Why, where and how to pitch a podcast: The creator's guide

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Ideally, media outlets would come to you asking to feature your podcast, but most creators have to go out and make it happen. It doesn’t just happen overnight. First, you need to figure out if your podcast is a good fit to be featured—and for whom. Then you need to craft a convincing pitch to whichever individual, organization, platform, or brand you have your eye on.

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Read on to discover the channels and best practices on how to pitch a podcast, plus how it can benefit your show and your growth as a creator.

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Why should you pitch your podcast?

There are many benefits that come from the podcast-pitching process alone and, of course, from achieving a successful pitch. Ultimately, if a prospective promoter accepts your pitch, that person, network, or publication will expose your podcast to a brand new audience and grow your listenership (or viewership).

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On a more granular level, a media feature of your show or a guest spot on another podcast or at an event could position you as a thought leader and innovator in your podcast space. Plus, it will provide reciprocal value to the outlet you’re pitching, whether it fills a hole in their coverage, helps them fill content gaps, or benefits their audience. One successful partnership could mean a longer-term, recurring collaboration.

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Even if you don’t get a positive response to your pitch—or any response at all—there is value in preparing the pitch: It allows you to develop and refine your marketing materials and assets; it creates a running list of organizations and people to follow up with and keep track of; and it requires you to take a close look at your podcast’s quality and performance, then make any necessary improvements.  

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Where to pitch your podcast

Fortunately, there are plenty of impactful channels to pursue when pitching your podcast. So if one doesn’t work out, you can move on to the next—or you can form several partnerships to extend your reach as far as possible.

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Other podcasts  

Fellow creators are a natural fit for a podcast cross-promotion partnership. You can pitch collaborations like being a guest on their podcast, a promo swap with that podcast, and a feed drop exchange. Target podcasts that you already follow and are familiar with. Make sure you communicate why you’d make a good fit as a guest on their podcast or why their audience would be interested in hearing a promo for your show. Connect with creators via email or social media.

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Media and press outlets

Just as a freelance writer or reporter would pitch a story idea to a print or digital publication, you can do the same for your podcast. Your podcast is the story. To find a newspaper, media brand, or blog to pitch to, look at the ones that cover your topics and fit within your niche. The key to your pitch will be presenting a new or fresh angle that aligns with your podcast.

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You can pitch yourself as a subject matter expert and authority on your niche. You can also offer your podcast as a resource or ask the editor or writer if they would like to interview you. To find the right person to pitch to, locate the appropriate media contact information, which may be a particular editor or writer who covers content relevant to your show. Try emailing them or sending them a direct message on the social media channels where they’re active.

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Email newsletters are great prospects to pitch to, especially to reach niche audiences. Identify and subscribe to the newsletters that align with your podcast’s genre and audience, and then reach out to the creators. It’s likely they would welcome more relevant, quality content—and in exchange for an email feature, you can offer to plug the newsletter in episodes of your podcast.

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Influencers

Marketing looks a lot different now than it did 10 years ago. Digital creators with decent to massive social media followings are the ones convincing people to buy products and consume content. That’s why pitching your podcast to influencers can go a long way.

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If you’re tuned in to what is happening in the industry and community that your podcast operates within, you should already be aware of influencers in that space. If not, you should become more involved and do some research to find those trusted voices. For example, if you have a cooking podcast, there are plenty of popular home and professional cooks on social media you could reach out to.

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When you decide who the best prospects are for influencer outreach, follow their accounts and engage with their content if you haven’t already. This will help make your pitch authentic and demonstrate your knowledge of their audience and specialty.  

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Festivals and events

Live events—both in-person and virtual—can be excellent opportunities for podcast hosts to network and promote their show. As a creator in a particular niche, you are an expert in your field, making you a desirable candidate as a guest speaker for a conference, festival, or event. You can pitch yourself as a speaker or even to host a live podcast episode for any events that would be a good fit. There are podcast festivals you can also submit yourself to for programming consideration, like participating in a panel or showcase.

