Podcast Research VA — List Building for Guest Pitching (No Outreach)

The Role

I'm a 30+ year business owner who has been running a company with my husband, and I'm building a qualified list of podcast interview targets for myself as a solo guest. I need a research-only VA to find and qualify the right shows.

This is a defined project, not an ongoing role. The total scope is approximately 200–300 qualified podcasts over 8–12 weeks. If the work goes well and a second research phase becomes useful after my first round of pitches, I'd want to continue with the same person — but I'm not promising ongoing work, and I want to be upfront about that so you can d ---------- if the scope fits you.

This is research only. You will not write or send pitch emails, at least in this first round. Your job is to deliver clean, qualified podcast leads in a shared spreadsheet. I'll handle the outreach myself.

What I Speak About so you can recognize a fit when you see it, my niche covers:

- Couples in business together / husband-and-wife businesses
- Spouse of an entrepreneur (the supporting partner perspective)
- Long-term marriage paired with a long-term business (30+ year arc)
- "Marriedpreneur" / "couplepreneur" life/ "husband-wife business"/ "founders life"
- Adjacent: women in business who are married to entrepreneurs, faith-based women in business, family business / legacy

I pitch as a solo guest, not as a couple.

Deliverable
Approximately 200–300 qualified podcasts total, delivered in weekly batches of 20–30 into a shared Google Sheet (I'll provide the template).

Each row contains:
- Podcast name
- Host name(s)
- Last episode date (confirmed from the feed)
- Recent guest count (out of the last 10 episodes)
- Audience signal (Apple ratings count, Listen Notes rank, or claimed downloads — whichever you can verify)
- Topic relevance (1 sentence — how my niche fits)
- Why this fits me (1 sentence)
- Best contact method (email / website form / guest application page / social)
- Media-first score (1–5 — see screening section below)
- Source URL (Apple, Spotify, or host site)
- Notes

If you can't verify a data point, write "unverified" — do not guess.

Inclusion Criteria
A podcast qualifies only if ALL of these are true:

1. Topic relevance — host covers couples-in-business, spouse-of-entrepreneur, marriedpreneur life, OR is a women-in-business / faith-based business show whose audience would benefit from my angle.
2. Activity — new episode published within the last 60 days.
3. Format — interviews outside guests (not solo or co-hosts only).
4. Audience signal — at least one of: 100+ Apple Podcasts ratings, OR Listen Notes Global Rank under 10,000, OR 200+ downloads/episode per public claims.
5. Mid-tier preferred — Listen Notes rank roughly 2,000–50,000. Skip the very top of category charts; I already know those.

CRITICAL: Screening for Media-First Hosts
This is the most important part of the work. I want shows that are real media properties with engaged listeners — NOT shows that exist primarily as a marketing channel for the host's own paid course or coaching program. The latter rarely book outside guests with overlapping offers; the former are open and worth my time.

Use this screening framework for every candidate, in this order:

Where to look:

1. Podcast feed and recent episodes — is the show itself active and guest-driven?
2. Host website and bio — is the podcast presented as a standalone media property, or as a support channel for a paid offer?
3. Episode descriptions and guest patterns — do they regularly bring on outside guests rather than teaching solo?
4. Social profiles and pinned posts — does most promotion point to the show, or to their product?

Specific checks:
- Read the last 5–10 episode titles and note how many are guest interviews.
- Search the host's site for the course/program name and compare it to the podcast theme.
- Check whether the podcast has a separate landing page or just sits under the course brand.
- Scan social posts for the ratio of episode promotion to product promotion.
- Look for a free resources page, guest application, or media kit — this usually signals a broader media orientation.

Scoring (1–5):
- 5 — Pure media property. Almost all episodes are guest interviews. Podcast has its own landing page. Host clearly promotes the show as a show.
- 4 — Mostly media. Strong guest cadence; host has a product but it doesn't dominate the show's identity.
- 3 — Mixed. About half guests, half solo teaching. Worth pitching but expect more friction.
- 2 — Mostly course-funnel. Show is largely solo episodes selling the host's program. Skip unless the host's niche directly maps to mine.
- 1 — Pure funnel. Show exists only to promote the course. Do not include.

Include 4s and 5s. Mark 3s for my review. Exclude 1s and 2s unless I specifically tell you otherwise.

Sources to Draw From
- Listen Notes (search by keyword, sort by rank)
- Podchaser
- Apple Podcasts and Spotify category charts (Entrepreneurship, Marriage, Christianity & Spirituality, Self-Improvement)
- Guest histories of specific hosts I'll share with you (after the trial task)
- Feedspot directories for marriage / couplepreneur / women-in-business categories

Do not pad the list. Quality over quantity. If you can only find 18 qualified shows, deliver 18 — don't invent a 19th and 20th to hit the number. I will check.

Trial Task (Paid)

Before ongoing work, I run a paid trial:
- Pay: $35 flat
- Task: Research 10 podcasts using the criteria above, delivered as a filled-in spreadsheet
- Turnaround: 48 hours from go-ahead
- What I'm evaluating: Quality of fit (did you read my niche correctly?), depth of research (did you find shows I likely don't know about?), and accuracy on the media-first score.

The strongest applicant is selected for the main project.

Project Scope, Timeline & Pay
This project has a deliberately staged structure because the size of this niche is genuinely uncertain — there may be 50 qualifying shows, there may be 200. We'll find out together.
- Discovery batch: First 30 qualified podcasts, delivered in 1–2 weeks. This batch tells both of us how deep the niche runs before committing to a larger scope.
- Continued research: Based on what the discovery batch reveals, I expect to commission additional batches of ~30 podcasts each, up to roughly 100 total, at the same rate. If the market is smaller than expected, we wrap earlier.
- Pay: $4 per qualified podcast
- Initial commitment: ~$120 for the discovery batch
- Realistic total range: $120–$400 depending on what the research reveals
- Quality clause: Pay applies to rows that pass spot-check. Rows with inaccurate data, padding, or that don't meet the criteria don't count toward the total. Be precise; don't pad.
- Payment schedule: Paid per batch within 48 hours of acceptance
- Communication: Brief weekly check-in (email/loom/zoom-15 min) during the project; async otherwise
- Future extension: If a later round of pitches generates good responses and I commission research into adjacent niches, I'd offer that work to the same person first.

Required Skills
- Excellent written English
- Spreadsheet fluency (Google Sheets)
- Strong attention to detail — I will spot-check 3–5 rows in every batch. Inaccurate, padded, or AI-hallucinated entries will end the engagement.
- Independent research capability
- Reliable on deadlines

Nice-to-Have
- Prior podcast research or podcast guesting experience
- Familiarity with Listen Notes, Podchaser, or Apple/Spotify podcast charts
- Any background in marriage, family, faith-based business, or women-in-business spaces

How to Apply
Reply with:
1. Prior podcast research experience (if any) — even one example helps.
2. One podcast you'd recommend I pitch and a one-sentence reason why. This is the most important part of your reply — I read it first. Please do not suggest the obvious top-charting shows.
3. Your time zone and weekly availability.

Generic AI-written replies that don't include a real podcast recommendation will be ignored.

Looking forward to working with the right person.