Introduction
Finding your first guest is an adventure; you need to plan how you are going to both discover and persuade your guest to join you on camera.
Bringing a guest into your studio when you broadcast adds an extra special dimension to your show.
Live in the BeLive Streaming Community Talking about Finding Guests
My first guest
My first broadcast was a weekly show discussing news from the UK and around the globe. My real-world friend Jon Upton joined me, and we made regular broadcasts together.
Peter Stewart and Stephen Silk watched the broadcasts and joined us. This week sees our 282nd live broadcast together; we have become terrific friends and enjoy broadcasting.
Jon was my first guest and my first co-host, and we knew each other – we had met on many occasions and enjoyed each others company.
When you are looking for your first guest, start with people you have met in real life. You have gotten to know them and have a good idea of what they will contribute to your broadcast.
Start with friends, discussing their favourite topics. Ask your friends who they would suggest could join you on camera; friends of friends is a great way to find guests.
Before approaching someone to be a guest
Before you invite your first guest, there are things you need to practice and master. You should know the BeLive studio like the back of your hand. When it is just you on screen, you do not need to make many changes whilst you are broadcasting, with a guest there are more options in relation to the screen. You can show the two of you side by side, you can both appear on screen solo.
When you are broadcasting solo, you will have an agenda that you can use to run the show. If you deviate from it, it is totally your choice. When you have a gest you need a structured approach that they know what to expect and know how the broadcast will progress and what is expected of them. Discuss with your guest how they would like to present their story, do they wish to use images or video, do they wish to promote their social media presence and links.
Inviting a guest to a show is akin to inviting someone into your house, you should know what to provide and they should know what to expect. The Idea is for both of you to enjoy the show and start planning a second show together when the first one is complete.
Finding a new guest
People love to tell stories about themselves and their expertise; we all have something special to share. We all have in-depth knowledge of one or several topics. Your first decision is to decide which topic you would like to cover in your broadcast.
Armed with the topic, you can begin to track down your first guest; the question is, where do you start? You already have several ready-made networks that you can search.
Facebook groups
Many Facebook groups focus on a specific topic; you may already be a member of some. You will have posted and commented and, in doing so, built your reputation. You will have been an active participant, and members will know of you.
You can invite any member of the group to be a guest on your show, tell them the topic of your broadcast and why you feel they will be a good fit. Please do your research and try to discover their background story.
The worst that can happen if you invite someone is that they will say no. If that happens, make a note to contact them again when you have entertained other guests on your broadcast. You will have a portfolio of videos to show them.
Twitter is a great place to find guests.
When we follow people on Twitter, we are building our network. In that network are people who want to tell their stories. When we read the tweets from people we follow, we can find people whom we would like to broadcast with. We can see the topics they tweet about and decide that they should be in our inner circle.
Start by retweeting people, commenting on their tweets. Start a discussion with them. This will build your relationship with them, and when you ask them to be a guest on your show, they will know who you are.
Suppose your broadcast is about a business topic, then the natural place to find a guest. In addition to looking through your circle of contacts, the Linkedin search engine can be searched by topic.
If you are not connected to your ideal guest, then request a connection. Look at the groups they are members of and join them. Once in the group, start topics and make comments, especially on their posts/
When you message them about being on your broadcast, they will know who you are.
Blogs
If you read blogs, you will already have a list of your favourite bloggers who write about the topics that interest you.
The next step is to comment on their blog posts, you will already stand out because not many people do comment these days. Share their blog posts on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.
When you contact them directly, they will know of you.
Podcasts
You can search the podcast directories on Itunes, Spotify and Podbean. There are so many sites to choose from.
Listen to the podcasts of the people you have selected to broadcast with. Comment on them and share them. Ensure that they notice you and when the time is right ask.
There is a growing number of podcasters who live broadcast, if your person does then you will be talking to the converted.
Summary
We have reviewed the many ways you can find guests; you can use the same techniques on Youtube and Twitch.
Do not be afraid to ask; your potential guest might say yes.
I noticed one broadcaster who had attracted a large consistent following for her live videos; I was curious about how she had grown her audience, I did not know her.
I approached Hodan and asked her for an interview. She said yes, and we arranged an interview at 10 am my time; unbeknown to me, she lived in a time zone 5 hours behind me. At 4:50 in the morning, she arrived in the studio ready to broadcast. The show was a journey, with Hodan telling her stories, and we enjoyed creating the almost perfect broadcast
I was so glad I asked her.
The live broadcast on this topic is in the BeLive Streamers Community at 12 pm EST 5 pm BST today https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebelivers/permalink/2889901561275678/
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