Influential Voices of Authority

HOW TO MAKE YOUR PODCAST PROFITABLE So many coaches struggle to make their podcast profitable, because they don't have a strategy. A strategy doesn't need to be complicated. It simply needs to be effective. PROFITABLE STRATEGY Many podcasters try to monetize their podcast with ads and sponsorships. MRI-Simmons just released data on podcast listening as it pertains to podcast ads. In the research, 42% of listeners surveyed say they will skip the ad if it is for something they don't care about. 22% of those surveyed say they will skip if they don't support the brand being marketed. More importantly, 27% said they skip ads no matter what. That means over a quarter of your listeners don't want to hear the ads. Commercials are a negative experience for your show. It also doesn't benefit your advertiser. Why would you do that to your podcast? BETTER STRATEGY Rather than attempting to be profitable using ads and sponsors, use your podcast as a marketing vehicle for your own goods and services. Create great content on your show that will show your listeners what is possible for them. Let the content lead to the first step in working with you. This could be a lead magnet, webinar or other resource. Next, get listeners from that first step to a sales conversation. That might be a discovery call, long form sales video, or masterclass. Finally, enroll them in your program. Each piece needs to work together to be profitable. WORKSHOP I recently held a workshop to help coaches launch their profitable podcast. During that workshop, we discussed three powerful ways to attract your ideal clients with your podcast. Today, I'll share with you a bit of that workshop to show you those three ways to be profitable. Enjoy. But more importantly, take action. DON'T COMPLICATE IT Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. After you produce and publish the episode, we need to promote it. We need to go out and tell everybody it's available and bring your audience into your world. Find your ideal target listener. Get clear on exactly who you're helping. Figure out where we can find them, go get in front of them and bring them into your world. PROMOTE So how do we promote it? We could promote it on social media. You can go get on other podcasts and promote it there. Promote it through your email list. There's a variety of ways to promote it. When you promote your show, there are two ways to grow your audience. You need to keep your current listeners coming back, and you need to go out and find new listeners who are unaware of you and bring them into your audience. You have to serve both sides of that equation. The podcast builds into your funnel, so you're creating content to show your listeners what's possible, getting them to take that first step with you by getting your free resource. And that free resource leads to your sales conversation. That could be a webinar or a strategy call, a discovery call, a long form sales video, wherever your sales conversation happens. But a lot of people who create podcasts and teach you how to create podcasts don't teach you a strategy to take your listeners and convert them into clients. They just say, "Talk about whatever you want to talk about. Go interview great people." GROW YOUR PROFITABLE BUSINESS I've had a lot of coaches come to me and say, "Erik, my podcast isn't doing anything to grow my business." When we dig into it, it's this step right here. They don't have a system in place that converts listeners to clients. They're doing a great job interviewing guests, but they have no point or strategy to be profitable. There's no reason, there's no automatic connection from the interview to working with them. And that's what I help clients do. PROFITABLE STEP-BY-STEP So, let's talk a little bit about that. Challenge number two that I talked about is they don't have a strategy. They don't have a step by step process to attract clients with their show. There are many, many ways to attract your clients with your podcast. I'm going to give you three of my favorite. There are others as well. These are not by any means an exhaustive list on how to create clients with your podcast. But I'm going to give you three. AUDIENCE The first way to attract your ideal clients is to turn your listeners into clients. That's probably the most obvious way. Build an audience, convert them to clients. This is Oscar Trimboli. Oscar's podcast is called Deep Listening Impact Beyond Words. Deep Listening is both his podcast and his business. Oscar is a mentor. He's a leadership coach, a speaker. He's an author. He's a podcaster. His book is called Deep Listening Impact Beyond Words. Oscar helps CEOs and leaders be better listeners. Typical CEOs and leaders are type A personalities. They like to hear themselves talk. They like to tell people what to do. They don't listen very well. Oscar goes in and teaches them how to listen. His goal was to bring that authority and that power to his podcast. Now, when Oscar came to me, I listened to his podcast. He said, "Erik, my podcast isn't doing anything to grow my business. Can you help me out? I've done a complete series of episodes. I have 36 episodes in the can. I'm not getting any clients from it. What am I doing wrong?" I went and I listened to his show. Oscar is a great listener. He does a phenomenal job interviewing the CEOs that were on his show. But as I listened to his show, at no point in time did Oscar tell me what he does or invite me to work with him. And that's the problem most podcasters make. They do a great job interviewing their guest, but nowhere in the show does it tell me how I can work with them. MAKE THE CONNECTION They do a great job making their guests look amazing, but they don't do anything to make themselves look amazing. So we restructured Oscar's podcast. We infused more of Oscar into the show, demonstrated Oscar's expertise, and created a way to invite listeners to work with Oscar. We launched season two of his show in a whole new way, which used Oscar as the main focus and used his interviews to support what Oscar was teaching. And when we did that, it allowed Oscar to start gaining new clients. More importantly, he started building that know, like and trust with his audience, because his show was now focused on the same material that his teaching was focused on. It wasn't simply interviewing great guests. It was demonstrating his expertise and using his guests interviews to support what he was teaching. Now, Oscar has been named one of the top podcasts by Apple podcasts in his niche. He has been hired to be a keynote speaker at multiple organizations. He goes in, he conducts seminars and workshops at his organizations, and he's top of his game and knocking it out of the park. So proud of him and everything that he's accomplished simply by making a small tweak in his show. INVITE THEM I told you a little bit about TaVona Denise. She now does Conversations with TaVona Denise. She takes these nurses that she's been helping and brings them to a free workshop that she does through her podcast. Her podcast shows these nurses what's possible. Then she invites them to the workshop. Then the workshop upsells the nurses and invites them to come work with TaVona in a one on one coaching situation. She takes her listeners and converts them into clients. PROFITABLE POTENTIAL My second favorite way to grow your business with your podcast is to interview potential clients. So many times, we try and get our potential clients to take our call or to get on a conversation with us, and we just can't make that happen. There's too many gatekeepers. Or they have their guard up, and they don't want to let you in. OPEN DOORS Zoe Routh came to me. She's an expert on people stuff. Zoe is a consultant. She helps businesses break down the silos that exist in their business so departments can work better together. However, she was having a tough time getting through the gatekeeper to reach the decision maker in these businesses. When I started working with Zoe, I said, "Zoe, what kind of downloads are you getting? How many people are listening to your show?" She said, "Erik, I don't even know. I don't even care about that." Zoe says, "That's not why I use my podcast." She says, "I use my podcast to open doors to people who won't normally take my call. Rather than inviting them to a sales call or to have coffee or a quick meeting with me. I reach out to them and invite them on my podcast and I use that opportunity to build a relationship with them, because I email them to invite them on the show. Then I email them to give them all the details about what the interview will be about and when it will happen and schedule the interview. And we build a relationship there. We have the conversation where we actually conduct the interview, and then we have a follow up conversation after that when the interview is posted so they can share it with their audience. So by the time the process is over, I've had four or five conversations with them. We've built a relationship and now they will take my call to discuss working together because they've already got to know who I am and what I do." Interviewing your prospective clients on your show is an amazing way to grow your business. AUTHORS This is Jedlie. He's one of my clients. Jedlie is a clown and a magician. Jedlie used to do magic shows for schools. He'd go in and teach antibullying to schools, loves working with kids. He has now launched his podcast called Reading With Your Kids where he helps children's authors get exposure. He will interview these authors on his show, but his authors buy into his program. So these authors' books become certified. A Reading With Your Kids certified book. He finds books that he loves, that he wants to certify. He has a certification process where he puts a sticker on the front of the books they're certified. Reading With Your Kids certified. He interviews the authors and all of these people buy into his program that he's interviewing on his show. He interviews the authors as part of the package that he sells. It's a way to use your podcast to interview prospective clients. PROFITABLE PARTNERS And then the third way that I love to monetize your show and to grow your business is to interview your partners. These are partners that are promoting you or your JV partners that you're promoting them. Sadie and Sausha came to me to launch their podcast. It's called Meathead Test Kitchen. These two love working out. They're tattooed and when you listen to the show, you get exactly what you think you're going to get. They love working out. They love exercise. They love fitness. That's what it's all about on their show. They talk about what they use in their fitness routine. So all of the equipment that they use, all of the supplements and nutrients that they use, the healthy cookbooks and recipe ideas that they use. Then over on their website, they have fulfilled by Amazon connections and links on their website where you can buy all of the things they talk about on their show. So they're not producing anything, they're just selling it through their website. And they're growing their business in that way, talking about what they love selling products. PROFITABLE COACHES Marc Mawhinney runs Natural Born Coaches podcast. He interviews his JV partners, then he does a webinar with them. People buy into his JV package. If you go to JVwithMarc.com, you'll see all of his details. You buy into a package and being interviewed on his show is part of the package. Getting interviewed in his Facebook group is part of the package. Being on a webinar with Marc to his audience is part of the package. He interviews potential clients on the show, and that's how he uses it to grow his business. CAN YOU SEE THE POTENTIAL Can you see how some of these ideas can help grow your profitable business and attract your ideal clients? Can you see how you can use podcasting in one of these three ways so you can get out and start making that connection with your audience. How you can build that relationship with them and bring them into what you do, showing them how you can help them? And whether it's turning your listeners into clients, or you're interviewing prospective clients or your interviewing partners, there's multiple ways you can use podcasting to grow your profitable business, attract your ideal clients, and really take your coaching programs to the next level. LET'S TALK Can you see the profitable possibilities for your business? I would love to give you a free strategy call to help you build a system to make you profitable. There are no strings attached. We discuss you goals, determine where you are today, and build your system to reach your goals. If you'd like help implementing that plan, we can discuss how that looks. If you don't have a mentor who can take your hand and walk you every step of the way, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals.

