There’s no question that a podcast guest strategy can work wonders for your brand, whether you’re looking to host or be hosted on a show. The right appearances can help you build credibility, increase authority, and open doors to new opportunities.
You just need to know how to do it correctly.
This guide will give you the pointers necessary for understanding, mapping, and delivering a podcast guest strategy. It also explains why guest strategies matter, plus how to build authority through two types of strategic appearances.
Table of Contents
- Why Podcast Guest Strategies Drive Finance Business Growth in 2025
- Understanding the Modern Podcast Guest Ecosystem
- If You’re Becoming a Guest
- If You’re Hosting Guests
- Sidenote: What About Asking for Money?
- Podcast Interview Excellence: Host and Guest Perspectives
- The Bottom Line on Podcast Guest Strategies
Why Podcast Guest Strategies Drive Finance Business Growth in 2025
Guesting strategies can deeply impact the growth of your business, personal brand, and show. If you’re hosting guests, for example, you might grow your listener base because of your guests’ popularity. You might also have another person who’s willing to promote your show, which offers free publicity and an extra supporter both on and offline.
You might also choose to charge for podcast appearances, which can bring in additional revenue for your show. In some cases, podcast guests may turn into B2B clients or recommend potential clients based on their experience on your show.
Conversely, if you become a podcast guest, you may have the opportunity to speak on a highly regarded show. This gets your story into the world and helps you find opportunities for speaking engagements, partnerships, and clients.
Speaking of clients: becoming a podcast guest could also help you create revenue. People may be more willing to follow you on social media, browse your website, or submit a contact form for more information.
This can dramatically increase your search engine optimization, or SEO. When someone searches for you or your business name, they’ll have an easier time finding you ranked on page one.
The social proof is another powerful element. According to Gartner’s 2025 Software Buying Trends Report, even a small amount of proof influences as much as 90% of buyers, which makes them more likely to see you as an authority and ultimately trust your brand.
No matter where you fall on the host/guest spectrum, you’re bound to experience the following benefits:
- Authority building: More people will see you as an authority.
- Lead generation: You can generate new clients and referrals for your brand.
- Network expansion: You’ll meet new people, supporters, and possible brand ambassadors for your next endeavors.
“You don’t have to be Warren Buffett to make a great impression on finance podcast listeners. Even if you’re not the #1 expert in your field, over time you can still build authority, generate leads, and expand your network by being a prepared and efficient host or guest.” Robert Van Vranken, Launch Specialist – The Podcast Consultant
Before we take a closer look at executing on these strategies, let’s back up a step and focus on the modern podcast guest ecosystem.
Understanding the Modern Podcast Guest Ecosystem
Let’s start with some numbers.
According to PodcastStatistics.com, we know there are over 4.5 million podcasts currently available worldwide.
PodMatch performed an analysis in August 2025 to determine that there are around 581,108 interview-based shows available worldwide. And yet, just 20.5%, or 119,665 shows, are currently active and seeking guests. The number is even smaller for finance-based podcasts; Pew Research found just one in three Americans tune into finance podcasts every year.
So it’s no wonder there’s such a high failure rate for interview-based podcasts with guests. There’s a mere 5.65% chance for podcasts with guests to succeed, and a 63.54% chance they’ll quit before reaching even eight episodes.
And yet, we also know there are thousands of podcast guests looking to be placed on a show. PodcastStatistics.com shows that, for September 2025, there are 98,005 podcasts seeking guests compared to 4,701,189 guests seeking podcasts. That means approximately 48 people are competing for the same slot on an interview podcast.
These statistics tell us two things. First, that podcasting isn’t easy, and getting placed on a podcast is even harder. Second, that podcast guesting is a secret ingredient for saving shows and promoting personal brands.
The power of reciprocal relationships is important here. Think of it like ‘a rising tide lifts all ships.’ The host receives free podcast promotion, and the guest receives more authority (among other things). Plus, it can be an ongoing relationship with mutual benefits and community building.
The following two sections explore exactly how this works by breaking down the tips, tools, and strategies needed to host (or be hosted) on a show. It also provides some actionable steps you can start using today to get results and build value.
If You’re Becoming a Guest
As we’ve discussed, becoming a podcast guest can be relatively difficult. But it can be a lot easier with the right strategies in place.
The following suggestions can help you formulate an action plan and become a well-respected host on finance shows within your niche.
