A podcast co-host plays an important role in making a show a success. When the partnership works well, it can create sparkling chemistry that will captivate audiences and keep them coming back for more. The only problem is, where do you find a good co-host?
Whether you are new to podcasting or looking for a way to spice up your on-air material, there are plenty of places to find a potential co-host. In the list below, we will explore the best places to search, alongside what type of people you are likely to connect with.
What Can a Co-Host Do for Your Podcast?
There are a lot of successful podcasts that have one or more co-hosts, and for good reason. With just one extra person working on your podcast, tasks like planning, writing the script, research, and editing can be split into two and completed much faster.
Getting through an hour-long monologue can be challenging for the best of talkers, so having someone there to pick up on your talking points can give you a much-needed break. Having two people discuss a topic also brings new perspectives and unique experiences that will make your show more engaging.
Alternatively, having a person there to give you genuine reactions to your stories or jokes keeps the podcast grounded. Even when a co-host disagrees with your opinion, the tension can be fascinating for an audience.
Just like in a good movie, having two characters who want different things keeps us wondering what will happen next.
1. Tap Into Your Social Network
A good co-host is someone that you can easily get along with, yet brings different ideas and opinions to the show. That's why it's not always the best option to start co-hosting with a total stranger. Instead, you might want to test the waters by asking someone you know or are acquainted with.
Posting a message on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or TikTok can attract people who are already interested in what you do. They might be a family member, or a long-time friend, in which case you will already have an idea of what their voice sounds like and what kind of work ethic they have.
Alternatively, you can take the initiative and approach someone you follow on social media. Look for someone who already has an established online presence, that way you get the added benefit of having an existing audience to share your podcast with.
If you need to post a message across multiple social media accounts, there is a handy way to share your Instagram post on other apps to speed up the process.
2. Hit the Forums
When you've exhausted the contacts in your social network, it might be time to dig a bit deeper. One place to do that is with online forums. Chances are, if you're enthusiastic about your podcast topic, then you already read the online forums on the subject.
In fact, there are several dedicated Reddit forums just for podcasting, where people regularly post messages looking for co-hosts. The largest of them, called r/podcasts, has a community following of 2.3 million members across the globe. In the list below you will find a few more Reddit forums to check out.
You can also look for Facebook groups dedicated to podcasting, such as Podcasters' Support Group, which has been around for at least seven years and has a following of more than 34,000 members so far.
Another trick is to broaden your search to Reddit groups related to your podcast topic. Once you know how to search Reddit effectively, you can find all sorts of groups on a specific hobby or theme, and it's here that you can connect with like-minded people.
Say you want to start a podcast on mushrooms, joining a Reddit group on local foraging will be the perfect way to find experts on the subject, or enthusiasts who might be interested in a call for a co-host. They may be a stranger, but at least you will be starting from a common place of interest.
3. Post a Job Advert
Creating a job advertisement is an alternative way to find a co-host for your podcast. The formality of a job advert can attract people who are willing to take the job of co-hosting more seriously than a casual chat on Reddit.
This doesn't mean you have to also become an employer and offer a salary, however, you can in fact place an advertisement seeking a co-host on a volunteer/unpaid basis. You can post a job on LinkedIn for free describing the kind of person you are looking for and include a line at the top making it clear that this is not a paid position.
Show potential collaborators you are serious about finding a co-host with an organized job post that explains exactly what you are looking for.
4. What About Apps?
We have yet to see an app built specifically to connect podcasters with potential co-hosts, however, a broader networking app like Discord can produce some good results.
Discord is a less obvious place to look, but thanks to its large directory of servers, which hosts all kinds of communities, it offers you the chance to meet someone with similar interests. There are several ways that you can find the best Discord servers worth joining, including dedicated podcast communities.
The Spotify Podcast Community, for example, proved a good place to look. In the channel bar on the left, navigate to the Creator Chat section and look for the channel #find-guests-and-collabs. This is where you can go to start looking for potential co-hosts.
While the community is rather small by comparison to some Reddit forums (around 1300 members so far), there is a surprising number of people actively looking for co-hosts through that Discord channel.
Another approach is to search for a Discord community on the topic of your podcast, as we explained earlier with different Reddit groups. Finding a group of hobby enthusiasts will help you connect with people that are knowledgeable about the subject and share the same enthusiasm.
5. From Guest to Co-Host
If all else fails, it could be time to change tactics. Looking for a guest can sometimes be a lot easier than finding a co-host, and through hosting guests, you may find your dream co-host.
Say your guest really takes a shine to speaking on your podcast, and you feel a natural ease when chatting to them about ideas; if you think they would make a fantastic co-host, you can take the plunge and ask if that's something they would be interested in.
Guests can be found on places like the PodcastGuestExchange on Reddit, or by looking in any of the previous places we've already mentioned. Taking this route means you can get started by running your podcast solo, while waiting for the right person to come along.
6. Search for a Co-Host Offline
Finally, it's worth mentioning that finding a good co-host for your podcast doesn't have to be limited to online tools. Before online communities were a thing, people got together in person to discuss their favorite hobbies.
Nowadays, you can find live events for podcasters or content creators in general, and attending one of these meetups could be fruitful. What is difficult to get a sense of through a video chat online is how well you gel with someone in person.
There is a lot you can tell about a person through their body gesture and how they speak in a room, instead of over a phone call.
Find the Perfect Co-Host for Your Podcast
There are lots of places you can look for a podcasting co-host, including online forums and social networks. Alternatively, posting a free job advert or attending a live event can also attract potential collaborators.
Friends and family are a great starting point because you will already be familiar with their values and work ethic. Whereas joining a group on the subject of your podcast is a great way to connect with hobby enthusiasts or experts on the topic.