Much advice has been doled out on podcasting production. From the microphone to use to soundtracks and sound bites, no detail is small enough to escape notice. However, one thing that isn’t given much attention is the selection of guests or interviewees. Of course not all podcasts have guests come over for an interview, however, if you use the interview format for your podcast you know just how important guest selection is in the success of each episode you produce.

Guest selection is very important because no matter how good your podcast’s concept may be or how good a host you might be, the guest will definitely make or break each episode. For one, you should choose a guest that is popular or well known to your intended audience. No matter how knowledgeable a guest might be, if the guest is a nobody then you be pretty sure that the podcast wouldn’t draw that many listeners. The exception though is if you are already dealing with a topic that is interesting or popular enough and the knowledge or expertise of your guest is more important than their “traffic potential”. In this case, what’s more important is that you get an expert on the topic and so be able to give in depth information to an audience whose main reason for listening is the topic and not the novelty of listening to some celebrity.

Another factor you should consider in guest selection is the guest’s charisma/speaking skills. The last thing you want is to have a dull guest for your podcasts. Your aim is to always have a guest who can entertain as they inform so that people will keep coming back for more. Get a dullard as a guest and you can be sure that people will feel less inclines to listen to another episode.

So the next time you list down potential interviewees for you podcast, remember to think about your guests popularity, expertise, and personality.

Image via NorthxEast

Originally posted on April 29, 2012 @ 5:54 pm