In this podcast episode, Michelle Frechette and Matt Medeiros discuss the importance of being a good podcast guest. They emphasize the need for high-quality audio, preparation, and engaging conversation. They advise against using built-in microphones or AirPods and suggest investing in a good microphone. They also stress the importance of avoiding sales pitches and providing informative, engaging answers. They highlight the need for guests to understand the podcast and its audience, and to promote the episode after its release. They also mention the rise of YouTube as a podcast platform and the value of establishing rapport with the host.
Top Takeaways:
- Preparation is Key: Guests should research the podcast, its audience, and the host’s style to provide unique, engaging content. Tailoring answers and having multiple perspectives on common questions can make a significant difference.
- Engage and Collaborate: Guests should build rapport and collaboration with hosts, understanding it’s a partnership. Being responsive, timely, and cooperative, even in providing necessary information after the interview, is crucial.
- Authenticity and Value: Guests need to be genuine, sharing their unique expertise without trying to be someone they’re not. They should focus on offering value—be it entertainment, education, or information—to the audience.
- Technical Preparation: Good audio quality is a must. Using a quality microphone and wearing headphones during the interview significantly improves the recording quality, and it’s equally important to test equipment beforehand.
Mentioned in the show:
- ATR 2100 microphone
- Descript
- Studio Sound
- YouTube
- DOLL-E
- SquadCast
- WordPress
- WP Speakers
- Post Status
You can follow Post Status and our guests on Twitter:
- Matt Medeiros (Community, Gravity Forms)
- Michelle Frechette (Community Relations, Post Status)
- Olivia Bisset (Intern, Post Status)
The Post Status Draft podcast is geared toward WordPress professionals, with interviews, news, and deep analysis.
Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.
Transcript
Michelle Frechette (00:00:03) – Hey, Matt. How are you?
Matt Medeiros (00:00:05) – Doing well. Michelle, thanks for having me on this special episode.
Michelle Frechette (00:00:09) – Oh, yeah. I’m really grateful that you decided to join me. Or you could join me. Don’t know. Decided to. Makes it sound like I don’t know if I want a Michelle.
Speaker 3 (00:00:17) – Hmm should I join Michelle today? Yeah.
Michelle Frechette (00:00:20) – Well, appreciate your friendship and appreciate all that you do with podcasting. And I’ve learned a lot from you over the years, and I’ve learned things from you that I don’t do that I probably should just because of sometimes I’m in a hurry and I’m like, oh man, I should do ‘the what would Matt do’ when I yeah, I do that. But anyway, yeah. So thanks for being here. I thought it would be a lot of fun to kind of talk about what it takes to be a good podcast guest, because you and I have been doing it for. You’ve been doing a lot longer than I have, but I’ve been podcasting for, I think, since 2019.
Michelle Frechette (00:00:56) – So four years for me, which seems like a long time.
Matt Medeiros (00:01:01) – Yeah it is, it’s a lot of folks fail after like their first 15 episodes.
Michelle Frechette (00:01:06) – So yeah. So yeah, I took a little bit of a, you know, what do you call it when you sabbatical, maybe from, from it for a little while during the pandemic, but back in full force. And I’ve had, you know, I have almost 200 episodes in at WP Coffee Talk and I’ve done, you know, podcasting and a bunch of other places too. And I realize that a lot of guests, no matter how well you try to prepare them, just try to show up and wing it. And so I thought we could talk a little bit about why thats not the best way to go. And what are some good things that podcast guests can do to make the most for themselves and to be the best for us and able for us to be able to continue to put out good content. So what are some of your thoughts?
