October 7, 2025 • 35 mins
Have you ever wondered how to get in front of the right audience without constantly chasing leads?
In this episode, Christina Lenkowski shares how solopreneurs can use podcast guesting as a powerful tool to build credibility, attract clients, and grow their businesses. From pitching yourself with confidence to turning interviews into lasting opportunities, you’ll learn exactly how to make guest podcasting work for you.
Episode FAQs
I don’t have a huge following. Can podcast guesting still work for me?
Absolutely. You don’t need a big audience to get results from podcast guesting, you just need the right audience. Focus on smaller, niche shows that attract your ideal clients rather than chasing big-name podcasts. Those intimate, topic-focused audiences are often more engaged and more likely to convert. Think quality over quantity.
How do I find the right podcasts to be a guest on?
Start by leveraging your network. Ask peers, clients, or your online community what shows they listen to. Then, use the Podcast Piggyback Method Christina mentioned: search for someone who shares your target audience, look up the shows they’ve been on, and explore similar ones. Tools like Apple Podcasts and ListenNotes make it easy to spot patterns and find aligned shows.
How can I measure if podcast guesting is actually helping my business?
Track results in a few simple ways:
- Add a “How did you hear about me?” question to your intake forms.
- Use a unique link or promo code when sharing your offer on shows.
- Review your growth quarterly (email list, website traffic, social followers).
Remember, podcast guesting builds long-term trust and visibility, so results often compound over time as people hear you on multiple shows.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carly Ries (00:00):
If you've ever wondered how to get your
(00:01):
business in front of more peoplewithout spending every waking
moment on social media, thisconversation is for you. We sat
down with podcast publicity pro,Christina Lenkowski, to talk
about the power of podcastguesting. Why it's one of the
smartest, most authentic wayssolopreneurs can grow their
audience and their credibility.From how to find the right
shows, spoiler, a smaller nichepodcast can be gold mines, to
(00:25):
the biggest mistakes people makewhen pitching, Christina pulls
back the curtain on everythingyou need to know to start
landing guest spots. She alsoshares why your story, yes, your
story, is worth telling and howbeing real beats being perfect
every single time.
So if you're ready to step outfrom being the best kept secret
and start showing up where yourideal clients are listening,
(00:46):
this episode will give you theplaybook. You're listening to
the Aspiring Solopreneur, thepodcast for anyone on the solo
business journey, whether you'rejust toying with the idea,
taking your first bold step, orhave been running your own show
for years and want to keepgrowing, refining, and thriving.
I'm Carly Ries, and along withmy cohost, Joe Rando, we're your
(01:07):
guides through the crazy butawesome world of being a company
of one. As part of LifeStarr, adigital hub dedicated to all
things solopreneurship, we helppeople design businesses that
align with their life'sambitions so they can work to
live, not live to work. Ifyou're looking for a get rich
quick scheme, this is not theplace for you.
But if you want real worldinsights from industry experts,
(01:28):
lessons from the successes andstumbles of fellow solopreneurs,
and practical strategies forbuilding and sustaining a
business you love, you're in theright spot. Because flying solo
in business doesn't mean you'realone. No matter where you are
in your journey, we've got yourback. Christina, it's funny
because we've talked about thetopic of podcasting, like, on
(01:48):
this show, but it's been Joe,doesn't it feel like it's been
ages since we've talked aboutit? And I feel like the
podcasting game has changed somuch.
And before we dive into all ofthat goodness, we wanna ask you
our icebreaker question, whichis what do you wish you had
known before becoming asolopreneur?
Christina Lenkowski (02:04):
I think the thing that I really wish I would
have known, if I'm being honest,is be open to the ways people
are willing to give you money.And what I mean by that is I was
very closed off in what Ithought, it had to look like, if
that makes sense. I was like,when I start a business, this is
how it's gonna be different, andthis is what I want it to look
(02:26):
like. And when it didn'tnecessarily go my way, I kind of
dug in, and it wasn't until Irealized, you know, listen to
what people are are saying toyou about how they wanna pay
you, how they wanna give youmoney, etcetera, and see how you
can kinda blend those two thingstogether.
Carly Ries (02:43):
Are you talking from an offer standpoint or, Venmo
Offer
Christina Lenkowski (02:47):
from an offer standpoint, specifically.
No. No. No. Not in the specificsof, like, I wanna pay you via
PayPal.
Ain't like that. Wanna take allthe money. I would have been
like, you I would have beenlike, you wanna send me cash?
That's fine. No.
I would have been completelycompletely fine. No. It was more
that I was so and we can getinto this, but I was so burnt
out from the experience that Ihad had, in the kind of in the
(03:09):
agency world, typical, worldthat I was like, I don't wanna
do it this way. Do you know whatI mean? And so then when people
came to me, and they're like,yeah.
But could we, like, a little bitdo it that way? I was like, no.
And it wasn't until I kind of,realized, hey. There's a way to
make this happen that stillworks for you and is still gonna
(03:31):
give a lot of value to yourclients.
You know what I mean? I was, sostuck in that, like, it has to
not be this way and it has to bemy way. I think I just kinda
stayed in that for a little toolong.
Carly Ries (03:43):
Got it. Yep. All makes sense. Well, let's dive in
because we're gonna get a littlemeta on this conversation
because we're talking aboutpodcast guesting, and you are
our guest on our podcast rightnow.
Joe Rando (03:54):
Woah. My head.
Christina Lenkowski (03:57):
I know. Right? There's layers. There's
layers to this. Yes.
Exactly.
Carly Ries (04:02):
Guys, why Exactly. is guessing so important for
solopreneurs?
And, yeah. Just forsolopreneurs, let's start there.
Christina Lenkowski (04:12):
Let's start here. You don't have a whole
marketing team out there doingthis work for you.
Right? I was also a solopreneurfor many years. And so I
understand that, when you're aone person shop, you don't
necessarily have someone outthere who's spreading the word
about you. It is just you.
(04:33):
And so by having the opportunityto get in front of so many new
potential clients and customers,etcetera, by spending one hour
of your time is a really gooduse of that marketing time,
marketing budget if if needed,you know, etcetera for
solopreneurs. I'm all about, andI think all solopreneurs are,
(04:55):
working smarter, not harder. Andpodcast guesting is the epitome
of that. You are gonna get infront of a whole bunch of new
people.
They're gonna know, like, andtrust you a lot more, and you're
gonna be able to get thatmessage out further than, you
probably could have imagined.
Carly Ries (05:13):
Well, and so from that point, you get spread up,
you get put in front of newaudiences, and some big
audiences as a podcast. It canbe. Yep. I mean, the millions
that listen to every episode ofours. Yes.
But for solopreneurs, it's kindaweird. Joe and I, shameless
plug, are just about to befinished writing Solopreneur
(05:34):
Business for Dummies. And one ofthe things
Christina Lenkowski (05:36):
Congrats.
Carly Ries (05:37):
Thank you.
One of the things in ourresearch and talking to all the
people that we have in ourcommunity is that they have a
hard time actually saying whatthey do and getting it out into
the world. There's avulnerability with it. There's a
somebody's gonna steal my ideawith it. And they kinda go from
they're a best kept secret. Andwe're like, no no.
Tell people what you do. Getyour message out there. how do
(05:59):
you help people overcome thatmindset shift of keeping it to
themselves and then being like,I don't know, somebody in
Timbuktu could hear this episodeand I will never know.
Christina Lenkowski (06:08):
Yeah. What I really like to say to people,
if I'm being honest, is I'lllook them just dead in the eye,
and I'll be like, what do youthink is the worst thing that
could happen? What do you reallythink is the worst thing that
can happen by putting yourselfout there on podcast. Right, by
spreading that message. Andpeople will have all kinds of
different things. you justmentioned some of them. Someone
(06:30):
steals my idea. I say the wrongthing.
People don't think I'm qualifiedto be up there. And I'm here to
say that, yeah, I guess, maybesome of that stuff could
potentially happen. But for mostpeople, in no way is that gonna
be the end of their business.Right? Is that going to be
something that means they're notmoving forward in their
(06:52):
business?
I truly, truly think that theworst thing that can happen is
you do not put yourself outthere. People will not know
about your business if you arenot getting in front of new
audiences. This is a hugemistake I see people make is
they're just like, oh, I gottapost more on social media. I
gotta be putting more out onsocial media. No.
(07:14):
No. Odds are you don't. Thatdoesn't mean don't use social
media. I'm not saying that atall. I'm just saying, though,
that oftentimes isn't gonna getyou in front of new audiences.
