Thank you for your interest in being a guest on Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship.
#1. BEFORE SENDING AN EMAIL, please read everything below so that I can say YES.
The best way to get a sense of the format of Dear Nina is to listen to a few episodes and/or scan the titles in any podcast app. I get a handful of pitches each week, and I can’t accept all pitches for issues of fit, repetition, schedule, or recording breaks, but I’d love to consider your idea. Each episode takes significant time to produce, edit, and share with the world. My assistant producer and I are particular about what we choose, but we want to say yes. These notes will help!
The best pitches have a point of view—something essential to say about making, keeping, or losing friends. In most cases, the guest and I dive into a friendship topic loosely related to the guest’s personal story, book, expertise, article, platform, etc. I do not, however, record formal interviews of authors about the whole book or about the writing process. I always mention the book, article, social media accounts, business, and so on; and I include all of that information in the show notes, but the episode cannot be about the book the way it might be in a book review or writing-centered podcast.
Please note: Dear Nina episodes center on the premise that friendships are essential. That is not enough for a pitch. Trust me, I know that friendships are important, and I know that loneliness is an epidemic. That’s why I do this work.
Also please note: Dear Nina episodes aim to help as many listeners as possible, so highlighting one person’s friendship experiences only works if the lessons are applicable to many people. Keep that in mind when pitching a story about your friend group, your longstanding friendships, etc. This show is generally in the problem-solving arena so it’s rare I will highlight a group of friends without their being a point of view to the episode. Remember, I’m looking for a point of view with something essential to say about making, keeping, or losing friends.
THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP: When pitching an idea, think about the listeners wanting to be seen and heard in their friendship issues. What can you bring to the table to help listeners with the issues they’re dealing with in their friendships? How will your topic suggestion serve the listeners? Feel free to include bullet points of what you’d like to discuss and why these points will improve the lives of the people who click on the episode. That’s the perfect mindset for pitching this show.
For an idea of what I’ve already covered, please see a list of past episodes here. This will also help you avoid suggesting an episode I’ve already released.
#2. Are you a selling a service, product, or book?
If you’re a selling a service, product, or book, then a sponsorship of 2-4 weeks might be more appropriate AND a better to get your service/product/book in front of many more listeners than one episode. I offer various (and reasonable) options for ads. Your ad would go at the beginning of my entire catalogue of over 140 episodes. Click here for more information.
#3. Email me! (Please do not pitch via social media)
If you read #1 and #2, please send an email to ninabadzin@gmail.com describing your episode idea. The most successful pitches also include title options. Again, you can see past episodes titles here.
Thanks again for your interest! ~ Nina