HOW CAN I PRODUCE A PODCAST IN AN HOUR? To create great content quickly, you're going to need help. Many coaches ask me if they need a podcast editor. It comes down to where you want to spend your time. Asking if you need a podcast editor is like asking if you need a car. I don't know that anyone "needs" a car. You can take the bus, pay for an Uber, ride your bike, walk, or catch a ride with a friend. Needing a car comes down to convenience. What do you value more? To produce a quality podcast episode in an hour, you'll need to spend your time performing and sharing your expertise. You'll then need somebody else to do the editing, uploading and sharing of your episode. TAYLOR SWIFT We went to see Taylor Swift this weekend. I've had the great fortune of meeting Taylor a few times and see how her business works from a unique perspective. Taylor Swift is so successful, because she spends her time overdelivering for her fans while others handle the tasks that don't require her genius. When my daughter Emma was in grade school, I took her to meet Taylor for the second time. Emma brought her friend Ellerie. A typical meet and greet with an artist is pretty quick. The guests all wait for the artist in a room. It's usually a dressing room, meeting room, or locker room at the venue. The artist will come in. Guests will step up usually in pairs. They express their admiration for the artist. Someone takes a picture, and the guests are ushered out of the room. Each meet and greet interaction is about 30 to 60 seconds. It's quick. MEET AND GREET With Taylor Swift, it's different. Taylor had a special room set up specifically for radio people and special guests. Alex, the representative from the record company, gathered us to go back as usual. When we got back there, we met Frank. He is Taylor's personal liaison to people in the radio industry. Frank and Alex then introduced us to Taylor's mom. She is the host backstage. Taylor's mom ensures everything backstage is a great experience. We all waited in the room until Taylor came in. Rather than lining up to meet her, she walked around the room and met us, making every guest feel special. Taylor probably spent 3 or 4 minutes with each guest. We chatted about her music. She talked to Emma about piano lessons. They posed for a nice photo and then some funny photos. With that, Taylor left us in the hands of her mom to give us a tour of the backstage area while she got ready for the show. A few days after the concert, I received a hand-written note in the mail. It was from Taylor. Taylor had written me a note thanking me for taking time out of my week to bring my family to her concert. She appreciated all the support we gave her music. Now as the Program Director of the radio station at the time, I controlled what music got played on the radio station. It make total sense for Taylor to send me a thank you note. However, inside my note was another note addressed to Emma. This note thanked Emma for coming to the show, encouraged Emma to stick with her piano lessons, and asked her to tell Ellerie "hi" for her. That's the magic of Taylor Swift. PODCAST EDITOR So what does this have to do with having a podcast editor? Taylor Swift delegates the tasks that don't require her attention to other people. The record rep gathers us and gets us backstage. Her liaison ensures everyone is there. Her mom handles the backstage logistics. This is just the start of it. For instance, Taylor's dad is the host out front. He is in charge of going up top to the cheap seats, finding super-fans, and upgrading their tickets to the front of the stage. You might be saying, "Sure, Taylor Swift can have a huge team helping her. I can't afford that." The truth is you can't afford to NOT have help. You don't have enough time in the week. You don't need to have a team of a dozen people. But getting one person to do your editing comes with huge benefits. When Taylor Swift has her mom coordinating backstage, she can focus on her guests. I'm guessing that when Taylor left that room, she somehow jotted down some notes on everyone she met. Or someone was doing it in real time. I don't know how she did it. The point is she had time to do it, because the other tasks were handled by other people. 6+ REASONS TO HIRE A PODCAST EDITOR When it comes time to decide to hire a podcast editor, you need to do some evaluation of your situation. If you can use the time for more productive results, then hire a podcast editor. On the other hand if you are going to watch more Netflix while you pay someone to edit your podcast, keep doing your own show. There are six reasons to hire a podcast editor. See how many of these apply to your podcast and situation. SAVES TIME The biggest benefit of hiring a podcast editor is that it saves time. How much time do you spend editing your podcast? If you are creating an interview episode, it probably takes an hour to set up the gear and record the conversation. Then you need to record your episode intro and possibly the close to demonstrate your expertise in your space and invite people to work with you. Next, you need to edit the podcast open, episode intro, interview and close together. You will need to take out any mistakes and normalize the audio. Finally, export your file to an .mp3, upload it to your podcast host, and add the show notes. When you have an editor, you record the interview, open and close. You're done. Your editing team does the rest. Poof. More time on your calendar. ZONE OF GENIUS Now that you have more time, the second benefit of hiring a podcast editor is where you spend your time. You can now spend your time in your zone of genius. Just like Taylor Swift, you can do what you're best at doing and less time on the menial tasks that don't require your involvement. This will allow you to book more appearances for exposure, land more clients with sales calls and conversations, and create more content to grow the business. Do the things that only you can do. Delegate the rest. Spend time in your zone of genius. FASTER AND BETTER Now, I don't mean to disparage your editing expertise. But I'm guessing a professional podcast editor can probably edit a show much faster and better than you can. Speed is the third benefit. Because I have been editing digital audio for over two decades, I can edit the audio faster than I can explain what I'm doing. In my audio editing software, I have shortcut keys set up to split, delete, mix down to file, save as an .mp3 and a variety of other tasks. All of these little tricks save me a ton of time editing a show. And I'm not even a professional editor. My buddy Matt does it for a living. He knows tips and tricks I'll never know, simply because he does it everyday. YOU KNOW That brings us to the fourth benefit of hiring a podcast editor is that you don't know what you don't know. I was on a coaching call the other day walking Janie through editing her show. As we looked at her waveform, I told her exactly where to click to remove the mistake. She said, "How do you know that's where the mistake is?" I told her, "I've been looking at these waveforms for 25 years. The mistakes become easy to spot when you've done it that long." When you turn your editing tasks over to a professional podcast editor, they can edit your show in a fraction of the time it takes you. They also know little editing tricks, like making the edit after the breath to hide the edit. Or making a cut next to a hard consonant to make it unnoticeable. Or when to use a crossfade or mute. Your show will sound much more professional when a professional edits it. THE TECHNOLOGY Many coaches enjoy working with people and creating. The fifth benefit of hiring a podcast editor is avoiding the tech. If you don't enjoy tech or detail work, you'll be able to delegate it to your editor. Performing and creating use a different part of the brain than detailed work. It is difficult to be great at both. When you delegate the technical and details work to someone else, you will find that you do much better work in your creative space. You won't need to worry about doing the tasks that neither excite you or you're not good at completing. Somebody loves the details. Leave it to them. COACHING The final benefit of hiring a podcast editor is unique to working with me. When you enroll in my Podcast Profits Concierge program, you get full podcast editor services along with coaching from me. You show up and perform. Leave the rest of the tasks to my team. This includes editing your audio and video. My team uploads your audio to your podcast host and video to your YouTube channel. They also create your show notes for you. You get social media assets, like a captioned social media video, quote cards and more. The team will post your show and notes to your Wordpress website. There is a blog header image for your website, a YouTube thumbnail for your video, and a whole lot more. Plus, you get one-on-one coaching with me to ensure your podcast is connecting with your audience and make more sales. Making a real impact on the world with your knowledge and content is a powerful place to be. This is where you change lives and make a difference. The Podcast Profits Concierge is a powerful program designed to help you grow your business. If you are ready to explode your impact, this high-level package builds a powerful podcast with coaching, handles your complete audio and video production of four episodes per month to free your time, supports you with a community of like-minded coaches, and pours gas on your fire. To learn more, visit www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/editing. The full details are there.