Okay? So the thing about podcastguesting is that that is gonna
have the opportunity to get youout in front of more and more
people. We all stutter over thethings we were gonna say. We all
(07:37):
say the wrong things sometimes.But guess what?
There are people that I knowwork with me and have come to
work with me because they feltthat I was real. Okay? And so
please know that you, therealness, etcetera, is what the
world wants. We are cravingauthenticity in our life. And so
when someone comes on a show,they know what they're talking
about, someone really relates tothem, that is when they become
(08:00):
clients, customers, etcetera.
Joe Rando (08:02):
And those creepy AI generated videos now that you
see, doesn't it make theauthentic, you know, stuttering
over a word just all the moreendearing?
Christina Lenkowski (08:11):
Exactly. That's who we are.
Joe Rando (08:13):
Yeah. I just like, oh my god. It's just so much crap
now. I can't even take it. Andit's, so great to just see real
people and hear real people.
Christina Lenkowski (08:21):
You know, I asked Carly and Joe before we
hopped on here. I was like, sowhat if I accidentally swear?
Right? It's because those arereal moments that happen. Like,
we are in our everyday life.We're gonna say things. We're
gonna do things.
Etcetera. And, of course, I'mgonna gonna try not to do that,
and they would have to edit itout if need be. But just knowing
(08:43):
that that's a real person wherethat real thing could happen,
makes the conversation evenbetter. We're just passionate
about what we do.
So sometimes we get reallyexcited about it. You know? But
that again, people really feelthat, they really hear that,
etcetera.
Carly Ries (08:58):
what if people are listening to this and they're
like, yeah, I don't love postingon social. Maybe this is the
best way to get in front of newaudiences.
I'm gonna give this a shot. Andthey're like, I'm gonna reach
out to call her daddy orwhatever. And I'm gonna get on
their podcast. What do you sayto people that are really
(09:19):
shooting for the moon on theshows that they should be on,
but they're starting with apretty small audience?
Christina Lenkowski (09:24):
Yes. I would say that is a great goal
to have, but it is notrealistically the place where
you should be spending your timeright now. That doesn't mean
that a year from now, two yearsfrom now, and beyond that that
isn't going to absolutely besomething that you should be
pitching yourself to. But what Ithink makes a lot of sense is to
(09:48):
look to your own network first.Look to the people that either
you know, perhaps you're in amastermind or a membership with,
etcetera, and see if there aresome opportunities there.
I will say this until I am bluein the face. I would always
rather be in front of anaudience of a 100 of my ideal
(10:11):
clients than 10,000 people thatdon't give a rip about what it
is that I have to say. I wantyou to remember that. My clients
make so much more money on thesmaller, more niched podcasts
they are on and we've got ourclients on some big podcasts as
(10:31):
opposed to the bigger podcasts.
Okay? That doesn't mean thatthere's not value in those. That
doesn't mean that at all. Itjust means know where
strategically you should bespending your time, and that is
where your ideal clients arehanging out no matter the size.
Carly Ries (10:47):
Yeah. that's such a good point because, yeah. It's
like if they're not gonnaconvert, who cares about the
number?
Christina Lenkowski (10:52):
Who cares? You know? Who really cares in
the end? And is that more egodriven?
That's always the question thatI ask when someone comes to me.
because I will have people hopon Discovery calls with me just
like that. Like, they've neverbeen on A podcast. And they're
like, I don't know. Maybe Icould just get on, like, Joe
Rogan or Oprah or something. AndI'm like, yeah, no.
(11:14):
I mean, like, maybe down theroad. you know what I mean? But
the only thing that that comesto me is, a, those are the only
names they know. Right? So theyjust kinda throw out what they
know, and I understand that.
Or b, it's ego driven. They'rekind of like, I think I should
be on this caliber show or it'snot worth me being on a show at
(11:34):
all. And I tell you what, I'drather have a fat bank account
than be on a big show any day ofthe week.
Okay? So definitely look at itthat way from a strategy
perspective.
Carly Ries (11:45):
Yeah. You just have to put in your reps and what you
do. I mean, even from thepodcast What's first set? One
point. When we first started ourshow, we were kinda like, yeah.
If you wanna be on the show,come on the show. Oh, you're my
next year. Come on show. Yeah.And now I'm very selective.
So feel very VIP, Christina.
Christina Lenkowski (12:00):
Yeah. Well, I do. I do. I do.
Carly Ries (12:03):
But you do you have to put in those reps at first on
the on the guesting side aswell.
Joe Rando (12:08):
I gotta I gotta jump in because I just we also
though, early in our podcast,had some really wonderful people
that we happen to knowpersonally that did us the
favor. And I just don't want anyof those people going back and
say, hey. I was on episode sevenor whatever, and I just got
dissed by Joe and Carly.
We had a lot of awesome guestsearly. That's right. It was just
(12:30):
we couldn't just go, then wewanna get that person. It was
like, okay. I know him or herfrom before, and they'll do me
the same.
Christina Lenkowski (12:37):
Well, you were doing the opposite of what
we talked about earlier. Youwere using your network. Right?
And so that's never a bad thing.
Never does that mean that thosepeople weren't of course, your
audience learned from those. Butyour point was, hey, our
audience might have still beensmall, but these were our
friends. These were ournetworks, whatever that did us a
favor and came on. Thatabsolutely doesn't mean that
(12:58):
there isn't value, in what theysaid and things like that.
Joe Rando (13:01):
It was just that they were doing us a favor. Now we
feel a little more like we'redoing the guest a favor by
giving them a platform.
Carly Ries (13:10):
That's after 200 episodes and, like Right. Gonna
work.
Joe Rando (13:13):
200 plus.
Carly Ries (13:14):
Well, let's say people want they're like, okay.
I get it. I'm not gonna be on,the top point 01% of shows right
now.
Christina Lenkowski (13:21):
Right now. That's important that Right you
said now. That doesn't meanever. Just means right now.
Yeah.
Carly Ries (13:27):
And just starting, how do they find the shows that
they should be on? And how dothey reach out to these shows?
Is there a secret sauce togetting a yes from them or what
Christina Lenkowski (13:37):
Let me answer that in two parts. So the
first one is how do we find theshows that we think make the
most sense for us to get on.Right? Now we already talked
about kind of going to ournetwork.
So seeing who are the peoplethat we know that might have a
show. That's a great way. Also,potentially, is there someone
that maybe is in a mastermindwith me that's been on a show
(13:59):
that I wanna be on? Could theydo an intro for me?
Those are some really great waysto, use your network like that.
The other thing that I reallyrecommend, and I would challenge
everyone listening to thisepisode in the next forty eight
hours to do this, is put a noteup on your social media or put
it in an e newsletter. Say, hey,what shows do you guys listen
to? Let your audience tell youwhat some of these shows are
(14:22):
that they listen to. Now there'sgonna be some that don't make
any sense for you and what youdo. Like, I love true crime
podcast.
Joe Rando (14:30):
You don't wanna be on those if you can help it.
Carly Ries (14:32):
Yeah. Like, I always say, I'm like, if I'm suddenly
pitching true crime podcasts,something has gone really,
really wrong,
Christina Lenkowski (14:38):
You know what I mean? So, that's not
necessarily gonna be one thatworks for my business, but the
next person is gonna send me onethat I've never heard of that
looks like a very cool fit forme or for a client or something
like that. So I think that's areally great place to start.
The other thing that I reallyrecommend is doing what I call
the podcast piggyback mapmethod. And so what that means
(14:59):
is I want you to think ofsomeone that has a similar
audience to you, similar idealclient, similar customer base,
etcetera. They don't need to bea competitor. They might be. But
it could just be someone thatdoes something, where you guys
have the same ideal client.
(15:20):
And then I want you to droptheir name into Apple Podcasts
or Spotify or whatever, andyou're going to see what shows
they have been on. I want you tolook at the shows that they've
been on. Those might be somegood shows for you to pitch some
different topic ideas to, butyou know that that's the ideal
audience. The other thing thatyou're gonna do is look at the
(15:42):
shows they've been on, scrolldown to the bottom, and see the
shows you might also like. Orpeople that listen to this show,
listen to... and then it's gonnahave different shows down at the
bottom. That is another reallygreat spot to start doing some
research and find some showsthat could be a really, really
good fit for you. But that'swhat I say at the beginning is,
(16:04):
like, take people who you knowhave that ideal audience, see
what they've been on. Right?
See if there's an opportunityfor you to also go on that show
with a different topic, and thensee what shows are like those
shows. And get yourself a nicelist from there too.
Carly Ries (16:19):
That's smart. Okay. So they have the list. Time to
pitch. Yes.
Christina Lenkowski (16:25):
Well, we can get into, the pitch template
and what I believe, you know,should kind of be on there. Or
are you more wanting to knowabout how they find who they
should reach out to?
