My job as a host is two-fold. I want to give my audience a great, engaging, inspiring, and informative episode. And I want to highlight my guest and the great work they’re doing. I always try to achieve both in every episode. Having said that, I get pitched several times a day, and I definitely have some things that turn me off from a potential guest. (I also have things I LOVE in a potential guest, and I note some of them below as well.)

1. If you, the guest (or your PR pitch person), don’t do your research on my show. Listen to an episode or two to see how I do things and what my perspective is on innovation. If you’re an accountant, how do you do things differently to serve your clients? If you’re an artist, how are you innovating your art? Without those things, my podcast isn’t the right fit.
2. Someone who just wants to pitch their product. If you don’t have value you can add on innovation and creative thinking, my show isn’t the right one for you. So, figure out how you can add value to the show you’re pitching.
3. Someone who doesn’t have a point-of-view on innovation and creative thinking. Know who you are. Know what you believe re innovation and creative thinking. Without that perspective, the episode won’t work.
4. Someone who doesn’t have a press sheet they can send me with their social media links, questions they can answer, and a bio that is concise and easy to read. If you’re compelling guest, I might forego it, but I really want all your information in one place so I LOVE press sheets.
5. Someone who isn’t easy to work with. One of the big reasons I was excited to have Gloria on my show (and Aurora as well) is that they and their teams made it extremely easy for me to work with them. They got me their materials. They answered my podcast questions. They showed up on time, and they were engaged, excited, and ready to share their wisdom. (My show was featured in the Slice of Life section in the book, Podcasting for Dummies because it’s real, fun, and informative [so they said ☺️ ]. So, I need my guests to be that way too, or the entire show doesn’t work.)
6. Someone who doesn’t ask for help if they need it. If something comes up and you need to reschedule, that works as long as you give me notice. If your tech dies, I’ll absolutely work with you. But try to give me as much notice as possible.
7. Someone who ghosts me with no explanations. If you do that, you won’t get another chance when you try to pitch me again. (that’s happened and the gentleman was really put out when my team member said “thanks but no thanks,” in reply to them wanting to come on the show after blowing off an interview with no notice or explanation.)

I hope these points help you when you start pitching your story to podcasts. Please let me know if you have any questions.