Matt Medeiros (00:01:55) – Yeah. So I’m going to start with the most important but also least important piece. And that is if people are watching at home or if you’re just listening, it’s the microphone. And I know that as somebody who’s consulted podcasters for years, a lot of people came in through the door, especially at my old job. Hey, I want to start a podcast. I want to buy all this equipment. When you’re creating content, it’s not about spending hundreds, thousands of dollars like your favorite YouTubers with air quotes in In the air or your favorite podcasters that are spending, you know, famously $400 for the show, seven B microphone and all of the other RODECaster stuff and live streaming equipment. It’s not about that. It’s about one not using your AirPods or your built in microphone or the microphone that’s on the lapel. It’s about looking at this as. Objectively and saying, look, I can spend between $50 and $75. That’s the microphone that I’m using now, the $50 to $75. Sure. SMS the ATR 2100.
Matt Medeiros (00:03:04) – Sorry, I have so many microphones, ATR 2100. These things go on sale all the time, especially with Black Friday coming up. Why do I say that? I say that because. Audio quality is the most important part of that listening experience. And when we’re looking at it as guests like how do how can guests be better? I’ve seen guests and I’ve had guests appear on the show and they’re in like 20 foot ceiling rooms. They’re using built in microphone on their laptop, and the audio is impossible. Sure. Things like descript and studio sound, they can make sound sound pretty good, but it’s not going to take terrible audio and make it so much better. Why is it important? There’s a thing called listening fatigue, right? Where you’re trying to listen and you’re trying to hear what the person saying. And if there’s too much resonance or too much echo in the room, it’s very difficult. Oftentimes can be annoying if it’s like a constant tick or a sound that’s happening and you’re going to you’re going to lose that listener.
Matt Medeiros (00:04:07) – And if you’re leveraging podcasts as part of your content marketing strategy, people can be like, oh, I’m never going to listen to your message. I’m not going to hear your call to action because I just I simply cannot hear you. And I and I promise I’ll wrap up this answer. Because this is a guest. This is a guest thing. I travel with my podcast, so it’s going from my phone playing out loud. Maybe when I’m, you know, making breakfast or working out or cleaning up around the house. Then I transition to my car. If I’m going to pick up my kids from school and then maybe back into my AirPod AirPods when I’m working and listening. So it makes a big difference when you can nail that audio quality. The important thing is to be cognizant of that audio quality. Invest simply $50 to $75. That’s all you need to do. Plug this in through USB and the world will be a better place for all podcast listeners.
Michelle Frechette (00:05:05) – Absolutely. Especially if you’re in a business where you want to get on more podcasts to helpwith recognition in the community or, you know, actual sales opportunities most.
Michelle Frechette (00:05:16) – By the way, most of us podcasters don’t want you to come on and just do a sales pitch. So that’s another little, little side we want to get to know you and know why you’re somebody that we should listen to and your products, etcetera. But I’ve had people try to say, can I, can I do this from Starbucks? No, you cannot do this from Starbucks. I’ve had people and I will say I have had people who all they have are their AirPods, and maybe they’re in Africa, on the continent, or maybe they’re in Thailand or India. And it’s like, okay, I want to talk to you. I want your information. I’ll take the best that you’ve got. Um, but that said, it would be nice if people had the ability to invest, but at the very least shut off the fan. Get your kids out of the room. Like those things that are controllable should be controllable. I felt so bad for one guest once he was in India. It had to be like 100 degrees.
Michelle Frechette (00:06:11) – I had to make him turn off the fan because I couldn’t hear him and he literally was just like pouring sweat down his face the entire time and felt bad. But at least we could hear him. So.
Matt Medeiros (00:06:22) – Yeah, when you when you get the mic and 100% like if look, if the $50 to $75 is a stretch hopefully your podcast host is, is the person who’s hosting you as, as the guest is kind of prepping you for this stuff, maybe informing you a little bit, but it’s also about microphone etiquette. So again, for those who are watching, you can see the microphone in the shot of Michelle and you can see my Michelle’s microphone. You can see my microphone. It’s one thing to buy the microphone and then it’s another thing to use it correctly. And I don’t want to get like over technical, but the closer you get the audio the better it will sound. And I know there’s like a stigma like, oh, it’s kind of geeky to have this like podcast mic like in your face.