Carly Ries (16:35):
because I think people have their ways of
finding people. We can get tothat. But I just, like, do you
say, I just listened to the lastepisode.
Christina Lenkowski (16:44):
No.
Carly Ries (16:47):
I was going with that because every time I see
that in my inbox, I'm like,you're a robot.
Christina Lenkowski (16:52):
Exactly. Exactly. Carly just said it, you
guys. When you write thatmessage, that host immediately
knows you have not listened totheir show.
You have not really taken thetime to do some research on
their show. So what I reallyrecommend and what I teach and
what we do for our clients is wecreate what we call a pitch
template. Okay? For everyclient, and this is something
(17:13):
you can do for yourself. Andthat is where 80% of your pitch
is done. So meaning yourcredibility markers, all these
really great topics so we canget into the importance of
topics, are all written out. Andthen you're going to fill in
that other 20% based on thatspecific show. Okay? You're
gonna choose which topics makethe most sense for that show,
(17:35):
and then you are going togenuinely look at the show that
you are pitching. I will go backsometimes quite a ways, to find
a show that I am genuinelyinterested in listening to.
Meaning, like, it might be anepisode that's a month old, two
months old. I've even gone sixmonths back to find an episode
(17:55):
that I am genuinely interestedin. Then I listen to the first
five minutes.
I listen to the last fiveminutes, and I listen to five
minutes in the middle. Okay?This gives me a really good idea
as to the vibe of the show, thetype of stuff they talk about,
the language that they use todescribe their audience. That
can all go in the pitch there.
(18:15):
So this was really importantthing to do is mirror back how
they talk about their audience.Okay? So meaning that, you know,
for Joe and Carly, they describetheir audience as solopreneurs.
So make sure that you are usingthat verbiage all throughout
your pitch. So that they arereally clear, hey, I know who
(18:37):
your audience is, and I know howI can provide value to them.
That is the key. You are not onthere to talk about yourself.
You are on there to talk abouthow you can provide value to the
listeners.
Carly Ries (18:52):
As yeah. I feel like that's just the practical,
actionable advice that I have toknow, this is the world you live
in. What mistakes do you seepeople make the most when
they're pitching shows, onshows? Just what makes your
like, you just cringe.
Christina Lenkowski (19:09):
Yeah. For me, it's hearing from hosts how
95 plus percent of the pitchesthey get are trash. How they are
just like you said, clearly,someone has not looked into
their show. Right? They'resending a pitch.
We call it in the in the biz, wecall it the spray and pray,
method, you know, where theykinda write one thing. They send
(19:32):
it to a lot of people, and thenthey kinda cross their fingers
that some folks will write back.Okay? So when I see that, when I
hear that, etcetera, that reallymakes my blood boil because we I
obviously always want hosts tobe receiving great pitches.
Right?
I want them to know that peoplehave been researching them, know
(19:54):
that it's the right fit, knowthat they can bring the value to
their particular audience. Theother thing that I would really
mention, I see a lot, and thisis a little thing, but it is one
thing that'll just really grindmy gears.
that people will send pitches,and they won't include the first
name or names of the hosts. Thisis a very easy thing for you to
(20:19):
find. Okay? So they'll writelike, hey, hosts, or they'll be
like, hey, show name, you know,whatever.
They do not take the extra fiveseconds to grab the name of the
host, which literally is inApple Podcasts right under the
name of the show a lot of thetime. Sometimes it's not.
Sometimes you have to listen. Ohmy god. You have to listen and
hear the name.
(20:39):
You know what I mean? And thenput it in. But that to me, I
have so many friends that arepodcast hosts, and they're like,
the second they haven't used myname, it's out. I'm done. You
know what I mean?
So that's a very little thingthat taking that extra literal
ten seconds will make a bigdifference in how your pitch is
received.
Joe Rando (20:59):
Can I ask you a quick question? Just because this is
great. But I wanna flip this onits head. So I'm somebody
interested getting on podcasts.
What should I look for in thehosts? What's a good host? What
should I be listening for as Ilisten to say I wanna get on
that podcast versus probablyworth skipping? Any opinion
(21:19):
there?
Christina Lenkowski (21:19):
I don't necessarily have an opinion on
the host themselves. I'm very,very interested in the audience.
like, that's what I'm more sofocused on. I always say this
about hosts, and I don't meanthis in, a crass way at all, but
it's a good way to describe it.
You will meet hosts that will belike a one night stand, and you
(21:39):
will meet hosts that will be along term relationship. Both
have value, but you know, you'regonna have these, longer term
relationships with certainhosts, and then some are going
to be, thank you very much forhaving me on the show and
getting me in front of youraudience. I appreciate it so
much. You're still gonna sharethe episode, etcetera.
But you might not have that sameclick or that same, like, hey.
(22:01):
We really hit it off, in thisway as with other people. So
that's why I say I don't worryas much about the host. I'm
definitely looking to, howengaged is their audience? Is
this the right audience for me?
Carly Ries (22:15):
And to just show appreciation for being on this
show, it's funny.
Christina Lenkowski (22:19):
Oh, absolutely.
Carly Ries (22:20):
We've done 100 episodes now. And granted, some
of them are Joe and I, some ofthem are repeats. Over 200 I've
had a lot of guests. I'vereceived three, maybe three
follow-up thank you emails. Andthose three, now anytime I see
them on LinkedIn, I'm like, I'mgoing to comment on this post.
Christina Lenkowski (22:39):
I love this. Yes.
Carly Ries (22:41):
I'm your biggest cheerleader, just a simple
follow-up email. And it's funnyI think if you're the guest,
showing appreciation, be like,yeah, I'm gonna post it to my
channel.
Christina Lenkowski (22:52):
Oh, absolutely.
Carly Ries (22:55):
Most will remember that and they may invite you
back on in the future. They diddo a favor for you. We one of
our guests was lovely and she'shelping us like, she's great
with this book that we'rewriting and has been super
helpful with that. She was apodcast guest.
Christina Lenkowski (23:09):
Love that. I love that. Yes. I have had
many hosts become clients. I100% agree.
Carly Ries (23:15):
Yeah. So anyway, just throwing that maybe I'm a
little bitter, but I'm like,send me a Note.
Christina Lenkowski (23:20):
No. No. No. No. You're not.
What if I was just like, yeah,you are. No. I think that, no. I
think that how you feel aboutthat is very natural because you
put a lot of work into thispodcast.
And that is something thatpodcast guests need to
understand like, I think a lotof times podcast guests make the
mistake if they go on shows andthey're like, oh, they're lucky
(23:41):
to have me. they're lucky tohave me spending my time to be
on this show. Right? No. Thatain't it.
That ain't it. Like, thatpodcast host, they're doing most
of the work. You're showing upas a host now you're preparing.
Right? Like I told you, I waslistening to an episode before I
hopped on here, etcetera. Like,you still need to be doing
things as a guest. Don't get mewrong. It's not that you're just
(24:03):
gonna show up.
But to put on a podcast is a lotof work, y'all. If you don't
know, please believe me. Ittakes a lot of time. It takes a
lot of effort. Carly and Joe areshowing up at the same time,
which is, like, amazing whenthere's whenever there's cohost,
I'm like, hats off to you guys,for coordinating your schedules
in that way.
But my point of this is theleast you can do is share that
(24:26):
episode. Okay? And tag the showin that. Share it across your
various channels.
Like you said, LinkedIn. Put iton Instagram. Put it in a
newsletter. Talk about thingsthat make my blood boil. That
is, one of them is when peopledon't share, when an episode has
aired.
Carly Ries (24:45):
Yep. Okay. We have the same things that make our
blood boil.
Christina Lenkowski (24:49):
Yes. That's why I'm like, well, if you're
bitter, then I'm bitter too.
Carly Ries (24:51):
Yeah. I'm so glad you brought that up because
solopreneurs or people ingeneral just hear the importance
of content. And for yourbusiness, you need to release
content and social and contentcontent content. And podcasts
are a great way to repurpose.
Christina Lenkowski (25:10):
Absolutely.
Carly Ries (25:12):
which is so beneficial for solopreneurs
because they're so strapped fortime. So what are some ways that
they can do that?
Christina Lenkowski (25:19):
Yeah. I mean, there are a couple ways
that I would definitelyrecommend repurposing the
easiest way as possible. One ofthem is and I'm just gonna be
honest. You can find people onFiverr that will literally you
can go, here's my podcastepisode. Can you make a blog
post?
Can you make four social mediareels? Can you make whatever?
