This one was from one of our PR campaigns that aimed to blow our top-of-the-funnel.

Since personal branding is an important growth factor at lempire, we try to get different members featured on podcasts.

{{teamMember}} and {{position}} will allow you to position any of your colleagues aligned with the topic and target audience.

Afterward, Daria adds figures for credibility. She reassures the host on the guest's legitimacy, as well as outlining what's in it for them in the bullet points.

This email was part of a multichannel campaign because Daria sent emails and did some actions on LinkedIn.

Here are her 6 steps:

Overall, she got a 92% open rate and a 30% reply rate on the email steps.

4. Build momentum around your brand

This is the podcast email outreach campaign we sent to tell this story on relevant podcasts.

Template to be a guest on a podcast

We A/B tested his subject line in this sequence.

An A/B test aims to send half of your emails with version A, and the other half with version B.

To keep the email sharp, we added a video for more details, along with a question at the end to know if the host is interested.

This campaign got an 83% open rate and a 30% reply rate.

How to pitch a podcast with a 30% reply rate

Last minute checklist

Well, I think you're good to go now, you know how to write your podcast email templates and how to get on a podcast!

Here is your ultimate podcast outreach checklist:

✅ Build a list of podcasts that correspond to both your business and target audience

✅ Find relevant info about them to reach out with high-personalization

✅ Launch your podcast campaign to start building relationships

✅ Shine behind the mics

✅ Nurture your relationships with podcast hosts

Now go and launch your fire podcast email outreach campaign 🔥

lemlist team
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Price
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Standout feature
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$2,999/mo
Large, distributed sales teams
AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs
Lack of tracking system
4.6
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Not publicly available
Sales operations and finance teams
Powerful configurability
Limited training resources and complex to navigate
4.4
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Not publicly available
Mid-market and enterprise businesses
Comprehensive incentive management
Potentially high cost and steep learning curve
4.7
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star
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$15/user/mo
$40/user/mo
Enterprise: custom price
Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Steep learning curve
4.6
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star-half
Not publicly available
Collaborative teams
Connected planning
Complexity and steep learning curve
4.6
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Not publicly available
Companies with complex sales structures
Complex incentive compensation management (ICM) with high efficiency and accuracy
Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs
4.7
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Not publicly available
Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts
Simplicity and ease of use
Lack of features like redirection
4.7
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Custom: upon request
Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software
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4.8
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Not publicly available
Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights
A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility
Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow
4.9
star
star
star
star
star
$30/user/mo
$50/user/mo
Smaller sales teams
Powerful automation
Lesser user base and average user interface
4.7
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star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with scalable needs
Automated Commission Calculations
Lack of filtering by date, no mobile app
ERP vs. CRM
ERP
CRM
Summary
Backbone of a business's internal operations.
Backbone of customer-centric interactions and operations.
Goal
To centralize and streamline core business processes in a company.
To increase customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty, and boost sales.
Focus
Internal operations and processes across departments (finance, accounting, inventory, supply chain, HR, and sales).
All interactions with leads and customers.
Manages
Internal business data like financial data, inventory levels, production details, supply chain, HR info.
All customer data like contact info, purchase history, communication history, customer preferences and more.
Users
Finance, accounting, operations, supply chain, and HR departments.
Customer-facing teams like sales, marketing, and customer service.
Benefits
Streamlines operations, improves data accuracy, enhances decision-making, boosts collaboration, increases productivity.
Improves customer relationships, increases sales, strengthens customer service, personalizes marketing campaigns, provides insights.
Price
$150 per user per year on average.
$10 to $30 per user per month on average.
PRM Tool
Rating
Feature
Pro
Con
Mobile App
Integrations
Free Plan
Pricing
4.65
star
star
star
star
star-half
Org-wide alignment
User-friendly layout and database
Suboptimal as a personal CRM
square-check
Lack of tracking system
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Team: $20/month
Business: $45/month
4.7
star
star
star
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star-half
Social Media Integration
Easy contact data collection
No marketing/sales features
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Lack of tracking system