Matt Medeiros (00:07:05) – Yeah, but the audio is going to sound 100 times better than if it were planted on the desk. Or, you know, in some cases using the laptop microphone. It’s about having an impact and creating great content. And sure, if you don’t have it, you don’t have it. That’s okay. I’m thinking more of, you know, Michelle, the the 80% we get in our inboxes of my CEO would love to be on your show. And then the CEO shows up with her feet up on the desk fan going, you know, and it’s just like, wait a minute, what’s happening here?
Michelle Frechette (00:07:33) – And the kids running through the room while she’s got her, her, you know, first generation AirPods in her ears.
Matt Medeiros (00:07:39) – Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Michelle Frechette (00:07:41) – Absolutely. I when I send out when somebody signs up to be on WP coffee Talk, I send out the questions in advance because everybody answers the same set of questions. And yet people will still show up and go, hey, I thought we could talk about this or did you have any questions you really wanted to talk about? And I’m like, you mean the ones I sent you twice? But don’t say that of course
Michelle Frechette (00:08:01) -And and so like if, if your podcast host is sending you information, they’re sending you like this is how to prepare. This is the kind of room this is the better, you know, make sure you have a microphone, those kinds of things. And here are the questions we’re going to ask. And this is how long I’d like this episode to be. Please take the time to read it. I would say absolutely.
Matt Medeiros (00:08:21) – Yeah. I ask, you know, a certain a few degrees off from, from like that context. People will ask to be on the show. I’ll consider it most of the time. I’m asking the guest to be on the, on the podcast, like I’m trying to curate that experience based on the topics that I think are relevant or important in my world. Occasionally, you know, you get that, hey, CEO wants to be on the podcast, and you look at it, you consider it. And if the pitch is kind of halfway decent and you’re like, okay, I’ll consider this.
Matt Medeiros (00:08:54) – And is there a company or product that fit into the topic du jour? Um, but what I’ll tell people is. All I need is your one best thing. Give me your one best thing. I don’t pre write the questions and send them to them, but I will prompt them to say what’s the one topic that you’re super passionate about? Like that’s what I want to drill down, drill down on. As long as you’re not. As long as your best topic is not your pitch to your business.
Michelle Frechette: Right.
Matt Medeiros: But what’s that one thing that you get super excited about? Because that’s where I want to put you. I want to put you in a in a spot where you’re super comfortable and super energetic to talk about this stuff, and then I’ll sort of branch off from there as we get the conversation rolling. So but oftentimes people will be like, uh, they’ll default to a sales pitch or they’ll really have nothing and say, well, why did you ask me to come on this podcast? You know.
Matt Medeiros (00:09:49) – Why did your PR team reach out if you’re just not ready to go? And for me, it’s like energy and involvement, which goes back to like what you were saying. I cared enough to read these questions and come prepared. Even if they say, you know what, can we change this question? Or I don’t really like this one, fine, as long as you’re invested in the conversation, right?
Michelle Frechette (00:10:09) – Yeah, I’ve had people say I don’t have an answer to that question, you know? And I’m like, all right, we can skip that one because maybe you’ve never been to any WordPress event. That’s one of my questions. Like, you know what? What was an example of an event that really did something for you? And so if they literally have their brand new to WordPress, they don’t have that. We’ll skip that question then, because that doesn’t make any sense for me to just be like, come on, what would you do if, you know, that’s that’s not helpful?
Matt Medeiros (00:10:34) – Pretend you’re in a room with 2000 WordPress geeks. What would you do?
Michelle Frechette (00:10:40) – What do you think would be that mountaintop experience? I love so my some ideas that people have given us. So I asked this question on Twitter and I love that. Like Robbie McCullough says, try not to repeat the same stories over and over again between podcasts, which is very difficult. I’ve been a guest on a lot of podcasts, and I’ve guest blogged for people who want to know. Michelle, what’s your story? How did you get started in WordPress? And there’s only one. How did I get started in WordPress Story. Because it’s the same story. So I try to think of how to tell it a little bit differently every time, but not giving the same spiel and sounding like the exact broken record on every single podcast I think is is important. Think of a different way to.