And have them do that work foryou at a lower cost. Right? So
(25:43):
something that maybe isn't goingto cost a lot.
On the flip side of that, Ireally love to use a tool that I
recommend called Headliner. It'sheadliner.app is the name, and
it is free for up to a certainamount per month. But,
basically, the reason that Ilike this tool is there's a lot
of really great, like, AI basedtools if you have the digital
(26:07):
file. Meaning, you have, thevoice file.
But as a guest, you don't havethat. I mean, you can always ask
a host, but then you have to, doanother set, etcetera. So the
nice thing about Headliner isonce it's published, like on
Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, theycan pull that audio. And so it
(26:28):
makes it really, really easy foryou to go, hey.
Here's the episode I was on. Andthey actually have, a whole
trouble like, a whole wizardthat'll do so you can, make a
clip directly in the app,download it, share it on your
social media channels, etcetera.But that is a really, really
nice tool, an easy tool to getsome of those, like, social
(26:50):
media clips and things like thatout there.
Carly Ries (26:53):
Don't mind me just muting myself over here so I
could type in headline
Christina Lenkowski (26:58):
Absolutely. And I mean, I will say, we were
talking about AI a little bitearlier. You know, I'm not gonna
lie. You can easily make a blogpost from a podcast episode that
you're on using AI. Right?
You can absolutely get atranscript of that show, ask,
you know, Chatty G as I like tocall her, you know, to create, a
(27:19):
300, 500 word blog posts,including backlinks. Of course,
you need to go through it. Youneed to edit it. You need to
make sure it has the stuff inthere that you want. But that
can really help save a lot oftime for you or if you have,
like, a VA, or a contractor orsomething like that that might
be able to to help with some ofthat too.
Carly Ries (27:36):
So let me ask,
because at the end of the day,yeah, you wanna repurpose
content, get on the right shows,but this is all to support a
business. unless they're justlooking for fifteen minutes of
fame through podcasting, peopleare doing this at the end of the
day to support their bottomline.
Christina Lenkowski (27:52):
Absolutely.
Carly Ries (27:53):
How can they measure the success of their podcast
guesting efforts? Is there a wayto tie back to ROI or anything?
Christina Lenkowski (28:00):
Yeah. I mean, how most of our clients
tie back to ROI is a lot of ourclients are service providers.
Okay? So, someone needs to applyor hop on a call or something
like that to be able to workwith them.
Like, a lot of them are higherticket offers. And so what they
really do to track a lot of thisis they just ask, you know, when
(28:22):
someone signs up for discoverycall or they apply, they're
like, hey. How did you find outabout us? And so one of the
options that they'll have is Iheard you on a podcast. They
don't even necessarily like, alot of times people don't
remember what podcast it wasbecause sometimes I'll get on a
call and I'll be like, hey, Isaw you heard me on a podcast.
Like, what podcast? They'relike, oh, I don't know. They
(28:42):
might know, but sometimes, theydon't.
And I'm like, it's okay. I justknow that that is then working.
Right? And so for me, that'sdefinitely, an easy way that we
track is just asking peoplewhere they heard about us, and
just adding that question in.Some people definitely get more
specific. They wanna have, apretty link for each show that
they're on, which you couldabsolutely do. Or what we really
(29:07):
recommend for clients is, once aquarter, be looking at your
numbers. So meaning look at yoursocial media channels and see
how they've grown. Look at youre newsletter list, see how
they've grown.
I don't necessarily recommend,particularly for, a solopreneur
that doesn't have a lot of time,you don't need to look at that
after each episode. That's why,like, once a quarter or
something like that could be areally great measurement for you
(29:29):
to know that, hey. This isworking. This is getting me out
there. But also acknowledgingthat, like, someone might hear
you a couple times before theymake a move. People hear me on
I'm on two podcasts a month onaverage. So that means over a
year, I'm on 24 podcasts, whatwe do for our annual clients.
Okay? Sometimes people hear meon more than one show.
(29:50):
You know what I mean? They'llhear me on a show, and then they
might hear me a couple monthslater. This has happened many
times. That's when they book acall.
So also know that sometimes itmight take someone hearing you a
couple times before they makethat move, meaning that's never
a waste of time for you to go ona show. It just means that,
like, sometimes you might not beable to track something directly
to, that first instant theyheard you.
Carly Ries (30:13):
Yeah. No. That makes sense. And but that also goes
back to choosing the right showsso that they hear you. The
repetition is there
Christina Lenkowski (30:21):
Yeah. Because I'm like, you can't
escape me. I'm here.
Carly Ries (30:27):
You're doing manual retargeting.
Christina Lenkowski (30:29):
Yeah. Basically. very very, intensive
manual retargeting. Yes.Exactly.
Carly Ries (30:35):
Not the most efficient way to do retargeting.
Yeah. So when I was come bycoming up with the list of
questions to ask you, was kindaproud of myself for this one. So
if you think it's kind offluffy, like, my head, I would
But what's one belief you wishthat every solopreneur had about
their own story? And why aretheir own stories worth sharing?
Christina Lenkowski (30:57):
I actually loved this, question when I saw
it on the list that you that yougave me. And I really think that
what it comes down to is you arevaluable. You are worthy of
being on these podcasts. Youknow, I talk to people a lot
that are like, well, I don'thave a book yet, or I don't
(31:17):
know. I haven't been on a TEDxstage yet or whatever.
And I'm like, none of thatreally matters. We talked about
at the very beginning, peoplewanna relate to something about
you. They want thatauthenticity. They wanna know
that you are the person that'sgoing to be able to help them,
and your story, whatever thatis, is going to attract the
(31:39):
right people. For the record,it's also gonna repel some
people.
But I'm here to tell you, that'sokay. Because those people
aren't gonna be your idealclients or customers anyways. We
are trying to sift through tothe people that we really,
really want to get in front of.
But I just want you to know thatyour story, whatever that is, is
(32:01):
absolutely worth it. Ourclients, when they get on and
they tell the stories of howthey got to where they are,
where they are in their life,you know, the things that drove
them to to do what they do, thatis really, really where the
connection happens. That's wherethey get the DMs. That's where
they get the emails, where theyget the follow ups. Someone is
like, hey.
I heard you on that show, and Ireally, really love what you had
(32:24):
to say. And it doesn't have tobe anything profound. It was
just something maybe even oneoff that they said, but someone
really felt that in their core.
Carly Ries (32:31):
I mean, it's funny. One of our favorite episodes
that we've done to date, it wasinterviewing a guy that runs a
dog poop pickup company.
Christina Lenkowski (32:39):
Oh, nice. Yeah. Hey, that's important. I
know marriage is saved by acompany like that.
Carly Ries (32:45):
And it's like one of those things at first you're
like, what an interesting personon the show. The story behind it
and his storytelling wereincredible.
Christina Lenkowski (32:55):
love that. Yeah.
Carly Ries (32:55):
You can do anything. So I think that's a good point.
Thanks for entertaining thatquestion.
Christina Lenkowski (33:00):
Oh, happy to entertain that question. I
thought it a great one.
Carly Ries (33:04):
Thanks. Well, Christina, you help so many so
many people find success throughpodcast guesting. So we have to
ask you, what is your favoritequote about success?
Christina Lenkowski (33:13):
So for me, this is the one that's actually
in front of me when I work, andit says, have the courage to
suck at something new. Andtruly, truly, for me, that is
it. And I bet there are lot ofpeople that are listening to
this today that areperfectionists. They're like, if
I'm not gonna be able to say itexactly how I wanna say it, I
(33:35):
don't think I could ever do, youknow, this podcast guest thing.
I don't think I could ever dowhatever. But you said it at the
beginning. It is muscle memory.It is repetition. It is getting
out there, saying it, knowingyou're gonna stumble over your
first ones.
And by the way, for me, thisapplies to, anything as a
business owner. Right? So it'snot just podcast guesting. It's
any part of being a businessowner. But it takes a lot of
(33:58):
courage to know that you are notgoing to maybe come out the the
gate and be the best that thereever was.
Right? We have to get better atthose things, but we have to
start somewhere.
Carly Ries (34:10):
So great. So so great. Well, Christina, if they
want to learn more about you ifthey. If our audience wants to
learn more about you, where canthey find you?
Christina Lenkowski (34:17):
You can find me over at
podcastpublicityquiz.com. I havea really fun interactive quiz
that'll help direct you whethermaybe you're someone who wants
to potentially start this andkind of DIY it, or maybe you're
someone that's looking more forthat done for you pitching
service that we have.
Carly Ries (34:33):
Awesome. We will include that in the show notes
for sure. And thank you so muchfor coming on today.
