Getting booked on the best podcasts for you and your marketing goals is a key element of your media and speaking campaign strategy. We're talking with Jessica Rhodes, founder of Interview Connections, who is an expert in that - and a speaker at the Break Through with Media summit, June 14-16 - and in this conversation Jessica shares
We're going even deeper on this at the summit - and all the other facets of your media, speaking, PR, and publicity strategy.
The BREAK THROUGH WITH MEDIA Summit is a FREE, virtual event, June 14 - 16, offering live interactive sessions with experts in the fields of media like television, podcasting, radio, magazine and news, speaking, publicity, and PR to help entrepreneurs, authors, and start-ups quickly understand how they can step their brand up to more prestigious, credible platforms, stages, and pages.
We want to provide an interactive expo experience for you to get the big picture, see the opportunities for you, and meet knowledgeable experts that can make this the year you have the break through you've been dreaming of.
💥 REGISTER FREE at https://breakthroughin22.com/
You can find Jessica at: https://interviewconnections.com/
Getting booked on the best podcasts for you and your marketing goals is a key element of your media and speaking campaign strategy. We're talking with Jessica Rhodes, founder of Interview Connections, who is an expert in that - and a speaker at the Break Through with Media summit, June 14-16 - and in this conversation Jessica shares
We're going even deeper on this at the summit - and all the other facets of your media, speaking, PR, and publicity strategy.
The BREAK THROUGH WITH MEDIA Summit is a FREE, virtual event, June 14 - 16, offering live interactive sessions with experts in the fields of media like television, podcasting, radio, magazine and news, speaking, publicity, and PR to help entrepreneurs, authors, and start-ups quickly understand how they can step their brand up to more prestigious, credible platforms, stages, and pages.
We want to provide an interactive expo experience for you to get the big picture, see the opportunities for you, and meet knowledgeable experts that can make this the year you have the break through you've been dreaming of.
💥 REGISTER FREE at https://breakthroughin22.com/
You can find Jessica at: https://interviewconnections.com/
Welcome to the She's All That video podcast. This season of the podcast is all about the BREAK THROUGH with MEDIA virtual summit that we're holding and all about the amazing industry experts that are speaking at the summit who will give entrepreneurs, authors and thought leaders, people just like you, a powerful alternative to the fast-deteriorating tool of social media for your marketing and visibility. The next big opportunity that you need to rapidly uplevel your positioning and your reach is media exposure, TV, podcast, radio news, speaking opportunities, publicity, PR and more. The free BREAK THROUGH with MEDIA Summit provides you with a constellation of experts information and strategy to give you the big picture of how you can get started. Our guest today is a key piece in that puzzle. And today, my guest is Jessica Rhodes, the founder of interview connections. Jessica, welcome. So nice to have you here.
Jessica Rhodes:Hey, September. Thanks for having me.
September Smith:Jessica, is known as the founder of the entire industry, of podcast booking - the queen of podcast booking, the grandmother of podcast booking, we decided not the princess, maybe the Emperess warrior, but somehow this relatively young woman back in 2013, founded Interview Connections, the leading podcast booking agency and coaching company for entrepreneurs, Interview Connections was named the best specialty podcast booking agency of 2021. Congratulations. Thank you by Corporate Vision magazine, and Jessica and her team have booked 1000s of podcast interviews leading to millions of dollars of sales for their clients. Jessica is also a business coach to six and seven figure entrepreneurs who are actively scaling their service based businesses with more refined sales and marketing strategies. First of all, kudos to you, lady for founding this industry.
Jessica Rhodes:Thank you so much.
September Smith:You were the first but you're not the last. And as we were talking about earlier, you got to set the template for it. And a lot of people have followed - yours - Interview Connections is unique. And it's the first. But I have
to ask you:back in 2013, what was your background that led you to create the first podcast booking agency and to basically spawn in the industry?
Jessica Rhodes:Yeah, I mean, I definitely did not set out to found an industry. You're right. That kind of happens. In retrospect, you're like, Oh, I did that. Yeah. Okay, cool. You know, my background is in Door to Door canvassing, I worked for a nonprofit organization for six years going house to house raising funds and doing community organizing for public health and environmental issues. And when I got pregnant with my first child, who is nine years old now, I wanted to be at home. So my dad, who is a business coach, he's been podcasting for longer than me, he was already podcasting. When I, you know, got pregnant. And he's like, Well, you can be my virtual assistant. There's whole field of virtual assisting where you can have your own business work from home. So I was his VA at first. And one of the things that I was doing for him was booking him on podcasts and booking guests on his show. And that's really what opened my eyes to this whole world of online entrepreneurship and online marketing and podcasting. And that's really what had me start interview connections was seeing that as I was pitching and booking my dad on podcasts and finding people for his show. Nobody else was connecting people for podcasts, interviews. So it was really the wild wild west. And since nobody was offering this as a service, I thought I'd be the first.
