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Podcast guest prep email template
A well-prepped guest is a relaxed guest, and a relaxed guest gives you better tape. The two-minute email you send a few days before recording is one of the highest-return things you can do for the episode.
Send it at least a couple of days out, ideally closer to a week. Tell them the format, the length, the topic, and a few of the questions, so nothing on recording day is a surprise.
Part of the guide: How to book podcast guests
Make it yours
Fill these in and the invite below rewrites itself.
Subject
Prep for our The Build recording
Hi Priya,
Looking forward to recording with you. Here is everything so you can walk in relaxed.
What it is: a conversation for The Build, about forty minutes, recorded remotely. No live audience, so if a line comes out sideways we stop and pick it right back up.
What we will cover: how you rebuilt the team after the layoffs. A few questions I might ask, just so nothing surprises you: - What did the first week actually look like? - What would you do differently now? - What do most people get wrong about it?
On the day: join from a quiet room with headphones and, if you have one, an external mic. Come as yourself. The less rehearsed you sound, the better it lands.
Anything you want to make sure we cover? Send it my way.
Talk soon, Jordan
Why this one gets a yes
- It sends the sample questions ahead, so the guest can organize their thoughts and nobody freezes on recording day. Prepared guests give you cleaner tape.
- It sets the format and length plainly: about forty minutes, remote, nothing live. Naming the shape of the session removes the nerves that make a guest stiff.
- It ends by asking what they want to cover, which turns the recording into a real conversation and often surfaces the best moment of the episode.
Common questions
What should I send a podcast guest before recording?
The format, the expected length, the topic, a few sample questions, and simple instructions for joining and getting decent audio. Keep it to a short, copy-paste email you send to every guest. The goal is that nothing on recording day is a surprise, because a guest who knows what is coming shows up relaxed.
How far in advance should I send the prep email?
At least a couple of days out, and closer to a week if you can. That gives the guest time to sit with the topic and the sample questions without over-rehearsing. Send the logistics again the day before as a short reminder so the join link and time are easy to find.
Should I send podcast guests the exact questions?
Send a few, not a script. Three or four sample questions give the guest enough to prepare while leaving room for a real conversation. Handing over a full question-by-question list tends to make answers sound rehearsed, which is the opposite of what you want on tape.
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