How to Reach Book Readers Through Podcasts and Interviews

Every novelist knows the necessity of promoting oneself digitally. One of the simple ways to reach out to new audiences is through podcasts and interviews; they could pretty well increase your fan base. Podcasts might probably connect people who could be readers of your work. The central point now is how to utilize these channels for promoting your book and author profile altogether.

We will explain how to use podcasts and interviews as marketing tools for your book, helping to reach more prospective readers.

1. The Importance of Interviews and Podcasts for Authors

The boom of podcasts is gradual, but their popularity is increasing each year. New and interesting topics are rising daily, and alongside them, the amount of people actively engaging with podcasts is increasing. Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, a podcast exists for nearly every area of interest. 

Useful Aspects of Engaging Readers Via Podcasts:

Builds an Active and Targeted Audience: Podcasts are most effective way in creating loyal listeners who actively engage interesting content. Therefore it will help you improve readership compared to the other forms of readers.

Expand Your Reach: Although a book celebrates local or national fame, it can be made known to the whole wide world through the podcasts.

Boost Your Credibility: Interviews, as well as podcasts, serve as a very good way to promote oneself and to witness one's expertise in the particular field to uplift his name as an author.

2. Finding the Appropriate Podcasts to Use for Marketing

Every podcast has its uniqueness, so a study of the targeted genre and audience will help immensely in achieving marketing goals. The idea here is to pin down the most relevant audience, one that would be interested in the products on offer.

Useful Tips for Searching for Applicable Podcasts:  

Search by Genre: A list based on the genre of the podcasts available must be created and worked with from there. Take, for instance, romance novels that would have a podcast associated with it or those that veer into women's fiction. 

Use Podcast Directories: Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts can be searched for shows related to literature, writing, or even the sub-genres related to your work.

Author Interviews: There are tons of podcasts that interview authors and give them a chance to promote their book to eager ears.

3. Pitching Yourself to Podcasts

When you pitch yourself to a podcast, you are essentially promoting yourself and your book to the host. Having a professional and captivating pitch enhances your likelihood to get selected for the podcast.

How to Successfully Pitch a Podcast:

Know Your Audience: Listen to a few podcast episodes before contacting them. Understand how the podcast feels, what their format is, and what their tone is to enhance your pitch.

Tailor Your Pitch: Make sure to greet the host with their name. Mention and explain how their podcast meet your expectations and how you plan to aid in its success. Provide any relevance between their topics and your book, no matter how minor it is in relation to the theme, genre or subject.

Stay Short: Since hosts get tons of pitch emails, you should try to ensure your pitch is clear and to the point. Besides, add a few sentences about yourself, your book, and why you believe their listeners would love having you on the show.

4. Get Ready for Your Podcast or Interview Appearance

When you get a podcast interview, it's a great idea to be well prepared so you don't waste the opportunity. An awesome performance can help you gain loyal fans and increase book sales, but a lackluster interview can squander potential deals.

How to get ready:

Review the Podcast Structure: Determine how the interview will flow. Is it a question and answer segment, flowing discussion, or a thorough examination of a specific topic? This insight will help you adjust how you provide answers.

Make a List of Important Ideas: Make sure to get specific ideas down that you want to highlight in the interview. Some of these could be your history, what motivated you to write the book, how you wrote it, or what sets your narrative apart. Remember to focus on your book without forgetting that you might have to discuss issues tangential to your area of expertise.

5. Make Sure You Make The Best Impression During The Interview

Everything that includes the interview is critical, but what happens afterward holds equal value to your success. Ensure that you use everything to its fullest advantage during that time.

Tell Everyone About Your Podcast Interview:

Market It On Social Media: Don't forget to market it on social media. Make sure that after the episode is live, you should share it on all social media platforms. Also, encourage your social media friends to come and listen. You have the ability to invite your audience to leave some remarks about it or ask them to help share the episode.

Add Links: Make sure to create social media posts and email newsletters.

Twitter: Do make sure to engage with them after the podcast is posted.

Social Media Channels - Expand Your Reach: After the episode goes public, make sure that you engage the audience on the comment sections on other social media platforms like Twitter and join other conversations from there. Finally, be sure you thank them for listening.

Repost Them As Well: Also, after the show goes live, make sure to engage the audience off the show by commenting on other social media platforms, join threads from different presenters of the show and most importantly, don't forget to thank them for listening.

Postvideos Or Podcasts: With every engagement that is associated with the podcast, the easy they become to host that's when it comes to being tasked with thousands of viewers becomes easy for every engagement on sites that host videos or podcasts the easier viewers becomes to publishers.

6. Develop Connections with Podcast Hosts and Their Listeners

Your work as a podcast guest does not end when the episode goes live; your marketing strategy should include your further interactions with the podcast host and their listeners as potential future opportunities.

Sustained Attention:

Don’t forget to Follow-Up with the Host: Don’t burn bridges; after your interview, thank the host and remain in contact with them. A good relationship with them might increase your chances of getting invited on their podcast, or they may recommend you to other hosts.

Collaborate with Other Authors: Many podcasts have multiple authors as guests, be it for roundtables or simply thematically related to the podcast. Collaborating with authors on podcasts allows you access to their audiences and new collaborative projects.

Participate in Podcast Communities: Some podcast have dedicated listener groups on social media or other channels. Enrolling in those communities provides you with direct access to a targeted group of potential book readers that are already invested in your genre.  

7. Monitor the Outcomes of Your Podcast Appearances  

Lastly, it is imperative to analyze your podcast appearances and how they impact your sales and overall author visibility. Tracking metrics will help refine your future strategies, even if the results are delayed.

Metrics to Monitor:  

Sales of Books: Keep track of your sales before and after every podcast episode. This can give you an understanding of the impact a podcast truly has.

Traffic to Author Websites: Analyze how many people visiting the author’s website or book landing page are coming from the podcast interview.  

Social Media Growth: Estimate any increase in the number of followers, shares, and general engagement across social media platforms after each appearance.