Hi Reader,

I ran a podcast for a few years, interviewing best-selling authors about their books. I wanted to grow my show, so I was happy to listen when a podcast booking agency reached out with an interesting pitch.

“Guest podcasting is a good strategy for expanding an audience,” he explained over Zoom.

I listened to his elaborate pitch, dreaming of appearing on The Tim Ferriss Show or The Diary of a CEO. He sent me an expensive contract, which I happily signed. Then, he handed me over to his virtual assistant and stopped responding to my emails.

After a few weeks, she proposed a few podcasts. These shows were newer or smaller than mine or unrelated to my niche. She even proposed a show for marketers in the construction industry!

We went backward and forward about the right shows to appear on. Eventually, out of sheer frustration, I accepted several of the agency’s proposals. One featured me for all of 20 seconds. Another canceled on me three times. And the shows I appeared on? Well, they did nothing for my podcast downloads.

I walked away from the experience feeling like the agent scammed me out of a few grand. After the contract ended, I found a few shows relevant to my niche, sent in a pitch and landed better appearances.

So, did this person promise more than his little agency could deliver? The experience changed how I evaluate and even write pitches.

I was at fault for not using the proper framework to evaluate the agent’s pitch. I should have asked him about the ROI and asked for a specific figure.

Now, pitches land in my inbox every week. They want to help me with my SEO strategy, course launches and even write copy for me (they clearly don’t read this newsletter!).

Pitching is hard. I also send pitches to business owners and they regularly say no to me too.

I only accept pitches that meet the following criteria: “How will I make a return on this proposal?”

A good pitch shows the return on your investment, whereas a bad pitch sells an unrealistic dream.

If “make” equates to saving time, earning more or fix a problem in my business, I’ll accept. Otherwise, it’s a hard NO.

I use the same framework when pitching to a business owner.

Write on,

Bryan Collins

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