Hi, I'm Alastair

Our previous guests include Bob Burb, Alan Weiss, Marcus Sheridan, John Lee Dumas, Pamela Slim,  Mark Schaefer, Evelyn Starr, David C. Baker, Ron Baker, Michael Zipursky, Anne Janzer, Jonathan Stark, Geraldine Carter, Mike Clay, Karley Cunningham, Sara Dunn, Louis Grenier, Philip Morgan, Rochelle Moulton, Norbert Schwarz, Heather Steele, Douglas Squirrel, Monique Mills, and many, many more (we’re well past episode 150). See the full list here. 

The “The Recognized Authority” audience are typically business leaders, consulting firms and experts. They are experts in their field and often have established networks at a very high level.

Their specialization ranges from business leaders & management consultants to media, design and engineering consultants. We also get some listeners from shoulder industries, including lawyers, accountants, architects, and other professional services.

Here’s what they say:

Literally the most valuable podcast episode I’ve ever listened to. If you would like the cliff notes, I’m sharing them here: https://t.co/uxLW56fyT0 https://t.co/vinl6yu8zU

— Cyan 💯 (@Cyan_Cooper) July 20, 2021

Really enjoyed this episode of The Recognized Authority by @WhatStrategy, with @robfitz. https://t.co/7g4uOEoGLM

— 🚀🎙 Joe Casabona (@jcasabona) July 28, 2021

First podcast I listened to this morning on the drive to Barcelona this morning. Attention is an interesting topic - if we don't think about whose attention for which we are crafting the message, this pursuit can very messy very quickly. This conversation can help many!

— Joe Jacobi (@JoeJacobi) March 28, 2022

This was like a masterclass in how to build and scale a business.

— Cyan 💯 (@Cyan_Cooper) August 9, 2021

The Recognized Authority is a podcast I often recommend to others interested in learning more about how to position themselves as experts, and it’s one of the best I’ve come across in terms of the way it’s designed and branded – which is no surprise, considering that the host Alastair McDermott has a web design background.

— Jonathan Baillie Strong, Spotlight Podcasting Agency

This is not the podcast for you if you’re looking for huge numbers. Look for a consumer focused podcast if that’s your thing. 

That said, we do have a very targeted audience of consultants and owners of small professional services firms, and we are in the top 8% of all podcasts in terms of download numbers. 

For promotion, we have a combined social media following of over 15,000 (multiple Twitter accounts, 5k+ on LinkedIn, Facebook etc). Every episode is promoted to these channels.

We also invest hard cash in paid promotion. Here’s some of the ads we’ve run on Overcast:

And ads on PodcastAddict:

I’d love you to be one of the episodes we’re paying to promote 🙂

Yes. We feature three main types of guest on the show: I call them The Successful, The Experts, and The Brave!

1. The Successful are successful independent consultants – in any field – who are willing to share the ups and downs of their business story to inspire and educate our listeners.
2. The Experts are marketing and sales experts who have a message or lesson that is relevant for independent consultants.
3. The Brave are independent consultants  who are ready and willing to take a public “Hot Seat” for a live coaching session with me.

If you are in one of these groups, please apply below to guest on the show. Note that we record well in advance so we have a lead time of around 3 months.

The exact questions will depend on your background and expertise. The goal of the podcast is to help independent consultants to build their authority, become more profitable, and to enjoy their business more. My first suggestion is for you to listen to a couple of episodes if you haven’t already. There are some short episodes around the 30 minute mark that will only take 20 minutes if you listen at 1.5X speed. 

I like to laugh a bit on the podcast, I’m not “all business”, so it’s just a chat over coffee where I pick your brains about your expert topic.

I like to make the episodes very actionable, and I like to start the conversation by diving straight into your area of expertise. If you have a book or a signature methodology, I’ll ask you to walk through the key points of that for our listeners. 

Later in the episode, depending on time, I’d like to delve into your story and about some things you’ve learned along your business journey.

There are some wrap up questions I like to ask everyone:

• Can you tell us about a failure you experienced in business, and what you learned from it?
• Is there a business book, podcast or other resource that you’d recommend?
• What’s your favourite fiction book or TV show?
• Where’s the best place for our listeners to find you online?