DRIVE TRAFFIC FOR SUCCESS How many listeners are enough? Just a few more. We all want more listeners. But, how do I drive traffic to my podcast? My son and I went to the movie theater this weekend to see the new Indiana Jones movie. It was good. I'm a big Harrison Ford fan. Do you ever wonder why the big movie studios are so quick to jump on the sequel bandwagon? It isn't simply easy money. It's easy marketing. When they release a sequel, they don't have to work as hard to drive traffic to the movie. The main character is already familiar to the audience. The basic famework of the movie doesn't need explaination. With a sequel, half the work is already done. They simply need to make fans aware that the movie is available. The same is true with your podcast. It is much easier to keep current listeners than it is to attract new ones. When podcasters reach out to me for their free strategy session, they answer a few questions before we get on the call. One question I ask is, "In what ways do you need help with your podcast." Of all the applications I receive, at least 80% include growing their audience. Most want to discover ways to drive traffic to their podcast. Growing your audience to increase downloads is usually somewhere in our goals regardless of the length of time we have been podcasting. You're not alone. Trying to drive traffic isn't clear cut and doesn't happen overnight. There are a few nuances in the terms we need to understand before we can drive traffic. CURRENT VS NEW The first thing we need to understand is there are two sides of the equation. To drive traffic, you need to attract new listeners while keeping your current listeners coming back. If you are only attracting new listeners without doing anything to keep your current listeners, it is like putting water in a bucket that has holes in the bottom. The more you put in, the more that leaks out. You never make gains. Instead, keep your current listeners coming back. Then, add new listeners to those already at the party. This is how you grow. LISTENERS VS SUBSCRIBERS We need to understand the difference between listeners and subscribers if we want to drive traffic. When your listeners don't convert into subscribers, you need to go find those listeners for every new episode and get new listeners in order to drive traffic. However when you convert those listeners into subscribers, they automatically get the new episode on their phone as long as they continue to listen and continue to subscribe or follow. DOWNLOADS VS LISTENS We also need to understand the difference between a download and a listen. When your phone downloads your episode, that counts as a download regardless if you've listened or not. Now, an IAB download is a little different than a download. IAB is short for Interactive Advertising Bureau. An IAB download removes any IP address or user agent that is on a blacklist. It also ensures at least one minute of playable content is downloaded. Your IAB downloads will be lower than your regular download number. Either way, a person doesn't need to actually listen to be counted as a download. Listens count those users who actually pushed play on your episode. Your podcast name and description get people interested enough to download your show. The name of your episode will get people to push play. Therefore, don't call your episode "Episode 72". That will not entice anyone to push play. Plus, nobody is searching for "Episode 72". Give your episode an exciting title that creates some anticipation and makes the listener push play. If they stop listening, their podcast player will usually stop downloading episodes after a few episodes. This number is set in the podcast player. To drive traffic, get your audience to listen. When they listen, episodes will continue to download for them. CONSISTENCY The other thing we need to understand in order to drive traffic is consistency and patience. It takes both to drive traffic. You want to get your listeners in the habit of listening to your show. In 1960, Dr. Maxwell Maltz said it takes patients "a minimum of about 21 days for an old image to dissolve and a new one to jell." Dr. Maltz published that theory and his thoughts on behavior change in a book called Psycho-Cybernetics. As with many quotes, over the years it was taken out of context. The stat was eventually quoted as, "It takes 21 days to form a new habit," leaving out the important "minimum". A study at University College London and published in the European Journal of Social Psychology says it takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit. That is why consistency and accountability are important. If you want people to remember your brand, it takes frequency to the target. DRIVE TRAFFIC LIKE MCDONALD'S In radio, we talk about top-of-mind awareness. Brand advertising is designed to help make brands memorable. When Coca-Cola runs their brand advertising campaigns, they don't expect you to drop everything you are doing and run to the store to buy Coke. When McDonald's creates their branding commercials, they don't think you will suddenly turn around and pull into a drive-thru. These brands are creating top-of-mind awareness. These companies want to be the first brand you think of when you are hungry or thirsty. When you pull into a quickie mart for a drink, they want you to think Coke. When you ask your kids where they want to grab a bit to eat, they say McNuggets from McDonald's. It is all about top-of-mind awareness to build your brand and drive traffic. How many brands of toothpaste can you name? Quick, off the top of your head. How many come to mind? You can probably name the toothpaste brand you use and the one you use when your favorite isn't available. Maybe one more. Unless you work in a grocery store, you can probably list 2 or 3. A quick search of the internet shows there are actually 49 brands of toothpaste. How about Gleem, or Mentadent, or Close-Up? That list simply includes brands. There are multiple varieties within each brand. When I checked the Crest toothpaste website, I saw 60 different varieties of Crest that were available. The only way for a brand to win is to create top-of-mind awareness. When people think of your niche, do they think of you? Are you in the top two? DAILY EMAIL I send an email everyday to my list. Every email contains a tip that will help you drive traffic to your podcast, improve your show, or grow your business. Each email typically ends with an offer to get more help. Some people think I'm crazy sending an email everyday. They think if they send a daily email, people will unsubscribe. First, people will stay subscribed when you send value like I do. Second, people that unsubscribe aren't your ideal client anyway. The primary reason I send a daily email is for top-of-mind awareness. When people on my list think of podcasting, I want them to think of me. Then when they are ready to solve a problem where I can help, they reach out to me for a strategy call to build their plan and reach their goals. Your top-of-mind awareness doesn't happen overnight. It takes consistent work. The same work it takes to drive traffic, increase downloads, and grow your audience. HOW TO DRIVE TRAFFIC As I mentioned, there are two sides of the equation when it comes to growing your audience. You need to attract new listeners. Then, you need to keep your current listeners coming back episode after episode. There are different tactics you can use to drive traffic on each side of the equation. You don't need to use all of these ideas. But, it's like multiple streams of income. The more you use, the less reliant you are on any particular tactic. When you use multiple methods to drive traffic, you won't get crushed if one particular method goes away or dries up. It is similar to when COVID hit. If all of your traffic was coming from live events, that tactic dried up. You would be stuck. However if you were using live events and virtual events, you would still be able to drive traffic when all of the live events went away. I would suggest you use at least one on each side of the equations. Two or three will insulate you from big changes in any particular tactic. Let's start with attracting new listeners. DRIVE TRAFFIC WITH OTHER STAGES If you want to drive traffic, you need to get in front of new audiences. Find other stages. A stage is defined as any time you can get in front of an audience. This could be a live, physical stage such as a conference. It could be a virtual stage, such as a summit or presenting to a mastermind. Getting on another stage could also mean being interviewed on another podcast. Where are your ideal clients already gathering? Those are the stages where you need to appear. To drive traffic, reach out to the people who control those stages, and ask what it takes to appear at their event. DRIVE TRAFFIC WITH ENGAGEMENT Being in front of your ideal clients and other experts isn't enough to drive traffic. You need to create engagement and get people to take action. Leave feedback for other shows. Everybody loves attention. The best way to grow your network is by making contact with others. Start by commenting on podcasts, blogs and discussions of other influencers. Don't simply be a lurker, reading all the other posts. Get involved. Take action. You want to be seen as someone who gets things done. By taking action and engaging with others, you send the message that you are active. You will get seen by more by commenting on other posts rather than creating your own posts. Find conversations with a lot of comments and comment there. When you comment on others posts, everyone who has already posted will get notified of your comment. However when you create your own post, you need to start from zero to attract attention. DRIVE TRAFFIC BY NETWORKING You can also drive traffic by directly networking with other influencers. Find those who have the attention of your ideal client. Network with other shows talking to the listeners you want to attract. Help each other. Find people in your niche who compliment what you do. Team up to help each other grow. Look for ways to share each other's content. If you know where your audience congregates, that would be a good place to look for them. There is a good chance others in your niche are talking to the people you would like to reach. Start making friends. Start by commenting on their podcast. Send the host questions for their show. Become a familiar name. Depending on the level of engagement the host receives from her audience, you will become a familiar name after some regular engagement. Once you are on the radar, reach out with an introduction e-mail or message. Ask how you might help. Give first. See where it goes from there. HELP OTHERS On the other side of the equation, we need to keep your current listeners coming back again and again. Start by helping your listeners. Do Facebook Live "ask me anything" sessions. Prove that you are willing to help them achieve their goals. Give them direction. If you become the go-to resource who knows where to find the answers, you become the de facto guru in your space. Answer questions on your podcast. Reply to email. Give them resources even if they are not your resources. One resource I share is the 60-second blog planner that I use to organize my content. I got it from Ryan Deiss at Digital Marketer. It is fantastic. The planner helps ensure I use a variety of topics, I know what call to action I will make on the show, and what type of episode it will be. If you would like it, just shoot me an email at coach @ podcasttalentcoach.com. When you are a resource for your audience, they will keep coming back. BE SOCIAL Next, use social media to spread your message and drive traffic. Be active on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or any other social platform you love. The people that follow you on social media are already aware of you. This is not a strategy to attract new listeners. Consistently interact with others on social media. Avoid always asking. Offer to help. Don't simply look around. Get involved. Be active. Have you ever had that person in your life who would only call when they needed something? You know who I mean. They need money or they want an introduction or they need a ride. You don't want to be that person online. Social media is a great place to grow relationships. If your activity is all one-sided, it will be very difficult to build friendships. Connect on social media and remind your fans to listen to your podcast. DRIVE TRAFFIC WITH EMAIL To drive traffic and keep your current listeners coming back every episode, send them an email and remind them to listen. Create a process you can follow every time you publish a new episode. This should include sending out an email and giving your list a reason to listen. Your email should be more than just telling them the episode is available. Tease them and create some anticipation. Pique their curiosity. Make them want to listen to the episode to hear the rest of the story. DRIVE TRAFFIC WITH YOUR CONTENT Finally, you can keep listeners coming back every episode by teasing the next show at the end of every episode. Plan ahead. At the end of the show, tell listeners what to expect on the next episode. Again, you want to make this a tease and not simply a promotion. Saying, "We'll talk about how to drive traffic next week" is promoting what is coming next week. It doesn't create any anticipation. When I say, "Next week you'll discover how to drive traffic like McDonald's and Coke" it creates some anticipation and an open loop. You need to come back to get the rest of the story. That's the difference between promoting and teasing. Create anticipation and get your listeners to come back next week. Take consistent action this week. Pick a few of these strategies and put them to work for you. Let's see what you can do to drive traffic to your podcast. If you don't have a mentor who can take your hand and walk you every step of the way, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals.

