Form templates / Freelancers & Creators
Podcast Guest Application Form
A podcast guest application form saves you from the pitch inbox. What they'd talk about, why your listeners would care, and whether they can produce usable audio - answered before you reply to anyone.
For freelancers, independent creators and studios of one.
Audio quality is a booking criterion
A brilliant guest on a laptop microphone in a room with hard walls produces an episode you can't publish. It's the most common reason a recorded conversation never goes out, and it's entirely predictable in advance.
So this template asks what microphone they'll use and where they'll record. Asking also does something useful psychologically - guests who are told it matters usually find a better setup, and the ones who don't have flagged themselves.
The same questions, in the same order, every time
Applications that arrive as emails and attachments are impossible to compare - one has the dates, another has the budget, none of them have both. You end up rebuilding each one by hand before you can make a decision.
A single form fixes that at the source: every application has the same fields, so reviewing is reading a table rather than reconstructing one.
A brief is worth more than a call
You are the sales team, the delivery team and the invoicing department. The cheapest hour you can save is the one spent extracting a brief from someone who has never written one - so ask the questions in the order you need them answered.
A written brief is also your protection. Scope creep is much harder to argue when what was originally asked for is on the record, timestamped.
One link, and a written record
Share one link and every application lands in one place, timestamped, in the applicant's own words - which is exactly what you want if a decision is ever questioned.
Make it yours in a minute
Change the wording, drop the questions you don't need, add the ones you do, put your own colour on it. Saving publishes it, and you get a link to paste into your website, your email signature or a message. Responses land in your dashboard and download as a spreadsheet whenever you want them.
What this template asks
- Full name
- Email address
- What do you do?
- Website or profile
- Social handle
- In one line, what would you talk about?
- What's the argument or story?
- Why would our listeners care?
- What do most people in your field get wrong?
- What kind of conversation suits you?
- Have you been on podcasts before?
- A link to you speaking somewhere
- What would you record with?
- Where would you record?
- When are you usually free to record?
- Your time zone
More Freelancers & Creators forms
Questions
How do I filter out PR pitches?
Ask the guest to write the answers in their own voice and ask what they'd disagree with in their own field. Publicists write around the second question; real practitioners enjoy it.
Should I ask about their audience size?
Ask, but weight it lightly. A guest with a small following and a genuinely interesting story makes a better episode than a large account with nothing to say.
Can applicants attach a CV or document?
Not yet - file uploads are on the roadmap. Most people ask for a link (to a portfolio, a CV in cloud storage, or a profile) which works today and keeps the form fast.
Can I close applications on a deadline?
Yes. Close the form and anyone with the link sees a short closed page instead of the questions, so nobody fills in an application that can't be considered.
Can more than one person review them?
Yes - invite your team into the same account and they'll see the same responses. You can also export to a spreadsheet and score them wherever you like.
Will it look like my brand?
Set your own accent colour and write every word yourself; the form carries your wording and a small "Powered by ava42" line. It's one fast page rather than a page in someone else's template.
Publish your podcast guest application form today
Start from this template and change anything you like. Free to begin.