✊ Why most interview podcasts fail

460 WORDS | READ TIME: 1.7 MIN

Happy Friday friends,

Of all the many formats you can design a podcast around, none is more popular than the interview.

It’s no wonder why.

Interview shows (can) require less prep than scripted solo shows and certainly less time & money than narrative shows. And unlike co-hosted shows, if you have an on-air falling out with a guest, you never have to talk to them again!

Interviews also allow you as a host to explore diverse ideas and perspectives beyond your own circle of expertise, expand your network, lend themselves to collaborations and guest swaps, and more.

Yep, there’s a lot to love about the interview format.

Except, well one thing…

They’re the single hardest format to grow.

Which is ironic, seeing as many hosts start interview shows thinking they’ll be easier to grow due to the exposure to their guests’ audiences.

In particular, hosts often imagine “big” well-known (even bone fide celebrity) guests to be their show’s knights in shining armour, coveting and chasing them down them down with ruthless obsession.

Unfortunately, that exposure rarely materializes.

Either because the guests don’t share their episodes, or they do but their audiences aren’t aligned with your content.

Add in the fact that interview shows are a dime a dozen on any conceivable topic, often with little to immediately differentiate one over another, and it becomes painfully, obvioously clear…

There’s a lot to hate about the interview format.

So if you produce an interview show, what are you supposed to do?

Do you switch up your format?

Double down, become the best interviewer you can be, and settle in for the long, slow grind of growth.

Or is there another way to think about interview shows?

One that immediately sets your show apart from the dozens of other interview shows in your niche and positions yours as the must-listen interviews on your topic?

These are the questions we’re exploring in this week’s podcast roast.

On the skewer this week is A Breath of Fresh Air a music podcast featuring interviews with world-famous classic rock musicians from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.

Guests include members of Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Cheap Trick, Kool & the Gang, The Jackson 5, and many many more legendary guests.

But are guests like these enough to grow this show?

And if not, what would?

Check out the roast to hear our breakdown.

If you're feeling brave enough to submit your own show for a roast, here's how to do it:

Subscribe to our show, Podcast Marketing Trends Explained
Leave us a review that includes your show name
Wait nervously on pins and needles, hoping that we don't (or do) pick you

Have a great weekend. And as always...

Stay Scrappy,

If you're a Founder, Solo Biz Owner, or Professional Creator looking to double down on the Craft of your work while getting paid handsomely by clients you love to work with, I have 3 slots left for 2025 in my 1:1 Podcast Growth Engine Program.

In the program, we'll do a full assessment of your show, marketing, sales system, and offer, and then design a strategy and system to bring them into alignment, to help you sell more and grow faster while making better, more rewarding, more resonant work.

It's not an overnight process, but if you've already got the pieces in place, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect to add $100k in revenue over the next year.

Here's who nails the bull's eye:

You're a coach, consultant, service provider, or online educator with a high-ticket offer ($5k+) that already sells consistently.
You have a stable business that pays you a solid, predictable salary (ie. you're not in "need cash now mode") and are in mid-to-long-term planning mode, looking to build out the systems and strategy to take your business to the next level over the next 2-5 years.
You've got your core business assets already established—offer, sales process, email marketing, podcast, operations—but while all of them are performing OK, none of them are really optimized... and you know you're leaving money on the table and working harder than you need to to generate revenue.
You can see all the pieces and know you've built something of real value... but don't know how to connect them all in a cohesive way.
You understand business and marketing, but could really use some outside perspective from someone who deeply understands their work (creatively, strategically, and tactically) and what they're trying to do to bounce ideas off of, challenge their assumptions, and guide them.

If that's you (or close enough), reply with the words "Growth Engine" and I'll send over all the info on how the process works.

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