Jake Regal: Expert 4/6/17
Hello, friends! Here is another edition of my new advice blog. I’ve gotten a nice little backlog of questions. Some are quite serious, while others are lighter. It’s a good balance! Here comes a lighter query from Josiah in California.
“If I'm putting together a podcast, what is the etiquette for asking people to be guests? Is it annoying to be asked to be a guest on a podcast, or is it something that is fun? Is it okay to ask strangers? Relatedly, will you be a guest on my new podcast?”
There’s certainly something intimidating about asking someone “above your station” to appear on your podcast, or in your improv show, or in your webseries. There is a fear that you may be bothering someone who is perhaps much busier than you. My advice: just go for it!
It’s very easy to ignore an email. Very very easy. You won’t be harming anyone by sending one. Shoot an email/Facebook message/DM to anybody you want on your podcast. Be respectful, lay out your want clearly, and offer them a few options for times to record. In my experience, only offering one option makes it likely they will decline, and offering many options will make it likely that will be overwhelmed and ignore the ask. Don’t follow up if they don’t respond (unless they’re a friend) because that’s when it can get annoying!
If you’re both in the same field (comedy, for example) you might feel the want to strike a balance between reverence and fraternity in your ask. I don’t think this is essential, but it couldn’t hurt! I’ve emailed Nick Kroll on two occasions to try to book him for shows. The first time, we had never met, and I basically wrote like I was a total fanboy trying to get him to do my stupid Passover-themed bit show. No response. Years later, after my team Cardinal Redbird opened for his team Morzouksnick at SF Skecthfest, I again asked him to do a show. This time, I emailed him reminding him of how we were connected, while still communicating that he would be doing me a favor by performing. He responded within minutes, and played with Cardinal Redbird a few weeks later. It felt like a favorable tone to take with a successful comedian like him.
This is mostly advice geared towards asking a famous person you don’t really know to do your podcast. If we’re talking about a fellow UCB student, or a not-on-TV house team performer, just ask ‘em! I think most people in the community would be happy to do your podcast, myself included!
Agree with my answers? Disagree? Let me know with a comment, or shoot an email to [email protected]
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