Matt Medeiros (00:11:23) – Yeah, I see that as a balance between the guest and the podcast host. Right? So the guest should learn about the podcast and the audience that they’re going on.
Matt Medeiros (00:11:35) – What angle? Right. So if you have again, like I’m thinking of the people who are actively outreaching, leveraging podcasting as a marketing avenue, which is totally cool. Um, you know, it’s fine, but yeah, don’t show up like Robbie says and just rubberstamp the same conversation from podcast to podcast because you’re you’re over saturating and you’re going to lose the audience because you’re going to certainly there’s some cross between podcasts, and people are going to not want to hear that particular angle on repeat. So learn the audience and find a different way. Ask the question of the podcast host, like what’s going to make it impactful for you? So in my signup form, I just say like, what’s the number one thing you’re going to that you want to get out of this podcast, aside from exposure, like we all know that, but what’s the other value add here? The podcast host should be listening to interviews of that guest if they have, you know, a bunch of interviews out on the web before having them as a guest, especially if they’re a more prominent guest, the ones that are actually more prone to repeating the questions and answers on other podcasts.
Matt Medeiros (00:12:41) – One perfect example is the episode I published today with Katie Keith. She is what I call a WordPress media mogul. Like you, Michelle, she is everywhere. On every podcast, there is a wide range of content of her and interviews of her, and I spent many hours listening to interviews of her on other podcasts, not on her own shows, but I wanted to make sure I was asking questions that, you know, tell me about WooCommerce plugins. Like like everyone asks that like, and I try to formulate different questions and get a side of Katie that hopefully other podcasters haven’t asked her about. So I see that one as 50/50.
Michelle Frechette (00:13:21) – Yeah, agree with that. I think it’s important that we do the research right, so that we know who it is that we’ve invited onto the show, and that we can make sure that we’re getting good answers from them that really kind of meet our needs. And also like as a guest, now that I’ve guested on a couple of things and people always ask me that same question, how do you get started? I’ve tried to compartmentalize my answer.
Michelle Frechette (00:13:42) – So it’s like, I’m going to talk about this part of how I get started. I’m going to talk about my first site, or a different ways that I can kind of strategize that I don’t sound like, oh, it’s just Michelle telling her origin story. Again, I want to try to give something a little bit different. So if you can think of 3 or 4 ways to answer the same question, that isn’t exactly the same answer. I think you’re helping yourself and your podcast host as well. Now here’s one that I’m also guilty of is Leslie Leslie Pizza. I will say Leslie SIM says try to. That’s her name on on everything. So try to listen to 1 or 2 previous episodes to get a good feel for the podcast. I. I love making podcasts. I don’t listen to a lot of podcasts. I’m going to be honest. But when I am a guest, I will try to at least listen to like one and a half times speed. So it goes faster just to get an idea of the cadence and the the host, and how the host asks questions and how to interact with that host.
Michelle Frechette (00:14:39) – But I think it’s a great idea if you’re if you’re not going to read what I send you, at least listen to an episode to kind of get an idea of what’s coming.
Matt Medeiros (00:14:46) – Yeah, yeah. I mean, I’m, I listen to a lot of podcasts, um, specifically in the podcast industry and the WordPress industry and, you know, try to consume as much as possible. And now with the rise of sort of YouTube coming into play, which is weird to say, in 2023, but YouTube coming into play with podcasts are going to start to officially, um. Start doing like. RSS.. Don’t want to get super technical. I’m going to start doing RSS ingestion pretty soon, where they’ll take your podcast feed and actually turn it into the YouTube channel for you. So they’re going to get more prominent in the podcast space in order to compete with Spotify and Apple. But there’s loads of ways to consume content and visually get some of these like demeanor and how they act. Are they smiling? Are they excited? And again, like you, you as the guest can can see that visually.
