Quick answer: To find mid-sized podcasts your client can realistically book, skip the top charts and look for shows where your client resembles a typical guest. Filter by booking difficulty (how selective a show is about its guests) and by listener estimates per episode, then compare each show’s recent guests and their credentials with your client’s. Shows with low or medium booking difficulty are usually the first wins, and each appearance makes the next, bigger show easier to land.
Why Are the Biggest Podcasts the Wrong First Target?
The largest podcasts mostly book guests the audience already recognizes: bestselling authors, well-known executives, and people with a large public profile. A strong expert without that profile usually gets no reply, however good the pitch. That is a targeting problem, not a writing problem.
Mid-sized shows are different. They need a steady supply of good guests, their hosts often read pitches themselves, and the audience can be exactly the people your client wants to reach. For most clients, they are where a podcast campaign starts.
What Makes a Podcast Mid-Sized and Realistic to Book?
Three things together, not listener numbers alone:
| Signal | Realistic target | Probably out of reach for now |
|---|---|---|
| Booking difficulty | Very low, low, or medium | High or very high, unless the client has comparable credentials |
| Recent guests | Credentials similar to your client’s | Mostly celebrities, bestselling authors, or household-name executives |
| Listener estimates | A steady range that suits the niche | Chosen only because it is the biggest number |
| Activity | Recent episodes on a regular schedule | No episode in months |
| Guest format | Interviews outside guests | Solo, co-host, or narrative episodes only |
The right listener range depends on the niche. A B2B show with 2,000 listeners per episode can matter more to a software founder than a general business show with 50,000.
How Do I Find Mid-Sized Podcasts to Pitch My Clients?
- Start from the client’s topics, not from a list of famous shows. Search the subjects they can speak on and the audience they want to reach.
- Filter by booking difficulty. Start with low and medium; add high only for clients with strong credentials or a timely angle.
- Set a listener-estimate range that fits the niche instead of sorting by size.
- Keep only active shows that interview guests. Recent episodes and a guest format come before everything else.
- Compare guests. Open each profile: if recent guests have credentials like your client’s, the show is realistic. If every guest is a household name, move on for now.
- Build a ladder. Book a few realistic shows first, then mention them when pitching larger ones.
How Does Podseeker Help PR Teams Find Realistic Podcasts?
Every Podseeker podcast profile shows booking difficulty from Very low to Very high, the credentials and achievements its guests typically have, and recent episodes. Search filters by booking difficulty, listener estimates, recency, and whether a show has guests, and AI-generated shows are left out of results.
Client Fit scores how well each of your clients matches a show, and Recommendations suggest high-fit shows for a client that you have not pitched yet. In Podseeker’s outreach data, pitches to very high-fit podcasts (85%+ Client Fit) booked at 6.2%, compared with 3.3% across all pitches (methodology). These are observed results, not guarantees.
A Worked Example
Suppose your client is a cybersecurity consultant with a solid track record but no book and little press. Search “cybersecurity” and “IT leadership,” keep active shows that interview guests, and set booking difficulty to low and medium. Open the profiles: shows whose recent guests are consultants, CISOs at mid-sized companies, and practitioners are realistic; shows whose guests are Fortune 500 CISOs and bestselling authors can wait until the client has a few appearances. This is an illustrative process, not a claim about specific shows.
Frequently Asked Questions About Finding Realistic Podcasts
How do I find mid-sized podcasts to pitch my clients?
Filter by booking difficulty and listener estimates instead of starting with the biggest shows, then compare each show’s recent guests and their credentials with your client’s. Shows with low or medium booking difficulty where your client looks like a typical guest are the realistic first targets. Podseeker shows booking difficulty and typical guest credentials on every podcast profile.
What counts as a mid-sized podcast?
There is no fixed number. A mid-sized show has a steady audience well below the top charts and well above hobby shows, and the right range depends on the niche: a B2B show with 2,000 listeners per episode can matter more than a general show with 50,000.
What is booking difficulty?
Booking difficulty describes how selective a podcast is about its guests, based on who it books. Podseeker rates each show from Very low to Very high and shows the credentials and achievements its guests typically have.
Should I ever pitch the biggest podcasts?
Yes, once your client has a few relevant appearances and a timely angle. Mention those appearances in the pitch: they show the host the client can carry a conversation.
How do I find active podcasts that accept guests?
Filter for shows that published recently and regularly interview guests, then narrow by your client’s topics and listener estimates and prefer shows with a host or producer email. Check recent guests and any submission instructions before pitching.
For the full research checklist, see how to research a podcast before pitching; for filters, see how to filter podcasts for PR outreach. Start a free Podseeker trial to find realistic podcasts for your clients.
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