Christina Lenkowski (34:38):
Thank you both. I absolutely love what
you're doing. Solopreneurs, youguys, you work the hardest,
you're the best, and I can'twait to hear about more of those
stories that get out there.Thank you.
Carly Ries (34:48):
Thank you. And listeners, thank you so much for
tuning in.
As always, please share thisepisode with a friend, leave
that five star review, andsubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform. And we'll seeyou next time on the aspiring
solopreneur. You may be goingsolo in business, but that
doesn't mean you're alone. Infact, millions of people are in
(35:09):
your shoes, running a one personbusiness and figuring it out as
they go. So why not connect withthem and learn from each other's
successes and failures?
At LifeStarr, we're creating aone person business community
where you can go to meet and getadvice from other solopreneurs.
Be sure to join in on theconversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
If you've ever wondered how to get your
(00:01):
business in front of more peoplewithout spending every waking
moment on social media, thisconversation is for you. We sat
down with podcast publicity pro,Christina Lenkowski, to talk
about the power of podcastguesting. Why it's one of the
smartest, most authentic wayssolopreneurs can grow their
audience and their credibility.From how to find the right
shows, spoiler, a smaller nichepodcast can be gold mines, to
(00:25):
the biggest mistakes people makewhen pitching, Christina pulls
back the curtain on everythingyou need to know to start
landing guest spots. She alsoshares why your story, yes, your
story, is worth telling and howbeing real beats being perfect
every single time.
So if you're ready to step outfrom being the best kept secret
and start showing up where yourideal clients are listening,
(00:46):
this episode will give you theplaybook. You're listening to
the Aspiring Solopreneur, thepodcast for anyone on the solo
business journey, whether you'rejust toying with the idea,
taking your first bold step, orhave been running your own show
for years and want to keepgrowing, refining, and thriving.
I'm Carly Ries, and along withmy cohost, Joe Rando, we're your
(01:07):
guides through the crazy butawesome world of being a company
of one. As part of LifeStarr, adigital hub dedicated to all
things solopreneurship, we helppeople design businesses that
align with their life'sambitions so they can work to
live, not live to work. Ifyou're looking for a get rich
quick scheme, this is not theplace for you.
But if you want real worldinsights from industry experts,
(01:28):
lessons from the successes andstumbles of fellow solopreneurs,
and practical strategies forbuilding and sustaining a
business you love, you're in theright spot. Because flying solo
in business doesn't mean you'realone. No matter where you are
in your journey, we've got yourback. Christina, it's funny
because we've talked about thetopic of podcasting, like, on
(01:48):
this show, but it's been Joe,doesn't it feel like it's been
ages since we've talked aboutit? And I feel like the
podcasting game has changed somuch.
And before we dive into all ofthat goodness, we wanna ask you
our icebreaker question, whichis what do you wish you had
known before becoming asolopreneur?
Christina Lenkowski (02:04):
I think the thing that I really wish I would
have known, if I'm being honest,is be open to the ways people
are willing to give you money.And what I mean by that is I was
very closed off in what Ithought, it had to look like, if
that makes sense. I was like,when I start a business, this is
how it's gonna be different, andthis is what I want it to look
(02:26):
like. And when it didn'tnecessarily go my way, I kind of
dug in, and it wasn't until Irealized, you know, listen to
what people are are saying toyou about how they wanna pay
you, how they wanna give youmoney, etcetera, and see how you
can kinda blend those two thingstogether.
Carly Ries (02:43):
Are you talking from an offer standpoint or, Venmo
Offer
Christina Lenkowski (02:47):
from an offer standpoint, specifically.
No. No. No. Not in the specificsof, like, I wanna pay you via
PayPal.
Ain't like that. Wanna take allthe money. I would have been
like, you I would have beenlike, you wanna send me cash?
That's fine. No.
I would have been completelycompletely fine. No. It was more
that I was so and we can getinto this, but I was so burnt
out from the experience that Ihad had, in the kind of in the
(03:09):
agency world, typical, worldthat I was like, I don't wanna
do it this way. Do you know whatI mean? And so then when people
came to me, and they're like,yeah.
But could we, like, a little bitdo it that way? I was like, no.
And it wasn't until I kind of,realized, hey. There's a way to
make this happen that stillworks for you and is still gonna
(03:31):
give a lot of value to yourclients.
You know what I mean? I was, sostuck in that, like, it has to
not be this way and it has to bemy way. I think I just kinda
stayed in that for a little toolong.
Carly Ries (03:43):
Got it. Yep. All makes sense. Well, let's dive in
because we're gonna get a littlemeta on this conversation
because we're talking aboutpodcast guesting, and you are
our guest on our podcast rightnow.
Joe Rando (03:54):
Woah. My head.
Christina Lenkowski (03:57):
I know. Right? There's layers. There's
layers to this. Yes.
Exactly.
Carly Ries (04:02):
Guys, why Exactly. is guessing so important for
solopreneurs?
And, yeah. Just forsolopreneurs, let's start there.
Christina Lenkowski (04:12):
Let's start here. You don't have a whole
marketing team out there doingthis work for you.
Right? I was also a solopreneurfor many years. And so I
understand that, when you're aone person shop, you don't
necessarily have someone outthere who's spreading the word
about you. It is just you.
(04:33):
And so by having the opportunityto get in front of so many new
potential clients and customers,etcetera, by spending one hour
of your time is a really gooduse of that marketing time,
marketing budget if if needed,you know, etcetera for
solopreneurs. I'm all about, andI think all solopreneurs are,
(04:55):
working smarter, not harder. Andpodcast guesting is the epitome
of that. You are gonna get infront of a whole bunch of new
people.
They're gonna know, like, andtrust you a lot more, and you're
gonna be able to get thatmessage out further than, you
probably could have imagined.
Carly Ries (05:13):
Well, and so from that point, you get spread up,
you get put in front of newaudiences, and some big
audiences as a podcast. It canbe. Yep. I mean, the millions
that listen to every episode ofours. Yes.
But for solopreneurs, it's kindaweird. Joe and I, shameless
plug, are just about to befinished writing Solopreneur
(05:34):
Business for Dummies. And one ofthe things
Christina Lenkowski (05:36):
Congrats.
Carly Ries (05:37):
Thank you.
One of the things in ourresearch and talking to all the
people that we have in ourcommunity is that they have a
hard time actually saying whatthey do and getting it out into
the world. There's avulnerability with it. There's a
somebody's gonna steal my ideawith it. And they kinda go from
they're a best kept secret. Andwe're like, no no.
Tell people what you do. Getyour message out there. how do
(05:59):
you help people overcome thatmindset shift of keeping it to
themselves and then being like,I don't know, somebody in
Timbuktu could hear this episodeand I will never know.
Christina Lenkowski (06:08):
Yeah. What I really like to say to people,
if I'm being honest, is I'lllook them just dead in the eye,
and I'll be like, what do youthink is the worst thing that
could happen? What do you reallythink is the worst thing that
can happen by putting yourselfout there on podcast. Right, by
spreading that message. Andpeople will have all kinds of
different things. you justmentioned some of them. Someone
(06:30):
steals my idea. I say the wrongthing.
People don't think I'm qualifiedto be up there. And I'm here to
say that, yeah, I guess, maybesome of that stuff could
potentially happen. But for mostpeople, in no way is that gonna
be the end of their business.Right? Is that going to be
something that means they're notmoving forward in their
(06:52):
business?
I truly, truly think that theworst thing that can happen is
you do not put yourself outthere. People will not know
about your business if you arenot getting in front of new
audiences. This is a hugemistake I see people make is
they're just like, oh, I gottapost more on social media. I
gotta be putting more out onsocial media. No.
(07:14):
No. Odds are you don't. Thatdoesn't mean don't use social
media. I'm not saying that atall. I'm just saying, though,
that oftentimes isn't gonna getyou in front of new audiences.
Okay? So the thing about podcastguesting is that that is gonna
have the opportunity to get youout in front of more and more
people. We all stutter over thethings we were gonna say. We all
(07:37):
say the wrong things sometimes.But guess what?
There are people that I knowwork with me and have come to
work with me because they feltthat I was real. Okay? And so
please know that you, therealness, etcetera, is what the
world wants. We are cravingauthenticity in our life. And so
when someone comes on a show,they know what they're talking
about, someone really relates tothem, that is when they become
(08:00):
clients, customers, etcetera.
Joe Rando (08:02):
And those creepy AI generated videos now that you
see, doesn't it make theauthentic, you know, stuttering
over a word just all the moreendearing?
Christina Lenkowski (08:11):
Exactly. That's who we are.
Joe Rando (08:13):
Yeah. I just like, oh my god. It's just so much crap
now. I can't even take it. Andit's, so great to just see real
people and hear real people.
