Summer Is Here!
Podcast pitching and AI, Bad Press & Summer Reads
Podcast Pitching and AI
I am a people person and by many standards what is considered an extrovert. Don’t get me wrong…I love my downtime, quietly reading, reflecting, journaling and recharging, but I definitely gain energy and momentum from being with a group of people. I believe we need human connection, which is a big reason why I’ve been hesitant when it comes to using AI (Artificial Intelligence) in my line of business.
This morning I received an email telling me all about a new service that will automatically send podcast pitches to thousands of podcast hosts on your behalf. They’ll even personalize the pitch and reference an episode. My first thought was, “I’m going to be out of a job.” I like to be dramatic. Then, I decided to do some stalking, I mean investigating, as to what this company is about.
At first glance it seems too good to be true…because it basically is. You enter your info, it starts to generate podcast lists, personalize emails and send them. They claim you will then start to receive tons of podcast guest invitations because it’s that easy and you are guaranteed 4 interviews every month. They won’t tell you up front how much it costs and is based on a pay-per-use basis, which is not only confusing but makes you wonder how they can guarantee a number of interviews if you don’t pay to use a certain amount. To find out, you need to book a demo time and actually talk to them. For a company taking out the human aspect of something, that part seems a bit funny to me.
Let me break down for you the parts that are missing.
Personalization - The website says they only have access to the most recent episode.
If you only base your listening and personalization of a pitch on the most recent episode, I will tell you that’s being lazy. You should be finding an episode that truly resonates with you, listen to it (more is better) and share why that touched you. AI is not going to do this for you, I promise.
Speaking Topics - This is still up to you!
One of the biggest parts of what I do is working with clients on determining what their speaking topics are. Anyone can pitch a podcast, but knowing what to pitch and what you can and should speak on is a much bigger deal and truly the part that will land you the interview. Generic is basic and you are anything but basic, therefore your pitch shouldn’t be basic either!
Follow-Ups - The beauty is in the art of the follow up.
I have said time and again that following up is key. I learned this during my 18 year career focusing on sales. If you don’t follow up, you risk being forgotten or ignored. This new tool only offers follow-ups as an add-on service.
AI and Uniqueness
Every email is said to be 100% unique. While this is potentially true, AI has yet to master this from the research I’ve found. “AI tools using existing data for content cannot come up with fresh ideas or original content.” - Sibongiseni Guzzman, digital marketing and content creator
While this might appear to be a somewhat helpful tool to automate your podcast pitching emails, you still have to do a lot of front end work yourself. Knowing who your target audience is, what your ultimate goal is, defining your speaking topics and knowing how to be a great storyteller…the list goes on.
There’s also more work that needs to be done after your interviews…repurposing them into greater marketing content. Podcast hosts are already starting to look at social media accounts to see if potential guests share past podcast interviews to ensure their expectations can be met. This company has over 4K followers but not a single like or comment and they follow 0 accounts. This tells me that they’ve bought followers and again are lacking the human aspect that is required when it comes to podcasts.
Is Any Press, Good Press?
Last week I saw a TikTok video go viral (the one about not returning your shopping cart) and the media frenzy around it is insane…stupid, really. I was in Los Angeles, New York and San Jose and saw it mentioned in all of these cities, in my feeds, etc. What were they saying? Not positive things, that’s for sure. This begs the question…if you go viral and the press isn’t positive, is it still good for you? My PR opinion is no. There is so much damage control that needs to be done and fixed after causing such an uproar.
Would I like Hoda to mention my name and my book on the Today show? Heck yes! Do I want it to be in the same sentence where she negates what I say? Nope! Having people talk negatively about you, even if a handful might say a single positive thing, isn’t the way to go. Yes, you will get your 15 minutes of fame, but is that what your ultimate goal is? If you’re just trying to become famous, then you might consider this “making it”. My perspective is that having every outlet talk about you but put down your opinion, call you selfish, out of touch, a “Karen” and more isn’t going to help your career aspirations. Yes, this is what some “influencers” are known for but does that influence YOU to do anything differently?
Don’t create content just to ruffle feathers or “gain attention” as this one put it. I know that overnight successes can seem terrific, but slow and steady is still what wins the race. You can take time in ensuring your content aligns with your goals and values. Be a human being that others look to for your story, experience, advice and knowledge. I’d rather work hard to get my name in the world and have it take a decade than have the entire world talking about me tomorrow morning because I said something that is out of touch and completely wrong.
Your reminder that not all press is good press. For the record…I’m team return your shopping cart. I am the primary grocery shopper in our household and my kids are 12 months and 3 weeks apart. I would take them both with me to the store before they could even walk and I still managed to get the cart back into the return area!
Summer Fun Travel
Last week was our first week of summer vacation and in just 4 days, we walked over 84K steps! Our first stop was Disneyland and then I hopped on a plane to NYC to attend Zibby’s Summer Read author luncheon. Yes, How To Get On Podcasts, is a summer read! How else can you prep and plan for landing podcast interviews when the kids are back in school?!
I was over the moon to get to see my friends Angela Brown (Olivia Strauss Is Running Out Of Time) and Jane Rosen (Seven Summer Weekends launched last week!). I also got to meet Julie Satow (When Women Ran Fifth Avenue which debuted last week and we found her poster at Barnes & Noble!), Jonathan Conyers (I Wasn’t Supposed To Be Here), Sidney Karger (The Bump) and James Rhee (Red Helicopter). My TBR has just grown a mile and I’m so excited about it!
My Summer Plans
I am vowing to write 1K words per day in my novel. I’m writing that so you can hold me accountable! My podcast is recorded through the beginning of July and every afternoon you will be able to find me at the pool. I might be working, but I’ll definitely be outside with the kids! I’ll also be doing LOTS of reading! I’ve compiled some of my summer reads right here for all of you and will continue to add to it!
Where You Can Hear Me
Book Reviews
Did you know that Amazon boosts books that have 25 reviews and gives them an extra boost when they hit 50 reviews? I’m up to 32 and would be eternally grateful if you left a review of How To Get On Podcasts! I’ve been sharing the reviews and tagging people on my Instagram!
Keep sharing your stories!
Thanks for adding Love Apptually to your summer reads list! I'm excited to check out the others :)
Congrats on everything, Michelle--how fun to hear of your book's huge success. I'm glad to be the first to contribute to your Amazon reviews. And thanks for sharing that they boost at 25 and 50. I'm going to get mine going for Last Bets (at 29 now, only 22 to go!).