September Smith:Wow, that's amazing. But what vision with foresight.
Jessica Rhodes:Yeah, it definitely was a it was really important to be in partnership with my dad, because he had already been in business online for so long. So he could help me see the possibilities because I was brand new as an entrepreneur. So I didn't necessarily, like have this grand vision, it was really just like, I want to make more money. I don't want to be just billing people for hourly work every month. I really like connecting people like it was just very simple. And just, it was really a product of wanting to be in alignment with how I was working, what I was doing and how much money I wanted to make.
September Smith:Yep, and totally solid foundation underneath your business. Like there was no floundering and trying to figure it out, your dad was there to say, this is how you set this up. And then you just kind of flew with your vision. Yeah, good for you. Good for you. So this obviously was not just kind of like a shot in the dark this caught on. This continues to grow and the need for people while you and I see it as a need to be finding podcast casting gigs, because we both know how much this can positively impact everything from your business, your positioning, your authority, your life. So what for people who maybe don't have the same mindset, we have the perspective on this. What is the situation the problem that people are in when they are like okay, I need to do this, but what's the problem that you're solving?
Jessica Rhodes:People feel like the best kept secret like that is what we hear over and over again, business owners. Typically we work with coaches, consultants, you know, entrepreneurs online, they feel like the best kept secret. They've grown through word of mouth, they've grown through referrals, like they've built their business to a point through word of mouth and referrals. But they know that in order to grow to the next level, they have to get visible to new audiences, and they don't know how to do that. And podcasting literally is the best way to get in front of share your message, share your story, educate new audiences of your ideal potential clients. Oh, yeah,
September Smith:absolutely. And especially now with social media. I mean, for so many years, the Guru's the, you know, business gurus are telling us, you know, like, do this do that organic growth on Facebook and Instagram and, and Facebook, ads and all that that has tanked in the last couple of years, and then quite suddenly, just, there's no ROI on that.
Jessica Rhodes:September. What's really interesting is the thing that all these gurus are doing, but not talking about is podcast guessing, they're all guessing on podcast, but none of them are talking about it, because they can't make a quick buck selling you a course on it. Yeah, but it's what they're doing. Every single one of them is going on podcast as a guest, but they're selling you strategies that make you feel like you're gonna get an overnight success. Yeah. And
September Smith:in their strategies, in some cases from five years ago. Like that whole thing of like, when I first seriously got into this kind of online business, you know, like pretty colors and fonts and post consistently and aspirational quotes and lifestyle snapshots of you in your life. Like, that's not what's selling. And interestingly, what bugs me about this is the gurus on the male side of things are shifting. They're going get into NF T's get into cryptocurrency, get into this, get into that. I mean, like, yeah, love it or hate it. But they're not going no, just keep posting those pretty pictures consistently. It's a quagmire, you are going to die there. If you stay there, and podcasts guessing I see. And I really support what you're doing. It is the easiest way to start entering the world of media.
Jessica Rhodes:Yes, absolutely. Because you're able to have a conversation. I mean, it's a whole different ballgame to be, you know, on a traditional like news show where you need to perfect that quick pitch, that seven, six second clip, but a podcast is where people can really be themselves where you can fully share your story. And a lot of the clients that we work, like I said, coaches, they they have such a specialty that it's really hard to distill that into a short clip, it's really hard to distill that and communicate what they do and who they help and why what they do is needed in a social media post. And social media has like no views. I mean, the algorithm is volatile, like nothing is getting seen. But podcasts are organic. And you know, you're gonna get in front of the audience of that the host is put together that the host has attracted. It's just such an amazing way to grow your network and get in front of the right audiences.
September Smith:And what a lot of people don't appreciate if they haven't really gotten into the whole mindset of podcasting is this is not social media. Social media is like a two way conversation and people coming in and column commenting about their breakfast and their dog and their grandmother. This is you, I think of it as Netflix for audio. This is you curating, creating and curating this lovely little gem of an episode about you, that's gonna sit there on this on demand platform that millions of people go to billions of people go to. Yeah, and if they put in the right keywords, they're gonna find you skewered by other people's social media like Yeah, but what about me? Like, yes, the positioning is incredible.