Christina Lenkowski (08:21):
You know, I asked Carly and Joe before we
hopped on here. I was like, sowhat if I accidentally swear?
Right? It's because those arereal moments that happen. Like,
we are in our everyday life.We're gonna say things. We're
gonna do things.
Etcetera. And, of course, I'mgonna gonna try not to do that,
and they would have to edit itout if need be. But just knowing
(08:43):
that that's a real person wherethat real thing could happen,
makes the conversation evenbetter. We're just passionate
about what we do.
So sometimes we get reallyexcited about it. You know? But
that again, people really feelthat, they really hear that,
etcetera.
Carly Ries (08:58):
what if people are listening to this and they're
like, yeah, I don't love postingon social. Maybe this is the
best way to get in front of newaudiences.
I'm gonna give this a shot. Andthey're like, I'm gonna reach
out to call her daddy orwhatever. And I'm gonna get on
their podcast. What do you sayto people that are really
(09:19):
shooting for the moon on theshows that they should be on,
but they're starting with apretty small audience?
Christina Lenkowski (09:24):
Yes. I would say that is a great goal
to have, but it is notrealistically the place where
you should be spending your timeright now. That doesn't mean
that a year from now, two yearsfrom now, and beyond that that
isn't going to absolutely besomething that you should be
pitching yourself to. But what Ithink makes a lot of sense is to
(09:48):
look to your own network first.Look to the people that either
you know, perhaps you're in amastermind or a membership with,
etcetera, and see if there aresome opportunities there.
I will say this until I am bluein the face. I would always
rather be in front of anaudience of a 100 of my ideal
(10:11):
clients than 10,000 people thatdon't give a rip about what it
is that I have to say. I wantyou to remember that. My clients
make so much more money on thesmaller, more niched podcasts
they are on and we've got ourclients on some big podcasts as
(10:31):
opposed to the bigger podcasts.
Okay? That doesn't mean thatthere's not value in those. That
doesn't mean that at all. Itjust means know where
strategically you should bespending your time, and that is
where your ideal clients arehanging out no matter the size.
Carly Ries (10:47):
Yeah. that's such a good point because, yeah. It's
like if they're not gonnaconvert, who cares about the
number?
Christina Lenkowski (10:52):
Who cares? You know? Who really cares in
the end? And is that more egodriven?
That's always the question thatI ask when someone comes to me.
because I will have people hopon Discovery calls with me just
like that. Like, they've neverbeen on A podcast. And they're
like, I don't know. Maybe Icould just get on, like, Joe
Rogan or Oprah or something. AndI'm like, yeah, no.
(11:14):
I mean, like, maybe down theroad. you know what I mean? But
the only thing that that comesto me is, a, those are the only
names they know. Right? So theyjust kinda throw out what they
know, and I understand that.
Or b, it's ego driven. They'rekind of like, I think I should
be on this caliber show or it'snot worth me being on a show at
(11:34):
all. And I tell you what, I'drather have a fat bank account
than be on a big show any day ofthe week.
Okay? So definitely look at itthat way from a strategy
perspective.
Carly Ries (11:45):
Yeah. You just have to put in your reps and what you
do. I mean, even from thepodcast What's first set? One
point. When we first started ourshow, we were kinda like, yeah.
If you wanna be on the show,come on the show. Oh, you're my
next year. Come on show. Yeah.And now I'm very selective.
So feel very VIP, Christina.
Christina Lenkowski (12:00):
Yeah. Well, I do. I do. I do.
Carly Ries (12:03):
But you do you have to put in those reps at first on
the on the guesting side aswell.
Joe Rando (12:08):
I gotta I gotta jump in because I just we also
though, early in our podcast,had some really wonderful people
that we happen to knowpersonally that did us the
favor. And I just don't want anyof those people going back and
say, hey. I was on episode sevenor whatever, and I just got
dissed by Joe and Carly.
We had a lot of awesome guestsearly. That's right. It was just
(12:30):
we couldn't just go, then wewanna get that person. It was
like, okay. I know him or herfrom before, and they'll do me
the same.
Christina Lenkowski (12:37):
Well, you were doing the opposite of what
we talked about earlier. Youwere using your network. Right?
And so that's never a bad thing.
Never does that mean that thosepeople weren't of course, your
audience learned from those. Butyour point was, hey, our
audience might have still beensmall, but these were our
friends. These were ournetworks, whatever that did us a
favor and came on. Thatabsolutely doesn't mean that
(12:58):
there isn't value, in what theysaid and things like that.
Joe Rando (13:01):
It was just that they were doing us a favor. Now we
feel a little more like we'redoing the guest a favor by
giving them a platform.
Carly Ries (13:10):
That's after 200 episodes and, like Right. Gonna
work.
Joe Rando (13:13):
200 plus.
Carly Ries (13:14):
Well, let's say people want they're like, okay.
I get it. I'm not gonna be on,the top point 01% of shows right
now.
Christina Lenkowski (13:21):
Right now. That's important that Right you
said now. That doesn't meanever. Just means right now.
Yeah.
Carly Ries (13:27):
And just starting, how do they find the shows that
they should be on? And how dothey reach out to these shows?
Is there a secret sauce togetting a yes from them or what
Christina Lenkowski (13:37):
Let me answer that in two parts. So the
first one is how do we find theshows that we think make the
most sense for us to get on.Right? Now we already talked
about kind of going to ournetwork.
So seeing who are the peoplethat we know that might have a
show. That's a great way. Also,potentially, is there someone
that maybe is in a mastermindwith me that's been on a show
(13:59):
that I wanna be on? Could theydo an intro for me?
Those are some really great waysto, use your network like that.
The other thing that I reallyrecommend, and I would challenge
everyone listening to thisepisode in the next forty eight
hours to do this, is put a noteup on your social media or put
it in an e newsletter. Say, hey,what shows do you guys listen
to? Let your audience tell youwhat some of these shows are
(14:22):
that they listen to. Now there'sgonna be some that don't make
any sense for you and what youdo. Like, I love true crime
podcast.
Joe Rando (14:30):
You don't wanna be on those if you can help it.
Carly Ries (14:32):
Yeah. Like, I always say, I'm like, if I'm suddenly
pitching true crime podcasts,something has gone really,
really wrong,
Christina Lenkowski (14:38):
You know what I mean? So, that's not
necessarily gonna be one thatworks for my business, but the
next person is gonna send me onethat I've never heard of that
looks like a very cool fit forme or for a client or something
like that. So I think that's areally great place to start.
The other thing that I reallyrecommend is doing what I call
the podcast piggyback mapmethod. And so what that means
(14:59):
is I want you to think ofsomeone that has a similar
audience to you, similar idealclient, similar customer base,
etcetera. They don't need to bea competitor. They might be. But
it could just be someone thatdoes something, where you guys
have the same ideal client.
(15:20):
And then I want you to droptheir name into Apple Podcasts
or Spotify or whatever, andyou're going to see what shows
they have been on. I want you tolook at the shows that they've
been on. Those might be somegood shows for you to pitch some
different topic ideas to, butyou know that that's the ideal
audience. The other thing thatyou're gonna do is look at the
(15:42):
shows they've been on, scrolldown to the bottom, and see the
shows you might also like. Orpeople that listen to this show,
listen to... and then it's gonnahave different shows down at the
bottom. That is another reallygreat spot to start doing some
research and find some showsthat could be a really, really
good fit for you. But that'swhat I say at the beginning is,
(16:04):
like, take people who you knowhave that ideal audience, see
what they've been on. Right?
See if there's an opportunityfor you to also go on that show
with a different topic, and thensee what shows are like those
shows. And get yourself a nicelist from there too.
Carly Ries (16:19):
That's smart. Okay. So they have the list. Time to
pitch. Yes.
Christina Lenkowski (16:25):
Well, we can get into, the pitch template
and what I believe, you know,should kind of be on there. Or
are you more wanting to knowabout how they find who they
should reach out to?
Carly Ries (16:35):
because I think people have their ways of
finding people. We can get tothat. But I just, like, do you
say, I just listened to the lastepisode.
Christina Lenkowski (16:44):
No.
Carly Ries (16:47):
I was going with that because every time I see
that in my inbox, I'm like,you're a robot.
Christina Lenkowski (16:52):
Exactly. Exactly. Carly just said it, you
guys. When you write thatmessage, that host immediately
knows you have not listened totheir show.
