Eli Schwartz is an SEO consultant with more than a decade of experience driving successful SEO and growth programs for leading B2B and B2C companies. He’s worked for Survey Monkey and Quora, to name a few.

This year, Eli released his first book, Product-Led SEO. The release came during the pandemic, so speaking gigs and appearances in book shops were out. Instead, Eli turned to podcasts to promote his book.

‘I’ve met some really bad podcasters’

Eli’s experience is a sharp reminder to podcasters: You really have to up your game if you want to be worthy of a listener’s time. He points out that it’s too easy for people to buy a mic, sit behind it, and produce a show. What’s missing is the thought, planning, and preparation that needs to go into a new podcast.

Let’s face it, Podcasting is competing with a massive amount of content for people’s attention. If you’re commuting, running, hiking, cooking, you can choose from audio books, radio, or music. And if you’re just sitting around, streaming, TV, gaming, and YouTube are options.

In one example, Eli said a podcaster asked him to spend hours writing a script which the host would then read.

“That is ridiculous, and I don’t understand why anyone would listen to a podcast like that,” he says, adding that he refused the request.

“You may have a big name behind it. It may be launched by a big brand and there are big brand podcasts out there, but that low barrier to entry really makes a quality hard to come by.”

The Value Trade: A Podcaster Is Getting Something For Free

Eli points out that guests create content, which fulfills the requirement for the podcast host to continually produce content.

“And we’re maybe even the podcast has a sponsor. So now the guest is helping them to produce that content. And as a result, they can now get that podcast sponsored.

“So from a value trade-off standpoint, I think the podcaster does have to be putting more work into preparation, and into making sure that the flow of the podcast is good, and high-quality for the listener,” continues Eli, noting that the exception is if a podcaster is famous, then it’s a privilege to be on their show.

Podcaster Gets Guaranteed Value

Eli doesn’t go onto podcasts expecting that he’s going to get a consulting engagement out of it, or sell books.

“I’m going to do podcasts because I think it’s interesting. And I like talking with interesting podcasters.

“I assume the podcaster is getting more value from that relationship than I’m going to get, because they’re getting guaranteed value. They’re getting guaranteed content.”

A guest may or may not get value, but it’s not guaranteed.

What Does Good Preparation Look Like?

Every podcaster and guest has their own way of preparing. If you’re producing a good show and aiming for top-notch guests, be grateful for their time and make guesting as easy as possible.

Hosts should read about an upcoming guest and their recent activities and achievements. Check out some of their recent blog posts. Listen to any previous podcast show appearances. Make an effort to come up with some really interesting questions that a host hasn’t asked before.

Making an effort to dig a bit deeper can really pay off. Ask why, or what something might mean. Look for insights and actionable tips. If they’ve written a book, make an effort to read it.

At Podmotion we usually send through questions ahead of an interview, but that doesn’t mean the interview has to be scripted. If there is an interesting digression that’s relevant to the audience, we go for it.

For a guest, preparation means understanding the focus of the interview, listening to a show’s previous episodes. If a host doesn’t send any questions in advance, be sure ask what the focus of the interview will be. Send through your bio or a link to one, as well as any links you want in the show notes.

Find Eli on LinkedIn, at EliSchwartz.co, and ProductLedSEO.com.

Eli’s favourite podcast guest appearance on the Y Combinator podcast.

Listen to Eli on the Communicate Influence podcast discuss what product-led SEO is, and how to do purposeful, strategic, and holistic SEO.