How did you end up launching a podcast guest booking agency and what exactly this is?
It happened in the least expected way possible. After departing from my active career as a seller on eBay & Amazon I spent about 18 months testing different types of services for various kind of clients.
In September 2019 I found someone who wanted to get booked on podcasts as a guest.
This was Chris Meade, co-founder of CROSSNET. In the next 18 months (until March 2021) I put him and his brother Greg on a number of shows (can’t recall the exact number, but it’s more than 100).
All this helped me learn the basic ins and outs of the industry. Since then I’ve innovated hundreds of times in the space, built a team and served 150+ clients. You’re catching me in the year I’m stepping back from operations to focus on more innovations, strategies and sales.
First client Chris Meade turned into my #1 business referral – he contributed a lot for me getting my first 5-6 clients that later triggered hiring the agency’s first employee. We’re currently a team of 10 people.
The entire business is a great vehicle for me to get a chance build healthy relationships with remarkable entrepreneurs with noble missions.
In a nutshell podcast guest booking agencies are organizations helping experts and entrepreneurs by securing podcast recording invitations from relevant well established shows – this is how they put a face on their brands, share their story, build trust & raise their authority.
Do you cover everything from production to marketing and monetization?
We don’t. Our primary focus has always been on matching the great minds that create epic experiences and global impact via the podcasting channel. We even did a step back and withdrew from doing the actual bookings – we left this to client’s assistants and calendar managers.
This focus helps me optimize the agency work on a deeper level. I’m investing more an more time on building a healthy company culture where human-2-human relationships plays more and more important role in the organization.
When you combine the human-2-human approach with a very well developed processes for serving and communicating with clients, you’re building a stronger organization that becomes their key partner in charge of putting them on the right shows as guests.
Do you know some famous podcast hosts everyone else knows about? Who’s the most known name?
Couldn’t say we have good connections with the most popular ones. And with the bigger shows, they’d typically have their own producers that are in charge of reviewing guest suggestions.
However we still had a chance to work with some remarkable hosts from the top tier segment. People like John Lee Dumas, Travis Chappell, Anika Jackson, Spencer Haws, Simon Drew and a number of others.
How about your clients – any higher level people among them as well?
There indeed some remarkable names. I’d rather focus on mentioning a few that I’ve enjoyed working the most.
I’d outline Bryan Kramer & David Wood among the high performance coaches.
I’ve learned a lot from both of them. I’d say I’ve learned much more from the people who are giving away their experience and attitude in business than the ones that seem to be the most successful entrepreneurs.
Serving people like Chris Meade from CROSSNET, Mike Feldstein from JASPR and a number of other DTC brand founders helped us build connections with the majority of podcast hosts running eCommerce podcasts.
Is there anything else that stays hidden & goes beyond the agency realm?
There are a number of synergy effects and opportunities that often pop up after getting to know a certain client better.
We like staying on the pro-active side in communication – for example if I realize that a current client might benefit from connecting with a former client, I’d make sure to find a way to put them in touch. All this comes as a bonus on top of the core service.
My current favorite excersise is meeting with clients in person, attending networking events abroad and connecting remarkable people in-person. Seeing how two entrepreneurs realize how they have a lot of common and they can actually build a healthy partnership is one of a kind experience.
How do you tailor your services to meet the specific needs and goals of different clients?
As a smaller agency we’re much more flexible and get to choose who we’d enjoy working with.
The one-to-many podcasting channel fits greatly experts and entrepreneurs that already realized the power of sharing their story on shows, they are great story tellers and recognize the benefits of putting a face on their brand as a way to build trust and raise authority.
What are the typical costs associated with your services, and what kind of return on investment can clients typically expect?
Costs vary from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars per month depending on the client’s available bandwidth, goals, interests and intentions.
The experts and the entrepreneurs that would typically experience the highest return of investment are the ones that:
– Already realized the power of sharing their story on podcasts;
– They are great story tellers that enjoy educating, inspiring & enterntaining audiences;
– Would enjoy an authentic conversation with experienced podcast hosts.
How do you collaborate with clients throughout the podcasting process, and what level of involvement is required from the client’s side?
There’s an initial call and if we’re on the same page the client gets their profile built and the team prepares their campaign, cherry picking the best shows we have access to.
There’s an onboading call as well so they see exactly how the service is delivered.
Another important aspect of the call is going through some of the best practices for performing great as a guest.
If needed, we’re putting them in touch with a partner that can give them more detailed directions on how to get the most out of the recordings.
They get the recording invitations announced via email and all they need to do is schedule a recording date and time following a scheduling link they can discover in the same email.
Let’s imagine there’s someone reading this magazine interview who’s not confident if he’s a great fit or not. What’s the best way for him to figure out if it’s the right moment to start his own podcast guest tour?
I’d recommend visiting pampum.com/form and submitting the intake form embedded there. Once submitted, someone from the team will reach back with a quick input and an invitation for scheduling an informal coffee chat for discussing the details they submitted on the form.
Naturally, people with appealing topics and talking points that have relevant backgrounds have an advantage over the ones who are just getting started.
However if someone is devoted to improve over time, they might end up outperforming many naturally gifted experts and entrepreneurs.
HAPPY CLIENTS SECTION:
“We’ve tried with 50 people and it’s Mitko who was the one getting all the moving parts in our business.”
Chris Meade, CROSSNET
“Working with the guys was amazing and we definitely highly recommend them! They found so many great podcasters to connect us with to be able to share our message.”
Karlie Causey, jen & kerri founder
“Working with Mitko and his team has had a disproportionate positive impact on my life and business. All of the individuals Pam Pum connected me with were completely aligned, and many are now collaborating with me. Professional, thoughtful, and wise.”
Simon Drew
“Mitko & his team did a stunning job arranging a number of interview invitations from relevant & well established podcasts for my book launch campaign. A rare example of an agency that actually gets the ins and outs of the industry.”
Joe Valley, Quiet Light