In today's episode of The Best Guest we welcome former specialist school headteacher and author Ange Anderson. Listen as we talk about:

• The challenges of setting up and leading a specialist school
• Technological and therapeutic interventions for children with learning differences
• Juggling different writing projects

About Ange Anderson

Ange Anderson M.Ed opened and led an innovative specialist school in North Wales for 10 years introducing over 25 different therapeutic/technological interventions to support pupils with learning differences. 

She edited and co-wrote The Future of Special Schools and Therapeutic Interventions and is author of VR,AR & AI in SEN; Trampolining for Children & Young People with SEN; Music, Sound and Vibration in SEN; and Learning through Play for SEN, all published by Routledge.

Ange has written several educational articles, some of which were for the Times Educational Supplement (TES) and she contributes regularly to special education magazines. 

In addition Ange presents internationally on topics related to special education, such as supporting children and adults with Neurodiversity. She is also the special educational needs (SEN) advisor for a global VR company.

Ange believes continuing professional development (CPD) for staff holds the key to being an excellent school and has supported schools in finding the most appropriate therapeutic and technological innovations for their school.  

Ange also writes children’s books under the name Angela Morgan. As well as writing, Ange enjoys going to the ballet, classical music, walking her dog, reading and home decorating.

Key Takeaways

• Anything where a condition affects the brain means you're neurodivergent
• You have to do a sensory profile on every child who comes into school and that will inform which therapies may help
• Instead of thinking some students have behavioural issues, it might actually be that we need to teach the way those children learn

QuoteNeurodivergent people experience, interact and interpret the world in unique ways
Mentioned in This Episode

Snowdonia

Mendi

Binaural Beats

Venture into Play

Tobii Eye Gaze

Berard AIT

Connect with Ange Anderson

Website

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

YouTube

SEN Books by Ange Anderson

VR,AR & AI in SEN

Therapeutic Trampolining for Children & Young People with SEN

Music, Sound and Vibration in SEN

Learning through Play for SEN

The Future of Special schools and Therapeutic Intervention

Fiction Books by Ange Anderson (aka Ange Morgan)

Seren 1

Connect with Victoria Bennion

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To learn more about working with us visit https://victoriabennion.com/

Today we're celebrating the 50th episode of The Best Guest. Woohoo! We're talking about:

• How I got the podcast started
• Lessons learned about podcasting in the last year
• How you can win a power hour and professionally-designed one sheet to kick start your podcast interview strategy

Key Takeaways

• You'll get used to the sound of your voice (I promise)
• Free isn't always best
• Editing - surprisingly enjoyable but can take ages
• The Rode NT1-a microphone is fabulous and the Blue Yeti's pretty OK too
• Just because your tell people you're recording a podcast does not mean they'll be quiet
• Your podcast can provide you with so much content for your channels
• Ask your guest to also record your conversation so you have a back up
• If using Zoom to record your podcast don't press End click stop recording

Giveaway

As a thank you for listening and to celebrate this 50 episode milestone we’re doing another giveaway. The prizes are:

• A Power Hour with Victoria to kickstart your podcast outreach
• and a Professionally-Designed One Sheet to send out to hosts

We’ll help you craft solid content and our designer will put together an eye-catching

design using your branding. 

All you have to do to enter is leave a review with on Apple podcasts or Spotify, screen shot it and send it to [email protected] before midnight BST on Monday 12th September.

Mentioned in This Episode

Charlotte Foster Podcasts

Rob Moore - Disruptors

Captivate.fm

Connect with Victoria Bennion

Book your free podcast guesting strategy session today.

To learn more about working with us visit https://victoriabennion.com/

Podcast interviews truly have the ability to transform your business but how can you track your success? How can you tell what impact your interviews are really having? Listen in as we talk about:

• The importance of setting clear goals
• The different ways to track success

Key Takeaways

• Be clear about your goals and what you hope to achieve from a podcast interview strategy.
• Choose a call to action that aligns with your goals.
• Track your success against your call to action. For example if your CTA is an incentive to get listeners to subscribe to your list, did you see an increase in subscribers when your episode went live?
• Remember to also look at the other opportunities you've experienced as a result of your podcast interviews. For example, our clients have been asked to speak at conferences, deliver webinars and workshops, write features and articles.
• The full impact isn't necessarily going to be obvious the day or week your episode goes live. Remember content can be discovered down the line - months after you recorded the show. Your podcast interviews are assets.

