Hi Besties! Today’s guest is Emily McElwreath, host of The Art Career podcast, and Emily’s superpower is guest booking. Some of us feel like we need to work our way up to our dream guests, but not Emily. Starting season one of her podcast, she didn’t wait for permission to approach top-tier talent. She was hot out the gate with Laurie Simmons, Marilyn Minter, and other big names in the art world. She’s even managed to land Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz and one of my all-time favorite authors, Cheryl Strayed (which, to me, is like landing on the moon as far as podcast guest booking goes). So I invited Emily on Podcast Bestie to tell us about her guest book strategy, along with some tips for approaching a high-profile dream guest of your own.
Cheryl Strayed famously coined the mantra “Write Like a Motherf*cker” for her Dear Sugar column (which later became a book called Tiny Beautiful Things that I have gifted to no less than 20 people, and now it’s also a TV show on Hulu) — and that sentiment can be applied to any creative endeavor. So after Emily’s interview, you’ll get a pep talk from Cheryl herself, and I hope it inspires you to podcast like a motherf*cker. That is a pep talk we all need to hear sometimes.
Connect with Emily @emilymcelwreath_art and The Art Career podcast @theartcareer on Instagram.
Tune into Emily’s podcast, The Art Career.
Check out the website for The Art Career.
Sign up for my upcoming workshop, How to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought.
Here’s a link to the TRANSCRIPT.
If you missed the last episode, check out How to Leverage Blogging Strategies for Your Podcast with Danielle Desir Corbett.
Sign up for the Podcast Bestie newsletter here: https://podcastbestie.substack.com/welcome
Thanks to Michael Castañeda for mixing and mastering this episode. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @plasticaudio.
And thank you to Matt Gilhooly for creating the social media assets for this episode. Follow him on Twitter @theliftshiftpod.
A big thanks to our BFFs for sponsoring this episode:
mowPod is an effective, targeted way to promote your show. It's already trusted by industry giants like Conde Nast, iHeartMedia, and HubSpot Podcast Network, and that's because it works. But mowPod isn’t just for the big guys — mowPod Boost is perfect for indie podcasters. It’s actually been my favorite paid advertising experiment to date, and you can try it for just $100. Plus, if you are a Bestie, you get 10% off with this link: https://boost.mowpod.com/?referrer=podcastbestie. Try it, and let me know what you think!
Get smarter in 5 minutes with Morning Brew. It's free! There's a reason over 4 million people start their day with Morning Brew — the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Business news doesn't have to be boring... make your mornings more enjoyable, for free.
Looking for some words of inspiration to kickstart your creative process? Magic Write in Canva Docs is your very own AI text generator to help you get out a first draft, fast. Simply start with a prompt and watch as copy, blog outlines, lists, bio captions, content ideas, brainstorms, and more appear in seconds. Try Magic Write by Canva
Start your morning with The Newsette! The Newsette is a newsletter for women, written by women, about topics that are important to women. They break down trending topics in news, fashion, and lifestyle to keep you up to date but not weighed down. It’s like getting the news from your BFF. Subscribe for free!
If you want to sponsor a future newsletter AND episode, you can purchase your ad spot here.
I’ve also got a FREE promo opportunity for the Besties: Leave a five-star rating with a review on Apple Podcasts, email me a screenshot with your name and the name of your podcast, and you’ll get a free shout-out on the next episode.
So… ROLL CALL! 🗣
Who’s YOUR dream podcast guest? Any inspiring stories about going for it with a big name?
Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.
💸 Wanna advertise on Podcast Bestie? Visit podcastbestie.com/advertise for info about offerings and rates.
Share this post