A podcast for business produces leads when every guest leaves the experience feeling like a friend, not a booking. The structure that does that has three parts: the prep before you record, the first five minutes on the call, and the follow-up email the same day. Get those right and the show builds relationships, referrals, and social proof on its own.
Andy Milligan has run that playbook on his show, Marketing by Design, which is powered by AMA Columbus. He recorded a four-minute walkthrough of it while getting ready to interview the co-founder and CEO of a $20 million a year SEO agency, someone he saw as a strong referral source. If you are still working out how to get your first client, a podcast is one of the warmest ways to start conversations with people you would never reach through cold outreach.
"Have the guest tell you from their mouth what makes a home run for them and lean into it." Andy Milligan
Why a podcast for business works as a lead source
Listening is mainstream. According to Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2025, 55% of Americans age 12 and older are now monthly podcast consumers. But for a marketer or service provider, the audience is only half of the value.
The other half is the guest. An interview gives you an hour of focused attention from someone you chose on purpose: a potential client, a referral partner, or a leader in your niche. Andy picks guests that way, which is why his show doubles as his outreach list. He covers that approach in his breakdown of using a podcast guest list as a Dream 100.
"Everything is preparation," Andy says. The structure below is how he turns that preparation into a relationship.
Before you record: make the guest's goal the agenda
The day before recording, Andy sends each guest a personalized video introducing the show and the topics to cover. The video points to a guest page with a short form. Guests share their links, photos, brand assets, and what they are promoting.
The most important question on that form asks what a home run looks like for them. When the guest tells you in their own words what they want from the episode, you can steer the conversation toward it. That is what makes the experience feel built for them.
The same pre-read includes two more pieces:
- A sample episode arc. Some guests have never been on a podcast. Showing them the flow of a typical episode removes the nerves.
- A few sample questions. Guests arrive prepared, which makes for a better conversation and a better recording.
During the call: keep it simple and build rapport fast
Andy keeps only two or three browser tabs open while recording, so he can stay present and make eye contact:
- The guest's LinkedIn profile. Recent posts give him a window into their day-to-day work and an easy way to break the ice.
- His notes from the guest form.
- The recording studio tab. He records in Riverside and runs a live notetaker so he has a transcript if he misses something.
He also sets the recording room so guests wait for permission to join. When someone lands in the waiting room, he gets a notification, checks his audio, and then lets them in with a smile and real enthusiasm.
One small habit stands out. Andy tells the guest, "I'm going to start recording now," before he actually starts, as a safeguard so he never forgets to hit the button. Saying it out loud has a side effect: the small moment of honesty puts people at ease. From there he starts with small talk and eases into the conversation.
After the call: deliver value and ask at the peak
The follow-up happens directly after the recording. Andy emails the guest a link to download the footage, tells them they can use it however they like, and lets them know when the episode will be released.
That same email is the moment to ask for a testimonial. The guest has just finished a conversation they enjoyed, so excitement and goodwill are at their highest. Andy credits this habit for the dozens of testimonials that helped grow the show. If you want more on gathering that kind of proof, see his post on client testimonials.
The raw footage becomes an asset for the guest, and the episode becomes a stream of content for you. Andy's podcast clips playbook shows how he turns each episode into short videos, a practical form of content repurposing that keeps the relationship visible after release.
Where the Columbus community fits
A podcast is a relationship engine, and so is a good local community. Columbus Marketing Organization is a peer community for marketers, freelancers, and service providers in Columbus, Ohio, founded by Andy Milligan. Members share leads, introductions, and job opportunities, including the weekly Columbus Marketing Jobs newsletter.
Many of the best podcast guests are people you meet in person first. Come to a Columbus marketing event to meet them, or join the community on Skool to keep the conversation going between events.
The takeaway
A podcast for business is not a content project. It is a structured guest experience: ask what a home run looks like, prepare the guest, make them comfortable, and follow up the same day with their footage and a request for a testimonial. Do that consistently and every episode leaves you with a stronger relationship than you started with.
Have the guest tell you from their mouth what makes a home run for them and lean into it.
Frequently asked questions
Can a podcast for business really generate leads?
Yes, when you choose guests on purpose. Andy Milligan treats each interview as an hour of focused time with a potential client or referral partner. The leads come from the relationship you build before, during, and after the recording, not only from the audience who listens later.
What should I send a podcast guest before recording?