Jessica Rhodes:Yeah, it really is.
September Smith:But the special thing about interview connections, is the fact that you guys take out one of the hugest issues around becoming a strategic podcast guest, and that is finding the shows, finding the right shows, yes, Dubs, I don't give away too much of the juice on those because we're gonna get into that deep when we do your session in the summit. But one of the challenges that the average person is looking at if they tried to figure out how to do this themselves.
Jessica Rhodes:I mean, it's complete and utter overwhelmed. There's almost 2 million podcasts. And it's really difficult to know exactly what shows are the right fit, it's difficult to know even how to find those shows. There's so many little like tricks and tips and things that our show researchers have learned along the way. And then also, like actually able to get in front of the hosts, the decision makers that decide who's going to get booked on the show. They're getting pitched so often that most of the time they're not even opening up pitches. So it's really important to work with an agency that has an existing relationship with the host that can get you in front of them a much more easily than you could if you're doing it yourself.
September Smith:Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. So if we were to look at, I mean, it's time in terms of ideal people how to do it, if they want to do it themselves, here's a couple of methods you can use. But you're not going to do that in 30 minutes. It can take days, it can take weeks, and it's ongoing. So for the average client that works with you, how much time do they have to spend in whatever intake or onboarding they do with you? And how much time are they saving?
Jessica Rhodes:Yeah, oh my gosh. So in the onboarding, we we spend a month onboarding, just to make sure we have a completely stripped solid foundation, we're getting to know them completely. So we can accurately represent our clients. So we're making their one sheet, we're getting to know them through a discovery call. So it's probably a couple of hours and the first month, and then I estimate, if you're doing a podcast a week, so maybe four shows a month, it's probably an hour a week, you know, a lot of interviews, or maybe 30 minutes, maybe budget and some time for scheduling and coordinating with the hosts, you get out of it, what you put into it. So some clients go above and beyond, they're repurposing all their interviews, they're interacting with hosts. But I mean, all of that is you're gonna get a return on that investment in time. So like bare minimum, let's say an hour per podcast interview that you do. And then if you put more effort into relationship building, with the hosts interacting with listeners, as they're reaching out to you, that's more time. But it's going to be you're going to get an ROI. On that time.
September Smith:Well, you're going to be putting time into marketing anyways. And what better way to be spending their time with an audience who's already just spent, what 30 minutes with you in their head, and are attracted enough to know engage in whatever the host is putting out there. As far as you know, they're posting about it. That's a pretty good use of your marketing time. Don't be over there making pretty pictures for putting hook Facebook, get in there and work with these people. We're already excited about you.
Jessica Rhodes:Yeah. And as far as how much time we're saving, I mean, it's it's hours, I'm sure we'll get more into it on the summit. But it's it's hours and hours and hours of researching and pitching and following up. And it's not just the time because sometimes people will say, Well, I have no clients yet, or I only have two clients, I have plenty of time. But there's a big tax on your energy when you switch contexts. And when you should switch tasks from one thing to the next. So if you're jumping, like okay, now I have to go research for podcasts. And now I have to work with a client. And now I have to pitch Oh, and now I have to follow up, you're going to be so drained, you're going to be exhausted at the end of the day, because you've now done a million different things. As much as possible. You want to stay focused on maybe two to three priorities per day podcast pitching shouldn't be one.
September Smith:Yeah, you should be over there building your business if you don't have your clients yet. Right. Get those clients and let somebody else be doing all the hard work of finding you these wonderful showcase podcast interviews. Yeah. Oh, my God. So now we talked about the fact that you were the first in this whole industry. You've got a lot of competition. Now, what is the competitive edge that your clients can benefit from by working with interview connections?
Jessica Rhodes:Yeah, so we are truly a premier white glove experience. What I see in the market is a race to the bottom, I literally saw an ad for a service that is like, we'll book you on a podcast for $1. And it's like, okay, so there is this race to the bottom in terms of like, who can be the cheapest, and you get what you pay for in business like you, you get what you pay for in life, right? So we have a premier agency experience. We're a fully agile company. So every client has their own, essentially their own scrum team that's working on all aspects of the podcast testing strategy from how they're monetizing, the interviews, the types of shows they're getting on, you know, the messaging on their one, she actually the pitching and booking. So you like when you work with interview connections, you actually have a full team that's working on your podcast guessing strategy versus we have, you know, some of our agency competitors, maybe they're not doing the dollar per podcast booking but they sign you up. And then they hand you off to a virtual assistant from the Philippines who's just going to pitch you on a whole bunch of shows knowing nothing about what you do. So I mean, we have all in house employees in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, our employees are, this is their career. They're completely dedicated. They treat this business as if it were their own. They treat their clients as if they were their own clients. So the experience is just, you know, can't be compared to anyone else.