You have not really taken thetime to do some research on
their show. So what I reallyrecommend and what I teach and
what we do for our clients is wecreate what we call a pitch
template. Okay? For everyclient, and this is something
(17:13):
you can do for yourself. Andthat is where 80% of your pitch
is done. So meaning yourcredibility markers, all these
really great topics so we canget into the importance of
topics, are all written out. Andthen you're going to fill in
that other 20% based on thatspecific show. Okay? You're
gonna choose which topics makethe most sense for that show,
(17:35):
and then you are going togenuinely look at the show that
you are pitching. I will go backsometimes quite a ways, to find
a show that I am genuinelyinterested in listening to.
Meaning, like, it might be anepisode that's a month old, two
months old. I've even gone sixmonths back to find an episode
(17:55):
that I am genuinely interestedin. Then I listen to the first
five minutes.
I listen to the last fiveminutes, and I listen to five
minutes in the middle. Okay?This gives me a really good idea
as to the vibe of the show, thetype of stuff they talk about,
the language that they use todescribe their audience. That
can all go in the pitch there.
(18:15):
So this was really importantthing to do is mirror back how
they talk about their audience.Okay? So meaning that, you know,
for Joe and Carly, they describetheir audience as solopreneurs.
So make sure that you are usingthat verbiage all throughout
your pitch. So that they arereally clear, hey, I know who
(18:37):
your audience is, and I know howI can provide value to them.
That is the key. You are not onthere to talk about yourself.
You are on there to talk abouthow you can provide value to the
listeners.
Carly Ries (18:52):
As yeah. I feel like that's just the practical,
actionable advice that I have toknow, this is the world you live
in. What mistakes do you seepeople make the most when
they're pitching shows, onshows? Just what makes your
like, you just cringe.
Christina Lenkowski (19:09):
Yeah. For me, it's hearing from hosts how
95 plus percent of the pitchesthey get are trash. How they are
just like you said, clearly,someone has not looked into
their show. Right? They'resending a pitch.
We call it in the in the biz, wecall it the spray and pray,
method, you know, where theykinda write one thing. They send
(19:32):
it to a lot of people, and thenthey kinda cross their fingers
that some folks will write back.Okay? So when I see that, when I
hear that, etcetera, that reallymakes my blood boil because we I
obviously always want hosts tobe receiving great pitches.
Right?
I want them to know that peoplehave been researching them, know
(19:54):
that it's the right fit, knowthat they can bring the value to
their particular audience. Theother thing that I would really
mention, I see a lot, and thisis a little thing, but it is one
thing that'll just really grindmy gears.
that people will send pitches,and they won't include the first
name or names of the hosts. Thisis a very easy thing for you to
(20:19):
find. Okay? So they'll writelike, hey, hosts, or they'll be
like, hey, show name, you know,whatever.
They do not take the extra fiveseconds to grab the name of the
host, which literally is inApple Podcasts right under the
name of the show a lot of thetime. Sometimes it's not.
Sometimes you have to listen. Ohmy god. You have to listen and
hear the name.
(20:39):
You know what I mean? And thenput it in. But that to me, I
have so many friends that arepodcast hosts, and they're like,
the second they haven't used myname, it's out. I'm done. You
know what I mean?
So that's a very little thingthat taking that extra literal
ten seconds will make a bigdifference in how your pitch is
received.
Joe Rando (20:59):
Can I ask you a quick question? Just because this is
great. But I wanna flip this onits head. So I'm somebody
interested getting on podcasts.
What should I look for in thehosts? What's a good host? What
should I be listening for as Ilisten to say I wanna get on
that podcast versus probablyworth skipping? Any opinion
(21:19):
there?
Christina Lenkowski (21:19):
I don't necessarily have an opinion on
the host themselves. I'm very,very interested in the audience.
like, that's what I'm more sofocused on. I always say this
about hosts, and I don't meanthis in, a crass way at all, but
it's a good way to describe it.
You will meet hosts that will belike a one night stand, and you
(21:39):
will meet hosts that will be along term relationship. Both
have value, but you know, you'regonna have these, longer term
relationships with certainhosts, and then some are going
to be, thank you very much forhaving me on the show and
getting me in front of youraudience. I appreciate it so
much. You're still gonna sharethe episode, etcetera.
But you might not have that sameclick or that same, like, hey.
(22:01):
We really hit it off, in thisway as with other people. So
that's why I say I don't worryas much about the host. I'm
definitely looking to, howengaged is their audience? Is
this the right audience for me?
Carly Ries (22:15):
And to just show appreciation for being on this
show, it's funny.
Christina Lenkowski (22:19):
Oh, absolutely.
Carly Ries (22:20):
We've done 100 episodes now. And granted, some
of them are Joe and I, some ofthem are repeats. Over 200 I've
had a lot of guests. I'vereceived three, maybe three
follow-up thank you emails. Andthose three, now anytime I see
them on LinkedIn, I'm like, I'mgoing to comment on this post.
Christina Lenkowski (22:39):
I love this. Yes.
Carly Ries (22:41):
I'm your biggest cheerleader, just a simple
follow-up email. And it's funnyI think if you're the guest,
showing appreciation, be like,yeah, I'm gonna post it to my
channel.
Christina Lenkowski (22:52):
Oh, absolutely.
Carly Ries (22:55):
Most will remember that and they may invite you
back on in the future. They diddo a favor for you. We one of
our guests was lovely and she'shelping us like, she's great
with this book that we'rewriting and has been super
helpful with that. She was apodcast guest.
Christina Lenkowski (23:09):
Love that. I love that. Yes. I have had
many hosts become clients. I100% agree.
Carly Ries (23:15):
Yeah. So anyway, just throwing that maybe I'm a
little bitter, but I'm like,send me a Note.
Christina Lenkowski (23:20):
No. No. No. No. You're not.
What if I was just like, yeah,you are. No. I think that, no. I
think that how you feel aboutthat is very natural because you
put a lot of work into thispodcast.
And that is something thatpodcast guests need to
understand like, I think a lotof times podcast guests make the
mistake if they go on shows andthey're like, oh, they're lucky
(23:41):
to have me. they're lucky tohave me spending my time to be
on this show. Right? No. Thatain't it.
That ain't it. Like, thatpodcast host, they're doing most
of the work. You're showing upas a host now you're preparing.
Right? Like I told you, I waslistening to an episode before I
hopped on here, etcetera. Like,you still need to be doing
things as a guest. Don't get mewrong. It's not that you're just
(24:03):
gonna show up.
But to put on a podcast is a lotof work, y'all. If you don't
know, please believe me. Ittakes a lot of time. It takes a
lot of effort. Carly and Joe areshowing up at the same time,
which is, like, amazing whenthere's whenever there's cohost,
I'm like, hats off to you guys,for coordinating your schedules
in that way.
But my point of this is theleast you can do is share that
(24:26):
episode. Okay? And tag the showin that. Share it across your
various channels.
Like you said, LinkedIn. Put iton Instagram. Put it in a
newsletter. Talk about thingsthat make my blood boil. That
is, one of them is when peopledon't share, when an episode has
aired.
Carly Ries (24:45):
Yep. Okay. We have the same things that make our
blood boil.
Christina Lenkowski (24:49):
Yes. That's why I'm like, well, if you're
bitter, then I'm bitter too.
Carly Ries (24:51):
Yeah. I'm so glad you brought that up because
solopreneurs or people ingeneral just hear the importance
of content. And for yourbusiness, you need to release
content and social and contentcontent content. And podcasts
are a great way to repurpose.
Christina Lenkowski (25:10):
Absolutely.
Carly Ries (25:12):
which is so beneficial for solopreneurs
because they're so strapped fortime. So what are some ways that
they can do that?
Christina Lenkowski (25:19):
Yeah. I mean, there are a couple ways
that I would definitelyrecommend repurposing the
easiest way as possible. One ofthem is and I'm just gonna be
honest. You can find people onFiverr that will literally you
can go, here's my podcastepisode. Can you make a blog
post?
Can you make four social mediareels? Can you make whatever?
And have them do that work foryou at a lower cost. Right? So
(25:43):
something that maybe isn't goingto cost a lot.
On the flip side of that, Ireally love to use a tool that I
recommend called Headliner. It'sheadliner.app is the name, and
it is free for up to a certainamount per month. But,
basically, the reason that Ilike this tool is there's a lot
of really great, like, AI basedtools if you have the digital
(26:07):
file. Meaning, you have, thevoice file.
But as a guest, you don't havethat. I mean, you can always ask
a host, but then you have to, doanother set, etcetera. So the
nice thing about Headliner isonce it's published, like on
Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, theycan pull that audio. And so it
(26:28):
makes it really, really easy foryou to go, hey.
