How to Get Rebooked on a Podcast

Before you hang up

The end of the recording is when the host is most open to you. Use a minute of it to learn how they think about return guests, without asking for anything yet:

• Ask whether they ever have guests back, and what makes them say yes to a second episode. Some shows never repeat a guest; it is better to know now.
• Notice what you ran out of time for. A thread the host wanted to pull and couldn't is the most natural reason to come back.
• Ask when the episode is likely to go out, so your follow-up lands while it is still fresh for both of you.
• Offer something useful that costs you little: an introduction, a resource you mentioned, a clip you can cut for them.

Write down the unfinished topic while you still remember how the host reacted to it. It becomes the first line of your rebooking email.

After it airs, make the host glad they booked you

Hosts remember the guests who helped the episode find listeners. Share it where your audience actually is, tag the show, and reply to the host's own post about it. Then, a week or two later, send a short note with one honest result: replies you got, a listener who wrote to you, a question the episode prompted.

For a ready-made version of both notes, the one on the day and the one with results, see the podcast guest thank-you email.

For the launch-day checklist and how to cut one episode into weeks of clips, read how to promote your podcast guest appearance.

Give the host a reason for a second episode

A host books a returning guest when the second conversation would be different from the first. "I'd love to come back" gives them nothing to plan around. A specific angle does. Good reasons to return usually look like one of these:

• Something has changed since you recorded: a result you can now share, a launch, a reversal of a view you held on air.
• The topic you ran out of time for, framed as a full episode rather than a footnote.
• A question from listeners of the first episode, if you received one. Quote it as it was written.
• A format the show already runs, such as a debate, a listener Q&A or a follow-up episode, that you would fit.

There is no fixed waiting period that works for every show. A weekly interview show with a long guest queue may book months out; a smaller show may welcome you back sooner. Ask when you have the new angle, not on a timer.

The rebooking email

Keep it short and make it easy to say no. Put the new angle first, give the host one line about why their listeners would care, and close with an exit that keeps the relationship intact.

Hi [first name],

When we recorded [episode title], we ran out of time on [unfinished topic]. Since then [what has changed: a result, a launch, a listener question].

I think there is a full episode in it for your listeners: [one line on what they would take away].

If that fits your plans, I would be glad to come back. If not, no problem at all, and if another host you know covers [subject], I would be grateful for an introduction.

[Name]

Send it once. If there is no answer after a couple of weeks, let it go and keep helping the episode you already made. Silence after a single ask leaves the door open; a second and third ask tend to close it.

Turn one host into the next shows

The same host who might rebook you can also recommend you. Hosts guest on each other's shows and trade names when a peer asks who to book. A specific request makes this easy: name the kind of show or the subject, and offer something in return, such as an introduction to a guest who would suit theirs.

Keep a running list of the episodes you have done, with a line on what each one covered. It makes your next pitch stronger, because it shows hosts the range of conversations you can have and that other shows have trusted you on air.

What Let's Make A Podcast does after the episode

When a booking made here has happened, the host marks it recorded. After that, the guest and the host can each leave one review of the other, a 1 to 5 rating with an optional note. Reviews show on the guest's public page and on the host's show page, so a host deciding whether to book you can read what earlier hosts said.

Your guest one-sheet is where your past appearances belong, and the free one-sheet builder needs no account. Members also get a public guest page that hosts can browse and invite from.

When you want the host's peers, the free finder searches real shows by topic and marks which ones publish evidence that they book guests, still publish, and give you a way to contact them. It needs no sign-up.

To line up the next shows while this episode is fresh, search podcasts by topic.

When not to ask

Some situations call for leaving it. If the host has said they never repeat guests, respect that and ask for an introduction instead. If the recording went badly on your side, a late arrival or a poor connection, the better follow-up is an apology and a promotion effort that makes up for it. And if you have nothing new to say yet, wait until you do: an ask without an angle uses up the goodwill you will want later.

Frequently asked questions