Do you pitch yourself as a guest to media platforms? I'd like to share the concept of "WIIFM" aka "What's in it for me?"

WIIFM is a way of thinking about what you are offering to the platform that entices them to invite you, or say yes to your offer. More Info:

This is a broadly-applicable concept in marketing, but I'll apply it to the specific example of MY podcast (so: not universal to all pods).

Every pitch at its core is about what the pitcher wants: access to a platform. Many pitchers forget to consider what the recipient wants.

Step 1. Know your audience. In my experience, if you aren't familiar with the platform's format & content, you cannot craft an effective pitch. If you're asking for access to someone's audience, it's also polite to show you know what they do beyond what you find on the website.

Step 2. Figure out what your audience cares about (i.e. the recipient of the pitch). What kinds of guests do they have on? What kinds of convos? On my pod, I care a LOT about my guests' unique expertise & point of view on romance, less about timeliness (e.g. recent book).

Step 3a. Decide how you'll position yourself & your "benefits." Consider what makes YOU unique but a "fit." On a romance novel podcast, being a romance writer is not UNIQUE: how you position yourself changes based on audience/platform. What's your unique selling proposition?

Step 3b. Differentiate yourself based on your unique strengths, then focus in on, highlight those things. Strike a balance of relevance & novelty. On my pod, my audience is not writer-focused, so I don't care about craft (even though writers are craft experts)-it's not relevant.

Step 4a. Personalize your pitch to clearly, persuasively articulate "What's In It For Me" (Me = the recipient of your pitch). How are you going to make my life easier, enhance my product, deliver the conversations I want to host on a silver platter?

4b.There's a time & a place for mass communication: this ain't it. Do not send a generic pitch. Every pitch is asking me to use my time (lots of it) to promote them. My goal is to share something new with my audience, not promote you (although I get that's What's in it for YOU).

Conclusion: Anecdotally, I've said yes to every pitch that did the above. IMO, you can waste your time sending generic pitches with a scattershot approach, or you can take the time to focus on a great pitch for the platforms that are an ideal fit for YOU. Everybody wins! Fin.

Hope you find this helpful! I used to teach marketing & I love breaking it down: I know not everyone has the same info.

PS: I also have info on what I'm looking for re: pitches on my About page. Always check to see if a platform shares info like this! https://shelflovepodcast.com/about