“When you're on a podcast, you're not only talking to your ideal client – you're talking to the AI that refers them.”

That one line stopped me in my tracks on the latest episode of the Marketing Minds Podcast…

And it comes from someone who knows podcast guesting better than just about anyone on the planet – Tom Schwab, Founder & CEO of Interview Valet, who has helped 1,500+ clients land over 75,000 podcast interviews.

Tom is also a big part of my own story. Back in early 2020, I was booking my first speaking stages when the world shut down. So I called Tom, & instead of stages, we launched a massive podcast tour. That year we 5x'd the business – & podcasts played a huge role in that growth.

Honestly, without Tom introducing me to the world of podcasting, there might not even be a Marketing Minds Podcast today!

So when Tom tells me the entire podcast game is changing because of AI… I listen. And you should too.

As a Reminder, Our Goal with this Newsletter is to Give You the Highest Level of Value Possible. That's my Promise to you & I intend to Over-Deliver!

Alright, let's Dive In…

Watch the Full Video on YouTube:

AI Is Listening (The New Podcast SEO)

We all know the world is shifting from SEO to AI search – call it AEO, GEO, or whatever acronym sticks. People are going straight to ChatGPT & other AI tools for recommendations on who to work with.

And here's the stat that should make you sit up: a study out of Cornell found that traffic from AI converts 9x better than SEO traffic.

Think about that. These are pre-educated leads. They already know your company, your offer & what you believe before they ever reach out.

So the real question becomes – how do you get the AI to recommend YOU?

Here's the answer Tom shared: AI is listening to podcasts.

There's a phenomenon called Model Collapse (some call it “Digital Dementia”) – when AI trains on AI-generated content, it's like making a copy of a copy of a copy. The quality degrades fast.

So AI models are actively hunting for authentic human content to learn from…

And podcasts are one of the last corners of the internet that are still overwhelmingly human. Real experts. Real conversations. No place to hide.

Remember when ChatGPT started showing its sources? Wikipedia at the top… then Amazon… & then long-form collaborative content: iTunes, Spotify & YouTube.

Tom saw this play out firsthand. His team leaned in hard – 5 team members actively guesting on shows – & by May of 2025, AI officially became Interview Valet's #1 referral source.

It's not a trick. It's not a hack. It's simply putting content into the world that tells both AI & your future clients: This is the problem we solve. These are the clients we work with. This is what we believe.

Here's how to optimize your interviews now that AI is listening:

1. Never do the same interview twice. You wouldn't publish the same blog post every Monday – so stop giving the same interview on every show. As Tom put it: “Content is King, but Context is God.” Vary your themes, problems & examples for each audience so AI indexes the full range of your expertise.

2. Bring in Multiple Voices. If you're the only spokesperson, YOU are the bottleneck. Tom's team member who leads their health & wellness division started guesting on shows in that niche – & the leads jumped. HubSpot ran this play with six different “talents” at once. More voices = more shows, more audiences & more indexing.

3. Rotate Your Topics. Once you've covered a topic on a few shows, retire it & swap in a new one. Every interview becomes fresh content for humans – & new material for AI to index. (More on this in the One Sheet section below!)

The “Better is Better” Booking Playbook

Now, how do you actually get booked?

Tom's answer flips the industry on its head: More is not better. Better is better.

There's a service out there bragging that you can pitch 1,500 podcasts in the time it takes to pitch one. And sure, you might get an invite… just not the one you want. You'll drown in a sea of sameness & burn your reputation along the way.

Instead, put yourself in the host's shoes. Who does any podcast host actually want on their show?

Their Friends, Friends of Friends & People They Want to be Friends With.

That's it. That's the list.

So here's the play – what I'd call Give, Give, Give, Give, Ask:

✓ Pick a handful of podcasts where you'd genuinely add value (this doesn't have to be Joe Rogan – even Broadway starts Off-Broadway!)

✓ Actually listen to the shows

✓ Leave a rating & review – we're all a little vain, & hosts read those!

✓ Engage with their content & comment genuinely

✓ THEN reach out – leading with the value you can bring their audience, not “I wrote a book, let me use your audience”

And once you land the interview, show up like a true guest:

✓ Confirm the day before & come prepared (there are three ways to show up: early, on time & rude – don't be rude!)

✓ Give your absolute best value on air

✓ Thank the host afterward & promote the episode when it goes live

✓ Then ask: “Do you know any other podcasts where I could add value?”

Is it scalable? Maybe not at first. But it's effective. Start with 5 shows, land 2 invites, get referred to 2 more from each… your calendar fills up fast.

And when you DO want scale – that's when you bring in a team that already has the relationships built. That's exactly what Tom & his team do at Interview Valet, & it's what I used for my 2020 podcast tour.

This Edition of the Marketing Minds Newsletter is Sponsored by:

Your growth team woke up to a briefing they didn't ask for.

Monday 7am. Three messages in #growth.

Stripe revenue by channel, Meta and Google spend reconciled against GA4, Klaviyo flow performance, Shopify AOV by source. Posted by Viktor at 6am.

The campaign brief he wrote sits in #campaigns. Brand monitoring scrape runs every six hours. Competitor pricing update lands every Friday.

Your media buyer, content lead, and CMO open Slack to the same prepared room. 3,000+ integrations including every ad platform, CDP, and CMS you run.

“Viktor is like the most capable all-round colleague you can imagine.” Sam, CEO, Givr.

Get Started for Free

The One Sheet Formula (That Gets You Booked)

Here's something most people don't realize: podcast hosts are NOT trained journalists.

Hand them a beautiful 15-page media kit & you've just made it harder for them to say yes – & harder for them to give you a great interview.

