How Does a Podcast Event Networking Strategy Turn Social Awkwardness Into a Pipeline Advantage?
Published May 5, 2026
Most B2B professionals show up to conferences hoping something happens. Twelve pre-booked conversations change that entirely.
If you run a podcast and you are heading to an industry event, you are sitting on a networking asset most people never think to use. Joseph Lewin, self-described awkward person in group settings, built a repeatable system around this exact problem. By interviewing 12 people who will be at an upcoming event before he ever walks through the door, he flips the dynamic completely. Instead of chasing conversations, people come to him.
What should B2B professionals know about using a podcast as an event networking tool?
A podcast is not just a content channel. Used intentionally, it is a pre-event relationship engine that opens doors before you ever arrive on-site.
- Start outreach three months before the event: Three months gives you enough runway to book, record, and publish episodes that are live before the conference starts, so attendees already know your voice.
- Target keynote speakers with a specific hook: Reach out and offer to help them promote their session. As Joseph puts it, invite them on your show "to help get more people to come to your session." Almost no speaker says no to free promotion.
- Prioritize breakout and paid session speakers: Keynote speakers sometimes have gatekeepers. Breakout speakers, especially those who paid for their slot, are highly motivated to build relationships and far more accessible.
- Aim for 12 pre-event interviews: Twelve guests means twelve people at the conference who already feel a connection with you. That is twelve potential meetings, dinners, and introductions waiting to happen.
- Use the podcast invitation as your post-event follow-up: Instead of pushing for a demo after a good floor conversation, invite the person onto your show. It deepens the relationship and keeps the momentum going without the friction of a hard sales ask.
- Produce content people actually want to hear: Recognition at events only happens if people are listening. The strategy collapses if the show is not worth their time.
How does a podcast remove the friction of cold networking at in-person events?
The core problem with traditional event networking is that it is cold. You walk into a room full of people who do not know you, and you have to interrupt existing conversations to get noticed. That is uncomfortable for most people and genuinely painful for introverts.
A podcast changes the social physics of the room. When you have already interviewed someone, you are not a stranger. You are a familiar voice. When someone has listened to your show, they approach you.
"Instead of me running around trying to jump into conversations... I'll go to an event and somebody that I know will say, 'Hey, Joe, you've gotta meet this person over here.'" Joseph Lewin
That single shift, from chasing to being introduced, is the whole game. You stop burning energy on awkward cold approaches and start spending it on deeper conversations with people who are already warm to you.
The math is straightforward. If you interview 12 people who will be at an event three months out, you arrive with 12 existing relationships. Those 12 people have their own networks inside the conference. Each one becomes a potential bridge into a wider group. Your social surface area multiplies without any additional effort on the floor.
What is the best pre-event outreach strategy for reaching speakers?
The hook matters more than the ask. Most podcast invitations fail because they lead with what the host wants. This strategy flips that.
When you reach out to a speaker, the frame is simple: you want to help them get more people to their session. That is a concrete, immediate value proposition for the speaker. It costs them one conversation and potentially delivers them a larger audience.
"Reach out to a keynote speaker and go, Hey, I saw that you're gonna be at this upcoming event. I'd love to have you on my show to help get more people to come to your session.". Joseph Lewin
If a keynote speaker is too high-profile to respond, move down the list. Breakout session speakers, and especially those who paid to present, are building their own authority and visibility. They are actively looking for platforms. Your podcast is exactly that.
The goal is not to collect the biggest names. The goal is to build genuine rapport with people who will be in the same room as you in 90 days. A mid-tier speaker who becomes a real connection is worth more to your pipeline than a keynote who never replies.
How do you use a podcast to build relationships after an event ends?
Most event relationships die in the parking lot. You have a great conversation, exchange cards, and then send a LinkedIn message that goes nowhere. The relationship had momentum and then lost it.
The podcast invitation solves this. When you meet someone interesting on the conference floor and the conversation is good, you do not need to force a next step. You already have one.
"Hey, this is a great conversation. I would love to have you on my podcast to dive deeper into this. My audience would love to hear what you have to share.". Joseph Lewin
You book the guest before you leave the building. The relationship does not cool off between the event and a follow-up email. It continues, on record, in a format that also serves your audience. That is a compounding return on a single conversation.
This approach also removes the pressure of a premature sales ask. Not every good conversation at an event is ready to become a pipeline opportunity. The podcast gives you a natural, low-friction way to stay in contact and deepen trust until the timing is right.
FAQ
How far in advance should I reach out to event speakers for my podcast?
Three months is the recommended lead time. That window gives you enough time to book the recording, produce the episode, and publish it before the event starts. Arriving with live episodes already in the feed means attendees can listen before they ever see you in person.
What if I'm too small to get keynote speakers on my show?
Go one level down. Breakout session speakers and presenters who paid for their slots are actively trying to build visibility and are far more likely to say yes. The relationship value is often higher anyway because they have more time and motivation to engage.
How many podcast guests should I book before a conference?
Twelve is the target number Joseph Lewin uses. At that volume, you have enough pre-existing relationships to generate introductions, pre-booked dinners, and on-site meetings without relying on cold approaches during the event itself.
