How to Choose Podcasts with High Sales Potential for Podcast Guesting

You’re here because you want your podcast guest spots to lead to actual sales. Sure, podcast guesting builds brand awareness—but not every show will bring in customers.

This article shows you how to find podcasts with real sales potential, so your time behind the mic pays off. At Rephonic, we dig into podcast data every day, so we know what makes a show worth your pitch.

Key Takeaways

1. Use the subway analogy to understand which podcasts are most likely to drive sales.
2. Bigger shows aren't necessarily better.
3. Scan episode transcripts with AI to check if the host lets guests share clear CTAs.
4. Match your CTA to where the audience is in the funnel.

Imagine you're the founder of the app Notion

Notion is a single space where you can think, write, and plan. Capture thoughts, manage projects, or even run an entire company — and do it exactly the way you want.

Now pretend you're riding the subway with a megaphone in your hand. You're the voice of the brand, and your job is to generate as much interest as possible in your product before the train reaches the next station.

Imagine three different carriages:

🚇 Carriage 1: Ignore

Your first carriage is packed and holds a wide range of passengers with very little in common. They're a mixed crowd of students, retirees, parents, a musician, a lawyer, and someone in marketing.

Sales potential: There’s very low sales potential here because general-interest podcasts have large, varied audiences who are primarily looking for entertainment and are probably uninterested in what you have to say.

Example: The Joe Rogan Experience and Armchair Expert are good examples. These podcasts have broad audiences and cover wide-ranging topics unlikely to tie in with Notion's marketing strategy. There’s no point in Notion pitching shows like these because it's difficult to imagine a relevant angle to pitch.

🎧 How to spot these podcasts using Rephonic:

• Low-intent podcasts often have broad topic tags, celebrity hosts, or wide-ranging guests
• You'll see little to no mention of companies in the podcast descriptions
• They're less CTA-focused—when you investigate their previous guests you notice that many don't plug a product at all. If they do, it's often a book with broad appeal.

🚇 Carriage 2: Attract

Next stop, new carriage, new audience. This one's still mixed, but you notice that 80% of people are between 18 and 24. Now, you’ve got something to work with.

So, you pivot. You talk about students juggling classes, side hustles and internship applications. Mention how Notion has helped similar people. You make it relatable.

And a few heads start nodding.

The best shows for brand awareness serve a segmented group — say, 18-24-year-olds, or people interested in self improvement or travel. They are not actively looking for a solution to the problem you solve - they might not even be aware of the problem - but will be interested if you can provide value and show how your product or service applies to them.

Sales potential: Low to medium. There's some potential for success here, because stories that illustrate actionable tips on how Notion could help them get organized could well resonate with some of these listeners. However, this is top-of-funnel marketing, so you shouldn't expect to see an uplift in sales straight away. Instead, you're making people aware of your product so they're more likely to seek it out later down the line.

Strategy: Align your story to a relatable theme. Use storytelling to bridge the gap between your offer and their life.

Example : Optimal Living Daily, with its focus on self-development, would be a strong fit for a Notion rep to talk about habit-building.

🎧 How to spot these podcasts using Rephonic:

• Use audience filters like age, interest, income, or education
• Look for directly and indirectly related topics — e.g., self improvement, travel

🚇 Carriage 3: Inform and convert

Now imagine a third carriage. This one's full of marketers, so you tailor your interview and tell stories to show how useful Notion is for marketers. By the time you finish speaking, a few passengers have already pulled up Notion’s website on their mobiles and others are asking you how to learn more.

Sales potential: Medium to high. Niche podcasts are laser-focused shows where much of the audience wants what you’re selling — or something very close. They’re already problem-aware and solution-seeking.

Strategy: Tell focused stories with examples showing exactly what how Notion has already helped people like these listeners. Avoid fluff and use a strong CTA.

Example: A Notion rep could attract sales on The Marketing Millennials talking about real productivity workflows for marketers.

🎧 How to spot these podcasts using Rephonic:

• Use audience filters that match your ICP (professions, interests, etc.)

For example, Notion's target audience includes professionals in Marketing, Design, Engineering, etc.

So, Notion would search for podcasts using related keywords, and then filter by Marketing professions, for example.

Remember these two key lessons

1. Don't blindly chase the big shows

Sure, there’s prestige that comes with making a podcast appearance on one of the big-name shows.

But guest appearances on those podcasts probably won’t generate leads or sales (Remember, sales potential is the name of the game in this scenario.)

2. Audience fit beats audience size hands down

If a podcast has high sales potential, it has the right mix of factors that make listeners more likely to take action.

That starts with the audience fit. And here’s the key question:

Does the podcast reach people who need what you offer and can buy it?

Putting yourself in front of 100 fascinated listeners who are ready and willing to buy is far better use of your time than talking to 1000 people who don't really care. You're more likely to attract leads in the smaller, engaged audience than a big one with only a passing interest in your services.

How to use Rephonic to find podcasts with high sales potential

Rephonic is designed to help you find podcasts that are most likely to drives sales. Use the extensive search filters to search the database for podcasts with your ideal audience.

You might filter by:

• Professions
• Interests
• Gender
• Age group
• Relationship status
• Education level
• Income level

Once you've found a likely-looking podcast, research it thoroughly by clicking on its Rephonic page.

Key indicators of sales potential

#1. Relevance

Does the host regularly cover topics related to your industry or category? Search topic keywords in Rephonic's episode transcripts.

Would their listeners naturally encounter the problem your product solves? Check the audience demographics.

Have past guests included competitors or complementary brands? Scroll through its People page or use the search guests feature to see if a particular name appears.

Is the show’s tone and format a good fit for how your brand communicates? Listen to a couple of episodes while you're out and about to get a feel for the host's style and how they relate to their guests.

