How to find the right guests for your podcast

How to find the right guests for your podcast

With the rapid rise in the number of podcasts in recent years, the audio landscape has become very competitive. Between writing, recording, and editing, creating a podcast from start to finish requires time and energy. But the most difficult thing is undoubtedly to find quality guests who will bring interesting content and who will correspond well to the spirit of the podcast.

Théo Robache, founder of The Pompom podcast, knows better than anyone how puzzling this exercise can be. With almost 130 episodes to his credit for almost 4 years, he has gradually developed his method for finding rare pearls and ensuring quality exchanges with his guests.

He tells us about it in this episode 10 of Content Factory:

Focus on recommendations first

Theo's first essential piece of advice: focus on the recommendations of his network to find guests first, rather than spending hours trying to find well-known personalities who are not connected to his circle.

For me, I continue to have the same approach, which is that I don't pay much attention to what the person does. he explains.

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The most important thing is to rely on the kind recommendations of your contacts. This is how he managed to receive very varied profiles, from the world of entrepreneurship to culture to politics.

Concretely, Théo relies a lot on the guests with whom the exchange went well:

‍For example, if you did an interview with someone and it went very well, and you feel that you had a feeling, you ask yourself, ok, do you, in your universe, in your environment, people you like, people you like, you will not have someone to recommend.

Word of mouth is still his best ally.

Of course, the recommendation must be consistent with the spirit of the podcast. Theo always takes the time to talk to the person who suggests a name, to understand what she thinks is the point of inviting him.

Do not hesitate to favor spontaneity over fame

Of course, receiving well-known personalities in your podcast can give a good spotlight. But Theo reminds us that the importance of spontaneity during the interview should not be overlooked:

‍If I know too much, I am less surprised, I am less spontaneous. And for me, this spontaneity is the essence of the authenticity of the podcast.

Sometimes, it's better not to find out too much about a guest in advance, in order to encourage more natural and fluid exchanges. The authenticity and relevance of the words will often take precedence over notoriety.

It also requires accepting a part of the unknown and being guided by the discussion. But this unexpected event is part of the salt of the most interesting exchanges!

Dare to explore a wide variety of profiles

The diversity of profiles received by Théo over the 130 episodes is striking: a hard-core entrepreneur one week, an economist the next, a top athlete the following week... He does not hesitate to explore very different worlds.

It also sometimes allows me to touch different horizons. So I don't have too much of a niche, it's both an advantage and a disadvantage

Going off the beaten path is rewarding, even if it sometimes complicates the search for guests.

The eclecticism of the profiles received makes it possible to address a wide variety of subjects and to satisfy a wider audience. This very open curiosity fits well with the spirit of Le Pompon and has made the podcast successful over time.

Conclusion

Finding the right guests is an essential but often time-consuming pillar for podcast creators. Thanks to recommendations, spontaneity and eclecticism in the choice of profiles, Théo Robach has succeeded in finding rare guests over the years who make the salt of Pompon. His method can inspire more than one!

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