September Smith:Wow. Yeah, that's a competitive edge, for sure. Wow. So just to kind of illustrate what a client kind of gets in terms of ROI, like what is could you give as a case study would have an example of one of your clients and what has happened with them and their business working with you? Yeah, so
Jessica Rhodes:I'd love to share about my client, CHRISTINA WOODS. So she is a Reiki Master and an empowerment coach. And she started working with us a few months ago, she was really nervous when she first signed up because like when you commit to consistent visibility that can be threatening for a lot of people that aren't used to being visible on a weekly basis. I forget that because I'm visible all the time through podcasting, but still, I mean even for me, you do You have to, like keep putting yourself out there. And sometimes the natural inclination would be to keep working behind the scenes. So she so she definitely was nervous when she first started doing this. But just after the first couple of interviews happen, she realized, like her competence is totally grown. And she got to clients already, just from the first interviews going live. And how that happened was really, really cool. Because a lot of people think, Oh, I'm going to do a podcast, the listeners are going to hear me and then sign up. But oftentimes, there's other opportunities that come to you, because you are a podcast guests. So because she was interviewed on podcast, she then went to a retreat that she found through the podcast, and then got two clients from the retreat. So it, so if she weren't, if she wasn't getting on podcast, she wouldn't have gotten those two clients, but they didn't necessarily come directly from the listening audience. So that was just such a cool result, such a cool ROI. Because it really came from her being committed to making the most of the experience and the relationships that she is creating through podcast casting.
September Smith:And that is such an important thing to keep in mind when you're using podcasts guessing it's not just get on a show, and then by and never talk to them, again, never do anything with the content. It's amazing content, use it. So in her case, she got this whole other opportunity to get in front of a whole other audience even just first hit out, she got two clients. I mean, you know, and I know that are people that get just such a variety of podcasts guessing can take you so many places, because it's it's broadcast media. And it has a longevity unmatched by social media. Yeah, it's some of the it's one of the best investments I think you can be making right now in media. And you guys save them all this time doing it, you make it easy, you take one of the hardest parts of it and do it for them. Yes, but okay, I've got to hold myself back here from getting deeper into this. Because as you say, we're gonna go deep on all this stuff. When we get together, on you and I are talking on Thursday, June the 16th. And we're gonna go right deep into this, it's going to be hard for me to just keep that really brief as well too quick and concise. But we're going to get into this. Basically, overall, what is as powerful visibility opportunity that we're obviously both quite enthusiastic about who we can help. Jessica said she works with service industries. It's not even just service industries or products or even using it, how you can be using it, what people need to know to use it right. And there is a lot, you just can't flounder around and try anything you have to know what you're doing. And you're also going to get tips, strategies and action steps to make this powerful part of how you're going to be breaking through with media this year. So if you want to know more before you sign up for the for the summit, I want you to go to the link down in the notes. It's Jessica's link to interview connections. And there'll be down below in the show notes just like is there anything else we should be putting down there?
Jessica Rhodes:Interviewconnections.com is where you can find us and definitely come to the summit.
September Smith:Okay. And yes, if you want to learn more about this and get even more insight and how this can help your business, make sure you register for the free, three day BREAK THROUGH with MEDIA Summit, June 14 to 16th and come be with Jessica and me and a whole constellation of exciting industry event experts who are going to help you learn how you and your business can really have that big breakthrough that you need. The links are all down below in the show notes. You do not want to miss this. Jessica, thanks so much for being with me here today and talking about this.
Jessica Rhodes:Thanks, September.
September Smith:And that was just one of the amazing guests that we have at the BREAK THROUGH with MEDIA Summit, a three day live virtual event happening June 14 to the 16th to give entrepreneurs authors and thought leaders a panoramic overview of the opportunities, the skills required and the services and tools that you can be using media exposure, speaking opportunities, PR publicity and more to have the major breakthrough that you are looking for 20 industry experts three days all available right from wherever you are and it's free. Register at the link below in the show notes. You will not want to miss this!