Matt Medeiros (00:15:42) – If somebody’s got a YouTube channel as well and you, the podcast host, can also see that with the guests. How were they? How was their lighting? How was their technical? Were they good on camera? Were they smiling? Were they happy? There’s a lot of things that you can dissect and then shape the way you approach the conversation.
Michelle Frechette (00:15:57) – Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more. Angela Bowman brings a suggestion where she says, don’t answer to briefly or too long. And I think we’ve both probably had that podcast guest that it’s like pulling teeth to get them to give more than 1 or 2 word answers. And it’s like, I thought she wanted to be on a podcast, and yet you’re not telling me anything.
Matt Medeiros (00:16:17) – Yeah, I know, yeah, I know.
Michelle Frechette (00:16:20) – Come prepared to talk about yourself.
Matt Medeiros (00:16:22) – Like even now. Like I’m trying to time myself on on my responses as, like the producer in my own head. But yeah, it’s tough. Um, look, there’s again, when I was consulting podcasters for about two and a half years, a lot of people just wanted to get into it.
Matt Medeiros (00:16:40) – They didn’t realize how much work it was going to going to be. It was like, hey, I want to start a podcast, too. It’s fun and it’s exciting. Yes it is. It’s a great way to create content. Yes it is. But then there’s like, hey there, ten friends run out. Okay, so now, now they’re like, oh my God, I have to go find guests. Now I have to like, create. Like, I have to be a producer and figure out what’s going to resonate with my audience now that I’m out of my colleagues that I can interview. And that’s where the rubber meets the road. And you have to actually start thinking about it more of like, you know, a sort of like a business. And when you start getting on other podcasts, if you’re trying to grow your show or grow your brand, people, people want to be educated, entertained or informed. At least that’s the way that I see it, right? And if you can’t deliver on any of those three, it’s going to be tough.
Matt Medeiros (00:17:28) – And I get if people are just starting out you, it’s a craft that you need to to work on and get better at not holding everyone accountable. Like you have to be super funny and has to always have to be on the edge of my seat for every answer. Um, but do take it seriously and think not just of the podcast host that you’re guesting on, but their audience. Like the time that those 50 people are listening or 50,000 people are listening, depending on what podcasts you’re on. Think about the time that they’re spending spending with you. It’s it’s one of the most intimate marketing mediums. You’re in somebody’s ear buds. And podcast listenership is an investment for the listener. So it’s it’s crucial time that you’re spending with them. So take it seriously and practice. Start your own podcast so you can see what it’s like. If you don’t have one.
Michelle Frechette (00:18:24) -At least practice podcast it right. Like don’t have to actually publish it. Just practice.
Matt Medeiros (00:18:27) – 100%. Yes. Yeah. Yes I do that with presentations.
Matt Medeiros (00:18:31) – That’s how I do like if I’m going to go speak, do a presentation, a live presentation, I’ll record it 100%. I record it because I need to to hear the the way that I deliver it and I need to I just need to practice. So I do that all the time.
Michelle Frechette (00:18:43) – I should do that. I’ve never done that.
Matt Medeiros (00:18:45) – I do it and then I yeah,
Michelle Frechette (00:18:50) – I shoot from the hip every time. They keep inviting me back. So guess I’m okay at it. But yeah.
Michelle Frechette (00:18:56) – James Law says historical facts about the guests are always a treat. It helps motivate those who are still looking to climb on the shoulders of giants and strive for future success. I liked that answer. I thought that was pretty cool.
Matt Medeiros (00:19:07) – I don’t yeah. The Twitter algorithm. I don’t see all these responses.
Michelle Frechette (00:19:13) – Just just click to the original post and scrolled right down through the the responses. But Nick Wilmot says that good audio and something interesting to say, and this is what he says that thought was good is rapport with the host and other guesses everything.
Michelle Frechette (00:19:27) – And you can’t manufacture that, but you think a lot of it is mindset going into it. I’ve had people come on whatever show I’m on and they’re nervous because like, this is my first podcast and I remember my very first time being on somebody’s podcast before I was ever into podcasting and feeling nervous, too. But then you realize it’s just you and the other person on zoom, and it doesn’t matter how many people may be listening live or listening later, you’re just literally just sitting, talking to somebody. And I think it’s important to remember not to get nervous if you kind of at all avoid it because it’s, it’s it’s just people.
