There might be affiliate links in this post. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I receive a small commission. Read my disclosure policy here.
Whenever someone wants to network or build their business, it’s often recommended that they attend a conference. Conferences can be busy, but also a great place to learn more about your industry and connect with other people in your field.
There’s also food, events, and meetups during the whole 2-4 day event. It can be quite fun. But, are most people paying hundreds of dollars for tickets, flying out of state, and booking a hotel room just for fun? Probably not.
A less expensive way to boost your bottom line, get publicity by marketing your business, and make quality industry connections is to appear as a podcast guest. Here’s why you might want to start booking spots as a podcast guest.
1. You Don’t Have to Travel to Get In Front of Your Target Audience as a Podcast Guest
About 48 million Americans listen to podcasts weekly. After reading this, my perception of being a podcast guest changed. If you appear on a podcast that your target audience listens to, you can get your message to them without even leaving your house.
This means no costly plane tickets and you don’t even have to dress up and fill your car with gas to get to an event. You can sit in the comfort of your home and have the potential to reach a wide variety of people which is likely more than you’d be able to reach if you were making one-on-one connections at a conference.
2. If You Go to a Conference, There Isn’t Any Guarantee You’ll Meet the Right People
It’s sad but true, conferences fly by fast. There are so many unique and influential people who attend but it’s no guarantee that you’ll actually cross paths with them.
If you hear an inspiring session, you may or may not have time to meet the speaker and have a conversation afterward. While attending a conference can be a good way to meet up in person with podcasters, you’ll have to schedule those meetings and hope you both have availability to meet up in the first place.
On the flip side, you can always just pitch podcasts or use a booking agent to land you a guest spot on their show. Then you can have one-on-one time to chat with them before or after the episode. Plus, you’ll create valuable content together that can be shared again and again.
3. People You Meet at a Conference May Not Always Do Business With You
While this is also true as a podcast guest, but conferences are much busier making it more difficult to follow up. After the event, everyone is flooding each other’s emails with follow ups and pitches. It’s so easy to lose messages or forget to keep following up with someone.
As a podcast guest, you can use your guest appearance as a media mention to promote your business or even invite people to take advantage of one of your offers or follow up with you to do business together.
It’s just a more relaxed opportunity to target and connect with people who will likely follow your business or work with you.
4. Podcast Guesting is Better For Introverts
Let’s face it, if you’re an introvert, parties and social events don’t necessarily work to your strengths. You may feel out of your element at events surrounded by large crowds of people.
If you feel more comfortable doing podcast interviews, that can allow you to share your authentic personality and hit on all your important talking points.
The great thing about podcast interviews is that you can prepare. Your answers don’t have to be rehearsed but you can knowledgeable on your topic and have a clear angle.
If you’re thrown into a large event, it may be harder to warm up and say the right things to a person you really want to connect with.
5. Conferences Have Time Restraints
Conferences can be great don’t get me wrong, but I often feel like too much happens in such a short amount of time. This makes it difficult for me to process everything afterward and I know I’m not the only one.
Regardless, you have a limited time to soak in information and connect with others at a conference. You need to spring into action and make a lasting impression if you want to see some positive ROI in the coming months.
As a podcast guest, your interview experience essentially becomes evergreen. Your podcast episode can be cross-promoted and listened to again and again. It provides ongoing exposure for your business and the number of people it reaches can increase over time.
There’s certainly a time and place for industry conferences, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket. A cheaper and more effective approach to grow and market your business can involve being a guest on multiple different podcasts. You can pitch the shows yourself or hire a podcast guest booker.