Instead, give them One Clean Sheet:

✓ Your photo (the one YOU want them to use)

✓ Your company logo

✓ The right social links (so they promote you – not someone with the same name)

✓ A short third-person “rip & read” bio so they introduce you correctly

✓ And the most important part: Interview TOPICS – not questions

This distinction matters. The best hosts feel insulted when you hand them questions. The worst hosts read them in order… & every interview sounds identical.

Topics give the host room to have a real conversation with you.

The Pro Move: After you've talked about a topic on a couple of shows, take it off your One Sheet & rotate in a new one. You're now intentionally forcing fresh conversations – which means more content to repurpose & more of your expertise for AI to index. It all connects!

The “Small Yes, Medium Yes & Heck Yes” CTA Stack

You crushed the interview… now what?

This is where most guests fumble. The host tees up the perfect ending – “Where can people find you?” – & the guest rattles off Twitter, Instagram, an email, a phone number…

Meanwhile the listener is multitasking at 1.5x speed. They remember none of it.

Instead, send everyone to ONE link – then give them 3 ways to say yes:

✓ The Small Yes – Something quick & free. A checklist, an assessment, even an AI chatbot trained on your content that keeps the conversation going.

✓ The Medium Yes – A deeper step that takes a little more time or money. Your book, a training, a face-to-camera video.

✓ The Heck Yes – If someone hears you & you're the answer they've been looking for, do NOT slow them down in a funnel. Let them book the call. Let them buy.

One link. Three doors. Meet people exactly where they are.

And one more gem: 70% of podcasts are listened to sped up. So say your URL slowly. Spell it out. Then say it again.

Tom learned this the hard way – so many people heard “Interview Valet” as “Interview Ballet” that he bought the misspelled domain & redirected it! 😂

It's the same reason you'll hear me spell out “A-D-O-U-T-R-E-A-C-H” on every show I guest on. Say it, spell it, say it again.

Video is Your “Proof of Life”

One more shift you can't ignore: 96% of podcasts now include video – & YouTube is the biggest podcast search engine in the world.

In a feed full of AI-generated everything, real video of real people having a real conversation is what Tom calls Proof of Life. There's no doubt you're a genuine expert – you can't hide a lack of expertise in a long-form conversation.

That's instant credibility. That's Authority. (It's the entire thesis of my book, Video Authority!)

And the reach lives in the clips. Even Joe Rogan's famous “100 million listeners” are mostly clip viewers – his average episode pulls around 2.5 million downloads. The clips carry the rest.

Quick clip strategy from the episode:

✓ Ask the host's permission first (they virtually always say yes – just tag them & attribute the show)

✓ Include the HOST in your clips, not just yourself – their authority transfers to you & they're far more likely to share it

✓ Promote the episode for the first 30 days, tagging the show each time – you stay in front of their audience again & again

Watch the Full Episode on YouTube! 🎙️

We went even deeper in the full episode, including:

• The “I Believe” opener that transforms the dreaded “so, tell me about yourself” question into your most powerful positioning moment

• How to take control of an interview when the host asks the same questions as everyone else

• Why marketing should work like a magnet – attracting the right people & repelling the wrong ones

• How enterprises, VC firms & even law firms are using podcast tours to get their experts out of “witness protection”

This is one of those episodes you'll want to take notes on – especially if getting recommended by AI is on your 2026 roadmap (it should be!)

Watch the Full Episode with Tom Schwab on YouTube! (Click Here)

And I'll leave you with the golden nugget Tom closed the episode with:

“What's ordinary to you is amazing to others.”

You ARE the expert. The person who's mastered fourth-grade math is an expert to every second grader. Whatever stage you're at, what you know could genuinely help someone today – so get out there & share it.

Watch The Full Video on YouTube:

Complimentary Video Marketing Strategy Call!

Are you looking to Scale your Business with Video Marketing?

I want to invite you to a 1-1 Strategy call with my Team to map out a YouTube Ads & Video Marketing Strategy specifically for your Business!

This is a 45-minute call where we’ll dive into your Business, your Goals & map out a Custom Strategy to help you Achieve them through YouTube!

Fill out the Quick Booking form to Schedule your Strategy Call.

Book Your Complimentary Video Marketing Strategy Call Today!

More Value Coming Next Friday!

Stay Tuned for More Great Value & Content Coming your Way!

Here’s a Sneak Peak at What’s Coming Next:

• More Free Trainings & Resources — In your Inbox!

• Real Case Studies & Examples of the Marketing Funnels that Scaled Coaching Businesses past 7 & 8 Figures

• The REAL on-the-ground insights into what’s going on in the Online Marketing & Coaching/Consulting/High-Ticket Industry (Based on our Insights working with Thousands of Clients)

• The Latest YouTube Ad & Marketing Strategies as we Discover Them – So that you’re Always on the Cutting Edge

• Guest Articles, Videos & Podcasts from the Top Marketing Minds of Today — Stay tuned for some exciting announcements around this 😉

• And a LOT More…

I’m serious when I say I want this to be The Most Valuable Newsletter You’re Subscribed to — Look out for us in your Inbox Every Friday!

I’ll see you in the next one!

To Your Success,

– Aleric Heck | Founder & CEO of AdOutreach

P.S. Tom mentioned it on the episode & it fits perfectly here – if you want the complete system for turning long-form video & podcasts into clients, grab my Amazon #1 Best Selling book, Video Authority. It's the exact playbook for becoming the Authentic Authority in your space. Grab Video Authority on Amazon Here!!

This Edition of the Marketing Minds Newsletter is Sponsored by:

Your next 100 customers are already in Apollo

Find, reach, and close your perfect deals — without juggling five tools or hiring more reps.

Apollo gives you everything you need to build real pipeline, fast. From inbound to outbound, first touch to close.

All in Apollo.

Sign up for free