Andrew Allemann started his newsletter out of a need to find podcasts that were relevant to him, and the show he has about domain names. I met him through the newsletter. I don't remember where I found it or how it came into my sight, but I knew when I found it that it was a gem. I am a member of the community and I know that if I need a guest, PodcastGuests is where I can go to find the exact right one. 

When over 30,000 people use the service, you know it must have something fantastic going for it. If you're in a hurry, and don't want to read more - although I really think you should - you can hop over to YouTube and watch the video right now.

The beauty of it is that while looking for one thing, you will probably find another.

Andrew reveals the story behind the story - that he struggled to find podcast guests for his domain name show (yes, it's that specific, and that's actually a good thing, as you learn in the show). He wanted quick, easy, and free resource. Bu there wasn't one. He started PodcastGuests.com and in just a few years, it was off and running.

I asked him why podcasts are so much more popular now and he said, "Because the quality has gotten better and... we need that personal connection we're no longer getting with the face-to-face meetings we used to have."

Today, podcasting is so diverse you can find shows that feature content about anything. The more niche focused, the better, sometimes. While there is still work to do to catch up to blogs, with only 300,000 to 700,000 podcasts out there (compared to millions of blogs), podcasting is making its mark in the our businesses and our online educational centers.

One area we talked a good bit about was authors and podcasting. As an author, should you have a podcast or only appear on other people's podcasts? The answer may surprise you.

I know you'll enjoy both the conversation and the insight Andrew has to share about podcasting and being both a good host and a good guest. Understanding that podcast hosts want not only credible guests but guests who don't come with a sales agenda, helps. It's not your time to market your products, and even if you're an author, marketing your book comes second to talking about the process of the book writing and the story behind the story - sharing pieces of you and how you came to write the book. 

People want to learn something, or be entertained. They aren't there to just click into your website to buy this or that. Even if it's a book. Yes, it's easier to market the book, because you can talk about the characters, or the plot, or a story in the book, and it doesn't exist without the book, but don't spend all your time just talking about your book.

Be sociable. And, be prepared to market the show. Promote the show. Be a great guest - the one who spends more time talking about the way your story might resonate with the show's audience. 

Andrew advises these three things - which he goes into in far more detail in the show itself:

• Be a guest before you start your own show.
• Understand your goals. Don't expect fame and fortune right out of the gate. 
• Just do it. Start it. Don't fuss so much about the tech and such. 

And, the last and best question I asked which Andrew shared great insight on was, what should someone call their podcast? Naming your podcast is huge so you want make sure you hang around long enough to hear that advice, I promise you. It's not as easy as you might think. Oh, and, invest in some good cover art.

You can download Andrew's guide on how to be a great guest and a great host here. 

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Click the image below and enjoy the show.