I tried something I never imagined I'd do because, honestly, it's something I genuinely don't like. I sent automated podcast pitches in bulk.
A friend told me Podseeker worked, so I said, "Alright, I'll try it." But I was going to do it my own way. I took all the things podcast hosts hate about cold pitches and tried to do the exact opposite.
No pretending I listened when I didn't. No AI pretending to be me. No fake compliments. No massive scripted pitch that clearly went to 500 other people.
Instead, my AI assistant "Bert" tells people immediately that he's AI, asks if they're currently open to guests, gives them a little context about me, and then disappears the second someone replies. From there, I personally take over the conversation, research the show more deeply, listen, and decide whether there's actually a fit.
This approach is the opposite of the generic messages that make LinkedIn outreach so frustrating. The same principle applies: transparency beats tricks.
About 60 days later, Podseeker asked to write an entire case study about the experiment because the results were insane.
But some of my favorite results weren't even bookings. One host told me, "This is the first AI outreach that I have had positive feelings about." Another person called the idea of using an AI agent "absolutely deranged."
I learned a lot from both.
The whole experiment has taught me a ton about podcast outreach, targeting, messaging, follow-up, when AI helps, when it absolutely doesn't, and how to use automation without pretending the relationship itself can be automated.
This ties back to why the most human company wins. AI handles the first touch, but the real conversation stays human.
So now I'm curious. Would it benefit you if I broke down my exact system at a virtual event or maybe even a small cohort? I could walk through the targeting, the messaging, Bert, the follow-up, what worked, what bombed, and exactly where I take over personally.
I never expected this experiment to work the way it did. If you'd want in, raise your hand. Let me know and we'll chat.
Let's grow together.
