Your AI Pitch Is Getting You Blacklisted

Had an AHA or Insight? Share it: Media veteran Josh Elledge on the #1 podcast pitching mistake. Is your AI pitch getting you blacklisted from every podcast?  If you want to build your authority platform, and frankly, you should, because podcast guesting is a must for you. But so it is for everyone else and that is the problem.  Internet marketers have found yet another way for mass spamming through AI slop, flooding every podcaster inbox. And they, myself included are rejecting everything that reads like a template mass pitch outreach with fake hyper personalization AI style.  Meaning that you are wasting money and literally blacklisting yourself or your agency. Josh Elledge, founder of Up My Influence and PodVerified, explains what the current methods are, including a particularly infuriating $20,000 podcast booking scam that sounds legit, but you will not get a proper ROI. A podcast has a particular hook, a style and we look for a fit so we can deliver to our audience what we promise. And most of us honor our obligation and promise to our audience. Back to Josh, I've been on his podcast and I have been watching him for years. Call me a fangirl. He's the real deal, and he's a professional in the truest sense: he tells the truth and says it as it is because he follows a simple principle he learned from his mentor, ‘do not lie to your audience.’ That integrity is one of the cornerstones he's built everything on. One of the things I admire most about him is his ability to watch, observe, apply critical thinking, and then make a change when necessary. He embodies lifelong learning, and on this show he gets personal and shares his personal transformation by walking away from decades inside organized religion.  That kind of openness is his secret, and he is sharing it on Founders of the Future. Many people who let go of certainty go looking for a new version of it. Josh didn't. To hear his enthusiasm, clarity and choice to be a lifelong student is inspiring. That's exactly why this conversation matters for Founders of the Future. Things are moving fast. Business changes and transforms in rapid succession, and you simply cannot hold on to a previous version of yourself or your strategy.  And when it comes to speaking out loud in your voice, podcast guesting or even hosting is a great way to reach an audience. So what does Josh do that makes him so successful? How did he get to over 3,000 media appearances, 2,500 hosted episodes, and more than 300 launched podcasts? Listen to the episode and find out. Time Stamps: 00:00 Is your AI pitch getting you blacklisted? 00:35 Intros + AI’s promise vs “AI slop” 02:05 Why AI mass‑pitches backfire (reputation + blacklisting) 05:00 Human‑in‑the‑loop: using AI without sounding AI 10:05 The $20K podcast guesting scam 13:30 Integrity in media: the Adrian Cronauer lesson 20:45 Personal transformation and values in business 24:50 PodVerified: standards, score, and DIY tools 30:15 What great guests must know (gear, hooks, show flow) 35:40 Key takeaways + treat podcasting like real media Connect with Josh Elledge: Website|LinkedIn _____________________ We appreciate you, thank you for listening. Let us know in the comments what resonated in this episode, we want to hear from you. Leave a comment, like, share with one person who needs to hear the message our guest shared. Take our QUIZ and find out what your talent is worth in this market:  What's Your Talent Worth (http://WhatsYourTalentWorth.com) Follow us on Instagram: Check us out on Tik Tok: Work With Us