Guest Readiness SOP: Get Booked on Podcasts Without Needing Oprah
This is a Small Business SOP, a free, do-this-today standard operating procedure pulled from a real operator on the Unscripted Small Business podcast. This one comes from Victoria Bennion of The Best Podcast Guest Booking Agency, who has booked experts and non-fiction authors onto podcasts since 2019 and turns away the ones who are not ready yet.
Most people come to podcast guesting wanting Oprah or Joe Rogan. Victoria’s clients get something cheaper and closer: a host who becomes a client, a referral to the next show, a backlink in the show notes. This SOP is the seven things she has a client do before the first pitch goes out. Run it this week.
The Play: One Line
Before you pitch a single podcast, pass the hold-off gate, bank your stories, write a one-sheet a host can read as a CV, buy three pieces of kit, do one practice interview, pitch by hand, and count the host as the first win.
Why this matters
In Victoria’s words: “If you’re very new, if you’re still figuring out your business, if, say, a host is going to look you up and they’re not really sure what you do, you’re not at that point, you’re really, really new, then no.” And the second half of the test: “If maybe you’re not selling anything yet, or you don’t have a solid offer worked out yet, then hold off. Hold off on the podcasts till you do.” A booking agency that says no to paying clients on that basis is telling you where the return comes from. Everything below is what she does with the ones who pass.
The 7 Steps
1
Run the hold-off gate first.
Search your own name and business the way a host would. If the result does not make it plain what you do, or you have no solid offer to sell yet, stop here. In Victoria’s words: "Hold off on the podcasts till you do." The ROI has to land on something.
2
Bank three to five real stories.
Her speech coach’s single biggest note: "Share stories. Share stories." Write down a client outcome, how the business started, a mistake and what it changed, and one personal detail that has nothing to do with your service. A coach who talked about her cats got an inquiry that opened with "I knew you were the coach for me." (The count of three to five is our suggestion, not hers.)
3
Write a one-sheet that reads like a CV.
Victoria’s first client got a consulting and webinar offer from one host. Her account: "they’d kind of taken the one sheet that I sent over as a CV, I guess, a resume." Put your credentials, your offer and your talking points on one page so a host can size you up before the interview, not after.
4
Buy the minimum kit and stop there.
An external microphone, a webcam and headphones. "You don’t have to spend a lot of money to do that. Just not using your computer’s in-built camera and microphone is going to elevate it." That is the whole equipment list.
5
Do one practice interview and get feedback.
Her agency added a practice interview on its own show after an author, a former teacher, turned up with a script and would not deviate from it. Record a mock interview with a colleague or on a friendly show, then have someone listen for the canned intro. Her coach hears it most in people who are used to writing.
6
Pitch by hand, not by prompt.
Hosts tell Victoria they are "getting so many more pitches now, very AI-generated pitches." Her agency uses AI in the background and still writes every pitch fresh. Read the show, name the episode you liked, and say why you fit.
7
Count the host as the first outcome.
"Sometimes our clients find that the host is their ideal client and they end up working together." Log what each host gives you: a referral to another show, a collaboration, a backlink in the show notes, or work. Listener downloads come last.
The numbers behind the play
Every figure here is from Victoria’s own account on the episode, recorded 16 September 2026. None of it is a survey.
2019
the year Victoria started booking experts on podcasts
300
copies of one client’s book a host bought after the interview
3
pieces of kit that are enough: mic, webcam, headphones
0
AI-written pitches her agency sends to hosts
Take the whole SOP with you
One printable page: the play, the 7 steps, the numbers, and a fill-in readiness checklist. No email required.