Matt Medeiros (00:20:02) – So one of the things that I do and maybe a guest could ask for this as well, especially if they’re jumping into unknown territory. Um, but as a podcast host, what I’ll do is set up a. Pre-Interview, especially if it’s a very important topic, you know, an important guest and something you just want to nail, or you just do it for for everyone.
Matt Medeiros (00:20:22) – If you have no rapport, mean I have a lot of rapport with a lot of folks that show up on the show. But in fact, later today or tomorrow, I forget I’m doing a pre-interview with somebody because I don’t know who they are. It’s a about. It’s about AI. Right? It’s not a topic that I’m like, totally versed in. They’re doing something pretty interesting with it. So I’m like, I have to talk to you first before we get on the call, because I don’t know you and I don’t know the topic. Well, yeah. And it’s much more on the the developer geeky side of things. And that’s not where I spend my time. So I want to make sure I’m not just going into this, you know, looking like a fool.
Michelle Frechette (00:20:57) – I would love this.I would love if they showed up as an avatar.
Speaker 3 (00:21:02) – Yeah. It’s just like crazy.
Michelle Frechette (00:21:04) – Out of generated the answers for you. That wouldn’t be best. But that’d be funny.
Matt Medeiros (00:21:09) – I let my kids play a side topic. I let my kids play with Dolly the image generator in ChatGPT and they just love to, like, create. Like they make, like Minecraft character on an island and they just, like, start making all these things and they have a lot of fun with it. But then they said something like, draw yourself in Minecraft and like the AI just generated like this robot looking like figure. And I was just like, ooh, this is.
Michelle Frechette (00:21:36) – This is a little scary.
Matt Medeiros: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Michelle Frechette (00:21:40) – Yeah. Let’s see. Angela had quite a few things to say. She said listen to at least one other episode. Check your equipment. Always use the mic and headset. I think that’s important to some people. Don’t put on headphones and I get it every once in a while. But man, if you’re not wearing headphones or EarPods, don’t use the mic from your headphones in earbuds, but have headphones in AirPods just to control that feedback.
Matt Medeiros (00:22:02) – And yes, yes. Super overlooked. And platforms like Squadcast, which now are come with your if you’re a descript user. Squadcast is a place of record podcast, and now it’s included with all these great plans for free. Um, they have like a echo cancellation, but it still doesn’t work and it actually makes it harder to edit audio later. But yeah, gotta have headphones. Mic $50 to $75 microphone and put your headphones on. It’s going to make a world of difference.
Michelle Frechette (00:22:36) – Everybody has some kind of headphones or earbuds. They everybody has something. Even if it’s what came with your phone. Don’t use it for the mic. But again, put them on. It’ll make our job a lot easier in post-production for sure. I think the one message that came through a lot with the responses people get people put besides like microphone, that was the top one, right, was have a good microphone, but the other one was just be yourself, be natural. Don’t try to be something you’re not as a guest on somebody else’s podcast, because inauthenticity shows so much faster than bad audio.
Michelle Frechette (00:23:10) – Like it’s just, yeah. You know?
Matt Medeiros (00:23:13) – Yeah, that’s for sure. It brings me back to my days of running a WordPress agency. You know, this is this was five years ago. I ran the agency for ten years. So we started 2007 ish back in the day when you were like, okay, you know, Mrs. Client, we’re going to talk about the about page, right? And you’re just like, yeah.
Matt Medeiros (00:23:35) – Right. Like, tell us about yourself. And, you know, back then, I mean, which is crazy. People are like, what’s a website? Do I need a website? What’s this thing? And then now you say, okay, we’re going to create this thing called the about page. Tell me about yourself. Tell me about why you got into business. And they’re just like, oh, I have no idea. I just do this thing. I punch the clock for 60 hours a week, I’m flipping pizza. I’m selling flowers. Like, goes to the websites I was building.