Andy sends a personalized video the day before, plus a guest page with a form for links, photos, brand assets, and what the guest is promoting. He also shares a sample episode arc and a few sample questions so first-time guests know what to expect.
When should I ask a podcast guest for a testimonial?
Ask right after the recording, in the follow-up email that includes their footage and release date. The guest has just finished a conversation they enjoyed, so excitement and goodwill are at their peak. Andy credits this habit for the dozens of testimonials that helped grow his show.
How do I make podcast guests comfortable?
Greet them with a smile and enthusiasm, reference something from their recent LinkedIn posts, and start with small talk. Andy also says out loud that he is about to start recording before he presses the button, a small moment of honesty that puts guests at ease.
Read the video transcript
Kind: captions Language: en Hi there. This might be the shortest walkthrough video I have ever done. If you're new to the channel, my name is Andy. I'm the founder of three businesses. One is my design studio, which generates around 20K per month, and we do web and SEO for healthcare. The other is the Columbus marketing organization, which is my in-person job board mastermind group for marketers here in Columbus. And the third one is my podcast, which is what the topic of conversation will be on today. The topic of this is how to give guests and create and curate a podcast that will generate leads for your business in 11 minutes. This is why this is going to be a short video. I'm getting ready to record an hourong conversation with the co-founder and CEO of a $20 million a year SEO agency so they could be a great referral source. Everything is preparation. And while I have all this up, I thought might as well record a video for you guys on how the mindset that you need to bring to a p to a podcast that will be business beneficial and really build a relationship. So, let's talk about pre-work. So, yesterday I sent this to our guest. I'll do another full episode more so about onboarding and how to get people on the schedule, Riverside, all the logistics, things like that. It's beyond the scope for this one. Yesterday, day before recording, I record a personalized video talking about the introducing the show, talking about things to cover. They get sent to a guest page where they will then fill out a form, all the information, how their links, photos, assets, and brand kit, what they're promoting. So, I can hear from them from their mouth. This is the key point of the conversation. Have the guest tell you from their mouth what makes a home run for them and lean into it. in this document here that they received the day before. Sample episode arc. Some people haven't been on podcast before and it helps just know what they're walking into. And then a few sample questions for them. And while we're recording, I'm very diligent on only having two or three tabs open. I have this one for the sake of demonstrations. One of them is their LinkedIn profile so I can talk about some of their recent posts so I have a better insight into what their recent day in the life looks like. is good for breaking the ice, starting a great conversation and building rapport. Second one is these notes as I've talked about. And the third one is the Riverside tab and this is where we record. So I like to keep it very minimal, try and make eye contact. I'll also have this notetaker here. By the way, shout out to Whisperflow. I love their notetaker and it's been great for the podcast appearance. And if I can't hear something that they're saying, I'll have the transcript running here in live time, which is recording me now, too, because I'm teching away in the call. And afterwards, um, we'll talk a little bit about on the experience. So, as soon as they join, always have the podcast setting set to permission to join. So, they don't pop in right away. They will you receive a notification. You can set this in Riverside to where when they join, you get a when they join the waiting room, you get a small notification. You can prepare. Make sure audio is everything and lets them in. And when they join, greet them with a smile and enthusiasm. Hello. So excited to chat today. How is your morning going? Boom. Build rapport right away. Put them at ease and start recording relatively soon after they join. And when you hit record, say, I'm going to start recording now, but I don't actually start it here. This just to make sure that I don't fat finger the button and forget I'm recording anything. And that vulnerability builds rapport. And then you start with small talk. And you just ease your way into a conversation. In followup directly afterwards, you send them an email with the link to download the footage. tell them they can use with it as they please and let them know in that email too when the episode comes out. It's also a great time to ask for a testimonial. This right here, these dozens and dozens of testimonials, social proof, reinforcement are how we've managed to grow the show and always asking at the peak time of customer excitement, satisfaction right after you just had a great conversation. Get them excited for when the podcast comes out. Build report. This is how you build and maintain a relationship from a podcast and how to make it actually benefit your business. I'll talk more in future walkthroughs about how to make it more effective on boarding things with smaller details because there's so much that goes into this, but for now that is how I build and maintain a podcast and the whole podcast guesting experience that goes into building a quarter million dollar agency. Cheers again. My name is Andy. Make sure you subscribe and I'll see you next