…when you are going to be a guest on a podcast…hosted by another author…

(And I snagged some of these from another blog post, but they were so spot on, I had to.)

Please remember:

When you are a guest on a podcast, remember that you are a … GUEST. You would not come late to a real host’s home. You would not act rude or ugly in a host’s home either, so yeah. Don’t do that.

In a real life situation, your host had to dress up, clean their house, prepare food, etc. Well, a podcast host has a lot to do too. They have to do promos before the show to garner interest. They have to create a blog post/show notes page for the spot. They take their precious writing time and give it to you for your show. Please be respectful of their time.

The time issue does not end with the end of your show’s recording. Now the real work of editing the spot, uploading it, tweaking and refining the page it will reside on begins. They will need your headshot, your book cover art, a blurb about the book, a bio, etc. also. Be sure that you get that to them so they can make your show a success. Don’t ask them to go to your website and grab the things they need. They have ENOUGH to do, believe me.

Be kind to your host. Do something to give back to them for hosting you. I mean, they are not getting PAID for you to be on their show. Chances are good they will get a few listens, but how does that translate into anything for them if they, like you, are an author?

Ways to repay

1. Read one of their books. AND REVIEW IT! They likely read the one you are promoting while on their show, so why not return the favor?

2. Tweet their content. Podcasting requires a heavy load of promotion for the word to be heard. It would help tremendously if you helped promote your spot.

3. Rate the podcast. iTunes uses this rating system to boost a podcast up the ladder to success. If they don’t get any ratings by the listening public, they remain pretty obscure. This one is very important!

4. Go to the show notes page for your spot. Or any other that you listen to and enjoy. Leave the host a comment on the show notes page. Let them know you liked the show, or even if you didn’t let them know. Give them some of your advice for ways to make it better.

5. Share it. Post the link everywhere. On your blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Triberr, Linkedin, Google+ and a myriad of other spots. Pin the image on Pinterest. Make this podcast, that featured you and your work, highly visible.

Do these things and the host will love you and ask you back again and again.