Finding a guest for your podcast is not that hard to do. Over the course of the last few years I’ve had the opportunity to interview some pretty famous marketing people including: Jack Trout, Jay Levenson, Joe Vitale, Robert Cialdini and many others.

When I invite a guest to be on my podcast, I follow a process that has served me well. My statistics are 145 out of 146. Yes, I did have one guest turned me down, but I think it was because he was nervous, not for any other reason. Here’s how I go about the process of asking.

Review their website or read their book

It’s insulting to call someone and ask them to be a guest on your podcast if you don’t know anything about them. Take the time and do your research. You’re going to know this information about them for your show anyway, so just do it now.

Write them an e-mail invitation

I’ve tried calling guests and I’ve tried emailing them. Email works much better and here’s why. When you call someone, they’re off guard. They don’t know who you are and they don’t know anything about your podcast other than what you tell them on the telephone. Your potential guests want an opportunity to see your website and listen to your show before they commit … you would too.

When I send an email invitation this is the guideline I follow.

• Introduce myself
• Tell them how much I enjoy their work
• Invite them to be a guest on my podcast
• Tell them how excited my audience will be to hear them on my podcast
• Tell them about my audience and why I think they would be a great guest for my podcast
• Direct them to my website where they can listen to other podcasts
• Tell them I’m looking forward to hearing from them soon
• Tell them how much I hope they will agree to be on the podcast.

Once they agree to be on the show, I give them a call and talk about the show format. I also reinforce how excited my listeners will be to know that they’ve agreed to be a guest. This is a great opportunity to build rapport and assure them that agreeing to be on your podcast was a good decision.

Send them your show prep materials

I created a website just for my guests. It shows them everything they need to know to prepare for the podcast. After sending the same email to 50 guests, I found it to be much easier and much more professional to send them to a website that answered all of their questions.

If you want to see what I send and request of my guests before a podcast, you can find it here. This was one of the best things I did to insure each my guests were prepared for the podcast. Please feel free to copy my materials word for word and use them with your guests.

What you must remember when you invite a famous person to be on your podcast is that they want the exposure your podcast offers just as badly as you want them on the show. Ask with confidence and you’ll be delighted with the results.

Bob Sommers is the host of the Recognized Expert Marketing show and an Internet Marketing expert. Learn how to drive traffic to your website by watching Bob’s free Article Marketing for Professionals video training program.