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Networks

When you have a fair amount of experience and notoriety from your podcast, you can start thinking big. Networks are the ultimate place to pitch your podcast for a long-term, paying podcast gig. Joining a professional podcast network means gaining production and promotion for your show. You’ll need to have a high number of downloads per episode, release episodes on a consistent and frequent cadence, and be willing to share a percentage of your advertising revenue.

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Seek out networks that produce podcasts with content similar to yours. As a seasoned podcaster, you will likely already have some in mind, but doing more research to find the best fit never hurts.

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How to pitch a podcast: Best practices

When you’re ready to start pitching your podcast, put in the prep work upfront to craft a winning pitch template you can repurpose for different audiences. Here are the essential components to include for the best results.

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Do your research

Whether it’s another podcast, a newsletter, blog, event, or network, ensure that a collaboration or feature would be mutually beneficial. To know that, you need to be familiar with their content, style, tone, and audience. Consider how big their reach is, the quality of their content, and who their audience is to determine if it would be a good fit.

When you make your pitch, show that you’ve done your research and how you could benefit each other. Explain why you’re pitching to them specifically, like particular articles or episodes that resonated with you and how your target audiences are similar or complementary.

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Share your story and value proposition

Your pitch is your opportunity to convey what your podcast is all about and why it should matter to who you’re pitching to. Your pitch should reflect the personality and tone of your show, so speak the way you do on your podcast, not like a public relations firm. Write about why you started your podcast, what’s special about it, and how it can help or enhance the organization you’re pitching to. Or you could record a video of you addressing these points on camera.

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Be sure to highlight your credibility and accomplishments in your talking points. Prove that you’re an expert on the topics that matter to where you’re pitching and why their audience would care about your insight and content. Include the number of downloads, glowing testimonials, reviews, notable guests, and any mentions or features of your show on social media or in publications.  

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Leverage Spotify for Creators analytics in your pitch

Your podcast analytics found directly in Anchor can be a powerful tool to supplement your pitch.. Episode downloads can certainly help your case when pitching to a larger potential partner. But, also keep in mind demographic, geographic, and episode retention statistics, which can help make a case that you have a highly engaged, niche audience that is just as valuable!

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Identify gaps in coverage

Strengthen your pitch by finding gaps in the outlet or platform’s coverage that your podcast could help fill. Maybe you’ve discussed a topic in one of your episodes that could support a story idea or presentation. Or maybe there isn’t another podcast like yours on Spotify, which you could communicate in the editorial submission form. Maybe your true crime podcast covers a fresh angle that other podcasts in a true crime genre network don’t. Show those gaps to the recipient of your pitch and offer your podcast as the solution.

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Package your pitch with supporting assets

Assemble an attractive package of links, images, and videos that showcase your podcast to get your recipient’s attention. You can create a page on your website with all of these assets or attach them all in one presentation document to your pitch email or submission. Emphasize all of your most important attributes, like links to your best audio or video episodes, professional behind-the-scenes photos, listener stats, your logo, your podcast trailer, and a collection of social media mentions and listener reviews.

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Make a clear ask and value exchange

Don’t leave the person reviewing your pitch guessing. Be clear about what kind of feature or collaboration you’re seeking, whether that’s an email feature, social media shoutout, being a podcast guest, or being a guest speaker.

Follow up on what you’re asking for with what they’ll receive in exchange. That can include a cross-promotion arrangement, bringing a large or dedicated following of podcast listeners or viewers to their platform, original expert insight that they’re currently missing, free merch or swag, etc.

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Share your podcast-pitch wins

When you make a successful pitch, spread the good news far and wide! Sharing your feature or collaboration will not only celebrate your accomplishments but also show your credibility and possibly catch the attention of other outlets. Share the outcome of your pitch in social media posts, on your podcast episodes, in a blog post, and in your email newsletter.

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Sharing your successes can also be rewarding for the outlets you pitched. It creates more awareness and engagement for them, so it’s mutually beneficial.

If you’re at the point where you’re ready to pitch your podcast, that means you’ve already done the hard part–making a great podcast. Now, it’s time to let the people know!