square-xmark
7-day trial
$12/month
4.75
star
star
star
star
star-half
Block Functions
High customization capability
Not a dedicated CRM
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Limited
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Plus: €7.50/month
Business: €14/month
N/A
Open-source
Open-source flexibility
Requires extensive manual input
square-xmark
Limited
square-check
Self-hosted
$9/month or
$90/year
3.1
star
star
star
Simple iOS app
Ideal for non-tech-savvy users
iPhone only
square-check
iOS only
Limited
square-xmark
1-month trial
$1.49/month or
$14.99/month
3.6
star
star
star
star-half
Smart Contact Management
Feature-rich and flexible
Reported bugs
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
7-day trial
Premium: $13.99/month
Teams: $17.99/month
4.4
star
star
star
star
star-half
Customizable Interface
Customizable for teamwork
Pricey for personal use
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
Standard: $24/member
Premium: $39/member
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Integrated Calling
Integrated Calling
Too sales-oriented & pricey
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
Startup: $59/user/month
Professional: $329/user/month
4.8
star
star
star
star
star
Business Card Scanning
Business Card Scanning
Mobile only
square-check
Limited
square-check
$9.99/month
4.45
star
star
star
star
star-half
160+ app integrations
Comprehensive integrations
No free app version
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
$29.90/month or
$24.90/month (billed annually)
Capterra Rating
Free Trial
Free Plan
Starting Price (excluding the free plan)
Maximum Price (for the most expensive plan)
Best for
4.5
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square-check
14-day
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€15/month/seat billed annually
€792/month/3 seats billed annually + €45/month for each extra seat
Versatility and free plan
4.2
star
star
star
star
square-check
30-day
square-xmark
But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations
€25/user/month
€500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI)
Best overall operational CRM
4.3
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-xmark
square-check
Limited to 3 users
Comprehensive incentive management
€52/user/month billed annually
Small-medium businesses and automation
4.5
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-check
14-day
square-xmark
€14/seat/month billed annually
€99/seat/month billed annually
Sales teams and ease of use
4.1
star
star
star
star
square-xmark
square-check
Limited 10 users
$9.99/user/month billed annually
$64.99/user/month billed annually
Free plan for very small teams up to 10
CRM goal
Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months.
SMART Breakdown
1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation).
2. Measurable: The desired increase (10%) is a clear metric, and the timeframe (6 months) allows for progress tracking.
3. Achievable: A 10% increase is possible based on historical data and potential improvements.
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Actions
Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation.
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Outcomes
Increased sales and revenue
Improved marketing automation ROI
Marketing and sales alignment
Data-driven marketing optimization
Table
CDP Software
CRM Software
Approach
Data-centric
Customer-centric
Focus
Interactions across various channels and touchpoints, both online and offline.
Sales, marketing, and customer service interactions.
Functionality
Automatically collects, organizes, tags, and makes data available in real-time.
Helps businesses track customer interactions, sales pipelines, prospects, and service requests.
Goals
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Handles both identified and anonymous data, stitches together various data points.
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Use Cases
Personalized marketing campaigns, targeted advertising, content customization across multiple channels.
Managing campaigns and leads, enhancing customer service, providing better customer support, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Examples
Insider, Bloomreach, Salesforce Marketing Cloud CDP
HubSpot, Salesforce Sales Cloud Lightning Professional, and Zoho CRM
CRM
Free plan
Best feature
Best for
Con
1. HubSpot CRM
square-check
Sales automation
Sales teams
Up to 1,000 contacts
2. Insightly
square-check
Custom fields
Basic needs
Not enough info about the free plan
3. Agile CRM
square-check
Deal and sales pipeline tracking
Small teams
Up to 10 users
4. Zoho CRM
square-check
Lead and contact management
Businesses of all sizes
Limited to 3 users
5. ClickUp
square-check
Unlimited tasks and unlimited members
Personal use
Up to 100MB storage
6. EngageBay
square-check
Live chat
Small and midsize enterprises
Up to 1,000 branded emails per month
7. Bitrix24
square-check
Unlimited users and 5 scrum teams
Big teams
Up to 5GB of cloud storage
8. FreshSales
square-check
Easy to use and simple setup
Beginners
Up to 3 users
9. Mailchimp
square-check
Very beginner friendly
Marketing teams
Send up to 500 branded emails per month
Type of Affiliate Marketing
Unattached
Related
Involved
Format
Paid advertising
Social media or YouTube channels
Dedicated website or blog
Focus
Quick income
Your niche
Your audience
Engagement with your audience
square-xmark
square-check
square-check
square-check
square-check
Very close connection with your audience
Pro
Little effort
Higher credibility thanks to your niche
Long-lasting and scalable
Con
Paid ads cost a lot
Potential for bias since you don’t use the thing you promote
Require time, effort, and dedication

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