Here's the episode I was on. Andthey actually have, a whole
trouble like, a whole wizardthat'll do so you can, make a
clip directly in the app,download it, share it on your
social media channels, etcetera.But that is a really, really
nice tool, an easy tool to getsome of those, like, social
(26:50):
media clips and things like thatout there.
Carly Ries (26:53):
Don't mind me just muting myself over here so I
could type in headline
Christina Lenkowski (26:58):
Absolutely. And I mean, I will say, we were
talking about AI a little bitearlier. You know, I'm not gonna
lie. You can easily make a blogpost from a podcast episode that
you're on using AI. Right?
You can absolutely get atranscript of that show, ask,
you know, Chatty G as I like tocall her, you know, to create, a
(27:19):
300, 500 word blog posts,including backlinks. Of course,
you need to go through it. Youneed to edit it. You need to
make sure it has the stuff inthere that you want. But that
can really help save a lot oftime for you or if you have,
like, a VA, or a contractor orsomething like that that might
be able to to help with some ofthat too.
Carly Ries (27:36):
So let me ask,
because at the end of the day,yeah, you wanna repurpose
content, get on the right shows,but this is all to support a
business. unless they're justlooking for fifteen minutes of
fame through podcasting, peopleare doing this at the end of the
day to support their bottomline.
Christina Lenkowski (27:52):
Absolutely.
Carly Ries (27:53):
How can they measure the success of their podcast
guesting efforts? Is there a wayto tie back to ROI or anything?
Christina Lenkowski (28:00):
Yeah. I mean, how most of our clients
tie back to ROI is a lot of ourclients are service providers.
Okay? So, someone needs to applyor hop on a call or something
like that to be able to workwith them.
Like, a lot of them are higherticket offers. And so what they
really do to track a lot of thisis they just ask, you know, when
(28:22):
someone signs up for discoverycall or they apply, they're
like, hey. How did you find outabout us? And so one of the
options that they'll have is Iheard you on a podcast. They
don't even necessarily like, alot of times people don't
remember what podcast it wasbecause sometimes I'll get on a
call and I'll be like, hey, Isaw you heard me on a podcast.
Like, what podcast? They'relike, oh, I don't know. They
(28:42):
might know, but sometimes, theydon't.
And I'm like, it's okay. I justknow that that is then working.
Right? And so for me, that'sdefinitely, an easy way that we
track is just asking peoplewhere they heard about us, and
just adding that question in.Some people definitely get more
specific. They wanna have, apretty link for each show that
they're on, which you couldabsolutely do. Or what we really
(29:07):
recommend for clients is, once aquarter, be looking at your
numbers. So meaning look at yoursocial media channels and see
how they've grown. Look at youre newsletter list, see how
they've grown.
I don't necessarily recommend,particularly for, a solopreneur
that doesn't have a lot of time,you don't need to look at that
after each episode. That's why,like, once a quarter or
something like that could be areally great measurement for you
(29:29):
to know that, hey. This isworking. This is getting me out
there. But also acknowledgingthat, like, someone might hear
you a couple times before theymake a move. People hear me on
I'm on two podcasts a month onaverage. So that means over a
year, I'm on 24 podcasts, whatwe do for our annual clients.
Okay? Sometimes people hear meon more than one show.
(29:50):
You know what I mean? They'llhear me on a show, and then they
might hear me a couple monthslater. This has happened many
times. That's when they book acall.
So also know that sometimes itmight take someone hearing you a
couple times before they makethat move, meaning that's never
a waste of time for you to go ona show. It just means that,
like, sometimes you might not beable to track something directly
to, that first instant theyheard you.
Carly Ries (30:13):
Yeah. No. That makes sense. And but that also goes
back to choosing the right showsso that they hear you. The
repetition is there
Christina Lenkowski (30:21):
Yeah. Because I'm like, you can't
escape me. I'm here.
Carly Ries (30:27):
You're doing manual retargeting.
Christina Lenkowski (30:29):
Yeah. Basically. very very, intensive
manual retargeting. Yes.Exactly.
Carly Ries (30:35):
Not the most efficient way to do retargeting.
Yeah. So when I was come bycoming up with the list of
questions to ask you, was kindaproud of myself for this one. So
if you think it's kind offluffy, like, my head, I would
But what's one belief you wishthat every solopreneur had about
their own story? And why aretheir own stories worth sharing?
Christina Lenkowski (30:57):
I actually loved this, question when I saw
it on the list that you that yougave me. And I really think that
what it comes down to is you arevaluable. You are worthy of
being on these podcasts. Youknow, I talk to people a lot
that are like, well, I don'thave a book yet, or I don't
(31:17):
know. I haven't been on a TEDxstage yet or whatever.
And I'm like, none of thatreally matters. We talked about
at the very beginning, peoplewanna relate to something about
you. They want thatauthenticity. They wanna know
that you are the person that'sgoing to be able to help them,
and your story, whatever thatis, is going to attract the
(31:39):
right people. For the record,it's also gonna repel some
people.
But I'm here to tell you, that'sokay. Because those people
aren't gonna be your idealclients or customers anyways. We
are trying to sift through tothe people that we really,
really want to get in front of.
But I just want you to know thatyour story, whatever that is, is
(32:01):
absolutely worth it. Ourclients, when they get on and
they tell the stories of howthey got to where they are,
where they are in their life,you know, the things that drove
them to to do what they do, thatis really, really where the
connection happens. That's wherethey get the DMs. That's where
they get the emails, where theyget the follow ups. Someone is
like, hey.
I heard you on that show, and Ireally, really love what you had
(32:24):
to say. And it doesn't have tobe anything profound. It was
just something maybe even oneoff that they said, but someone
really felt that in their core.
Carly Ries (32:31):
I mean, it's funny. One of our favorite episodes
that we've done to date, it wasinterviewing a guy that runs a
dog poop pickup company.
Christina Lenkowski (32:39):
Oh, nice. Yeah. Hey, that's important. I
know marriage is saved by acompany like that.
Carly Ries (32:45):
And it's like one of those things at first you're
like, what an interesting personon the show. The story behind it
and his storytelling wereincredible.
Christina Lenkowski (32:55):
love that. Yeah.
Carly Ries (32:55):
You can do anything. So I think that's a good point.
Thanks for entertaining thatquestion.
Christina Lenkowski (33:00):
Oh, happy to entertain that question. I
thought it a great one.
Carly Ries (33:04):
Thanks. Well, Christina, you help so many so
many people find success throughpodcast guesting. So we have to
ask you, what is your favoritequote about success?
Christina Lenkowski (33:13):
So for me, this is the one that's actually
in front of me when I work, andit says, have the courage to
suck at something new. Andtruly, truly, for me, that is
it. And I bet there are lot ofpeople that are listening to
this today that areperfectionists. They're like, if
I'm not gonna be able to say itexactly how I wanna say it, I
(33:35):
don't think I could ever do, youknow, this podcast guest thing.
I don't think I could ever dowhatever. But you said it at the
beginning. It is muscle memory.It is repetition. It is getting
out there, saying it, knowingyou're gonna stumble over your
first ones.
And by the way, for me, thisapplies to, anything as a
business owner. Right? So it'snot just podcast guesting. It's
any part of being a businessowner. But it takes a lot of
(33:58):
courage to know that you are notgoing to maybe come out the the
gate and be the best that thereever was.
Right? We have to get better atthose things, but we have to
start somewhere.
Carly Ries (34:10):
So great. So so great. Well, Christina, if they
want to learn more about you ifthey. If our audience wants to
learn more about you, where canthey find you?
Christina Lenkowski (34:17):
You can find me over at
podcastpublicityquiz.com. I havea really fun interactive quiz
that'll help direct you whethermaybe you're someone who wants
to potentially start this andkind of DIY it, or maybe you're
someone that's looking more forthat done for you pitching
service that we have.
Carly Ries (34:33):
Awesome. We will include that in the show notes
for sure. And thank you so muchfor coming on today.
Christina Lenkowski (34:38):
Thank you both. I absolutely love what
you're doing. Solopreneurs, youguys, you work the hardest,
you're the best, and I can'twait to hear about more of those
stories that get out there.Thank you.
Carly Ries (34:48):
Thank you. And listeners, thank you so much for
tuning in.
As always, please share thisepisode with a friend, leave
that five star review, andsubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform. And we'll seeyou next time on the aspiring
solopreneur. You may be goingsolo in business, but that
doesn't mean you're alone. Infact, millions of people are in
(35:09):
your shoes, running a one personbusiness and figuring it out as
they go. So why not connect withthem and learn from each other's
successes and failures?
At LifeStarr, we're creating aone person business community
where you can go to meet and getadvice from other solopreneurs.
Be sure to join in on theconversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
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