The smoothest pitch I ever heard
I stumbled onto one of the smoothest podcast ad insertions I've seen in a long time.
And what makes it especially interesting is it doesn't feel like a "trick" at all.
On "The Shawn Ryan Show," I noticed something peculiar about how he handles mentioning his Patreon.
Instead of awkwardly asking for supporters at the end, he does something far better...
A few minutes into each interview, he casually mentions:
"Before we dive in, I have a subscription account on Patreon. There are top supporters that have been with us since the beginning. It's just a growing, awesome community to be a part of. And one of the things that I give them the opportunity to do is ask each guest a question."
And then Shawn leads into the question, and the rest of the interview follows.
It's almost so beautifully simple, you might miss why it works so well:
It feels completely natural like a genuine part of the conversation rather than a commercial break.
It puts his community first literally and figuratively, instead of treating them like an afterthought.
It subtly demonstrates value showing potential members exactly what they'll get (direct access to ask guests questions).
It creates social proof without being pushy naturally revealing there's an engaged community without screaming about it.
It respects the listeners' time no long-winded sales pitch needed.
It's easy to get stuck in the "now a word from our sponsors" mentality.
But there's something special that happens when you can merge what you're selling and what you're giving.
Where the pitch becomes part of the value.
Where the commercial is part of the entertainment.
Where the selling enhances rather than interrupts.
The Shawn Ryan example is just one way to do this.
But there are countless others waiting to be discovered if you train yourself to look for them.
-Dylan