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AUTOMATING PODCAST BOOKINGS (AND OTHER TIME SAVING TIPS) By Joe Casabona https://podcastliftoff.com/cye

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REMEMBER MATH CLASS?

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LEARNING THE “LONG WAY” HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND HOW IT’S DONE.

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AUTOMATION ISN’T MUCH DIFFERENT!

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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

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I WILL SHOW YOU THE SHORT* WAY. *more profitable

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UNDERSTANDING YOUR PROCESS

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@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!

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EVALUATE TOOLS TO HELP YOU • Calendly (or some other scheduler) • Zapier • IFTTT • Elgato Stream Deck • Zencaster / SquadCast • Airtable

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GUEST-BOOKING PROCESS

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OVERVIEW • Finding Guests / Outreach • Booking Guests • Important Communication Points • Automating this Process

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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IF YOU WANT SOMEONE ON YOUR SHOW, ASK!

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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.

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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

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CALENDLY HANDLES MOST OF THIS FOR ME.

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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.

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THIS DOESN’T COVER EVERYTHING.

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ZAPIER DOES PART OF THE HEAVY LIFTING

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ONCE A GUEST IS BOOKED, I DON’T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING EXCEPT RECORDING.

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OTHER HELPFUL AUTOMATIONS

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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.

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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

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BATCH!

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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.

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Podcaster & Educator @jcasabona - casabona.org JOE CASABONA https://podcastliftoff.com/cye/