Many coaches wonder if they should start a podcast, be a guest on other podcasts, or create a YouTube channel. They treat each platform the same. Each of these three content platforms serve a different purpose and get a different result. This topic came up twice in conversations this week. In one chat, I was talking with the guy who will be running my summit this fal. He mentioned that he was doing another summit for an expert who teaches people how to be a guest on other podcasts. He said, "Let those hosts pay Erik to learn how to start a podcast and do all the work. She will just teach you how to be a guest." Being a guest has its place. But being a guest and having your own podcast are two completely different strategies with two completely different purposes. He clearly didn't understand the benefit you receive when you start a podcast. And many don't have a strategy to success when they do start. Before we discuss why small businesses should start a podcast, let's talk about the difference between these three strategies. DISCOVERY YouTube is one of the largest search engines in the world. Being on YouTube will help you get discovered. People visit YouTube and enter their challenge. "How to start a podcast." "Homemade pesticide for my garden." "Low-cost marketing ideas." They come up with a ton of results. However, most people watch the video without much attention to the person or channel creating the video. People don't subscribe often. YouTube has neither published the number of YouTube channels on its platform. Tim Queen manually researched the number of channels using open-source intelligence methods and data from various sources. He says there are roughly 113.9 million YouTube channels as of July 29, 2022. A Tubics article puts that number at 51 million as of 2022. According to Wyzowl, around 3.7m new videos are uploaded to YouTube every day. That's around 271,330 hours of video content based on an average length of 4.4 minutes. Research done by Backlinko reveals that YouTube has 2 billion active users. This figure only measures users who are logged into the platform. The actual number is likely much higher. You will get discovered on YouTube. RELATIONSHIPS When you start a podcast, you begin building relationships and rapport with your listeners. People subscribe to your podcast and spend time with you every week on a regular basis. It is like a personal conversation. You are in their ear creating visions in the theater of the mind. Podcasting is a very powerful, intimate relationships. When you release content, it shows up in the feed of your subscribers. This allows you to strengthen your relationship every week. Where YouTube gets you discovered, your podcast allows you to build rapport. PODCAST GUEST So, where does podcast guesting fit in? I am currently working with a client to shape her story. She tells me she doesn't want to start a podcast. She just wants to be a guest on other shows. She has partnered with an agency who will interview her on a streaming show over 5 episodes. They will host her show for her, and she will be the featured guest. This is basically hosting her own show on this platform. But, we can take the concept and get her on other shows to continue to grow. Eventually, I hope she will see the benefit her own hosted shows brings to her business. When you are a guest on a podcast, you are leveraging the attention build by another host. However, you can't build much of a relationship in a 45 minute interview. Being a guest on another podcast will help you get discovered. When you partner with podcast hosts already speaking to your idea client, you get discovered by new prospects. Being a guest differs from YouTube discovery in terms of credibility. When you are a guest on another show, it is an implied endorsement from that host. The host has built a relationship with the audience. They are now introducing you to their friends. You benefit by association with the host. That benefit doesn't exist with YouTube. However, the potential YouTube audience is much bigger. WHICH SHOULD YOU USE When it comes to selecting the right strategy for you, I suggest you do all three. Leverage the mass usage of YouTube by posting videos and getting discovered. Be a guest on other podcasts to benefit from the endorsement of other influencers. Finally, start a podcast of your own to build the relationship and rapport with your ideal clients and lead them down the path to working with you. It is most efficient when you begin by recording your podcast on video. Use the audio for the actual podcast. You the video, either clips or the full version, for your YouTube channel. By repurposing the content, you save a lot of time. 5 REASONS TO START A PODCAST There are five reasons every small business should start a podcast. Again, use all three strategies if you have the bandwidth in your week. They each serve a different purpose. Having your own podcast has big benefits in a variety of ways. Let's look at each reason to start a podcast. AUTHORITY When you have your own podcast, you control all of the content. This allows you to build authority in your niche. The topics, guests, structure, stories and examples are all up to you. You get to craft the message and how you are perceived. Your content and stories will demonstrate your expertise in your space. This will help listeners understand your knowledge of your topic. To be an influencer in your space, very few platforms can match the effectiveness of a podcast. If you want to get hired for speeches or contacted as an expert for an article, you can direct people to your podcast to experience your knowledge and presentation. This is similar to the power of a book. When you start a podcast, it gives you credibility. OFFERS The second reason every business should start a podcast is offers. Your podcast is a great platform to showcase your goods and services. You can teach, share and help. Then, you can make an offer to go deeper with you. Your podcast can be like a webinar without the salesy feel. The content and benefit gets dripped out every episode to build upon each other over time. Eventually, you buyer is ready to engage with you. Imagine how hard it would be to get someone to attend a webinar with you every week. It is much easier to invite them to subscribe to your podcast. On your podcast, you can help them solve challenges. You can show them the outcome and transformation you provide. Your podcast allows you to answer questions and get good at communicating your benefits. Then, you can make an offer to your audience, so they can get more of that benefit by working with you. BUILD RAPPORT The third reason to start a podcast is the relationships and rapport. Only 3% of your market is buying now. Another 7% could be convinced to buy today. I mentioned this on a group coaching call the other night. One participant said that didn't sound right. She said, "I've been at conferences where the speaker makes an offer and half the room runs to the tables in the back to buy. That's a lot more than 3%." I said, "You're right. But, that room doesn't represent the entire market." Let's say a podcast coach is giving a presentation on monetizing your podcast. At the end, he makes an offer to join his coaching program and build your podcast profits framework. 50 of the 100 people in the room go back and buy. Does that mean 50% of the market just bought? No. It means 50% of the people in the room bought. There are nearly 4 million podcasters today. On average, 3% of those are looking for a solution today. Only 50 were in the room. WHO IS BUYING The 7% I mentioned aren't thinking about buying. But when they see the offer, they consider the purchase. 30% aren't in the market today. If you're selling cars, I'm not in the market today. However, I will be in the market a year from now. The timing isn't right. 30% don't think they are in the market today. They need more information. If you sell mattresses, I'm not in the market today. When you educate me that the average mattress wears out in 8 years and I've had mine for 15, I'm suddenly in the market. The final 30% aren't in your market. Maybe you sell PCs and they are a Mac users. It is going to be difficult to persuade these prospect to buy from you. Not impossible, but challenging. If you are only selling in your content, you are missing 90% of your market. You need to spend quality time building a relationship and educating that 90% so when they are ready to buy they think of you. If you and I have been having meaningful, useful conversations for a year about car buying, I'm coming to you when it is time to buy a car. YouTube gets you discovered. It doesn't help you build relationships. Being a guest on other shows will get you discovered. It doesn't help you build relationships. When you start a podcast of your own, you build rapport and relationships with your ideal clients in your audience. CONNECTIONS The fourth reason to start a podcast is to build connection. Have you ever wished you could have powerful conversations with experts, influencers and mentors? If you have ever asked a mentor to lunch or for the opportunity to pick their brain, you know how challenging it can be to get them to give up their time. However when you invite them on your podcast, they are typically honored to be featured. They see the benefit. When I worked with Zoe Routh, the only reason she had a podcast was to open doors to CEOs who wouldn't normally take her cold call. This allowed her the opportunity to start a relationship with a decision maker before ever talking business. Your podcast allows you to connect with others. You can connect with potential partners. It will allow you to have conversations with mentors. When you interview people on your podcast, you get to talk with high-ticket clients who wouldn't normally take your cold call. LEGACY Finally, the fifth reason every business should start a podcast is to leave a legacy. You are creating something that can last a lifetime. When you start a podcast, you are documenting your journey. You can let your kids experience where you've been and enjoy your story. A podcast will help you make your mark on the world. You may not have a million listeners. But, you will leave a mark on those that do listen. If you haven't started your podcast yet and want to see what it's all about, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/launch to get my free launch mini-course. It will show you the exact steps necessary to start a podcast. I would love to help you along the way. Your first step is the launch mini-course. It is much easier than you think. You can start a podcast in 30 days just by following the steps in that free course. Again, you can access the course for free at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/launch.