Matt Medeiros (00:23:55) – I don’t know what to say about myself. It’s like, well, why did you get into business, right? Like, why did you get in it? What’s your story? What keeps you in it? Um, you know, and that’s a it’s a great place for like, self-reflection. A podcast is so.
Michelle Frechette (00:24:09) – Absolutely.
Matt Medeiros (00:24:09) – You know, that’s one way of going about it.
Michelle Frechette (00:24:11) – I’m also going to add this wasn’t in the notes, and it’s just something that kind of popped into my head when the host reaches back out to you for more information. Like I try to get as much information as possible up front, like you fill out that form to book with me, I’m going to ask you, what’s your, you know, what’s your Twitter account? What’s your I’m going to ask for all the things, right? But sometimes I have to reach back out and say, hey, you didn’t give me a headshot or hey. Be responsive because our schedule relies on you giving us the information that we ask you for.
Michelle Frechette (00:24:41) – So if we need something more, if we need a point of clarification, please respond quickly. I have episodes that never saw the light of day because they never sent me the information that I needed to be able to publish that episode. And yes, I do ask for that information up front now so that I don’t have to go ask, because I’ve learned over the years too. Right? But if somebody reaches back out to you and they need information from you in order to publish, please be responsive and do that quickly so that we because otherwise that episode might never see the light of day.
Matt Medeiros (00:25:11) – And then I’ll extend that a step further, especially for guests, is to share the episode.
Michelle Frechette (00:25:20) – Yes.
Matt Medeiros (00:25:21) – This is, you know, whatever, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, three hours of a conversation, whatever it was that somebody put a lot of effort into. You know, I say the most basic one hour podcast episode is eight hours of work for the podcast host, top to bottom, scheduling, editing, sharing, posting.
Michelle Frechette (00:25:39) – Transcripts, you know.
Matt Medeiros (00:25:40) – Maintaining it, all of that stuff. It’s a lot of work for the podcast host, and it’s fantastic content for your for your brand, you know, do the same thing we tell podcast host for podcasting is you can create other multiple areas of of content. You can clip it, you can write a blog post about it. You can too. And it would be amazing.
Michelle Frechette: Yes!
Matt Medeiros: If you took that same interview, put it in your newsletter, made a blog post about it, and put it on your socials in those three ways. Because I’ll tell you, I’m not going to name names, but I’ve had people that I’ve known for years come on the show. They don’t share anything, and then they knock on the door again and be like, hey, I’m launching this new cool thing. You want to talk about it? And I’m just like, remember that last time?
Speaker 3 (00:26:23) – Yeah I don’t think so.
Matt Medeiros (00:26:25) – You didn’t even tweet that we had a conversation. And that’s just very, very, um, it’s tough because a lot of work on our side and it’s tough when you don’t you don’t get that reciprocate.
Michelle Frechette (00:26:35) – And I’ve had people say it just feels like I’m bragging if I tweet about it and if I put it out there. So brag, that’s what we want you to do.
Matt Medeiros (00:26:42) – Yeah that’s marketing.
Michelle Frechette (00:26:44) – That’s like it’s. That’s what that’s why did you come on my podcast then if you didn’t want to at least have people listen to you. So yeah, brag, brag, brag, get your company. If you have more than one account, share it from multiple accounts. Get it out there. Share it again in a week like you should. Milk it for all it’s worth. For the work that I put into it. To make sure that you get the biggest bang for your time with me.
Matt Medeiros (00:27:06) – Yeah. 100%.
Michelle Frechette (00:27:07) – Absolutely. Well, we’re closing in on our time that we we put together for this today. But what final thoughts or words would you have to share with people and think we should do this again to talk about how to be a good host. But so, so like put that off to the side, but just to thinking about guests right now.
Michelle Frechette (00:27:25) – Like, what final words would you have about being a good podcast guest?