💡Related: How to Be a Great Podcast Guest
How to Become a Sought-After Finance Podcast Guest
In a pool of (quite literally) millions of contenders, what makes finance professionals more attractive podcast guests?
More often than not, it boils down to three things:
1. Show What Makes You Unique
With thousands of financial advisors, analysts, and thought leaders vying for attention, what truly makes you different from all the other applicants?
Look closely at the podcasts you’re looking to appear on and see what gaps exist in their episode backlog. Then, think about where you can fill the gaps.
Maybe you focus on sustainable investing, or you specialize in serving first-generation wealth builders. Or perhaps you’ve lived through a unique financial journey yourself. Either way, sharing a perspective that feels fresh gives podcast hosts a reason to choose you over the next generic expert. This might mean speaking on topics you’ve never commented on publicly before.
Once you have ideas, whittle them down and personalize them to individual podcast shots. You’ll want to write a pitch that helps you clearly communicate your story, show off your expertise, and pinpoint the specific lens you bring to the conversation.
2. Personalize Your Pitch
A blanket email, automation, or copy/paste cold outreach rarely works for financial podcasters. Case in point: more than 96% of cold emails never get a reply, which means you can typically expect a response rate of 1% to 4%. And that doesn’t even consider whether the reply is a positive one.
Rather than composing some generic, boring outreach, you might consider creating personalized pitches that show you’re a real human being with genuine experience to share.
For example, you might want to listen to at least one episode, mention a detail you appreciated, and connect it to what you bring to the table. If the host frequently discusses fintech disruption, for example, you could explain how your expertise complements or expands on that conversation.
The goal is to show you understand their audience and can add genuine value, more so than any other guest.
Like this:
3. Offer to Promote Their Show
One of the easiest ways to jump the line as a podcast guest is to offer to promote the podcast host’s show. So if you can position yourself as a partner in that effort, you immediately become a more attractive guest.
In your pitch, you might want to share how you’ll promote their show to your audience, whether that’s through LinkedIn, an email newsletter, or direct client communications.
You might also want to be specific about your reach, if you can. That might mean listing your:
- Number of followers
- Average open rates
- Professional communities you’re part of
- Clientele types and potential synergies with the show
This goes a long way to show your relationship will be a two-way street. It also shows you’re a real human being, not someone who’s desperate for money or attention.
Advanced Guest Strategy Tactics for 2025
The three steps above are just the beginning. There are many more tactics to help you stand out from the crowd.
With this in mind, we’ve rounded up a list of advanced guest strategy tactics you can use to build authority and get placed on high-value shows.
- Lean into regular thought leadership. When you make yourself more visible online, you make yourself visible to podcast hosts who are researching you and your brand. Consider creating forward-looking content on platforms like LinkedIn to show finance podcast hosts you understand your topic (and would be able to share their show with a broader audience).
- Leverage AI when available and ethical. For example, you can use AI to help you brainstorm messaging ideas and create show-specific bios that help stand out from the crowd. You can also create lists of potential podcast hosts and research their preferred topics and backgrounds. That way, you can create a unique pitch that speaks to something they haven’t covered yet, a surefire way to get their attention.
- Stay abreast of platform changes. This is particularly important if you’re pitching through podcast matching software such as PodMatch. Are algorithms changing? Do you need to update with new keywords? What are the limits for pitching your show?
If You’re Hosting Guests
Many podcast hosts can testify to the power of a great podcast guest. The trick is knowing how to find the best ones to promote your show.
Here, we’ll discuss the various strategies available to book quality guests, including how to build long-term value from your podcast network over time.
💡Related: Hosting Podcast Interviews Best Practices
How to Find and Book Quality Finance Podcast Guests
With so many millions of people out there, how do finance podcast hosts source credible guests?
You’ll have a few different options depending on your preferred approach:
1. Tools: Software Options
Guest-matching platforms make it easy to uncover credible guests in as short a time as possible. Platforms like PodMatch, MatchMaker.fm, and Talks.co, for example, let you filter by industry, expertise, and availability. This can help you quickly identify professionals who align with your show rather than ‘tertiary’ professionals with limited expertise.
Some of these platforms also offer a free tier so you can skim over a generally available audience. Premium plans offer better search filters and guest vetting, of course, but they’re also much more expensive (and potentially not economically viable if you’re a small and growing show).
But if you’re short on time, or if you don’t already have a large personal network, software tools might be a quick and easy method of sourcing guests for your show.
