If you are a podcaster, you will likely want to add another person as a co-host at some point in your podcasting career. When considering the idea of adding someone else to your podcast, there are many things to think about and factors to consider before making any final decisions. Here are five expert tips for finding good co-hosts for your show!
A co-host is a person who hosts with you on your podcast and helps keep the show going. Planning for a potential co-host is essential. Co-hosts can help take the strain off of your life as you handle other responsibilities. Co-hosts also provide more opportunities to share different perspectives on topics so that your audience doesn't get bored listening to one voice all the time! Successful hosting partnerships often take turns speaking in roundtable discussion formats, but this is not always necessary.
A podcast host may need a co-host if they are experiencing the following challenges with their podcast:
Co-hosts can help take some of this burden off your shoulders and provide you more opportunities, but there are many considerations before finding one! Read below for additional tips about how to find an excellent co-host.
Tip #01: Know what qualities you're looking for in a partner! Do they have the same interests? Have similar skill sets? Share the same values? Will it be easy to meet at scheduled times every week?
Tip #02: Make a list of what you're looking for in your co-host!
Tip #03: Create a shortlist and then narrow down the potential candidates. For Example, do they have social media followers that will grow your audience? Do their skills complement yours? To find emails and phone numbers of your prospects, use a contact search engine. This will allow you to easily find the contact information for the people you are considering working with.
Tip #04: Meet with them and see if they are interested in being a part of the show.
Are you on good terms with this person's friends, or has anything come up that might make it challenging to work together successfully? When considering adding a co-host to a podcast, you want to make sure that what they're expecting is harmonious with the expectations of any current hosts. Ask them how often they want to meet, where they would like these meetings to take place (either in person or online), how much time commitment they are willing to give, and whether any topics should be off-limits. It would be helpful if both parties can share examples of past content as well.
Tip #05 – Create a “contract” that lays out all of the expectations including, but not limited to:
You want to be on the same page as much as possible in the beginning to limit potential misunderstandings later on.
Tip #01 – Know the expectations for both you and the co-host.
Tip #02: Work out a realistic schedule that you can stick to and has wiggle room for situations where “life happens,” and an itinerary adjustment is necessary. It would help if you also discussed the approximate time per week spent editing podcasts before publishing them to your podcast or another website (unless you're outsourcing the job).
For Example, You record on Tuesdays from 11 am-12 pm EST but have work commitments come in every Wednesday from 12 pm-11 pm. It may not make sense for your co-host to take up this responsibility if they need time away from other duties to make up for the hours you don't have.
Tip #03: Figure out how many podcasts can be recorded and edited in a given week before things start to pile up. Without allowing a margin for error or other tasks required, this could put you under an excessive amount of pressure during the week.
For Example: If I only have five days per month where you have availability to edit the show (due to job responsibilities), then it would take 20 weeks of editing before everything piles up and becomes unmanageable without hiring someone else who can help with production timelines of data entry records, interviews, scheduled recordings, etc.).
Tip #04 – Podcast hosts looking for new co-hosts should decide what roles they want their new co-host to fill.
There are two main approaches:
(Example: if someone has an engineering background, they may be able to provide tips specific to engineers or people with interests explicitly related to this type of profession.)
I enjoy listening to the Paul Finebaum Show on the SEC Network (ESPN). The show primarily focuses on American College Football. Paul had a co-host join a few seasons back named Laura Rutledge. I thought Laura was very witty and brought a unique dynamic to the show, but I was never tuning in to hear from her. I wanted to hear from Paul.
Laura later moved on. Paul was very defensive and protective of Laura when his audience said they only wanted to hear from him. It eventually worked itself out. Laura was never a lousy commentator or co-host, but some listeners argued that she wasn't the right fit for the show, and Paul Finebaum didn't need a co-host. I like Laura, but I agreed with that sentiment. Laura has moved on to bigger and better things. She has a bright career in front of her.
Having a co-host for your podcast is an important decision that can either make or break the success of your show. Your co-host will be responsible for helping you with the workload and responsibilities related to creating and maintaining episodes. Finding someone who has a similar personality to you and being passionate about what they do is worth the effort to find because these qualities will create chemistry with potential listeners.
What are some recommendations that you have regarding co-hosts on podcasts? Please feel free to share them with us either in the Podcast Movement Facebook community or Podcast Movement University.
Examples of great podcast co-hosts:
Crime Junkies – This show experienced some bad press for plagiarism accusations, but it is still a fantastic true-crime podcast. The hosts are excellent.
90 Day Gays – Jake Anthony and Matt Marr are two Southern Queens who absolutely love TLC's 90 Day Fiancé.
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby “the Brain Heenan” – This may not seem like an obvious pick (and also not a podcast, unfortunately), but these two wrestling legends and Hall of Famers co-hosted WWE Prime Time Wrestling on the USA Network for years. They were super entertaining to watch, even if you are not a wrestling fan.
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