HOW TO ATTRACT YOUR IDEAL CLIENTS Don't just create content. Create content to attract your best listeners. As you work to grow your coaching business, find those prospects that are perfect for your services. RAMIT SETHI I was listening to "I Will Teach You To Be Rich" by Ramit Sethi. He helps couples with their finances and helps them get out of debt. I've been following Ramit since 2012. Over the years, I got a good feel for the content he shared. So when I started listening to his podcast, I expected the show to be something like Dave Ramsey. People struggling to get out of dept and find financial peace. However, Ramit's guests seemed to already be rich and successful. Here are the titles of some of his latest episodes. Guilt-free travel: How to plan, save and spend on amazing vacations I'm about to make $300k but we might have to live in our car We're worth $1.25M, so why is he afraid to get a $15 gym membership? We make $280,000. Why does he keep shooting down my dreams? I make $33,000/month. He makes $3,500. When is he going to step it up? Please understand I do not have any vested interest in Ramit's content or programs. I am not an affiliate. This is not intended to promote his material. It is just a solid example of attracting your best listeners. WHO YOU ATTRACT After listening to a few episodes. I started to see a pattern. Ramit would interview wealthy individuals, which I though was odd. He was trying to teach wealthy people how to be rich. It didn't make sense on the surface. It wasn't until this most recent episode when I realized what Ramit is trying to accomplish. Ramit is creating content for the exact individuals he wants to attract. His goal is to help wealthy people invest their money and be more successful. Broke people don't have money. Wealthy people have a lot of it. Ramit wants to attract wealthy individuals, because there is more upside for his business. They can afford what he has to offer. START WITH A TARGET It is now obvious listening to the show that Ramit is very specific on who he wants to attract. If you create content for broke people, you're going to attract broke people. Instead, find people with a little momentum who can pay for your high-end offer. Attract those people. When you're creating content, start with the end in mind. Who can you help best and most in your business and with your service? Who needs what you offer AND can afford to pay what you're worth? Your ideal client should have three characteristics. First they should want what you offer. Second they should be able to benefit from what you offer. (It will work for them.) Third they should be willing and able to pay for what you offer. Those that need what you offer, but can't afford to pay, can benefit from your free stuff. You don't need to attract everyone. You just need to attract the right people... the best listeners. Get clear on who you attract with my ideal target listener development Worksheet. You can download it at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/listener. Get perfectly clear on your target listeners, and focus on attracting that single individual. SALES CONVERSATION Once you've identified your ideal client, the second step is to invite them to a sales conversation. What can you put in their hand to show them the power of working with you? This will be your powerful lead magnet. The ideal way to create a lead magnet used to peel off small piece of your high-end offer. Help them solve one single specific problem, and open their eyes to the need for more. CONTENT Now that you have your lead magnet to lead them to the sales conversation, what content can you create on your show to open their eyes to the need for the lead magnet? Your content needs to show them what's possible. Demonstrate the transformation your service provides to your best listeners. AIM HIGH Ramit has no preconceived notions about his ideal client. Many people think wealthy people have no problems. Ramit knows that is not the case. He shows wealthy people how to manage their money and keep more of it. Then he offers to enroll them in one of his coaching program. Many financial coaches would make the mistake of thinking wealthy people don't need coaching help. Ramit knows this is not the case, and he demonstrates that on his show. He interviews wealthy people and talks about their struggles and problems. The wealthy listeners of the say, "That sounds just like me." Then they reach out to Ramit for help as well. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY We all think we want as many clients as we can get. The truth is we only need a handful of the right clients to create a very successful business that generates a lot of revenue. It takes as much time and effort to close a $25,000 client as it does to close a $250 client. You still have the same phone calls, the same emails, the same headaches, the same bookkeeping, and the same back-and-forth. If you can show your potential client the transformation that you offer, and it's worth 10 times what you're charging for it, you will find people to pay. Spend your week finding two clients to pay you $25,000 each instead of trying to find 100 clients that will pay you $500 each. The outcome is $50,000 in each case. However, The two high-ticket clients are your best listeners and easier to serve. When you create content for a highly successful individual like this, it attracts many more. The less successful people want to be successful, so they listen. And successful people want to be more successful, so they listen. When you create content for less successful people, the less successful people will listen. They want to solve their problems. But the highly successful people have no use for it and don't listen. You are missing your best listeners.. RESEARCH WITH BEST LISTENERS So how do you know what successful people need? Have conversations with your best listeners. Do market research. Ask them about their challenges and struggles. Discuss their pain points. Ask them about their fears, their hopes, their desires, and their dreams. When you have 20 conversations with your best listeners, they will tell you exactly what they need, and how you can help them. They become your best clients. You will then know what content to create, what sort of lead magnet to develop, and what sort of sales conversation to have. You can now help them achieve their dreams and goals. MY FIRST CLIENTS When I first began coaching, I was charging $307 a month for four phone calls. I had no idea what to charge and thought that sounded good. It was no surprise that I was closing nearly every sales call I had. My coach told me I was crazy. She encourged me to increase that quite a bit. I only bumped it up a little. Today, my Podcast Profits Concierge Program is my high-end program. It is designed for successful coaches who are frustrated with their ineffective podcast. They don't have the time to spend on a podcast that isn't attracting clients. In this program, I help them refine their content to attract their ideal clients. Then, my team handles all of their production tasks to free up their time to land more clients. Just think how many more clients they could land. If they are spending 2 hours a week producing their show, and they produce a weekly podcast, that is 8 hours a month. They could save nearly 100 hours a year. How many clients could you land if you spent an extra 100 hours a year having sales conversations? This program is $20,000 a year, because it delivers a valuable outcome. OVERCOMING THE DOUBT You are probably thinking you could never sell a $20,000 program. That little voice was in my head as well. My coach encouraged me to increase the value, demonstrate the outcome, and raise the price. So, I did. When I started offering this $20,000 program, I closed the first sale during my third sales call. It all happened because I found the right person with the right pain points and demonstrated the value. GET STARTED Get started attracting your best listeners by getting focused. Get the Listener Development Worksheet at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/listener. Complete the worksheet, and get hyper-focused on your best listeners. Then, create content specifically for that person. If you don't have a mentor who can take your hand and walk you every step of the way, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals.