Matt Medeiros (00:27:29) – Listener that was Michelle’s way of saying, Matt, you’ve talked about the podcast host too much.
Michelle Frechette (00:27:34) – No, because I could go into that so easily. And I saw some of the comments there too about that.
Matt Medeiros (00:27:40) – I’m going to let me read. I’ll read my tweet response to you really quick. So here’s what I saw.
Michelle Frechette (00:27:44) – You had a lot of good answers.
Matt Medeiros (00:27:45) – When you posted it on Twitter, I said, know your audience, know your content. Focus on one topic that you’re amazing at, right? That’s the thing that’s like what gets you going because that’s going to get the best out of you. Don’t be too short and don’t be too wordy when responding. Try to hit that sweet spot. It’s a craft. You got to work at it. Bring the energy to match the host. Be clear in your message like, what is it that you want people to know about you and how can they get it? You know, without being over sales pitch? Invest in a decent $50 to $75 microphone like the one I have here.
Matt Medeiros (00:28:18) – Decent lighting. If it’s video, I just have one key light right here in a in a in a backdrop light behind me. Be on time and have fun. I had fun.
Matt Medeiros (00:28:30) – And I hope everyone listening had had fun as well. That’s what I would say. Don’t overthink it. I know we talked about it a lot, but we’ve been doing it now for combined 15 years, so we have a lot to say about the topic. But you have fun, you be yourself and, you know, take it somewhat serious as part of your business or brand.
Michelle Frechette (00:28:49) – And I will add to that. Ask questions in advance if you have questions. So if you wait to get those answers when you’re face to face with your host on zoom or whatever you’re using that might throw you as the guest. Not going to throw me, right? Like I’m going to I roll with anything at this point, but it might throw you as the guest if you haven’t got answers to your questions in advance.
Michelle Frechette (00:29:10) – So reach out. Send an email if you have questions about how things are going to run, when things are going to air, like all of those kinds of things, a good host is probably going to have given you that anyway. But still, if you have questions, reach out and ask them so that you have the best experience possible and you feel the best prepared that you possibly can. So I think that’s I mean, you, your list and everybody else’s answers really did give a lot of really good information. And, and in the show notes here, I will put a link to that tweet or whatever we’re calling them now so people can follow through and see that and maybe even add their own two cents. But yeah, all of this will be in the show notes as long as well as a transcript of today’s event. Matt, thank you so much for joining me, and we’d love to hear other people’s ideas. Maybe we missed something. I mean, it’s hard to think that you, with all of your experience, have missed anything, but it’s possible that we might have missed.
Matt Medeiros (00:30:03) – Oh it’s definitely possible.
Michelle Frechette (00:30:05) – So comment. If we did, we’ll make sure that people see it and go out there and be a guest. If if you like a podcast and you don’t see a way on their website to ask to be a guest, find a way to ask them, you know, message them through a different source. Usually people have websites for their shows and they have contact forms and things like that. But most of us are looking for content, so don’t be shy and go ahead and ask to be on shows. But also don’t be upset if the answer is not now or maybe later.
Matt Medeiros (00:30:37) – Michelle, you have a whole website for being a podcast guest, don’t you? Out of your dozens of sites that you own, you have WP speakers.
Michelle Frechette (00:30:46) – I do have WP speakers and it’s all about getting speakers on your for your events, including podcasts. So and I think I have a page on there and how to how to, how to be a good guest and how to prepare.
Michelle Frechette (00:30:58) – But and this will probably be referenced there as well later on. But we’ll get this up on on Post Status.com. and if you like I said, if you do have questions let us know. I know Matt’s always open to answering questions as I am, and we would love to make your experiences better. So yeah, so come back again sometime when we’re going to talk about how to host a good podcast, because there are people who are still learning and want to learn, and I’m sure that we have a few things we could share that way too. So thank you very much. And we’ll see everybody whenever we decide to do that one. But thanks. And in the meantime,
Matt Medeiros: Bu-bye
Michelle Frechette: Go be on a podcast.
