“[Podcasting] is up 25% year-over-year & almost 40 MILLION people listen to some form of podcast.” –NYT

I consume podcasts when I’m shaving my legs in the tub, when I’m hunched over my 2-month old feeding him in the wee hours of the night, and when I’m vacuuming the house … when that actually happens. Wait, that doesn’t happen.

OK, Okay. I’ll admit it – I’m a podcast fanatic.

How did I become so creepily obsessive? It started three years ago when I randomly stumbled upon Srini Rao’s Unmistakable Creative Podcast. His show was my first passionate love affair with this brave new(ish) audio world and since that time I even started my own show, The Bridal Rebellion Podcast. Shameless plug.

Flash forward to January 2015 – a big year for my own personal expansion. My family would e-x-p-a-n-d with the birth of my little boy, Henry Bear, on February 16th. And along with my family’s growth, I was also determined to expand my copywriting business and turn it into the creative boutique I always dreamed of building and running.

Yes, THIS was the year, I thought.

How would I do it?

How would I grow my business? I knew that the only way for me to take my business to the next level was to 1) deliver exceptional service (ummm…duh) and 2) put myself out there in a MAJOR way. Like, no more hiding behind my Mac on my li’l mountain in the woods.

I needed to speak up, share my viewpoints with the world, be bold, and as Erika Lyremark says it best, BE UNAPOLOGETIC. And actually being unapologetic continues to be a tough one for me. Because I want to make everyone happy ALL the freakin’ time which means saying, I’m sorry a lot. Talk about a business buzz kill.

I’m so over apologizing.

So I decided to stop apologizing and instead challenge myself to maneuver my I-just-had-a-baby-butt into the guest seat of a handful of podcast interviews for a change. Yeah, crazy thought. I would transition from the interviewer to the interviewee. Eeek!

I knew the only way I could actually land myself a spot on my favorite shows was to nail the pitch. As a copywriter, I had finessed the pitch letter with clients previously so I pulled together the right words for my very own pitch, a simple email asking my fave podcasters if I could discuss topics X, Y, or Z  as a a guest on their show.

When it comes to dating, applying for jobs, and pitching yourself, it’s all about the base numbers. I knew I needed to reach out to as many podcast shows as possible in order to receive a few yeses. And with that, I came up with my own personal challenge.

I would pitch myself to 30 shows in 30 days.

Would it be terrifying? At times. Would people want to interview me? I believe so. Would I speak eloquently on the interviews or fumble my words? We’ll find out!

And my biggest question: How would this impact my buh-buh-business?

All great questions that will be answered in the next 30 days.

So why should YOU pitch yourself to podcasters?

1. Credibility. If you want to outshine your “competition” online and step gracefully into the role of a thought leader in your nichey-niche, guest appearances will give you the credibility boost you need. You share your expertise, stories, and personality and people actually listen. Pretty cool, right?
2. Audience Growth. Feel like you’re ready to reach new communities and spread your message and services / products to new prospective clients? Plug yourself into a totally foreign online community with a podcast interview.
3. Practice. You daydream about speaking at the next big industry conference. You imagine summit invitations flowing in your inbox weekly. If you want to improve your public speaking skills so you’re ready for that big day when you’re on the TED stage, this is the perfect platform to do it. Don’t beat yourself up over ummms and likes and awkward pauses. Just jump into another interview and practice, practice, practice.

Convinced yet? Either way, stay tuned for next week’s status update on my 30-Day Challenge. I’ll share the good, the bad, and the fabulous.

In the meantime, I have a challenge for you. Pitch yourself to one podcast show THIS week. Yes, as in tomorrow.

If you do it, HOLLA in the comments below. I’m cheering you on.