AS A CONTENT CREATOR, WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION? Creating great content begins with strong topics. And strong topics come from inspiration. Inspiration is available in many areas of life. In this episode, you will discover 7 ways to inspire you with great content ideas. PASSION Before you begin looking for ideas and inspiration, ensure you are passionate about your topic. If you are not a fanatic about your niche, you'll find it difficult to create any content. When you are passionate about your niche, content ideas tend to flow naturally. You can't create content simply because you think others will enjoy it. The idea well runs dry when you chase the passion of other. Don't worry about what others love. To be interesting, be interested. Talk about ideas that stir your passion. TWO ELEMENTS OF INSPIRATION Before you begin creating content ideas, you need to remember the two critical elements of great content. First, everything interesting is about people. When you create content, it cannot be information alone. How does the infomration affect your listeners? Make it about people. Next, tell stories. Let people get to know you and your guest through the stories that you tell. When I first started interviewing bands and musicians on the radio, I would ask the typical questions. It would be about the album release date, when they are on the road, and how long they worked on the new record. One day I was listening to our morning show interview a band. He got the band to tell some great stories that had me sitting in my car until the interview was over. That's when I realized it wasn't about the information. It was about the stories. Sure, it's important to talk about your guest's new book or course. But your listeners want to hear the stories. Engage with great stories. I have a resource that will help you get great stories from your guests. It is called "17 Most Powerful Podcast Interview Questions Ever". You can download it for free at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/interview. LIFE The first way to find content inspiration is to take notice of the things that happen in life that pique your interest. JOURNAL The next way to find content ideas and inspiration is to Journal at the end of the day. What did you learn or discover? What story can you tell from today? QUESTIONS One strategy I use to find content inspiration is searching through Facebook groups to see what questions are being asked. ARTICLES About 20 years ago, my radio coach taught me how to take any article and turn it into dozens of content ideas. Take an article from anywhere. I've selected one from the October 2022 issue of USA Hockey magazine called, "Pucks With A Purpose". Here is the opening paragraph. "As one of the two preeminent powers in women's hockey, she knew her responsibility as the general manager was more than simply winning games and Olympic medals. It was about establishing a culture that would help to continue to grow the game and create oppoprtunities for young girls around the country." Step two is to highlight any words and phrases that capture your attention and pique your interest. Here are the lines words that caught my eye. Preeminent powers. Her responsibility. More than simply winning. Establishing a culture. Grow the game. Create oppoprtunities. Opportunities for young girls. Next, apply those words to your niche. I am creating content to help podcasters create a more effective show. Here is how I turn each of these phrases into a content idea. Preeminent powers becomes "The most influential forces in podcasting." Her responsibility becomes "What is our responsibility as podcast hosts?" More than simply winning becomes "Success is more than downloads." Establishing a culture becomes "How to create culture with your podcast." Grow the game becomes "How to grow the podcasting game." Create oppoprtunities becomes "Creating opportunities for podcasters." Opportunities for young girls becomes "Getting more young women into podcasting." I now have 7 episode ideas from the first paragraph of an article. Even if only half are decent ideas, that still gives me three or four episodes or content posts. And, I still have the rest of the article to spark ideas. Remember, the article doesn't need to come from your niche. That's what makes this strategy so powerful. Have fun with this one. PROMPTS To find content inspiration, use a variety of prompts to inspire you. There are at least ten that I use frequently. How did you get into your field? How does your expertise help people? What do you love about it? How can people get started? Tell me about the first time you did it. Describe the best time. When was the craziest time? What are some of the things you didn't know when you started? If you were starting again, what is the first thing you'd do? Who inspired you the most? All of these prompts can spark inspiration and story. Remember, everything interesting is about people. BOOK TITLES Book titles are a great resource for inspiration. Looking at the popularity of a book on Amazon can tell you how hot the topic is. Find your niche on Amazon, look at the top sellers, and use those titles to brainstorm content ideas. SIX POWERFUL AREAS In radio, we always tried to include content in each of six areas. Those six areas are health, heart, money, time, safety, and local. What can people do in each of these areas to have more success in their life? You may think "local" doesn't pertain to your niche. However, anything can be local. Just because it is a global topic doesn't mean you can't make it local. Just answer the question, "What's in it for me?" If you are talking about artificial intelligence, how can that affect me locally? Does it affect how kids write papers for school? How does it affect jobs at your local newspaper? Is the information kiosk at the airport still relevant? THE WRONG SIZE I was in the store the other day looking for a torsion spring. Do you know what a torsion spring is? Neither did I. The spring on my hockey target broke. I remove the spring off the second target and took it to the store to find a replacement. When I showed the guy what I needed, he pulled it up on his computer and ordered it. 3 days later, the spring arrived. I went to the store to get it. It was the wrong size. We went through the process again. He measured the length, thickness and diameter. Then he entered the info in the computer and ordered a different spring. 3 days later, the spring arrived. I went to the store to get it. And, it was the wrong size again. The manager finally told me to go home, sit on the couch with my computer, and search the internet for a spring that matched the one I needed. If the artificial intelligence of Google will solve my problem, why do I need the guy behind the counter at the local store? That's how you make a global topic local. PICK ONE There are seven ways to find content inspiration. Select the one that you find most interesting and can do most consistently. Give it a try for three or four episodes to see how it works for you. If it doesn't work, try another. Ideas are everywhere. You simply need to be aware and notice the things that capture your attention. Everything interesting is about people. And to be interesting, be interested. Engage by telling stories. If you don't have a mentor who can take your hand and walk you every step of the way, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals.

Do you feel like you're always editing a podcast? You're an expert in your niche. You don't need to spend all of your time editing. Live in your zone of genius. On this episode, I want to give you some tips about editing a podcast. There are five steps to producing a podcast each week. Those steps are plan, record, edit, publish and promote. You need to do these steps for every episode. But, you don't need to do these steps every week. What you need is a system. Let's see how you can save time in each of those areas to make your system more efficient and give you more time to work with your clients. GET HELP First, let me show you an option. You can always get someone to do all of the dirty work for you. How much time do you spend each week creating your podcast? If you could cut your podcast production time in half or more, how could you better spend the time you save? You could spend time finding clients. Use the time to serve your clients better. Spend time creating more digital products to sell. Double down on your promotion time to grow your show and your business. Let's do some quick math. Take the time you spend each week producing your show. Divide that time by two. Now, multiply that time by four for the four weeks in the month. If you dedicated those hours to revenue generation, how much money do you think you could make? Could you find a few clients to pay you each month by reallocating that time? When you do that every month for a year, how much more revenue would you generate for your business? My team can produce your podcast every week and give you that time back. In addition to the editing, you get coaching with me to improve the effectiveness of your content to grow your business. EDITING A PODCAST The editing and coaching plan will make your show sound great. You record the episode and send the team your audio and video. My team handles the rest. You simply show up and perform. With coaching and editing, you get professional audio editing. The team takes your audio and does the editing. They include noise reduction, volume leveling, mixing and mastering. You will sound great. We will put all of the pieces together, including adding your open and close. We'll put in any sound effects and transitions. You get the finished .mp3 ready to be posted. But, we handle that too. The team uploads your podcast to your audio host. Don't worry about it. You also get professional video editing. The show was recorded as a video. The audio is being used as your podcast. The video can be posted on YouTube to get you discovered. Video editing includes creating your YouTube thumbnail, so your video is ready to be uploaded to your YouTube account. Yep, we handle that too. The team gets your podcast uploaded to your YouTube channel. On top of that, my team will take care of your show notes. How much time do you spend writing show notes? We got you covered. PROMOTION ASSETS Now, we need to promote the show. So, My team also creates an audiogram for you from your show. This is a short clip of audio from the podcast over a graphic representing the episode. You can use this on your social media sites. You will also receive a captioned social media video from your video to help you grow your audience and attract more clients. To make your content stronger and more effective in growing your business, you also get two 60-minute group coaching calls with me each month. We build your podcast profits framework. You get to ask questions and get the help you need. Plus, you get full access to the Podcast Profits Accelerator membership that provides powerful tools and videos to help you succeed. You can spend your time editing a podcast. Or, you can spend your time working with clients and generating revenue. The editing package is just $750 per month for four episodes and videos along with all of the supporting assets. If we go back to the math you just did, how much revenue do you think you could generate if you dedicated those editing, producing, publishing, and promoting hours to revenue generation? You can see the full details and enroll to work with me and my team at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/editing. Imagine what you could do with all of that time back. Let's get started. PLAN Now, if you decide to continue doing it on your own, find ways to save time. The first of the five steps is plan. It takes time to get ready to do each step. For instance when you are ready to record, it takes time to set up the gear, open the program, adjust your mic and headphones, find your production pieces, get in the right mindset, make sure you have some water and all of the other details. On the surface, it doesn't seem like a lot of time. I bet if you were to time the set up prep time and the time it takes you to shut it all down, you would be surprised that it is probably around 15 minutes. YOUR TIME Next time you are ready to record an episode, time it. Start the clock as soon as you decide to record the episode. Let's say at 2 you decide it's time to head in and record. As soon as you get off the couch and start walking toward the mic, the clock starts. It stops as soon as you hit record. As soon as you have saved the file and finished the session, start the clock again. It stops when you turn off the light and leave the room. The total of those two periods is at least 15 minutes. Four episodes a month is costing you an hour in set up and tear down. If you record all four episodes in one session, you only set up and tear down once. You just saved 45 minutes in your month. This is just one example. The more you can batch your work like this, the more time you will save. Remember, you don't have to do any of these steps at the same time. You don't have to record and edit in the same sitting. You are better off recording four episodes at the same time and then editing all four at another time. Doing the same actions together is where you will save time. CONTENT Planning your episode creation is critical when saving time. Break up planning into four parts. Then, do each part for multiple episodes at the same time. Find the time in your day and week when you are most creative. For some of us that is morning. Others do best at night. Some are better on a weekday at lunch. Others find their creative muse on Sunday mornings. Find your right time. The first part of content planning is creating topics. Spend ten minutes brainstorming as many topics for your podcast as possible. Shoot for 50 different topics. What does your audience what to learn? If you interview guests, who can help you teach them that topic? The second part is selecting your ideal five. Pick five of the 50 topics that you would like to build out as episodes. These could have a theme or they could stand alone. Your choice. Part three of content planning is outlining each episode. For each topic, list three to seven points you could discuss on this topic. Finally the fourth part is adding important details to each point. This episode is a perfect example. I am covering five areas where you can save time. That was the outline I started to build out. Each of the five areas have a few important details, like these four steps of planning. With your planning, you now have five episodes ready to be recorded. You don't have to fight writer's block trying to figure out what this week's episode will be all about. Grab the outline and start recording. RECORD The next step in your process is recording. There are a few ways to save time when you record. We already discussed the idea of saving set up and tear down time by recording multiple episodes at the same time. This is a big time saver. You can also save time recording by setting up a studio that doesn't need to be dismantled each time. If you can swing it, removing the need to