How to Ask Another Podcast for a Swap

The first email decides more than the swap itself. Requests fail for a boring reason: the other host cannot tell, in ten seconds, what you want, how much work it is and why their listeners would care.

Start with the task

You are asking for one thing: each show mentions the other once, in an agreed form, at an agreed time. Not a "partnership", not "collaboration opportunities". The smaller the ask, the easier the yes.

Before you write to anyone, decide what you can offer in return. A swap is two favours of the same size. If your show is newer, you can offer more of the work: you write the script, you do the editing, you send the audio file ready to drop in.

Choose the partner

Pick shows whose listeners would plausibly like yours, with a similar size and the same kind of promise to the listener. A show about, say, home recording and one about live sound share people. A show about home recording and one about investing probably do not, however alike their download counts look.

Open public listings and look at three things: the topic, how long the show has been running, and whether the latest episode is recent. A show that stopped publishing is a poor partner for a swap, though sometimes a good one for a guest spot if the host is still reachable. Make a shortlist of a handful, not fifty. Every email you send should be written for that one show.

Write the first email

Keep it short enough to read on a phone. Say who you are, why this show, what you propose, and make the next step easy.

Subject: Episode mention swap between our shows?

Hi [name],

I host [your show], a weekly show about [one plain sentence]. I listened to your episode on [specific episode topic], and the point about [one specific detail from it] stayed with me.

Our listeners look alike: people who [shared interest]. Would you be open to a swap, where each of us mentions the other show once, in a short read of about half a minute? I can write both scripts and send you mine as text first, so you can change anything.

If it's not a fit right now, no problem at all. Either way, thanks for the show.

[Name, link to your show]

The specific detail from their episode proves you listened, and the offer to write both scripts keeps the work small.

Leave out: your download numbers, a long history of your show, a pitch deck. If you do share any figure, make it your own and make it true.

Settle the details

Once there is a yes, agree these before recording, in writing:

• live read by the host, or a pre-recorded clip
• who writes the script, and who approves it
• how long it runs and where it sits in the episode
• the one action you ask listeners to take, and the one link
• dates for both mentions, as close together as possible
• whether either show mentions the swap in show notes

A live read in the host's own voice usually sounds more natural than a clip, but it depends on the host and the show. Ask rather than assume. Use the same call to action in both mentions, otherwise you cannot tell afterwards which one worked.

Check whether it worked

Your hosting dashboard is the place to look. Compare listens and new followers in the days around the partner's episode with the weeks before. Add a source note if your host or link tool shows one, such as a dedicated short link for the swap.

Be honest about what you see. A rise around the date is a hint, no more. Your own new episode, a social post or a holiday can lift the line just as well. Run a second swap with a different show before deciding that swaps work for you, and avoid judging any single one by a single day.

Common mistakes

• Writing the same email to ten shows. Hosts notice.
• Asking before you have a recent episode worth hearing. The partner will listen to your latest one.
• Sending a script at the last minute, so the host reads it cold.
• Promising what you do not control, such as a result.
• Forgetting your side. If you agreed to mention them on the 12th, do it on the 12th.
• Letting the thread die after the swap. A short thank-you with what you saw makes a second swap easy to ask for.

For the bigger picture of why swaps work, see our earlier note on how cross promos help grow your audience, and for what else to fix first if your show is still very new, how to expand your podcast audience.