Connect with Victoria Bennion

Book your free podcast guesting strategy session today.

To learn more about working with us visit https://victoriabennion.com/

If you're an author with a book coming out, when is the right time to get started with podcast interviews? Listen in as we talk about:

• Starting sooner rather than later
• How to talk about your book on your podcast interviews

Key Takeaways

• Podcasts have different lead times so bear this in mind when booking shows
• You always need to be working to increase your visibility
• Don't stress about getting the timings perfect
• Podcasts are evergreen so you'll see benefits from your interviews down the line
• Appearing on podcast shows in your niche can have a powerful impact
• Share your knowledge generously on your podcast interviews

Mentioned in This Episode

Meg Van Deusen - Stressed in the US

Adam Robarts - Nineteen - 19 Insights Learned from a 19-Year-Old with Cancer

Connect with Victoria Bennion

Book your free podcast guesting strategy session today.

To learn more about working with us visit https://victoriabennion.com/

As the saying goes, 'You only get one chance to make a first impression so you want to make sure it’s a good one.' Today we're looking at the importance of first impressions and how you can make sure you're making a good first impression with podcast hosts. We talk about:

• The importance of a good website
• Auditing your social media accounts
• How to make good impression at your interview

Mentioned in This Episode

Create a Brand and Website that Stand Out with Liz Rochester Shaddock

Photographer Catherine Berry

How to be an Excellent Guest Checklist

Connect with Victoria Bennion

Book your free podcast guesting strategy session today.

To learn more about working with us visit https://victoriabennion.com/

Recently I was interviewed for a Byte the Book event by the fabulous founder Justine Solomons. If you haven’t heard of Byte the Book, it has been described as the number one networking organisation in publishing. Byte the Book offers consultancy, runs events and offers lots of benefits to members.

When we spoke, Justine asked all about How to Get Booked as a Guest on podcasts so I thought it would be useful to share an edited down version of our conversation with you today. We talk about:

• Why should you want to be a guest on podcasts
• The equipment you need
• How to be a great guest
• How to find the right podcasts
• Putting together a great pitch

Key Takeaways

• Because podcasts have niche audiences you can reach the right people
• Show up to your interviews with the mindset to add value
• It's better to talk to a small number of the right people
• There are podcasts looking for guests like you
• Always follow-up
• It's important to promote your podcast interviews

Mentioned in This Episode

Byte the Book

Connect with Justine Solomons and Byte the Book

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Instagram

Connect with Victoria Bennion

Book your free podcast guesting strategy session today.

To learn more about working with us visit https://victoriabennion.com/

Good quality audio is so important when you're recording a podcast interview. There's no faster way to make someone stop listening than horrendous sound quality. Our clients get an audio consultation with Zack the Podcast Man to make sure they're sounding fantastic before they start their podcast interviews and on today's episode I share Zack's top tips for killer audio.

Key Takeaways

• Essential equipment - Headphones or earbuds, an external microphone and ideally a webcam
• It's important to kill the echo before you record
• Turn off the notifications on all your devices
• Turn off heaters and fans and close windows and doors
• Keep hydrated to avoid unwanted mouth sounds
• If you live in a busy household put a sign to say, Recording in Progress
• Don't eat, fidget or multitask during your interview
• Use your microphone correctly - stay six inches away from it and turn it slightly to the side
• Make sure all your equipment is working before your interview.

Mentioned in This Episode

Zack The Podcast Man

Connect with Victoria Bennion

Book your free podcast guesting strategy session today.

To learn more about working with us visit https://victoriabennion.com/

On today's episode of The Best Guest we're talking about choosing your call to action for podcast interviews. We cover:

• What is a call to action?
• How do you choose the right call to action?
• Examples of great calls to action

Key Takeaways

• The call to action you choose depends on your goals
• If you send a listener to join your email list or to your social media, make sure you're active there
• Too many options could confuse the listener
• Make your URL easy to remember. Keep it simple.
• Welcome places are a great option for your call to action
• Your call to action could be a free consultation or call

Mentioned in This Episode

Jeremy Enns' Welcome Page for his Appearance on The Best Guest.