Around 45 minutes. 

The booking system (link below) will reserve 55 minutes on your calendar.

This allows us a few minutes to chat before and afterwards, leeway in case of any technical issues, and still allows you a quick break if you have another call at the top of the hour.

We’ll be recording – and live broadcasting – video.

If you need help with camera recommendations, I have a free podcast equipment guide here (no email opt-in required).

The main podcast episodes are released audio-only, but the full video will go on YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook. We’ll also create some short clips for social promotion! 

We’re not NPR, but I do want to make sure the audio is of reasonably good quality to be fair to our listeners.

Here’s a very brief guide:

• Not so good: internal microphones of any kind (on your laptop, webcam or phone)
• Good: headset microphone (the $50 Sennheiser SC160 is a good option here)
• Best: external microphone (a dynamic USB mic like the $100 ATR2100X )

Echo: Empty spaces and hard surfaces can cause reverb/echo in your recording space. You can improve the acoustics dramatically by adding some soft furnishings. I’ve often hung blankets off-camera in my office. 

A couple of other points: for podcasts, it’s better to wear headphones rather than using speakers – it removes any potential audio bleed. And for the camera, it’s better if you are sitting facing a light source, rather than having it behind you. 

I have a free podcast equipment guide here (no email opt-in required).

You don’t need special software, just a web browser – preferably Chrome or Firefox. It’s definitely best to use a laptop or desktop computer. 

If you plan to join from a computer, then you don’t need to do anything ahead of time! You’ll simply click the link I send you shortly before our scheduled time, which will take you directly to to join me.

Phones or tablets are not recommended, but if that’s what we need to work with, we’ll make it work!

Please let me know how you’d like to do the call there and we can figure out the details.

I want you to be your authentic self, and if that requires the occasional swear-word, that’s fine by me. (We’ll tag the episode as containing explicit language.)

That said, we aren’t recording an episode of The Wire,  and although I do love that classic scene in s01e04,  I’d prefer to keep it within reasonable parameters for a friendly business environment. 

When we start our call, we’ll chat informally for a few minutes (how long depends on your schedule). I’ll answer any questions you have before starting the interview portion of the call. When we’re both ready, I’ll countdown to when I start recording.

Do you listen to podcasts? Have you heard really terrible guest introductions? 🤯

I admit that I’ve been guilty of those too. But no longer.

I’m implementing my “no more bad bios” policy!

I realise that bios have their place, and I think it’s important for you to include one on a “media” or “speaking” page on your website.

But I wasn’t happy with how I was delivering the introduction of the guest to my podcast listeners, so I’ve decided to change things up a bit with how I actually use the bios.

I will no longer go with the conventional style of reading the supplied guest bio word-for-word, because I’ve found that when I read out guest bios verbatim like that it ends up compromising the listener’s experience.

It’s simply not written in my voice, giving a sense of rigidity and impersonality which is just not the best way to start an engaging conversation.

In order to be more authentic I’ve started introducing my guests based on my personal knowledge or interactions with them and leaving the bio for the show notes page.

This way, I can highlight their expertise and background in a more conversational way that fits the tone of the podcast.

The goal is to make the guest sound like a real person, not a LinkedIn profile 😇

Update for Season 2: we’ll be recording – and broadcasting – live.

That has it’s pros and cons, but the good news is it’ll be live immediately and ready for you to share as soon as we’re done!

Update for Season 2: no, because it will be live already on YouTube etc as we’ll be broadcasting. 

1,000% yes. That would be a fantasic use of the interview.

We’d really appreciate if you can link to the episode page on our website from wherever you publish the repurposed content, but that’s entirely at your discretion. 

Immediately, on YouTube and any other platforms we livestream to.

The audio will go out on our podcast feed in 3-6 weeks typically. 

If you have a particular launch or event that you would like your episode to coincide with, let us know in the intake form – we’ll do our best to accommodate!

That’s super, thank you! 

If you’ve been invited to guest: we’ll send you a scheduling link directly, no need to use the application form as we have already checked if it’s a good fit.

If you haven’t been invited, but think that you’d be a good fit: please start by filling in the application form linked below.