set up and tear down can make you more efficient. Finally, you can save time recording interviews by preparing your guest ahead of time. I do not mean you should provide them the questions. Before your interview, you should give them a recording checklist to minimize the time it takes to troubleshoot their tech issues. EDIT You now have your show recorded. If you are using my editing services, you can stop here. You're done. Everything else is being handled by my team. If you're still spending your time editing, let's find ways to save you more time. Editing is probably the area where you can save the most time. The first thing you should do is stop worrying about saying uh and um so much. Very few people notice. It is natural in most conversation. Make it easy to locate your editing points. If there is something you know you want to edit out of your show, leave a short gap of five to ten seconds. This will allow you to visually find your edit. Create a palate for your show. If there are things you use for each episode, such as your open and close, put those pieces in a place you can find quickly each time you edit. Create a system to organize your audio so you can easily find it. We typically inhale before we start speaking. There is a tip you can use to make your edits unnoticable. When you are creating an edit, keep the original inhale. Let's say you're talking, you end a sentence, and begin the next. You suddenly mess up. You start that sentence over and continue on. Now you need to make that edit. Keep the inhale before the original sentence that was messed up. Delete up to the start of the new, correct sentence removing the new inhale. It will sound much more natural. Edit your video first. Then, import the video into your audio editor. You've already done the hard work editing the video. Just use that audio as your podcast adding in your show open and any other necessary podcast elements. I use Hindenburg as my audio software. Some others don't accept video files. Investing in some good, flexible software can save you a ton of time. Finally, create a checklist. This will allow you to know quickly which pieces need to be completed each and every time. You just follow the process. PUBLISH Step four is publishing your episode to your audio host and publishing your video to your YouTube channel. Again, my team is handling this for you if you're using my editing services at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/editing. When it comes to publishing your episode, what do you do each and every time that can be streamlined? I have created a template for my episode artwork. I can easily populate the template for each episode. It saves a ton of time. Create a show note template that you can fill in with the critical information your audience needs. Repurpose your show prep and outline for your show notes. Show notes take a lot of time. Find ways to give your listener what she needs in your show notes without spending a full day on it. Ask yourself why a listener might come to your show notes in the first place. Put that in there. Then, add some content that will attract search engines. To save time, create a process that is easy to follow. PROMOTE The final step is promoting your show. Create the right elements. When it comes to promoting your show, create a consistent way to get the podcast in front of new listeners while reminding current listeners to come back. Don't try to do everything. Start by doing the things that will make a difference. Use the 80/20 rule when it comes to promoting your show. If you get more listeners by appearing on other shows, spend your time there. If Twitter isn't where your audience hangs out, don't waste your time. Take some time to list the 20% of your promotion activities that make up 80% of the results. Do those things and eliminate the others. GET RID OF IT You can remove all of the editing headache from your weekly "to do" list and have my team help. Let my team produce your podcast every week and give you back time to work with clients and generate revenue for your business. You can see your editing options at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/editing. Do you need help with your podcast? E-mail me any time at Coach@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let's see what we can do. Let's turn your information into engaging entertainment.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR PODCAST INTERVIEWS I was listening to a podcast interview today and got caught up in the nuances of the interview rather than enjoying the conversation. It inspired me to share with you these 7 ways to create better podcast interviews. Podcast Talent Coach was created to help coaches create better content. I saw so many podcasters struggling to create an effective show, because they didn't know what they didn't know. In 2009, I started listening to a lot of podcasts. At the time, there were about 80,000 podcasts. Many of them were hobby podcasts. I had been coaching radio hosts for over two decades while programming various radio stations and building winning shows. As I listened to these podcasts, I thought, "If only these hosts used a few of the tactics we use in radio, their shows would be much more effective at attracting an audience and growing their business." That's when I started coaching podcasters. Over the years, I really started to focus on coaches and information experts. How can we create powerful content to build relationships with our audience and convert those listeners into clients? This is what we had been doing in radio since the late 80s. Now it was time to help these experts do the same with their podcasts. THE INTERVIEW STRUGGLE The show today was making a lot of little mistakes. And, it probably wasn't his fault. He most likely had no one to show him the right way. That interview inspired this episode. I don't want to see you make the same mistakes. You have a powerful show that can grow your business if you create the episodes the right way. I will share some specific examples with you. However, I don't want to reveal the name of the podcast in order to protect his identity. It is not my intention to criticize him. I simply want to help you improve. So, let's get into the 7 ways to improve your podcast interviews. PURPOSE First, know the one thing you want to accomplish. This particular interview meandered through a variety of questions with no real purpose. This podcast is about building a business and creating great content. Here is the order of his questions. Was there a point where you decided to become more popular? How did the shift of balance of work happen? When do you have time to create so much content? How do you have so much time in the day? If you had a different life partner, would it have changed you? (Guest says he won't speak in terms of "have to".) Should single entrepreneurs focus on themselves and not try to have balance? (Again, guest says he won't use the word "should".) How do you find the right partner? Is there a financial number you have in your head that will satisfy you? What is the dumbest thing you've ever spent your money on? Is your brain that analytical when you do anything? Why are you so bullish on AI? What are the basic entry-level jobs when AI is taking them? What do you think of the future of the race if everyone is perfect? What are things people should let go of? (For a third time, the guest says he won't tell anyone what they "should" do.) What is the one thing people shouldn't delegate? (Again, the guest says he won't "should" on anyone.) Do you think people should find a career they're passionate about? (For the fifth time, the guest says he won't use the word "should". Finally, the host says, "You hate the word should".) What is the biggest trait that has allowed you to get where you are now? What would you tell people who don't have the luck you've had? What's next for you? That is roughly 20 questions with some dialogue mixed in. But it doesn't really go anywhere. He starts with creating content. Then the questions move into finding a partner, the guests finances and artificial intelligence. They finally get into career and the future. There was no single big takeaway from this conversation. We have no idea what the host wanted to accomplish. If you want to make your interviews effective, decide what you want to accomplish before you start. PREPARE YOUR GUEST To improve your podcast interviews, prepare your guest. You know your show much better than your guest. Don't leave it to your guest to understand your audience. Before you begin your interview, describe your audience to your guest. If you want the interview to benefit your listeners, your guest needs to know the context of the conversation to tailor it for the audience. Let your guest know if profanity is allowed, how the conversation will unfold, and where they should promote anything. On this particular interview, the host kept making awkward jokes. There were times he would be facetious or sarcastic. The guest wasn't sure what to make of it. Don't assume your guest has heard your show before. If there is something you do on the show, make your guest aware before the conversation begins. STORIES The third way to improve your podcast interviews is through stories. Ask open-ended questions that elicit stories from your guests. This host asked a few questions that had the potential to elicit great stories from his guest. Here are a few: How did the shift of balance of work happen? What is the dumbest thing you've ever spent your money on? When your guest tells stories, it engages your audience. Stories pull in your listener. Facts and information is boring. There are three things you need avoid during your interview. Avoid numbers. It can get confusing and hard to follow in audio form. Next, avoid multiple guests who sound the same unless you use their names often during the interview. This helps the audience follow along. Finally, avoid questions that can be answered with one word, like yes/no questions. Here are a few examples of questions our host asked that can be answered with one word: Was there a point where you decided to become more popular? If you had a different life partner, would it have changed you? Should single entrepreneurs focus on themselves and not try to have balance? Is there a financial number you have in your head that will satisfy you? Do you think people should find a career they're passionate about? Instead, you can ask the same questions like this. Tell me about the point in time where you realized becoming more popular online would grow your business. How were your business results different with former relationship partners than it is now that you've found your wife who enjoys business as much as you? Where was your attention focused with regard to work/life balance when you were a single entrepreneur? What satisfaction did you get when you reached your last financial benchmark? How does passion for a career determine success in business? Shape your questions to create stories on your podcast. CONVERSATION The fourth way to improve your interviews is to create a conversations by listening. If you noticed in the list of questions earlier, there were five times the guest had to say he didn't speak in terms of "should". The host finally noticed after the fifth time. It appears he wasn't listening to the answers. He was just getting through his list of questions. Three powerful questions combined with active listening will create a powerful interview. One possible group of questions could be where were you, what transformation did you experience, and where are you today. You simply need to ask great follow up questions to fill in the gaps. When you listen, you'll discover great questions you didn't even consider asking. STRUCTURE That leads us to the next way to improve your podcast interviews. Have a beginning, middle and end to the structure of your interview. Like we just discussed, you could use where were you, what transformation did you experience, and where are you today. A process could be another structure. What is the first, next and last step to take. Give me an example of success. End with, "Where do I start?" Once you have your purpose and know what you would like your listener to take from the podcast interview, create an interview structure that will get you there. GREAT GUESTS Nex, make your guest look great. So many hosts sound like they want the guest to recognize how much they know. The host will give the entire story of the guest and then ask a question. When this happens, the guest has nothing left to say. The host just gave the entire story. When you know the story, set your guest up to look great. I once had the pleasure to interview country artist Miranda Lambert when she and Blake Shelton were a couple. Before Miranda joined me, I was having a conversation with her representative from the record label. The rep told me Miranda had recently hurt her knee. She had been night hunting with Blake Shelton and got hurt. Host often say, "I heard you hurt your knee night hunting with Blake Shelton. Tell me about that." Well, what is left to say? You just gave away the punchline. Instead, I used that information to let Miranda tell a great story. It sounded like this. YOUR EXPERTISE Finally, leave time to demonstrate your area of expertise. If you want your podcast interviews to help grow your business, you need to look great without taking away from your guest. To do this, offer some great content from you before the interview starts. Don't record this while the guest waits. Instead, edit the pieces together in post production. Include a great call to action. Get people to take their first step with you. Then, use the interview to support what you just taught. GET STARTED I hope this helps. These seven steps can help you create powerful and effective podcast interviews. If you would like to get even more help with your interviews, check out my course "How To Crush Your Next Podcast Interview Like A Radio Pro... Without Decades Of Training And Hours Of Preparation". If you are a podcaster who conducts interviews with guests on your podcast, this course is for you. Others can copy your information, interview questions and formula. But when you use the principles you will discover in this course, you will create unique interviews unlike any other. In this program, you will learn … Why we conduct interviews Your personal why The essential elements of unique interviews 17 most powerful interview questions How to ask great questions You can see the full course at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/crush. Inside the course, you will hear examples just like the one I played for you from Miranda Lambert. I ask pop artist Jason Derulo what he loves about interviews. There are examples with Carrie Underwood and more. These are the exact strategies I have used over the last three decades interviewing superstars like Lady Gaga, Zac Brown, Mariah Carey and more. You can see the full course at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/crush. Would you like information on coaching with Podcast Talent Coach? Apply for a free podcast strategy session with Erik K. Johnson by clicking HERE.

