Guest Feature: Candace Dudley
This blog post is part of Navia’s Guest Series where we spotlight brilliant minds doing meaningful work across the marketing world. Today’s post is written by Candace Dudley, a podcast guesting coach who helps business owners stop spinning their wheels and start landing in front of the right audiences. She’s sharing her insights with the Navia community!
You’ve decided to step off the algorithm treadmill and expand your reach through podcast guesting, smart move. But here’s the part that trips most entrepreneurs up: the pitch.
You know you need to pitch yourself to hosts, but how do you stand out in a host’s overflowing inbox? How do you avoid sounding pushy, generic, or worse… ignored?
The good news? A great pitch is not about gimmicks or spammy copy-paste emails. It’s about making it easy for the host to say yes.
What hosts wish more guests would do when they pitch…
1. Be a human
Podcast hosts can spot a copy-paste template from a mile away. The fastest way to get ignored? A generic email that says, “Dear Podcast Host…”
Don’t… just mention the host’s name and reference a recent episode. Unfortunately, hosts are getting weekly, if not daily pitches, like this that they are sending straight to their spam folders.
DO - Connect the dots: why does your story or topic align with their audience? What part of their message, mission, or values matches with yours? The host needs to know that you have listened to their show. Do your homework!
2. Lead with VALUE, Not Your Bio
Your bio matters, but the host cares more about what their audience will get out of this conversation.
So don’t lead with your resume. Lead with the transformation, for example:
What 3 niche topics do you have ready to bring tons of value and actionable expertise to their podcast?
Position your pitch as a win-win: they get fresh, valuable content for their audience — you get the spotlight you deserve.
This is also where you can check if they actually have guests on their show. Has your niche been covered? Make sure your speaking topics have a new fresh perspective if they’ve had others from your industry on their show. Remember, they are not you and won’t have the same take or experience as you.
3. Make It Easy to Say Yes
Your pitch should remove all guesswork. Include 2–3 punchy, niche episode topic ideas. Bonus points if you deliver them as podcast episode titles.
Hosts are busy, the simpler you make it for them to say yes, the faster you’ll get booked. Oh, and send it in a DM and skip the email.
Final Podcast Pitch Thoughts
A strong pitch shows respect for the host’s time and trust in your own story.
You don’t need to beg. You don’t need to prove yourself over and over.
When you know how to pitch with VALUE, you position yourself as a partner, not just another name in their inbox.
Want help crafting a pitch that actually gets opened (and accepted)?
Inside Candace's Podcast Guesting Accelerator, we nail your topics, polish your messaging, and create a pitch that makes it easy for the right hosts to say yes.
Ready to pitch with confidence? Learn more about working with me here.
