LinkedIn Post: Work Your Way Up to Batman

Source: /opt/gcv-portfolio/captions/kluUy8GOzf0.en.vtt — GCV podcasting talk, ~00:00:00–00:00:45 (120 episodes opener) + ~02:31–03:52 (invite four friends / Batman ladder)

If you want Batman on your podcast, don't start with Batman. He's busy.

Start with Lucius Fox. Interview Vicki Vale. Talk to somebody random in the slums of Gotham. Work your way up to Wayne Enterprises, and then you can probably get Batman on the line.

That's the best outreach advice I know, and I usually give it while holding a little podcast mic in my hand. I did 120 episodes of Not Safe For Wonks, and the single most valuable thing I learned is the order you approach people in.

You don't message the person you actually want to meet first. You message four of their friends first. Then when you finally send the note, it isn't a cold call anymore. You've already talked to four people they know. You already know their culture because you've been standing in it.

And here's the part nobody warns you about: the people you meet on the way up are usually better than the person at the top anyway. They aren't drowning in podcast requests. They'll actually open up to you, tell you what they're working on and what's next. By the time you reach Batman, you might not even want him as much as the people who got you there.

So don't skip the four friends. They were never the warm-up act.

Who's your Batman? And who are the four people you'd have to talk to first? If you can't name the four, you're not ready to talk to the one.

draft from corpus — based on Brandyn's GCV podcasting talk (kluUy8GOzf0.en.vtt)