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How to ask a LinkedIn connection to be on your podcast
The people already in your network are the easiest yes you will ever get, and the one most hosts skip because reaching out feels awkward. It only feels awkward when the message reads like you dusted off a contact to extract a favor.
You fix that by leading with the actual reason you thought of them. Warm outreach works when it sounds like you remembered something specific, because you did.
Part of the guide: How to book podcast guests
Make it yours
Fill these in and the invite below rewrites itself.
Subject
Would you come on The Build?
Hi Sam,
We connected here a while back, and your recent post about hiring your first salesperson is what brought me to your profile again. It is exactly the kind of thing I want more of on The Build.
I host it for early founders, and I would love to have you on to go deeper on that. One remote recording, about forty minutes, and I will work entirely around your schedule.
No pressure at all if the timing is wrong. But if you are open to it, I think it would be a good conversation.
Talk soon, Jordan
Why this one gets a yes
- It names the exact post or moment that made you think of them, so the outreach reads as genuine memory instead of a pulled contact.
- It gives them an easy out. "No pressure if the timing is wrong" lowers the stakes, and lower stakes get more yeses, not fewer.
- It signs off warm, not corporate. You already have the relationship, so the message should sound like the relationship, not a cold pitch.
Common questions
Is it okay to ask a LinkedIn connection to be on my podcast?
Yes, and they are usually your best guests. You already share context, so the invite lands warmer than any cold email. The only rule is to make it about a specific thing they said or did, not a generic "I would love to have you on." Specific proves you were paying attention.
Should I message them on LinkedIn or by email?
Message them where the connection actually lives. If you talk on LinkedIn, ask on LinkedIn. If you have their email from a real exchange, either works. What matters is that it feels like a continuation of a relationship, not a channel switch to make a pitch.
How do I ask without sounding like I only want something?
Lead with what they did, not what you need. Name the post, the talk, the project. Give them an easy out. When the message opens with a specific thing you admired and closes with no pressure, the ask in the middle reads as an invitation, not an extraction.
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