Podcast Bestie, the Podcast

Hi Besties! Today’s guest is Emily McElwreath, host of The Art Career podcast, and Emily’s superpower is guest booking. Some of us feel like we need to work our way up to our dream guests, but not Emily. Starting season one of her podcast, she didn’t wait for permission to approach top-tier talent. She was hot out the gate with Laurie Simmons, Marilyn Minter, and other big names in the art world. She’s even managed to land Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz and one of my all-time favorite authors, Cheryl Strayed (which, to me, is like landing on the moon as far as podcast guest booking goes). So I invited Emily on Podcast Bestie to tell us about her guest book strategy, along with some tips for approaching a high-profile dream guest of your own.

Cheryl Strayed famously coined the mantra “Write Like a Motherf*cker” for her Dear Sugar column (which later became a book called Tiny Beautiful Things that I have gifted to no less than 20 people, and now it’s also a TV show on Hulu) — and that sentiment can be applied to any creative endeavor. So after Emily’s interview, you’ll get a pep talk from Cheryl herself, and I hope it inspires you to podcast like a motherf*cker. That is a pep talk we all need to hear sometimes.

* Connect with Emily @emilymcelwreath_art and The Art Career podcast @theartcareer on Instagram.

* Tune into Emily’s podcast, The Art Career.

* Check out the website for The Art Career.

* Sign up for my upcoming workshop, How to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought.

Here’s a link to the TRANSCRIPT.

If you missed the last episode, check out How to Leverage Blogging Strategies for Your Podcast with Danielle Desir Corbett.

Sign up for the Podcast Bestie newsletter here: https://podcastbestie.substack.com/welcome

Thanks to Michael Castañeda for mixing and mastering this episode. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @plasticaudio.

And thank you to Matt Gilhooly for creating the social media assets for this episode. Follow him on Twitter @theliftshiftpod.

A big thanks to our BFFs for sponsoring this episode:

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I’ve also got a FREE promo opportunity for the Besties: Leave a five-star rating with a review on Apple Podcasts, email me a screenshot with your name and the name of your podcast, and you’ll get a free shout-out on the next episode.

So… ROLL CALL! 🗣

Who’s YOUR dream podcast guest? Any inspiring stories about going for it with a big name?

Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.

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