I’ve had a ton of big guests on my podcast, The Tom Ward Show. People like: Paris Hilton, Gary Vaynerchuk, Charli D’Amelio, Ciara, Rob Dydrek, and so many more. The biggest question I always get is, “How do you get so many big guests?”
It kind of just happened through hard work, focus and by not being annoying.
I’m from New Jersey and didn’t know any celebrities, growing up. The biggest celebrity in our town was a guy who played for the Sixers, for a couple of years, and retired because of an injury.
That was our big celebrity.
After college, I moved to Milwaukee for a couple of years and to Phoenix, where I lived for eight years.
I didn’t know anyone famous and never thought that I would. I mean, I sold cars for five years and then moved up in the world and sold kitchen equipment to grocery stores for ten years.
I was definitely not setting the world on fire.
Then, after I married my wife in Phoenix, we moved to LA to be closer to her family.
No one knew who I was. I didn’t get invited to any cool events. It never even occurred to me that I would even meet a celebrity.
I mean why would I? I wasn’t connected to that world in any way.
I was a normal guy, in my late 30s, and never dreamed of fame or fortune. And I wasn’t a fame whore, so it wasn’t my goal in life to meet celebrities and get selfies with them.
But here I am, in my mid 40s, and I’ve interviewed over 200 of the most successful people in the world.
So, how the heck did this happen?
It’s actually pretty simple. I did two things: I joined a platform with a large audience and I wasn’t annoying.
Join A Big Platform:
When I started out, I just had a little blog. I didn’t have a YouTube channel or a podcast yet.
So, I had no chance of meeting anyone.
I had a couple of my articles go viral and that got me a job as a contributor at Forbes. And that’s when doors started to open.
If you’re small, or are just starting out, it could take you years to get a big enough following to be able to book big guests. And chances are that you’ll never get there on your own.
So, reach out to other podcasts, blogs or YouTube channels in your niche and offer to help with their content for free.
That will get you in front of a larger audience immediately.
Don’t Be Annoying:
This is the real reason that I’ve been able to interview these cool people. And I’ve also been able to form long-term relationships with a lot of them.
Celebrities get asked, dozens of times, every day, for things like: Can I take a selfie with you? Can you tag me. Can you make a TikTok with me? Can you promote my merch? Could you record a message for my friend?
People never put themselves in the celebrity’s shoes. They want a break from being asked to do something. They don’t want to be bothered.
The way I pitch myself is by offering value to them. I don’t ask for anything.
I will write a nice Forbes article about them or I’ll film an incredible, well researched, entertaining interview with them.
And we’ll cut up any clips that they want for their social media.
The only thing I ask them is if they’d share the article, or video, if they like it.
That’s it.
My crew doesn’t ask them for anything either. No pictures, unless they’re a huge fan of the guest. That’s the only exception.
We don’t ask for merch, we don’t ask them to follow us on social and we don’t ask them to introduce us to anyone.
This is the exact opposite of what everyone else does. That’s why I have been able to book big guests for 5+ years.
I’m just grateful that these people like what I do and want to come on the show.
That’s more than enough for me.
And trust me, people talk in this business.
And if you’re annoying, or an asshole, celebrities will tell their friends and pretty soon you won’t be able to book a good guest.
I’ve always made my guests the highest priority and they appreciate that.
And guess what?
Sometimes, they send me their clothes, or invite me to events or introduce me to potential guests; even though I tell them they don’t need to. But sometimes it’s cool shit and I can’t say no.
That’s all very nice but it’s not necessary at all or is it the goal.
I’m just grateful that they trust me enough to sit down with me and talk about: Their struggles, failures and how they’ve dealt with them.
Guests have shared things about their lives that they’ve never talked about in public before.
How cool is that? That’s cooler than any selfie they’d post or product they’d give me for free.
So, if you want to book big guests, start small. Start by working with a platform with a larger audience than you have.
Then, focus on making great content and booking realistic guests first; maybe local celebrities. And then build on that.
And be consistent. I still block off hours, every week, to reach out to guests. If you have an interview show, and don’t have help, that’s going to be one of the important things you’ll do. So, take it seriously and do a little bit of it every day.
Keep pushing and you’ll get there.
And who knows where you’ll end up? Hopefully we can cross paths one day.