Can I use my podcast as a follow-up tool even if someone isn't a buyer yet?
Yes, and that is exactly the point. If someone is not ready to buy, a podcast invitation keeps the relationship moving without the friction of a sales ask. You deepen the connection, create content for your audience, and stay in their orbit until the timing is right.
Do I need a large audience for this strategy to work at events?
No. The strategy works because the podcast creates a shared experience between you and your guest, not because thousands of people are listening. The guest remembers being on your show. That recognition is what changes the dynamic at the event.
The podcast event networking strategy is not about content volume or audience size. It is about using a structured conversation format to build real relationships before, during, and after the events where your best pipeline opportunities are already gathering in one room.
Start with the next event on your calendar. Work backwards three months. Find 12 speakers and attendees you want to know. Send the invitations this week. The conversations you have before you arrive will determine the value you walk away with.
About the host
Joseph Lewin
Host of B2B On Air · The Podcast Launch Guy | 45 B2B Podcasts Launched | Hosts I’ve worked with have closed over $17M in revenue | 100 Million Views On My Personal Social Video
Transcript
Read the full transcript
Joseph Lewin [0:01]
Believe it or not, I’m kind of an awkward person, especially when it comes to hanging out in big groups. One-on-one, I’m super comfortable, I’m able to hang out, but in a group, I get kind of weird and don’t know what to do with myself. And if you’re feeling the same way, I have a tip for you that’s gonna really help you when you go to in-person events. Welcome to B2B On Air. I’m your host, Joseph Lewin, and in today’s episode, I wanna share with you a hidden value of running a podcast when you’re going to events. And so if you’re anything like me, when you go to an in-person event, you’re kind of awkward. You sit on the outside of conversations and then, you know, it can be tough because you have to figure out how to like jump into a group of people and,
you know, you sit there awkwardly. They all know each other or you just sit off to the corner and don’t really get the level of value that you could out of the event. Now, once you get comfortable, you figure out different ways to do it, right? But you’re not really truly getting as much value as you could. Whereas once I started a podcast, something that’s started to change. Now when I go to in-person events, I’ve almost always interviewed somebody who’s at that event or somebody’s listened to my show who’s at that event. And so instead of me running around trying to jump into conversations, which there’s still value in that, learn how to do it, right? You gotta do it. You gotta do it. You gotta get over yourself. But instead what happens now is that I’ll go to an event and somebody that I
know will say, “Hey, Joe, you’ve gotta meet this person over here,” and they’ll come pull me into a conversation, and now I get to meet this whole new group of people who are all around talking, and my friend ends up introducing me and pulling me into that group. Or I’m at an event and somebody comes up and they go, “Hey, Joe, I love listening to your podcast. This is awesome. Keep it up.” And so instead of showing up at a conference where you’re sitting off to the side, not sure what to do, you have people who are gonna come up to you, and this accelerates if you do this specifically around events that you’re gonna be going to. So if you know you’re going to an upcoming event, rather than just going and showing up the day of the event and going, I hope that
I run into somebody, or I hope that something happens, try to figure out who’s gonna be at that event ahead of time and start reaching out and have them on your show. So you could do this with the keynote speakers. Reach out to a keynote speaker and go, Hey, I saw that you’re gonna be at this upcoming event. I’d love to have you on my show to help get more people to come to your session, or I’d love to hype it up and see if we can get some more people to come to the event to see you there. Who’s gonna say no to that? And maybe if it’s a keynote speaker, maybe they’re a little too big for their britches and they’re gonna go, oh, why would I ever go on your show, whatever. You could get that here and there. So then find
somebody who’s not as well known, who’s at a breakout, or, who’s doing a solo session, and better yet, if you can find out who paid to do a session at one of these events that you wanna build a relationship with, and talk to them and hype them up and see if you can get them to come on your show. If you’re gonna go to a show in 3 months from now, what if between now and the event you have 12 people who are going to be at that event on your show? What’s gonna happen? Instead of trying to book meetings while you’re at the event, you’re able to book meetings or book lunches or get invited to dinners before you ever show up. And then the killer thing is you meet somebody awesome there and instead of going, hey, let’s meet later on and maybe
we could do a demo or whatever, if they’re not, if you know you wanna continue that relationship and they’re not quite to the point where they wanna buy from you or you’re just building and warming up that relationship, instead of just saying, hey, cool, see you next year, you could go, “Hey, this is a great conversation. I would love to have you on my podcast to dive deeper into this. My audience would love to hear what you have to share.” And in that case, you book that podcast guest before you ever leave the event, and then you’re able to deepen that relationship and take it further. So if you’re kind of a weird mix of introvert, extrovert like me, you feel awkward in groups of people, you’ve got to try podcasting around events. It’s absolutely amazing. It’ll change your life. And then instead of being
that awkward person running and chasing everybody down, you could be the one that people are coming up to and wanting to talk to, wanting to get a selfie with. And that can all happen simply by having people on your show as guests and putting out content that people want to listen to. Thanks for tuning in. And with that, we’ll see you on the next episode.