Most business owners treat podcast guest outreach like a job application. They explain who they are, what their show is about, how many listeners they have, and why the guest would be a great fit. Then they wait. Then nothing happens.

The problem is not your show. It is the framing. You are asking someone to do something for you, and they know it.

Flip it. Your podcast is not a platform you are offering them access to. It is a piece of content you are building around them, and they are the expert you need to make it credible. That one shift in how you think about the ask will change how you write the pitch.

Here is the actual structure. Five sentences.

Start with something specific about their work. Not a generic compliment, something you actually read or watched. "I saw your breakdown of the agency pricing model on LinkedIn last month and sent it to three people on my team" is worth more than "I love what you are doing in the space." Specific means you did the work. Generic means you are copying and pasting.

Sentence two is your show in one line. Not your download numbers, not your backstory, just who you make it for and what they get out of it. "I run a video podcast for owners of service businesses who want to use content to close more clients."

Third, name the episode you want to build with them. Not a vague topic. An actual working title. "I want to do an episode called 'Why Most Agency Owners Underprice by 30%' and I think your perspective on value-based pricing would anchor it." Now they can see the thing. They are not being asked to show up and talk, they are being asked to contribute to something specific.

Fourth, make it easy. Give them two or three date options and a time commitment. "It is about 35 minutes on Zoom, I can work around your schedule in the next few weeks." Ease of yes is underrated.

Last sentence, no pressure. "If it is not the right time, no problem at all." This is not fake politeness. It removes the social weight of saying no, which paradoxically makes people more likely to say yes.

The whole pitch is under 120 words. That is the point. Long pitches signal that you need them. Short pitches signal that you have something worth their time and you respect that their time is limited.

One more thing that most people skip. Follow up once, five to seven days later, with a single line. "Just bumping this up in case it got buried." That follow-up converts more than the original pitch. People are not ignoring you out of disinterest, they are ignoring you because they are busy. One nudge is professional. Two is a pattern. Stop at two.

Your action step this week: write your pitch using this structure and send it to three people you actually want on your show. Not three easy yeses. Three people who would genuinely impress your clients if they saw the episode in their feed.

I’d love to know how it goes! As always, have a wonderful week and thanks for being a subscriber.