PR
How to Land Podcast Appearances as a Startup Founder
Podcast appearances build credibility and send warm traffic that converts significantly better than cold channels. Here is how to pitch yourself to the right shows and make each appearance count.
Podcast listeners are a uniquely valuable audience: they have opted into 30 to 60 minutes of focused attention with a host they trust. When that host interviews you, you inherit a fraction of their trust. The conversion rate from podcast listener to product signup is often 2 to 5x higher than social media or paid ads.
Finding the right podcasts
Target podcasts where your ideal customer is the audience, not where other founders are the audience. If you are building for e-commerce operators, a podcast about running an online store is more valuable than a startup podcast with 100x the listeners. Smaller, niche podcasts often have more engaged audiences and higher conversion.
- Search "podcast for [your target customer]" on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
- Look at who your customers follow and what podcasts they reference on LinkedIn or Twitter.
- Check podcast aggregators like Listen Notes for niche podcasts in your industry.
Writing a guest pitch that gets responses
Keep your pitch to 150 words. Include: one sentence on why you are a good fit for their audience, 2 to 3 specific episode ideas with titles and one-sentence descriptions, and one proof point (product milestone, interesting data, or unique experience). Mention a specific episode of their podcast that you found valuable to show you actually listen.
Making the most of each appearance
- Create a custom landing page for each podcast with a unique UTM link to track conversions.
- Offer listeners a specific deal or early access to incentivize clicking through.
- Repurpose the episode: transcribe it, extract quotes, clip the best 60-second segment for social media.
Podcast plus directory listings for maximum discovery
After a podcast episode airs, listeners search for your product. Being listed on the directories they use for discovery means that search finds you — not a competitor.