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Guest Post: Stephanie LH Calahan

Baby Girl Galloway is a whole month old (yesterday) and MY birthday is tomorrow! To make my life a bit easier, I’ve reached out to some of the best voices in my sphere of influence and asked them to share their wisdom with you. Each guest author was chosen because I KNOW you’ll learn something from them.

How to Be an Outstanding

Guest Before the Interview

Being a guest on podcasts, radio shows, live internet shows, and television is a great way to promote the book you have written or the project you are promoting. Yet, many authors and experts are not ready when the invite happens.

When you are a guest expert, you can sell more of your offerings, because the audience can hear (and sometimes see) your passion when you show up and share your brilliance.

Your ideal clients will naturally magnetize to you because you are talking about a topic they have actively selected to pay attention to.

Just the other day I was contacted by a Chicago television reporter who had a 2-hour deadline to meet for her story and needed someone for a quick 5-minute Zoom interview. It could happen to you too!

Would you be ready to say yes if a reporter or podcast host contacted you for an interview?

What would a host, producer, or reporter find if they looked at your website?

Unfortunately, many fabulous writers and experts find their business growing “out of control” or experiencing the feeling of “invisibility” because they lack business processes to support their goals.

Could you say yes if a reporter or podcast host contacted you for an author interview? @StephCalahan Click To TweetHow well you balance everything that needs to get done determines how fast your business can grow.

Here are 9 actions you can take to make sure that you are an appealing guest when hosts, producers, and reporters are considering you for their show; and that you are top of mind for referral later and make sure that you leverage that appearance far into the future:

1 – Remove Your Visibility Blocks
If you’re like a lot of my clients, your biggest (I might even say only) barrier to “getting out there” may be an internal one. A Visibility Block is a belief that you knowingly or unknowingly have going on in your subconscious that is limiting your ability to get more visible. Getting interviewed or going on shows can bring out a number of them.

2 – Make sure Your Online Bios are Up-to-Date
When was the last time that you looked at your social media bios to make sure that they are current? Are the descriptions accurate? Do the links work? Does the picture of you still look like you? Hosts often go out and check your website and social media accounts prior to inviting you to be on their show.

3 – Create a Guest Expert Intro Page on Your Website
Hosts move at a quick pace. Some have web forms they ask you to fill out and others request information via email or phone or even Facebook messenger. Be ready when they ask! Have one page on your website you can reference that has everything a show host might need from you. (Guest Expert Page Sample)

4 – Create Social Media “Containers” for Your Appearances
One step that you can take before you ever get on a stage or share your wisdom on a podcast is to create social media “containers” to make it easy for you or your assistant to amplify your visibility.

  • Create a category on your blog for all of your guest appearances.
  • Create a media room page on your website to share all of your appearances. (Media Room Sample)
  • Decide on a hashtag that you will use to “collect” your appearances. (Instagram Hashtag Sample)
  • Make a board on Pinterest that is for your guest appearances. Pin your appearances to that board to make it really easy to see them all in one spot! (Sample Pinterest Board)
  • Create an album on your Facebook Business Page and/or your Facebook Profile to share your guest appearances.
  • If you already have some impact and reach, submit for a Wikipedia page to be made about you or your business. Within that page, link back to your guest appearances.

Once you have each “container” set up, create a checklist you can use every time you have an appearance to remind you to put content in those containers.


5 – Collect Your Stories and Know Your Message but Be Flexible
Be clear on the primary message you want to express in each appearance and how it fits with the purpose of the show you are going on. Then incorporate different types of engagement. Engagement types include: entertaining, informing, instructing, creating curiosity, and challenging. Identify ways to incorporate at least 3 of these techniques into each appearance.

Pro Tip: Please never say something like “I talk about that in my book on page 57.” When you are a guest, actually share your knowledge. Interviews are short. You will never share all of what you have written about and if you are an interesting guest, the audience will want to purchase your book.

6 – Have Equipment that Will Make You Shine
It is true that you can successfully use basic equipment. It is also true that if you invest a little into your microphone and webcam you will sound and look better. If you are limited on funds, prioritize your audio first. If you’d like recommendations, let me know. People will forgive a grainy image, but if there is poor audio, they will disengage quickly.

7 – Get Clear on Who to Say “Yes” To
No matter if you choose to pitch to show hosts or if they reach out to you, there are still a few things to know and have in place. All opportunities are not equal. Going on shows is a time investment, so make sure you are choosing wisely. Take time to think through the types of shows that would best fit your goals.

8 – Have Next Steps in Mind – Your Lead Magnet
To take full advantage of your appearance, make sure you have a way to stay in contact with those interested in what you shared. Make your lead magnet something that is on topic, extends the conversation, and provides value.

Pro Tip: Make sure that the URL you share is easy and fast to say. Remember, in many instances, people are listening or watching, not reading. A short URL is easier to remember if the audience does not have paper and pen handy to write it down.

9 – Identify, Track and Pitch Opportunities to Get Featured
Some hosts have pages on their show websites to apply to be a guest on their show. Others have production companies that do all of the scheduling for them. Others look for emails and introductions to get their guests. Others prefer to identify their own guests. Do your research and understand (to the best of your ability) how (and if) they want to be contacted.

Be ready to capitalize on every appearance. And if you do even a portion of what is possible, you will be in the top 1% of guest experts. When you take the time to pull together the items I’ve mentioned here, you will stand miles ahead of the other people that hosts are hearing from.

Stephanie LH Calahan is the founder of Calahan Solutions, Inc. and is known for the fast transformations that she facilitates working with busy, service-driven entrepreneurs. You CAN blast through your blocks, get comfortably visible, and create a wildly profitable, life-loving business of impact, meaning, and guilt-free freedom. Sound interesting? Let’s talk: http://www.TalkWithStephanie.com

Kim Galloway
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