Automating Podcast Bookings (and Other Time Saving Tips)

Podcasting takes a lot of time! From finding and booking guests, to recording, pre-production, and promoting. And when you do book guests, you want to make sure they're properly prepared - good communication is key. Luckily, there are ways to save you time AND make sure communication doesn't fall through the wayside. In this talk, you'll learn tried and true methods for automating podcast booking and guest communication in a way that still gives everything a personal touch. Save hours in outreach time so you can focus on producing the best podcast you possibly can!

Transcript

1. AUTOMATING PODCAST BOOKINGS (AND OTHER TIME SAVING TIPS) By Joe Casabona https://podcastliftoff.com/cye
2. REMEMBER MATH CLASS?
3. LEARNING THE “LONG WAY” HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND HOW IT’S DONE.
4. AUTOMATION ISN’T MUCH DIFFERENT!
5. TAKE IT FROM ME… • Podcasting for 8 years • My podcast, How I Built It, is in the top 5% of all podcasts (by download) • 40% of my income comes from podcasting
6. I WILL SHOW YOU THE SHORT* WAY. *more profitable
7. UNDERSTANDING YOUR PROCESS
8. @jcasabona EVERYONE’S PROCESS IS DIFFERENT. • Checklists are super important! Write down everything you need to do for a podcast episode launch, from booking to publishing. • Note which items are easily repeatable. • Note the items you personally don’t have to do • This is stuff either a computer, or a different person can do!
9. EVALUATE TOOLS TO HELP YOU • Calendly (or some other scheduler) • Zapier • IFTTT • Elgato Stream Deck • Zencaster / SquadCast • Airtable
10. GUEST-BOOKING PROCESS
11. OVERVIEW • Finding Guests / Outreach • Booking Guests • Important Communication Points • Automating this Process
12. FINDING GUESTS • Have a contact form on your podcast’s website for people to reach out • Several dedicated websites like PodMatch and Podcast Guests • Facebook Groups • I have my VA look for guests based on a set of criteria
13. FINDING GUESTS • Have a contact form on your podcast’s website for people to reach out • Several dedicated websites like PodMatch and Podcast Guests • Facebook Groups • I have my VA look for guests based on a set of criteria
14. FINDING GUESTS • Have a contact form on your podcast’s website for people to reach out • Several dedicated websites like PodMatch and Podcast Guests • Facebook Groups • I have my VA look for guests based on a set of criteria
15. OUTREACH • State who you are, what you do, and why you want to have them on your show • I have a spreadsheet + Zapier, which helps me automate this a bit - but the emails are still personal! • Keep track of who you reach out to, who says yes and who says no.
16. IF YOU WANT SOMEONE ON YOUR SHOW, ASK!
17. BOOKING GUESTS • Using a tool like Calendly is clutch to prevent back-and- forth emails and timezone confusion. • Make sure no matter when you use, the guest gets a calendar invite and reminders.
18. COMMUNICATION POINTS • How to grab a time + Calendar invite • What to expect on the day of recording / how to prepare • A reminder the day of / day before • Any follow up afterward • Notification of go live
19. CALENDLY HANDLES MOST OF THIS FOR ME.
20. PROCESS • Guest grabs time on Calendly • Zoom call created + added to invite • Confirmation email + Calendar invite is sent. • Guest is redirected to my Recording Notes page to help them prep • Guest gets reminder email (with notes link) 24 hours prior to recording • Guest gets email after recording thanking them and telling them where to upload audio.
23. THIS DOESN’T COVER EVERYTHING.
24. ZAPIER DOES PART OF THE HEAVY LIFTING
25. ONCE A GUEST IS BOOKED, I DON’T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING EXCEPT RECORDING.
26. OTHER HELPFUL AUTOMATIONS
27. POST PRODUCTION PROCESS • Handoff to my editor • Everything in Dropbox. He gets an email automatically when an episode is ready for edit • Handoff for transcription • Editor uploads it to transcription folder, and my transcriber gets an email.
28. PUBLISHING • I have a WordPress plugin that creates an episode number redirect (like https://howibuilt.it/200) • It also emails the guest when the episode goes live. • I can use most improvement here
29. BATCH!
30. SAVE DOZENS OF HOURS PER MONTH • Make a Checklist for your process • Find the right tools to automate your processes • Handoff anything you don’t have to do directly. • Tools like Calendly can do most of the work for you for free.
31. Podcaster & Educator @jcasabona - casabona.org JOE CASABONA https://podcastliftoff.com/cye/