Podcast Outreach: How We Booked 100 Podcasts Through Cold Outreach

People shrug off email outreach as unwanted spam. But, in reality, it can be very effective at establishing connections.

In fact, in a little over a year, we have booked our Co-Founder, Farzad Rashidi as a podcast guest on over 100 shows – with only a thousand emails sent in total.

That’s a 10% success rate – and a podcast booking for every single week over almost two years.

Let’s get into our exact strategies.

Key Takeaways:

• Podcast outreach is one of the most effective outreach strategies for building authority and visibility
• The best podcast outreach efforts start by targeting the right podcasts for your target audience
• Successful podcast guesting depends on personalization, not generic outreach
• A strong podcast pitch references a specific podcast episode or topic to stand out
• Building relationships with podcast hosts leads to more podcast guest opportunities over time
• Consistency is key, most successful podcast outreach campaigns come from repeated outreach efforts
• The more relevant podcasts you appear on, the more you grow your authority with podcast listeners

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Our Approach to Booking Podcasts

Our podcast guest outreach strategy is straightforward: find other SaaS founders and prominent names in the industry, and then find podcasts that they have been featured on.

Then, our outreach manager would reach out to the podcast host and ask if they could introduce Farzad. If the host agrees, Farzad will get copied into the thread to take things from there.

Our favorite goldmine is the SaaS Podcast with Omer Khan:

As of writing this article, it has 383 published podcasts with founders, executives, and entrepreneurs from across the world.

Now, some have made several appearances on the show so this doesn’t translate into 383 unique names, but still, there are at least 300 different people who came on Omer’s show.

And each one of those people more likely than not has appeared on other podcasts as well – each with its own little target audience of loyal listeners.

To find other shows they’ve been on, we used Listen Notes in combination with our internal scraping tool to automate things a bit.

Our outreach message template is as follows:

And here’s an example of a personalized pitch that landed Farzad a podcast appearance.

Let’s break it down a bit.

First up, the subject line: “Episode #”.

It’s short, to the point, and personalized.

Just by glancing over it, our recipient will immediately understand that the outreach email is about one of their podcast episodes, and be intrigued to give it an open.

Alternatively, if the episode doesn’t have a number, just tweak it to “Episode with [Guest Appearance]” or “Your interview with [Guest Name]”.

Also, no fluff.

Next up, is the icebreaker in the opening line.

Here, mentioning something that was discussed during the podcast shows that we’re not some random Joe who’s sending everybody spam emails.

We use AI-powered fields to automatically generate icebreakers. But if you don’t have access to that, you can simply listen to the episode and come up with something interesting they talked about during the episode.

It shows that we spent the time to at least get familiar with the topics discussed.

Next up, just that tiny bit of flattery by mentioning that we shared the episode internally. It’s realistic, and not going over the top with the pleasantries, like some other emails can.

Next up – the point of the email, or the “ask” – which is to inquire about whether or not they’d be open to an introduction to someone in the SaaS space (which, of course, is Farzad).

This template works because it’s a good balance of personalization, straightforwardness, and flattery.

There are two types of positive responses we would get.

The first one (like this one), is open to an introduction, and a potential podcast interview:

It’s perfect. From here on, just copy Farzad into the thread, book a time, and do the podcast.

Now, you could do your outreach and book yourself directly, but that’s just how we did it at our company – with the help of an outreach manager.

The second type of reply we would get is asking for more information:

• Who we would like to introduce
• Why do we want to introduce them
• Why we think they’re an ideal guest

This would add a step to the conversation, which we have also templated:

We would just provide some more information, and if the person says yes to an introduction – that would be the green light.

If not, no need to press the issue.

That’s it!

That’s our approach to podcast outreach efforts from beginning to end.

Doing exactly this every week, we got Farzad booked on a little over 100 podcast episodes on 74 unique shows.

Now, let’s dive a little deeper into the numbers and some additional nitty-gritty.

Campaign Statistics

How long did we do outreach?

The first podcast pitch we sent was on July 12, 2022.

The last one was sent on August 8, 2023.

So, almost exactly 13 months.

How many emails did we send weekly?

Every week, our outreach manager had a simple goal – send 50 good podcast booking pitches.

However, it wasn’t a set-in-stone rule. Some weeks they would send 50, others 100, others only 10.

Also, some of their weeks they were focused on other tasks, so skipped the outreach process entirely.

How many emails did we send in total?

In total, over 13 months, we sent exactly 1,000 pitches.

Out of those pitches, 270 were follow-up messages.

This means, roughly a third of our bookings came as a direct result of a sent follow-up email.

What were the open/reply rates like?

• Average Delivery rate: 97%
• Total Opens: 685
• Avg Open rate: 61%
• Total replies: 167
• Reply rate: 24.3%

What’s the best day and time to send a podcast booking email?

In our expertise, the best time to pitch a podcast (both by replies and opens) is on a Friday at around 4 PM – when our podcaster host is mostly finished with the week and can spare a few minutes reading through their social media and checking emails.

Now Over To You

Podcast outreach works when it’s targeted and consistent.

You find the right podcast, reach out with a relevant pitch, and build relationships with hosts over time. Do that enough, and you start stacking podcast appearances and building real authority in your space.

But just like link building, the hard part is execution.

Finding the right podcasts, writing personalized outreach, and following up takes time.

That’s exactly where we can help.

With Respona, you can streamline your outreach or skip it entirely. 

Our done-for-you link building gets your brand featured on high-authority pages that already rank and influence your target audience.

So instead of juggling outreach campaigns across podcasts and other channels, you’re building visibility where it actually drives results.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is podcast outreach?

Podcast outreach is the process of reaching out to podcast hosts to secure a podcast appearance as a guest. It’s commonly used as part of a broader outreach strategy and public relations effort.

How do I find the right podcasts?

To find the right podcasts, look for shows that match your target audience and expertise. Tools like Listen Notes, Apple Podcast, and social media can help you identify potential podcasts.

What makes a good podcast pitch?

A good podcast pitch is short, personalized, and relevant. It should reference a specific podcast episode, include the podcast name, and explain why you’d be a strong podcast guest.

How do I increase my chances of getting booked?

Focus on relevant podcasts, personalize your outreach, and highlight your expertise. Consistent podcast outreach efforts improve your chances over time.

What should I include in a podcast guest pitch?

Your podcast guest pitch should include:

• a reference to a recent episode
• your expertise and why you’re a good fit
• a clear reason why you’d benefit the audience