2. Templates: Scoring Checklists
If you don’t want to pay for software, or if you want to double-check potential guest options, you might want to create a simple evaluation checklist.
You might score potential guests on criteria that are important to your show, such as expertise, audience fit, communication style, or promotional reach. A CFO with strong storytelling skills might get a higher score than a technical expert who struggles to simplify concepts, for example.
Templates are typically much cheaper than matchmaking platforms, and they can still make guest selection more consistent over time. Yes, it may be more time-consuming than automated software, but it keeps your standards high and ensures your show consistently delivers value to listeners.
Here’s an example checklist you can customize to your liking:
| Criteria | What to Look For | Score (1 to 5) |
| Expertise | Depth of knowledge in finance (markets, investing, fintech, accounting, etc.) | |
| Audience Fit | Relevance of their background to your target listeners (e.g., CFOs, investors) | |
| Communication Style | Ability to simplify complex ideas, storytelling skills, energy, and clarity | |
| Credibility | Professional achievements, credentials, media mentions, or past guesting | |
| Promotional Reach | Willingness to share the episode with their network | |
| Unique Angle | Bring a fresh perspective or untold story | |
| Availability | Ease of scheduling and flexibility around recording times |
* Scoring Guide:
- 1 = Poor fit
- 3 = Average or acceptable
- 5 = Excellent and ideal guest
** How to Use:
- Tally the total score (out of 35 possible points)
- 28 to 35 = Great guest; book right away
- 20 to 27 = Decent guest; consider based on follow-up
- Below 20 = Not a fit; politely decline
3. Systems: Chemistry Calls
Even the best-scored guests via a checklist or automated platform may not be a fit for your unique show. That’s why many hosts schedule short ‘chemistry calls’ before booking. These are quick, 15-minute conversations that allow you to assess whether a guest:
- Communicates clearly
- Aligns with the audience’s needs
- Has energy that matches your show’s tone
It also helps set expectations for your podcast, including its topic, format, and promotional commitments.
Yes, this adds an extra step to your process, but it also dramatically reduces the risk of awkward recordings or wasted time. They’re a final filter for booking top-quality guests and making sure both of you benefit from the effort.
Building Long-Term Value from Your Podcast Network
Your relationship with guests shouldn’t end when the recording stops rolling. If you want to maximize your ROI, you’ll want to find ways to continue working together over time. The mutual benefits, as we’ve discussed, are worth their weight in gold.
Here are just a few of the benefits to consider.
- Backlinks. In SEO, backlinks are website links on other people’s sites that point back to a page on yours (without a “no-follow” tag). This can help you build domain authority and rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Some guests would be willing to swap links with your website(s) in exchange for a backlink of their own.
- Cross-promotions and collabs. If you scratch their back, they’ll scratch yours. If they also host a podcast of their own, you might consider hopping on their podcast and/or promoting their show. The mutual community-building could make a significant difference in your downloads and audience numbers.
- Social media mentions. Tagging podcast guests in promotional pieces is one thing, but continuing to tag beyond the show also comes with many benefits. For example, you might ask them to give their opinion on something new you posted, or tag them ‘in the wild’ on a post that might show off their expertise. Either way, the reciprocal gains could be invaluable. They could also lead to new business and opportunities; 80% of B2B social media leads are generated on LinkedIn, after all.
Sidenote: What About Asking for Money?
Some podcasters (and podcast guests) choose to charge for appearances, speaking events, or the cost of ads and promotions.
This can work in some circumstances, but it’s not always a popular approach.
Be sure you’re not burning bridges by setting a price tag on your show. Alternatively, be sure you’re not leaving money on the table.
“This really comes down to knowing your worth, but also understanding the power of networking. Beneficial exchanges aren’t always monetary ones. Ex: if you charge $XXXX to appear on a podcast, you may want to consider waving that fee (or reducing it) if the show you’ll be on is a good networking opportunity for you. It’s very much a case-by-case approach. You might also want to consider having “sponsored episodes” that guests can pay to appear on, so you aren’t restricting yourself to a paid-only model, while generating revenue with certain episodes.” – Quinn McGraw, Production Orchestrator, The Podcast Consultant.
Podcast Interview Excellence: Host and Guest Perspectives
So you’ve secured a podcast guest or have a scheduled appearance on a show. How do you bring your very best to the interview process? Are there questions or answers to prepare in advance, or would it be better to ‘wing it’ as you go?