Connect with Victoria Bennion

Book your free podcast guesting strategy session today.

To learn more about working with us visit https://victoriabennion.com/

What the heck is a One Sheet? That was my reaction when I started pitching my first client and was asked for his One Sheet by a host. Thank goodness for Google! Today we talk about:

• What is a One Sheet?
• Why you need one?
• What should you include?

Key Takeaways

• A One Sheet is an interactive PDF
• It's a place to showcase what's unique about you.
• This is the place to be specific not general
• Highlight your expertise in your One Sheet
• Your topics and questions will set you apart from others talking about similar things

QuoteYour One Sheet is the place to highlight what's unique about youMentioned in This Episode

Get your free professionally-designed One Sheet template here.

Connect with Victoria Bennion

Book your free podcast guesting strategy session today.

To learn more about working with us visit https://victoriabennion.com/

In today's episode of The Best Guest we welcome SEO specialist, Sarah McDowell. Listen as we talk about: 

• The importance of SEO
• How being a guest on podcasts is good for your SEO
• The ways you can maximise the SEO benefits from being a guest on podcasts 

About Sarah McDowell

Sarah is based in the UK and has around 10 years of experience in Digital Marketing, specialising in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). She is currently the SEO Manager at Captivate, a growth-orientated podcast hosting platform, which is part of Global Media & Entertainment. She has worked both inhouse and agency side, meaning she has experience in working in a range of different sectors and industries. Before joining Captivate she was part of the SEO team at Holland & Barrett.

Sarah’s early career plans didn’t involve marketing, let alone SEO. After graduating with a 2:1 in Dance & Culture from the University of Surrey, Sarah was unsure as to what career she should pursue. She enjoyed dance but knew she didn’t want a career in it. After applying for a range of different roles, Sarah accepted a job at a web design and marketing agency, and it was here that she fell in love with SEO. The rest as you could say is history… cheesy right?

Using data, customer insights and her understanding of how search engines work, such as Google, she implements SEO strategies to best optimise websites, with the end goal of increasing relevant traffic, conversion and improving user experience.

Sarah is also a podcaster, conference speaker, previous judge of the Drum Search Awards, trainer and co-author (book yet to be published). In her current role at Captivate, she is combining her two passions which are SEO and podcasting. She has four podcasts under her belt, mainly about SEO, with the latest one only launched a few months ago, called The SEO Mindset podcast.

Key Takeaways

• SEO is a channel for discoverability of your brand
• The better visibility you have in Google, the better chance you have to attract prospective customers.
• Every time a website links to your website this is a back link. Back links help Google to trust your website
• Use tools such as SEM Rush to see what links you have to your site and what backlinks your competitors have.
• Appearing on podcasts is a good way to build back links
• Whenever you appear on a podcast you are getting links to your website
• Podcasts are evergreen. People can always come across it and find you.
• You're targeting a new and engaged source of traffic. You're tapping into other people's audiences
• Podcast interviews feed into EAT - Expertise, Authority and Trust. Google looks at this when ranking pages and websites. Podcast interviews help with EAT because you're seen as authoritative by Google
• To maximise your podcast appearances for SEO - Suggest a topic, do some keyword research to see what people are searching for and base your episode on that topic
• You'll receive backlinks in the show notes
• Make sure you share your episode
• Repurpose your podcast content. Transcribe it and turn it into a blog
• Turn your podcast interviews into social media content
• Embed your podcast interviews on your website but add some text for context. This is good quality content for your website and Google is going to see this.
• Make your page different from the podcast show's site so you're not competing. Find a different angle

QuoteSetting up a website and leaving it is not good enough. It's like buying a lovely plant for your house and not watering it. Even a cactus needs a bit of water. So if you don't nurture it, it will die. It's the same with your website.Mentioned in This Episode

SEM Rush

The Women in Tech Community

SEO Mindset Podcast

Connect with Sarah McDowell

Twitter - @sarahmcduk

Twitter - @seomindsetpod

LinkedIn

Connect with Victoria Bennion

Book your free podcast guesting strategy session today.

To learn more about working with us visit https://victoriabennion.com/