Relevance isn’t just about the topic—it’s about audience mindset. So, a productivity tool like Notion wouldn't only look at “productivity” podcasts. They might also find relevant audiences in podcasts aimed at freelancers, students, or founders trying to stay organized.

#2. Level of listener engagement

Check Rephonic's links to the podcast's reviews (Feedback tab) to see what listeners are saying about the podcast. Are they making general comments or weighing in on certain episodes?

Social media activity is another obvious place to see how much listeners engage with the podcast hosts. Search for their social media presence online or follow the links on Rephonic.

Look for signs of community, too. For example, does the host mention a Facebook or Discord group, a Patreon community or a regular newsletter?

#3. Guest call-to-action moments in previous podcast episodes

Does the host set guests up to share a CTA?

General-interest, low-intent podcasts rarely make a feature of CTAs. So, when a host regularly gives guests space to share a clear call-to-action, it's a good sign you're dealing with a show with decent sales potential.

Here's a super-quick way to find calls to action in Rephonic's transcripts.

• Tap Rephonic's more episodes link (podcast overview page)
• Open an episode transcript
• Tap the copy button
• Paste into a LLM like ChatGPT or Claude
• Ask the AI to search for the guest's CTA.

For example, I asked Claude to search through a few Product Podcast episode transcripts. It found no clear guest CTAs, so it would seem they don't actively offer a call to send potential customers to your website.

#4. Type of guests they usually feature

Are the podcast guests people like you? For example:

• Are they founders, creators, consultants, SaaS marketers, or operators in your industry or adjacent ones? That’s a powerful signal that the audience is used to hearing from people with similar offers and may be open to yours.
• Do your competitors or partners feature on the show? That’s another sign the podcast attracts the listeners you want to reach.
• Guests are subject-matter experts and thought leaders, which likely indicates the show emphasizes business-savvy content, providing value and to an audience looking to solve actual problems.

#5. Including links in the show notes

Check the episode show notes for links to the guest's website, LinkedIn or other social media channels. That's another sign that the podcast wants to make it easy for listeners to find you and appreciates how valuable backlinks are for search engine optimization.

It's another sign the host is likely to offer guest CTA opportunities, too.

Red flags to watch out for

🚩 Inconsistent publishing

Podcasts come and go all the time, and inconsistent release schedules can be a sign that a show is winding down or struggling to grow. Watch for these key indicators:

• Large gaps between episodes (e.g. weeks or months without new content)
• No clear publishing cadence (e.g. random release dates or lots of skipped weeks)
• Recent episodes are reruns or solo check-ins instead of guest interviews
• Social media and website updates have gone quiet

An inactive or low-effort podcast is unlikely to deliver sales results. If the audience isn’t engaged—or has moved on—you’ll have a harder time making an impact.

🚩 No clear theme or audience

Rambling podcasts don’t have high sales potential because the listeners aren’t tuning in for focused content. Without a consistent theme, it’s hard to tell who the show is really for, so it's impossible to tailor your message.

These kinds of shows attract passive listeners who might listen for entertainment or background noise, but they’re not actively seeking solutions or taking action.

🚩 Poorly written podcast description or show notes

A podcast should clearly explain what it’s about or who it’s for. So, if you can’t tell what you’ll hear and who they’re speaking to, it’s a sign the host hasn’t defined their audience. That, of course, makes it harder for you to address to potential buyers.

Vague or sloppy show notes can also hurt discoverability. It all suggests a lack of professionalism or effort, which may show up in the size or quality of the podcast’s listener base.

🚩 Poor audio quality or production

Does the podcast sound like they recorded in a noisy cafe? Are the speakers’ voices a similar volume, or are you straining to hear one voice and being blasted by the other? Poor production might signal a lack of investment in the show’s success.

Listeners won’t stick around for poor audio quality, so a low-quality experience is red flag.

It does occasionally happen that one episode has poor sound quality is because of circumstances out of the host’s or editor’s control. If that’s the case, you’d expect to hear an apology and explanation during the episode’s introduction, and that every other episode features excellent sound quality.

Bonus

Make sure your CTA matches the sales potential of the podcast. i.e. where listeners are in the customer journey? Try to match that and make the CTA very relevant for that specific audience.

Podcast’s audience's at the "attract" funnel stage will be more likely to need a “low-investment” action. CTAs like Follow me on Instagram for more productivity tips or Check out the free personal plan on our website, are quick and easy to accomplish, with minor investment of time or effort.

Podcast audiences at the "inform and convert" stages are further down the sales funnel. They’re aware of a problem and ready to seek solutions. Indeed, they may already be looking, so your episode might be just the nudge they need to take action.

These listeners respond to calls to action like "Book a discovery call to see how we can set up a custom Notion workspace for your business" or "Head to our site to get 20% off Notion Plus if you sign up this week." These actions take more time and effort, but get people closer to the point of purchase.

You might even consider planning to drop two calls to action into your episode, to catch people at both stages of the journey.

To maximise sales from podcast interviews:

• Focus on shows with a target audience like yours
• Use Rephonic to find high-potential shows that move the needle
• Remember, bigger isn’t always better—prioritize high-intent shows with episodes that are laser-focused on their audience’s specific needs
• Look for podcasts with guests based in your industry or adjacent niches and with similar roles to yours (e.g., founder, CEO, rep)
• Check for quality audio production, clear audience-focused podcast descriptions and comprehensive show notes that include links to find that guest
• Skip the ones with red flags and match your call-to-action to the listener's intent.

Rephonic is the most complete podcast database for PR teams, marketers, and founders looking to book high-impact guest appearances and ad spots. Access listener numbers, contact info, audience demographics and more for over three million podcasts.

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