No matter which side of the table you’re facing, becoming familiar with these frameworks and strategies can lead to a better experience for everyone.
“The best guests tell good stories to illustrate their points and the best hosts are good at getting those stories out of people.” – Karl Huges, CEO, The Podcast Consultant
Podcast question preparation frameworks
The secret to conducting an engaging finance podcast interview is creating interview questions that engage both your interviewee and your audience. No one wants to feel bored during the interview process, so a little extra prep could help capture new interest and boost listener loyalty.
There are three types of questions to choose from:
- Open-ended questions: Think of these as the antithesis of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions. Anything that makes your guest say more than a single sentence is an open-ended question, meaning they can respond to you in whatever way makes the most sense. One example of an open-ended question for finance podcasts is: “What do you think is the most prevalent market outlook right now and why?”
- Probing questions: Help guests dig deeper into open-ended questions. You can think of them like the second stage of asking an interview question; for example, asking your interviewee to expound on why they don’t believe in a particular investing strategy. For example, you might ask, “Why would you say [X] instead of [Y]?” or, “What would you say to someone who believes your opinion is too one-dimensional?”
- Anecdotal questions: Give guests a chance to tell stories about their personal, professional, or financial lives. As you might imagine, such questions are an invitation to storytelling. An example may be, “Can you give me an example?” or, “Can you remember the most recent time that’s happened to you?”
Now, you can layer these three questions however you please (often in the order listed here) to create a coherent interview framework.
How to Maintain Conversation Flow
Responsibilities for maintaining a podcast conversation will look different depending on your role.
If you’re the show host, for example, it will be your responsibility to guide your guest(s) through the question structure you have in mind. Leaning heavily on follow-up questions and transition techniques will help here. Remember: studies show that conversation partners are more likely to have positive impressions of you when you ask follow-up questions.
You also have to decide how much is too much deviance from your specific finance topic. Do you let your guests speak their mind in a ‘state of consciousness’ style approach? Or do you reign the conversation in tightly to prevent running down rabbit trails?
Just keep in mind that three in 10 listeners don’t want to hear too much small talk at all, while four in 10 are comfortable with light banter, so long as it doesn’t last too long.
Finally, you need to be aware of how engaging your questions are. If you notice guests are no longer speaking freely, or if you spot hesitation or awkwardness during the podcast recording, swoop in to see what you can do. You might want to skip questions that are ‘less important’ than others in order to give your conversation partner breathing room.
Now, conversation flow responsibilities for guests are slightly more limited, but that doesn’t mean visitors don’t have a role to play.
For starters, don’t worry about taking up ‘too much airspace’ on a podcast. Science shows people underestimate how much others want to hear them talk, and when you’ve been invited to share your thoughts on a podcast, don’t hesitate to voice your expertise loudly and proudly.
Another way to keep conversation flowing is to ‘create doorknobs’ for your interviewer to follow. According to Adam Mastroianni, a communication researcher at Columbia Business School, “these are things that you can latch onto, that we can both take from each other and give to each other.”
For example, you might go in-depth on a question about investment vehicles and drop hints about your perspective on alternative investments. This gives your interviewer plenty of options for where to go next. If they want to dig deeper, they can ‘open the door.’ If they want to stay focused or are worried about running out of time, they might choose to acknowledge it briefly and roll into another question.
When interviewers and their guests bring the above skills to the table, there’s no doubt it’s the beginning of an engaging, high-impact podcast episode.
“As tough as it is to teach, it’s easy to do well when the guest is going through the motions or hasn’t had a lot of practice in front of a microphone. A novice podcast guest will treat the conversation like an interview, but a seasoned guest will volley back and forth with the host.” – Quinn McGraw, Production Orchestrator, The Podcast Consultant
“I can always tell when there’s good host-guest chemistry. It makes the show so much better when you can tell both people like each other and have a level of familiarity there.” Karl Huges, CEO, The Podcast Consultant
The Bottom Line on Podcast Guest Strategies
Choosing to host guests (or become a guest) on a financial podcast puts you in line with much competition. That said, the benefits of doing so are more than worth the effort. You just have to know where to dedicate your time, which approach makes sense, and how to lay the best foundation for future growth and opportunities.
Speaking of growth: looking for other ways to grow your podcast?
Here are some resources depending on the stage you’re at:
- For brand-new shows: Podcast Launch Guide
- For growing shows: Promoting Webinars and Events
- For established shows: How to Get Your Podcast to Grow Your Business