The Google Alerts Guest Booking System
Track dream guests with Google Alerts and Boolean queries, pitch at the exact right moment during their promotional window, and manage your entire outreach pipeline.
Save this for later
Get the printable PDF and a Notion template you can duplicate
Alert Setup Kit
Set up Google Alerts at different frequencies based on guest priority tier.
| Guest Priority | Alert Frequency | Reason | Example Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 - Dream Guest | As-it-happens | You need to act within 48 hours of their announcement | Book launch, product drop, funding round |
| Tier 2 - Target Guest | Daily digest | Stay informed without inbox overload | Conference talk, podcast tour, viral post |
| Tier 3 - Pipeline Guest | Weekly digest | Monitor for future opportunities | Industry shift, career move, new project |
The Core Principle
Timing beats perfection. A good pitch sent during a guest's promotional window will outperform a perfect pitch sent three months late. Google Alerts let you know the moment someone enters their window.
Boolean Query Library
Copy these Boolean query templates into Google Alerts. Replace the bracketed placeholders with your guest's details.
"[Guest Full Name]" AND (interview OR podcast OR launch OR "new book" OR announcement)
"[Guest Full Name]" AND "[Project Name]" site:techcrunch.com OR site:forbes.com OR site:nytimes.com
"[Author Name]" AND ("new book" OR "book tour" OR "book launch") -review -summary -PDF"[Guest Full Name]" AND ("appeared on" OR "guest on" OR "episode" OR "interview with")Noise Reduction Tip
Adding site-specific filters to your queries can cut noise by up to 70%. Focus on the publications and platforms your target guests are most likely to appear on.
Guest Tier Tracker
Track your dream guests, their current status, and which tier they belong to.
| Guest Name | Niche / Why Relevant | Alert Set Up? | Current Project / Status | Tier | Last Alert | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brand and Industry Monitoring
Set up alerts for your own brand and your broader industry.
Your Own Brand Monitoring
- Podcast or channel name Set up alert for your podcast or channel name
- Your own name Set up alert for your own name
- Your domain Set up alert for your domain or website
Industry Intelligence Alerts
- Competitor show names Set up alerts for competitor show names
- Conference announcements Set up alerts for conference announcements in your niche
- Trending niche keywords Set up alerts for trending keywords in your niche
Promotional Window Outreach Checklist
When an alert fires, run through this checklist before sending your pitch.
Alert Validation
Confirm the alert is a real promotional trigger worth acting on.
- Clearly promotional The trigger is clearly promotional (launch, tour, announcement)
- Active media tour mode Guest appears to be in active media tour mode
- Relevant to your audience Topic is relevant to your audience
- Within first 2 weeks Alert is within the first 2 weeks of the promotional window
Pitch Readiness
Make sure you have everything you need before hitting send.
- Correct contact person or agent found
- Project details You know the specific project details from the alert
- Audience fit You can clearly explain how your audience fits their promotion
- Stats ready Your show stats and audience demographics are ready to share
The Timing Window
The sweet spot is 2-4 weeks after an announcement. Act within 48 hours of your alert firing. Guests are most receptive when they are actively promoting and their calendar is being filled.
Timing-Triggered Pitch Email
Fill in the fields below to generate a pitch email that references the exact alert trigger.
Why This Works
This pitch leads with their announcement, not your show metrics. Referencing the specific alert trigger proves you are paying attention and pitching at the right moment - not sending a generic mass email.
Alert-to-Outreach Tracker
Track every pitch from alert trigger to outcome.
| Guest Name | Alert Trigger | Pitch Sent | Days into Window | Follow-Up 1 | Follow-Up 2 | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
30-Day Guest Booking Action Plan
Follow this week-by-week plan to build and run your guest booking system.
Week 1 - Build Your Alert System
- List 10 dream guests in the tracker above
- Create Boolean alerts for each guest using the query library
- Set tier frequencies Set alert frequencies based on guest tier
- Brand monitoring Set up brand and industry monitoring alerts
- Add to tracker Add all guests to the tier tracker
Week 2 - First Outreach Round
- Review alerts Review all alerts that have fired this week
- Run outreach checklist Run the outreach checklist for each actionable alert
- Send pitches Send timing-triggered pitches to qualified guests
- Create follow-up tasks Create follow-up calendar reminders for each pitch
- Log in tracker Log everything in the alert-to-outreach tracker
Week 3 - Follow Up and Refine
- Send Follow-Up 1 for all unanswered pitches
- Review alert quality and remove noisy queries
- Add 5 more guests to your tracker
- Refine queries Refine Boolean queries based on alert noise levels
- Identify fastest tier Identify which tier converts fastest
Week 4 - Systematize
- Send Follow-Up 2 for remaining unanswered pitches
- Archive non-responses and update tracker
- Review conversion windows Review which promotional windows converted best
- Add supplementary tool Add a supplementary monitoring tool if needed
- Monthly review date Set a monthly review date for ongoing system maintenance