ENSURE YOUR PODCAST IS NOT A WASTE OF TIME Are podcasts a waste of time? Many coaches ask me about the return on investment for their podcast. Your return on investment is defined by two sides of the equation. We want to increase the return while decreasing the investment. So, what is your goal with your podcast? This is the best place to start. You can't determind if your podcast is a waste of time until you determine what you want to accomplish. This is the most common problem with coaches. They are using the wrong strategy, or worse no strategy. You can't hit a target you can't see. ADS ARE A WASTE OF TIME Many podcasts try to make money through ads and sponsorships. If you struggle to generate revenue with your podcast, stop chasing ads. With sponsors, you only make money once. Most podcasts aren't big enough to attract large sponsors with big dollars. And, your audience doesn't want to sit through a bunch of ads. Instead, use your podcast to market your services, network with others, and connect with prospects. When you use this strategy, you get paid every time something sells. You create relationships with experts who can put you infront of other potential clients, and you connect with people who can pay you. Use your podcast to build relationships. PEOPLE AREN'T BUYING NOW Research shows that only 3% of your market is buying now. They have an issue and are searching for a solution today. Another 7% of the market could be talked into buying today. These people may not be thinking about their problem as much as the first group. But if you mention it, they remember they have the problem and need the solution. The other 90% aren't in the market for a variety of reason. These people may not need a solution today, but could in the future. They might not think they need it, because they need more education and information. Or, they could be loyal to another brand and need a lot of nurturing. If you are only selling, you are missing this critical 90%. However, you connect with this group when you focus on creating relationships. Nurture over time. NOT A WASTE OF TIME The other side of the ROI equation is decreasing your time. There are a few ways to do this. First, batch your work. Don't try to outline, write, record, edit and publish your show all in one sitting. It requires different parts of the brain. Instead, outline and write a few episodes at one time. Record a few episodes at one time. When your brain is in the creative zone, maximize the output with multiple episodes. You will be much more productive. Next, create a folder of recurring files. This would include your prerecorded show open, your close and any sound effects. A dedicated folder makes them easy to find. To save time, do what only you can do. If somebody else can do it, delegate those tasks to others. Only you can share your superpower. You are the only one that can be you. However, others can edit and publish your show. Others can create your show notes and graphics. This is a waste of time. Let's say you spend 8 hours a month editing and publishing your show, creating your graphics and writing show notes. What kind of difference would it mean for your business if you spent a full workday having sales conversations and serving clients? Spend your time doing money-making activities as much as possible. Move the other activities to other people whenever possible. CREATE A PROCESS Let me help you create a strategy to attract your ideal clients while saving hours of time and energy every month. Register for my next workshop. We will build your podcast profits strategy and save you a ton of time. Register at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/workshop. During the powerful "How To Get More Clients With Your Podcast" Workshop, you will: Discover FIVE unique ways to attract your ideal clients Walk away with your custom strategy to consistently gain clients with your podcast Be perfectly clear on the exact next steps to take to implement your plan Get individualized help to get your questions answered live and ensure you are on the right track to implement your strategy Understand exactly how to get started Though I am always creating new workshops at that link, this next event happens on Monday, June 19th 2023. You can register to join this workshop at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/workshop. I can't wait to see you there. If you don't have a mentor who can take your hand and walk you every step of the way, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals.

HOW TO MONETIZE YOUR MESSAGE We know who we help and what we help them do. But, have you ever considered how you monetize your message? You might say, "Yeah, Erik. I'm a coach." Or you might say, "I help people find a new career or launch a business." Those concepts are "what" you do, and not necessarily "how" you do it. Your "how" might include one-on-one coaching for six months at a time. You might offer a six-week course that helps clients achieve success. Those ideas would be your how. It is the vehicle that you actually sell. There are a variety of ways to monetize your message. MONETIZE YOUR PODCAST Your podcast gives you a great opportunity to attract your ideal clients. You can interview potential clients and open the door to that relationship. Your podcast content could demonstrate how you help people. Then, you could invite them to work with you. I have clients that use their podcast to sell affiliate products and services. You can't monetize your podcast until you figure out what you're selling. How will you monetize your message? To generate revenue, you need to determine how you will package your knowledge for people to buy. HIGH-LEVEL MONETIZE My business really took a turn when I developed my high-level, Podcast Profits Concierge offer. I often heard experts say it is just as easy to sell a $9,997 offer as it is to sell a $97 offer. That sounded crazy to me. Surely more people would buy a $97 offer than a $9,997 offer. And, that may be true. However, it takes a sales conversation to sell either one. It also takes great follow-up. When people invest in a $9,997 offer, they are more likely to take action. They have more skin in the game. When people invest in a $97 offer, it doesn't hurt as much if they don't implement. I find that people don't use the program as much when it is inexpensive or free. But the biggest difference in selling the $97 offer and the $9,997 offer is the quantity you need to close. You need to close over 100 $97 offers to earn as much as one $9,997 offer will generate. And, you still need to follow-up with, onboard, nurture, and deliver the offer to all 100 people that purchased the $97 offer. Or, you can do it all once with your $9,997 client. Rather than selling more of my $29 workbook, or $197 recorded course, or $497 group coaching program, I spend more time trying to find high-end clients for my Podcast Profits Concierge program. PODCAST PROFITS CONCIERGE The Podcast Profits Concierge program is a full done-for-you program that will produce and post your podcast, YouTube video, and show notes. We also create your social media assets. You simply show up and perform. Our team does the rest. Podcast Profits Concierge also comes with one-on-one coaching with me and group coaching inside the Pocast Profits Accelerator. All for $2,000 a month. Imagine how many clients you could serve if you weren't spending all of your time producing your podcast. You just show up and perform. Then spend the rest of your time growing your business. Enrolling one client in Podcast Profits Concierge is equal to enrolling 40 people in my 6-week group coaching program. To monetize your message, develop your high-end offer. Then, warm up potential clients with your smaller offers. Treat them well and serve. Once they see your magic, they'll understand the transformation you offer with your high-end program. On this episode, I have a great conversation with two of my colleagues. I've worked with these two in a variety of ways over the years. What they offer is true gold. It was my goal to interview each of them. I was lucky enough to get them both at the same time for a powerful conversation around how to monetize your message. MONIQUE MCDONALD Monique McDonald is known to many as "The Magnetic Voice". She is a Grammy-nominated, award-winning vocal specialist and charisma coach and the Founder and Director of The Magnetic Voice Group. Monique and the Magnetic Voice Group provide a safe space for performers, public speakers, ministers, and visionaries to explore and develop the power and unique colors of the human voice and charismatic communication. You can find her at https://www.themagneticvoice.com. She is here to show us how to monetize your message through speaking. JAY FAIRBROTHER Jay Fairbrother is the Mastermind Guy. He runs SixFigureMasterminds.com. This is where he teaches Coaches, Speakers and Solopreneurs how to create and launch mastermind groups to scale their business while creating more impact. The signature program of Six Figure Masterminds is Mastermind Mastery: Create and Launch Your High-End Mastermind in 60 Days! Jay recently registered a few hundred for his latest workshop. He is here to show us how to monetize your message with masterminds. CONNECT TO MONETIZE YOUR MESSAGE You can find Monique McDonald at https://www.themagneticvoice.com. Jay can be found at SixFigureMasterminds.com. These are just two of the powerful ways to monetize your message. If you want to start using your podcast to generate revenue, you need to first determine exactly how you will monetize your message. Define your high-end program. What bleeding-neck problem can you solve quickly? People will pay for quick and easy. Make it fast, and make it easy. Then, price it accoringly. You will generate cash. If you don't have a mentor who can take your hand and walk you every step of the way, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals.