Guides

How to attract volunteers for your podcasts

Launching a podcast may be fun in the beginning, but things can get quite hard when you run out of ideas. Fortunately, many generous people want to offer their help without asking anything in return. Here are some tips that will help you find volunteers for your show.

Begin by activating your network. Open your smartphone, and then take your time to go through the entire contact list. What do these people do for a living? Can any of your direct contacts be of help?

Word of mouth can also be helpful. Just tell everyone you meet that you're looking for new talent for your podcast. Some of them will have the required expertise and may be interested in your proposal.

Add a dedicated "volunteer" section to your website. Tell people what's in it for them; maybe you can share their websites' URLs on your blog and/or your social media channels, for example. Most volunteers are wonderful people and will gladly help without asking for anything in return, but it is wise to tell them why their time and efforts are useful. Show them how their podcasting work will help and inspire others, making a difference.

Make it easy for volunteers to contact you; don't use a long form that asks them to give away a lot of information. It's best to ask for their name and phone number; if you add more than two fields, some of these nice people will back off.

Social media can also be a fantastic source of volunteers. Just search Twitter for posts including one of these hashtags: #volunteer, #volunteering, etc. and you will find lots of opportunities.

If you have a newsletter, don't forget to let your subscribers know that you are interested in featuring them on your podcast. Sweeten the deal by throwing in some freebies, if needed.

Check out the most popular volunteering forums on the web. Google "volunteer forums" and you will discover that lots of people want to help others for free. Explore the first few pages of search results, looking for threads in which people want to share their experience with others. Sites such as Volunteer Match, Create the Good or Points of Light can also serve as a good source of potential candidates.  

Did you know that some of the listeners want to get involved in your show? This could solve one of the most pressing podcasting-related problems – the lack of high quality, fresh content. Allow people to call you, and then use their stories and expertise to spice up your show.

You can call these people and record them, for example. Or, you can ask some of your listeners to record themselves, and then send you the recording. You'll get better results if you choose to call people, of course; by doing that, you will be able to get exactly what you need from them. If you use Skype, the recorded audio should be good enough for most people's needs. Don't forget to disable the video component of the conference, though, because it uses a lot of data and could lead to recording gaps and/or a lower audio quality.

Congratulations, you've managed to attract new volunteers for your podcast! If this is the case, don't forget to treat them nicely; if they are knowledgeable, you will want to feature them in your show more than once.